H08 HQ003425NFOEASD05 BARI Korea NFO 20250501.pdf

* Questions submitted after the Q&A deadline as noted in the table above may not be answered. The due date for submission of the application will not be extended.

** These dates are estimates as of the date of this announcement.

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

BILATERAL ACADEMIC RESEARCH INITIATIVE (BARI) PROGRAM

MINISTRY OF TRADE, INDUSTRY AND ENERGY (MOTIE)

ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: Initial Announcement

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER: HQ003425NFOEASD05

ASSISTANCE LISTING: 12.630 Basic, Applied, and Advanced Research in

Science and Engineering

KEY DATES:

Questions Regarding

White Papers*

23 May 2025

16:00 Eastern Time (US)

White Papers Due 30 May 2025

16:00 Eastern Time (US)

Invitation to Submit Full

Proposal** 27 June 2025

Questions Regarding Full

Proposals*

22 August 2025

16:00 Eastern Time (US)

Full Proposals Due 29 August 2025

16:00 Eastern Time (US)

Award Notification

(Tentative)** 29 September 2025

Estimated Award Date

(USA)**

1 November 2025

Estimated Award Date

(South Korea)** 1 November 2025

ANTICIPATED FUNDING PURPOSE: This NFO is for the Bilateral Academic Research Initiative

Pilot Program (BARI), which is jointly sponsored by the US Department of Defense (DoD), Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

(MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea (ROK). The BARI program addresses high risk basic research as an international collaboration. This research should attempt to provide the scientific foundation towards the design and development of future and ubiquitous information networks that rely on extreme-scale devices, distributed intelligence, and network complexity, and include cognitive and social concepts to inform the technological choices. The goal of this program is to produce significant scientific breakthroughs and knowledge that will be critical steps in enabling revolutions in communication and information technology on a large scale.

CONTENTS

I. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

A. SHORT DESCRIPTION OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

B. BACKGROUND

C. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES

D. AUTHORIZATION

E. LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

II. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

A. ANTICIPATED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

B. INSTRUMENT TYPE

C. AWARD INFORMATION

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

B. COST SHARING OR MATCHING

C. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR DISCLOSURE

D. MARKING PROPRIETARY OR CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. INTRODUCTION ON SUBMISSIONS

B. TWO STAGES OF SUBMISSIONS

C. FORMAT FOR SUBMISSIONS

D. APPLICATION WITHDRAWAL

E. WHITE PAPERS

1. WHITE PAPER FORMAT AND CONTENT

2. WHITE PAPER SUBMISSION

F. FULL PROPOSALS

1. UNIQUE ENTITY IDENTIFIER AND SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT

2. REQUIRED AND OPTIONAL FORMS

G. SUBMISSION DATES AND TIMES

H. OTHER REQUIREMENTS

1. EXECUTIVE ORDER 12372

2. OTHER SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND INFORMATION

3. AMENDMENTS TO ANNOUNCEMENTS

4. MODIFICATIONS AND WITHDRAWALS OF APPLICATIONS

5. PROTESTS

I. FUNDING RESTRICTIONS

V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

A. EVALUATION CRITERIA

B. REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS

C. AWARD DECISION

D. FEDERAL SHARE NOTICE

VI. FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

A. AWARD NOTICES

B. RECIPIENT QUALIFICATION

C. ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS (US SPECIFIC)

D. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

VII. AGENCY CONTACTS

VIII. OTHER INFORMATION

IX. MOTIE(KEIT) SPECIFIC INFORMATION (NOT APPLICABLE TO US AWARDS)

X. OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS

I. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

A. SHORT DESCRIPTION OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO) is issued under 10 U.S.C. 4001, which provides the authority for issuing a grant under this announcement for basic research.

The definitions of basic research may be found at 32 CFR 22.105.

This NFO is for the Bilateral Academic Research Initiative Pilot Program (BARI), which is jointly sponsored by the US Office of the Under-Secretary of Defense for

Research & Engineering (OUSD(R&E)), and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and

Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea (ROK). The BARI program addresses high risk basic research as an international collaboration. This research should attempt to provide the scientific foundation towards the development of future generations of robotics designs and concepts, via embodied intelligence. The goal of this program is to produce significant scientific breakthroughs and knowledge that will be critical steps in enabling revolutions in robotics technology and stimulate the emergence of new industries. Proposals that focus on incremental steps are not within the scope of this NFO.

The Department of Defense (DoD) and ROK agencies involved in this program

(MOTIE and Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT)) reserve the right to select one or none of the proposals submitted in response to this announcement. The participating DoD and ROK agencies will provide no funding for direct reimbursement of proposal development costs.

The program focus is: Foundational Approaches to Embodied Intelligence for Future

Generations of Robotics.

B. BACKGROUND

The BARI program supports basic research in science and engineering stemming from interactive collaborative efforts between institutions for higher education (IHEs) in the United States (US) and research institutions in the Republic of Korea (ROK), thereafter also referred to as "US universities and ROK research institutions". It is important to note that the education of students via the granting of doctorate degrees for research conducted under this program is an important consideration and an evaluation criterion. Any proposal which does not include a strong educational component would not be considered acceptable.

The program is focused on international collaborative research efforts where teams from the United States and South Korea combine unique skillsets and approaches to provide rapid advances in scientific areas of mutual interest to the DoD and MOTIE.

In this edition of the BARI program, the focus is on foundational approaches to embodied intelligence for future generations of robotics. Each proposal submitted under this NFO will be a joint US/ROK proposal, with a US research team and a

ROK research team collaborating on a research solution.

A single proposal will be submitted by the US research team, for the two research teams of the US universities and ROK research institutions. The single proposal must show that the proposed research is collaborative and interactive between the respective teams, and must provide a distinct budget for the US research team (in US

Dollars) and a distinct budget for the Korean research team (in Won). The two principal investigators (PIs), one belonging to the US research team and one belonging to the ROK research team, will work with the US and ROK technical points of contact (TPOCs) listed in Section VII to ensure the research stays fundamental and collaborative during its progress.

C. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES

We are looking for collaborative research, between teams that must include US universities and ROK research institutions. The level of effort, especially in terms of team size, and time spent on the research, should be approximately balanced, within the constraints of a rational work plan that best addresses the topic’s scientific questions and the maximum yearly budget allowed. A single technical proposal must be submitted that includes a discussion of how the bi-national teams will work together. However, OUSD(R&E) will only fund the US academic team and KEIT will fund the ROK team through separate grant funding mechanisms. Each will have their own applicable terms and conditions. See Section IX for ROK specific requirements.

The BARI Program competition is for research within the purview of the following topic:

“Foundational Approaches to Embodied Intelligence for Future Generations of Robotics”

Background:

Embodied intelligence is a concept where perception and decision-making can involve different levels of cognitive processing, can occur at various time scales and locations, and can even be made intrinsic to the physical components. For example, reflex actions may allow quick motion to avoid damaging exposure to elements, using neural circuits that bypass higher-level processing. More generally, a material could respond to changes in the environment and act as a substitute for a complex sequence of sensing, communication, analysis and decision-making. Careful design of responsive materials or structures may allow, so to speak, decision “at the edge” with minimal computational resources.

However, this advantage must be balanced against the limitations of having pre-designed action scenarios and a reduced range of conditions to which the system may adapt. It is also debatable how much “intelligence” can be embodied in this manner.

A more useful and higher-level definition would include goals, planning, sensor data interpretation, and/or prediction of agency effectiveness [1]. These features are typically associated with the high-level cognitive functions of a brain, but that specific neural architecture may not be a necessary condition. A valuable analogy here is the distributed neural control of the octopus, with each arm equipped with a small neural cluster. Drawing from this picture, we can imagine having not simply distributed sensing and control, but distributed cognition, which could also be interpreted as an intermediate stage between an individual, centralized unit and the collective intelligence of a swarm.

Without a doubt, embodied intelligence can be of great potential benefit to the design of advanced robotics, allowing faster responses and considerably reducing the design complexity and energy resources. However, this also suggests that each case of embodiment leads to a unique robot design, since the process of designing the material, structure, circuit, and sensors must be repeated when the desired functionality and operation constraints are changed. It becomes desirable then to design the embodiment at the component level, and such that these components can be re-used in various robotic system designs, while being iteratively improved.

Complex engineered systems (e.g., planes, trains and automobiles) are designed that way, an approach which provides the basis for rapid, low-cost and scalable development. However, that practice is currently based on “dumb” components1, with fixed and well-documented functionality and standardized interfaces. Components with embodied intelligence would then be a paradigm shift for robotics and new generations of complex machines.

There are significant challenges to overcome in order to make this vision a reality.

First, there is a question of how to tackle complexity. Components endowed with embodied intelligence must integrate an information/decision chain (e.g., sensor data, actuation, control, computing, adaptation and decision-making) individually as well as collectively – as the components must work together for the entire robot or machine to function properly. This might seem to constrain us again into designing the whole robot at once, a task that is exceedingly difficult and inefficient for very complex and capable robots (e.g., humanoid). A key objective of this research topic is to research and develop a rigorous approach to overcome that obstacle, so that one can design, test, and iteratively improve individual components, while also guarantee that the component can be usefully integrated into a whole. Furthermore, the development of intelligent components becomes then an activity commensurate with modest resources and can create a broad eco-system of research institutions and specialized industries, just as currently done in the manufacturing of complex engineered systems.

This approach also brings up a very fundamental question: that of (de)composability of the system. Although understanding the globally connected system is the final objective, reductionist approaches still have enormous practical benefits. It is desirable to reduce the complexity by decomposing the system, improve a component, then re-compose the system, while attempting to optimize the emergent properties of the whole system. However, this process is particularly challenging for embodied intelligence2, and calls for radically new concepts and theory. The octopus

1 Even if computational processing occurs, these components do not learn and adapt by themselves and therefore do not display any “intelligent” behavior.

2 For example, recompositing of “functional subunits” is mentioned in [2], without considering embodied intelligence.

is again a useful analogy: each arm provides to the head not just raw sensor data but features, processing outcomes of the local neural cluster. This is a different perspective from data fusion, and one must then examine how “knowledge” is transferred to the other components, and how do these components make sense of each other’s information, especially has each one may be designed and used for a different task of sensing, or agency on the external world. The concept also brings up other and related questions, such as:

- How would a body component learn and acquire skills? Would this skillset be the same (or nearly so) as if it was gained by the whole system? Is the entire body needed for training a component?

- How much learning and adaptation can (or should) be in the material properties, versus how much in a neural or computational unit? Is there a general set of material classes, with properties that can be transferable to other components or robotic systems?

- How do you modify the sensing and actuation to optimize the learning? How does the component learn in a generalizable fashion, with sparse3 data?

For example, one could envision training a “hand” to feel, touch and manipulate different types of objects. The robotic hand can then learn how to roll a ball between fingers, but coupling with an arm is needed to learn how to effectively throw the ball.

The necessary skills could potentially be obtained as an iterative sequence of training scenarios; gaining a hand skillset, an arm skillset, and a combination that refines them. One could also imagine interchanging different types of components to the robot: a human-like hand for using common tools designed for humans, and another with, say, soft and controllable tentacles of varied thickness [3], maybe for performing surgery.

Having individually pre-trained and interchangeable components with embodied intelligence, learning capacity and memory, can therefore open-up a powerful combinatorial design space. The fundamental scientific steps necessary to make this happen are the objectives of this topic. Further, it is also possible to envision such components interfaced with humans, becoming a new class of prosthetics. One must then question how would an artificial arm or a leg, embedded with intrinsic

“knowledge” of its function and adaptation, couple with neural signals from the human nervous system? How would the human learn to operate the component? Can he/she learn to use a hand with tentacles instead of fingers?

Objectives:

This topic calls for research that explores the scientific issues behind realizing the vision of a new robotic design eco-system, as described above, where components are embodied with intelligence and learning capabilities, can be trained individually, yet can also be assembled into complete systems with emergent capabilities.

Fundamental questions should be addressed, such as the extent of physical embodiment and adaptation, neural processing and information chain, shareable representation learning and cognitive hierarchy, co-design and joint learning of

3 The range and dimensionality of real-life environmental conditions can be much higher than what can be realistically reproduced in the laboratory or simulated.

sensor, dynamics and control, and other. The research should proceed with selected examples of robotic components, humanoid or not, and design them with high levels of physical embodiment of intelligence as well as distributed neural processing, leading towards a demonstration of sharing of embodied learning between components, or between a component and a robotic platform. Throughout this process, questions of metrics, testing procedures, and standards of (re- and post-training) information may be considered, although their resolution is not expected within the scope of this project.

Research Areas:

The research will bring together multiple disciplines for both deep exploration of fundamentally new approaches and their coherent integration. These potentially include:

- Mathematics, to achieve new approaches of composition and complexity reduction, with information type that can be far removed from traditional data types used in engineered systems. Uncertainty, stochasticity (training implies different notions of “noise”), dynamics and adaptability are also important aspects.

- Material science and Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, to develop physical components, their actuation and embedded sensors, and new methods of automatic (i.e., embodied) adaptability, as well as reading of external and internal states that can be used for training.

- Computer science (CS) and artificial intelligence (AI), to design the neural clusters within the components, able to integrate the perception and proprioception, fuse the information and create representations. This may include the design or use of efficient, small scale neuromorphic devices, such as Spiking

Neural Nets (SNN) or others.

- Biology and neuroscience, both for bio-inspired design but also for possible

Human-Machine Interface (HMI).

The list is not exhaustive and other disciplines may be called upon, as function of the overall research trajectory being proposed

References

1. C. Bartolozzi, G. Indiveri, E. Donati, “Embodied Neuromorphic Intelligence”, Nature Comm., 13:1024 (2022)

2. S. A. Burden et al, “Why Animals can Outrun Robots”, Sci. Robot. 9, eadi9754

(2024)

3. Z. Zie et al., “Octopus-inspired sensorized soft arm for environmental interaction”, Sci. Robot. 8, eadh7852 (2023)

4. O. Yasa et al., “An Overview of Soft Robotics”, Ann. Rev. Control Robot. Auton.

Syst., 6:7.1–7.29 (2023)

5. W. Yu et al., “Identifying important sensory feedback for learning locomotion skills”, Nature Machine Intelligence, Vol. 5, 919–932 (2023)

Basic Research Requirements:

This initiative will only fund basic (fundamental) and openly published research that has the aim of advancing scientific knowledge. Basic research, as defined within DoD

7000.14-R, Vol. 2B, Ch. 5, “is systematic study directed toward greater knowledge or understanding of the fundamental aspects of phenomena and observable facts without specific applications towards processes or products in mind.”

D. AUTHORIZATION

The authorization to make awards under this funding opportunity is 10 U.S.C. 4001

Research and Development Projects.

E. LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

The assistance awarded under this NFO will be governed by the DoD Research and

Development (R&D) General Terms and Conditions in effect at the time of award.

These terms and conditions are incorporated by reference in this NFO.

II. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

The DoD will award one grant to the lead institution of the US research team which will only fund research performed by that US research team. For MOTIE, the KEIT will make a corresponding award to fund performance under the selected proposal by the ROK research team. Information regarding the ROK Research Team award can be found in

Section IX.

A. ANTICIPATED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The grant awarded under this NFO will have a four (4) year period of performance.

B. INSTRUMENT TYPE

The type of funding instrument selected by the Government is planned to be a grant.

A grant is defined as a legal instrument that, consistent with 31 U.S.C. 6304, is used to enter into a relationship:

a. The principal purpose of which is to transfer a thing of value to the recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law or the

United States, rather than to acquire property or services for the Federal

Government’s direct benefit or use.

b. In which substantial involvement is not expected between the Federal

Government and the recipient when carrying out the activity contemplated by the grant.

No fee or profit is allowed.

C. AWARD INFORMATION

The total funding from the US DoD available for the grant awarded from this NFO is estimated to be $6,000,000 (6 million USD), supporting 3-5 funded faculty researchers. The US DoD funding will be used exclusively for research performed by the US research team. The grant awarded from this NFO is contingent on availability https://comptroller.defense.gov/portals/45/documents/fmr/current/02b/02b_05.pdf https://comptroller.defense.gov/portals/45/documents/fmr/current/02b/02b_05.pdf https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:10%20section:4001%20edition:prelim) https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:10%20section:4001%20edition:prelim) https://www.nre.navy.mil/work-with-us/manage-your-award/manage-grant-award/grants-terms-conditions https://www.nre.navy.mil/work-with-us/manage-your-award/manage-grant-award/grants-terms-conditions https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:31%20section:6304%20edition:prelim) of funds, the specific topic, and the scope of the proposed work. For the US research team, expected annual funding will not exceed $1,500,000 per year.

The total funding from MOTIE is not to exceed ₩ 8,000,000,000 (8 Billion KRW), and it is expected that a single award will be issued for a consortium of investigators, including 3-5 parties. The ROK MOTIE funding will be used exclusively for research performed by the ROK research team.

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

As a result of this BARI competition, a program of international collaboration between the United States and South Korea will be created. Consequently, the proposal will include two research teams, one of which will be from the U.S. and the other from the ROK. Accordingly, the BARI competition is open only to teams comprised of at least one (1) US institution of Higher Education (IHE) as defined in

20 U.S.C. 1001 with a degree granting program in science or engineering (US

University); and at least one (1) ROK Research Institution via which the funding is paid.

US DoD Laboratories and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers

(FFRDCs) are not allowed to receive funds directly or via sub-awards.

B. COST SHARING OR MATCHING

Cost sharing or matching is not required under this NFO and is not an evaluation factor.

C. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR DISCLOSURE

Within the white paper submissions, organizations must disclose any potential or actual scientific or non-scientific conflict of interest(s). Organizations must also disclose any potential or actual conflict(s) of interest for any identified sub-recipient included in the application. Depending on the circumstances, the Government may request a conflict-of-interest mitigation plan. Government approval is required for all mitigation plans. Offerors with conflicts of interest that are not mitigated will be ineligible for award.

D. MARKING PROPRIETARY OR CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

The DoD will make every effort to protect any proprietary information submitted in white papers and full applications. Any proprietary information included in application materials must be identified. Prospective proposers should be aware, however, that under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requirements, proprietary information contained in white papers and applications (marked or unmarked) may still potentially be subject to release.

It is the prospective applicants' responsibility to notify the DoD of applications containing proprietary information and to identify the relevant portions of their applications that require protection. The entire application (or portions thereof) https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:20%20section:1001%20edition:prelim) without protective markings or otherwise identified as requiring protection will be considered to be furnished voluntarily to the US DoD without restriction and will be treated as such for all purposes.

It is the intent of the US DoD and the ROK MOTIE and KEIT to treat all white papers and full applications as proprietary information before the award and to disclose their contents to reviewers only for the purpose of evaluation.

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. INTRODUCTION ON SUBMISSIONS

The announced application due date and procedures for submission will be strictly observed. Applications received after the established time and date above will not be considered; the burden of timely delivery (including requests for delivery confirmation) is on the Applicant.

When applicable, the application due date is determined by the timestamp and date of the Applicant’s submission on Grants.gov. Applications received after the due date and timestamp will not be considered.

It is essential that all applications be complete and accurate at the time of submission.

OUSD(R&E) and MOTIE (hereafter referred to as “Funders”) reserve the right to reject applications that are incomplete or that do not comply with submission instructions. All documentation submitted under this NFO is unclassified.

This opportunity is for joint research teams from US universities and ROK research institutions. The Funders provide no direction as to the composition of the teams, besides the evaluation criteria listed in Section V of this document. To facilitate the building of collaborative teams, the Funders encourage the use of the following website that is designed to facilitate networking between researchers and interested parties. Therein, researchers can upload brief pre-recorded briefings or presentations, as well as other documents such as CV and journal articles and papers, to highlight research interests and capabilities that they deem relevant to this opportunity. The website can be freely accessed and potential bidders can use it to establish connections and discuss potential collaborations. Note that all material uploaded to the website can be viewed by all registered parties, and the Funders are not responsible for credential verification or information security. The applicants must therefore make their own judgments on the level of information detail they want to make public, and are encouraged to pursue more detailed discussions via other, private channels. The website will remain active and open from the date of publication of this opportunity until the deadline for white paper submission.

Instructions and further details are provided online – see https://www.basicresearchXchange.org.

B. TWO STAGES OF SUBMISSIONS

The BARI application process is conducted in two stages:

• Stage One – White Paper submission (via email to technical point of contact) https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.basicresearchxchange.org/ o Deadline: 30 May 2025, 16:00 Eastern Standard Time (31 May 2025, 05:00

Korea Standard Time)

• Stage Two – Full Application submission (via Grants.gov) o Deadline: 29 August 2025, 16:00 Eastern Standard Time (30 August 2025, 05:00 Korea Standard Time)

Stage One – Based on an assessment of the white papers submitted, the technical point-of-contact (TPOCs) will advise prospective proposers whether the proposed research outlined in their white papers was judged to be competitive for BARI award selection, and whether they are invited to submit a full proposal.

Stage Two – Subsequent to white paper feedback, selected entities will be asked to submit full proposals. All proposals submitted under the terms and conditions cited in this NFO will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated herein.

NB: Entities that have submitted a white paper may submit a proposal even if not invited to do so, though this is strongly discouraged.

Applicants must complete all mandatory forms and any optional forms (e.g., SF-LLL

Disclosure of Lobbying Activities) in accordance with the instructions on the forms and the additional instructions below. Please ensure that your attachments are not password protected.

Stage Two applications will only be accepted if submitted through Grants.gov.

Organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), active System for Award

Management (SAM) registration, and Grants.gov account to apply for grants.

C. FORMAT FOR SUBMISSIONS

The following formatting rules apply for the file attachments for White Paper and

Full Proposal submissions, except as indicated below:

• Paper size when printed – 8.5 x 11-inch white paper, one-sided

• Margins – 1 inch

• Spacing – single

• Font – No smaller than Times New Roman, 12-point font (excluding mandatory forms, which may have other font requirements)

• Number of pages o WHITE PAPER: 5 pages o FULL PROPOSAL: 25 pages. The 25-page limit applies to the technical portion of the application, which consists of the following: Project

Summary/Abstract and Project Narrative. Pages exceeding this limit will not be considered in the application evaluation.

D. APPLICATION WITHDRAWAL

An applicant may withdraw an application at any time before award by written notice.

Notice of withdrawal shall be sent to the grants officer identified in this announcement. Withdrawals are effective upon receipt of notice by the grants officer.

E. WHITE PAPERS

1. WHITE PAPER FORMAT AND CONTENT

Submitted documentation should be in PDF format and include in a single document:

• A cover letter (optional), not to exceed one page.

• A cover page, labeled “APPLICATION WHITE PAPER,” that includes the

Notice of Funding Opportunity number, proposed project title, and prospective applicant's technical point of contact with telephone number, and e-mail address.

• Curriculum vitae (CV) of key investigators (optional but encouraged)

• The white paper (five (5) page limit, single-sided) including:

o Identification of the research and issues including the state of the field o Proposed technical approach o Potential team and abbreviated management plan o Brief summary of estimated costs o Reference citations, if any, may be included outside the five-page limit.

All figures are included in the page limit.

• The white paper will describe both US and ROK efforts and their interaction.

OUSD(R&E) and KEIT are interested in the research outlined in the Program

Description of this NFO. For this reason, the application narrative must clearly describe what research the US and ROK research teams will accomplish collaboratively, as well as what will be accomplished by the US and ROK research teams individually. The white paper must also provide budget breakouts for the US research team, in US Dollars (USD), and the ROK research team, in

Korean Wons (KRW).

The white paper should provide sufficient information on the research being proposed (e.g., hypothesis, theories, concepts, methods, approaches, data collection, measurement and analyses) to allow for an assessment by subject matter experts, with emphasis on the key questions raised in the Research Areas and Objectives of the topic description.

2. WHITE PAPER SUBMISSION

White papers and supporting documentation must be submitted as email attachments to BOTH david.w.montgomery61.civ@mail.mil AND ektmfla97@keit.re.kr no later than 30 May 2025, 16:00 Eastern Standard Time

(31 May 2025, 05:00 Korea Standard Time). E-mail transmission is not instantaneous and delays in transmission may occur anywhere along the route.

The Funders takes no responsibility for any delays in the transmission of an e-mail. The prospective applicant is responsible for allowing enough time to complete the required application components, upload the white paper, and submit via e-mail before the deadline. The earlier submission of the white paper will be considered as the time stamp for eligibility. It is not necessary for white papers to carry official institutional signatures.

mailto:david.w.montgomery61.civ@mail.mil mailto:ektmfla97@keit.re.kr

The submission email subject line should indicate the BARI white paper submission.

An e-mail confirmation will be sent to the applicant within three business days of submission. Documents submitted after the deadline or found to be non-compliant with the requirements described above will not be reviewed.

F. FULL PROPOSALS

1. UNIQUE ENTITY IDENTIFIER AND SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT

Applications will only be accepted if submitted through Grants.gov.

Organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), active System for

Award Management (SAM) registration, and Grants.gov account to apply for grants and cooperative agreements. Please consult SAM.gov and Grants.gov for assistance in registering for SAM and Grants.gov.

The Government may not make a Federal award until the applicant has complied with all unique entity identifier and SAM requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time the Federal awarding agency is ready to make a Federal award, the Federal awarding agency may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal award to another applicant.

The Federal Assistance Certifications Report is an attestation that the entity will abide by the requirements of the various laws and regulations; therefore, as applicable, you are still required to submit any documentation, including the SF-

LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if applicable), and informing DoD of unpaid delinquent tax liability or a felony conviction under any Federal law.

Any attachment containing additional certifications should be prefaced by the following statement: “By checking “I Agree” on the SF-424 Block 21 you agree to abide by the following statement: “By signing this application, I certify (1) to the statements contained in the list of certifications and (2) that the statements herein are true, complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge. I also provide the required assurances and agree to comply with any resulting terms if I accept an award. I am aware that any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or claims may subject me to criminal, civil, or administrative penalties. (18 U.S.C. 1001)”

Offerors are responsible for submitting their applications in sufficient time to allow them to reach Grants.gov by the date and time specified in this announcement. It is strongly recommended that applications be uploaded at least two days before the closing date and time. This will help avoid problems caused by high system usage or any potential technical and/or input problems involving the offeror’s own equipment. It will also allow any application errors detected by

Grants.gov to be corrected in time for the application to be resubmitted. If the application is received by Grants.gov after the exact time and date specified as the https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:18%20section:1001%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section1001) deadline for receipt, it will be considered “late” and cannot be considered for review.

2. REQUIRED AND OPTIONAL FORMS

The following SF-424 (R&R) forms and, as applicable, attachments are required for all Full Proposal submissions:

• SF424 (R & R) [5.0]

• Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424B - R & R) [1.1]

• Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL) [2.0]

• Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424A) [1.0]

• Project Abstract Summary [2.0]

• Project Narrative Attachment Form [1.2]

• Research & Related Budget [3.0]

• Research & Related Personal Data [1.2]

• Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile [3.0]

a. Project Summary/Abstract (Field 7 on the form) (Mandatory) – The Project

Summary/Abstract must be no longer than a single page. The abstract must be marked that it is publicly releasable, as abstracts for all awarded applications will be placed on a DoD website(s) searchable by the public. The abstract should provide a concise description of the equipment/instrumentation requested (if any), using terminology the public can understand, and the research/research-related education that it will support. The header of the abstract should identify the PI, the institution, and the application title.

b. Project Narrative (Field 8 on the form) – The project narrative must address the following:

• Identification of the research and issues including the state of the art in the field

• Proposed technical approach and how it will meet the goals and objectives outlined in Section I.C Program Description and Objectives

• Potential team and management plan and student training plan

• Summary of estimated costs

• The project narrative must describe both US and ROK efforts and their interaction.

G. SUBMISSION DATES AND TIMES

Applications must be received by 29 August 2025, 16:00 Eastern Standard Time (30

August 2025, 05:00 Korea Standard Time). Applicants are responsible for submitting their applications in sufficient time to allow them to reach Grants.gov by the specified time. To minimize the possibility of a late submission due to unexpected network or equipment issues, DoD recommends that applications be submitted at least two days prior to the date and time indicted above. If the application is received by Grants.gov after the exact time and date specified as the deadline for receipt, it will be considered

“late” and will not be considered for review. Acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt by Grants.gov includes documentary evidence of receipt maintained by Grants.gov.

If an emergency or unanticipated event interrupts normal federal government processes so that applications cannot be received by Grants.gov by the exact time specified in this NFO, and the situation precludes amendment of the NFO closing date, the time specified for receipt of applications will be deemed to be extended to the same time of day specified in this NFO on the first work day on which normal federal government processes resume.

Application Receipt Notices - Grants.gov will provide a series of emails to the applicant confirming submission and receipt of the application. Applicants can track the status of their applications at http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/track-my-application.html.

There is no requirement for intergovernmental review under this NFO.

Funding provided by the US DoD will only be used for the US research team.

Funding provided by MOTIE via the KEIT will only be used for the ROK research team. These funds will be issued as separate awards to the respective national teams, and each award will be subject to the respective national conditions, as outlined in

Sections I.E and IX of this document.

H. OTHER REQUIREMENTS

1. EXECUTIVE ORDER 12372

This funding opportunity is not subject to Executive Order 12372.

2. OTHER SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND INFORMATION

Physical/facsimile delivery by the Applicant is not authorized and will not be accepted.

3. AMENDMENTS TO ANNOUNCEMENTS

If this announcement is amended, then all terms and conditions, which are not amended, shall remain unchanged. Applicants shall acknowledge receipt of any amendments to this NFO by: (1) identifying the amendment in its application, or

(2) by separate letter upon receipt of the amendment. The Government must receive the acknowledgment by the date/time specified for receipt of applications.

4. MODIFICATIONS AND WITHDRAWALS OF APPLICATIONS

The announced Application due date and procedures for guaranteeing timely submission of Applications shall also be applied to those Applicants submitting modifications to or withdrawals of Applications.

5. PROTESTS

The decision of the Grants Officer relative to any protest filed will be final unless the protester appeals to the WHS/AD Competition Advocate:

https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/12372.html

Mr. David Kao

Deputy Director, WHS/AD

4800 Mark Center Drive, Suite 09F09

Alexandria, VA 22350

The Recipient(s) shall proceed diligently with preparation of its Application(s) or performance under an award, pending final resolution of any request for relief, appeal, or action arising under the award, and comply with any decision of the

Grants Officer.

I. FUNDING RESTRICTIONS

Per 2 CFR 200.216, funds may not be used to procure telecommunications equipment or video surveillance services or equipment produced by:

• Huawei Technologies Company,

• ZTE Corporation Hytera Communications Corporation,

• Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company,

• Dahua Technology Company

• Any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities

The prospective ROK applicants are asked to take notice of these restrictions.

V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

A. EVALUATION CRITERIA

Proposals submitted in response to this NFO will be evaluated using the factors listed below:

1. Overall scientific and technical merits of the proposal and responsiveness to the topic (i.e., the degree of innovation, soundness of technical concept, Applicant’s awareness of the state of the art and understanding of the scope of the problem, significance and originality of the technical approach needed to address/solve the problem, anticipated scientific impact within the field and the likelihood of exploitation in future research).

2. The degree of cross-disciplinary research that integrates capabilities and experience towards a comprehensive vision in response to the topic, and with the potential to stimulate the growth of a new scientific discipline.

3. Potential relationship of the proposed research to future DoD missions and themes of strategic interest to MOTIE.

4. Qualifications, capabilities and experience of the Principal Investigators (PI) and other key personnel who are deemed essential to achieving the objectives, and/or required facilities and equipment.

5. The level of interaction between US and ROK teams, and the integration of students and the level of education and degree-granting made possible under this program, potentially including exchange or joint opportunities.

All information necessary for the review and evaluation of an application must be contained in the application itself. No other material will be provided to the panel.

Applications should contain sufficient technical detail to allow for in-depth technical assessment.

An initial review of the applications will be conducted to ensure compliance with the requirements of this NFO. Failure to comply with the requirements of the NFO may result in an application receiving no further consideration for award. An award under this NFO will be made on the basis of the evaluation criteria listed above.

WHS/AD reserves the right to remove Offerors from award consideration if the parties fail to reach agreement on award terms, conditions, or cost/price within a reasonable time; or if the Offerors fail to provide requested or required additional information in a timely manner.

B. REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS

Reviewers may include Government personnel and Non-Government reviewers including university faculty and staff researchers. Adjectival ratings may be used in the Full Application evaluation.

Each reviewer is required to sign a conflict-of-interest and confidentiality statement attesting that the reviewer has no known conflicts of interest, and that application and evaluation information will not be disclosed outside the evaluation panel. The names and affiliations of reviewers are not disclosed.

Offerors are advised that employees of commercial firms under contract to the government may be used to administratively process applications. By submitting an application, an offeror consents to allowing access to its application(s) by support contractors. These support contracts include nondisclosure agreements prohibiting their contractor employees from disclosing any information submitted by offerors.

In addition to the technical/program review, the DoD does a budget review and a risk review as directed by 2 CFR 200.206, including a review of the Federal Awardee

Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS). Offerors may review information in FAPIIS and comment on any information entered into that system.

Comments made by offerors will be taken into account in addition to other information in considering offerors’ integrity, business ethics, and record of performance.

Note: At the time of application, there is no additional material to be submitted for this review. Additional information may be requested, if needed. A Negotiated

Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) may be required in order for an awardee to invoice for indirect costs. If the Offeror does not currently hold a NICRA, describe the current status of the organization’s request for such an agreement with its cognizant agency.

IAW 2 CFR §200.414(f), any non-Federal entity that has never received a negotiated indirect cost rate, except for those non-Federal entities described in Appendix VII to 2

CFR §200, may elect to charge a de minimis rate of 10% of modified total direct costs (MTDC) which may be used indefinitely.

NOTE: Failure to adequately provide detailed cost data will require the Grants

Officer to contact the proposing organization for the requisite information. This will result in a delay of the award. All Offerors are required to submit a thoroughly detailed cost breakdown. The Grants Officer must be able to determine that all proposed costs are allowable and reasonable. A detailed budget will facilitate this cost analysis.

Evaluation Panel: Technical details and budgets submitted under this NFO will be protected from unauthorized disclosure. The cognizant Government Program Officer and other Government subject matter experts will perform the evaluation of technical applications. Restrictive notices notwithstanding, one or more DoD covered support contractors may be utilized as subject matter experts providing technical support, but will not participate in the evaluation of proposals. Each support contractor employee that has access to technical and cost applications submitted in response to this NFO will be required to sign a nondisclosure statement prior to receipt of any application submissions.

C. AWARD DECISION

The Government reserves the right to select for negotiation all, some, one, or none of the submission received in response to this NFO and to make awards without discussions. Therefore, Applicant Proposals should include the applicant’s best response to this announcement. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if it is determined by the Grants Officer to be necessary.

The Government reserves the right to request additional information once award has been determined. The Government reserves the right to remove Applicants from award consideration should the parties fail to reach agreement on award terms within a reasonable time or the Applicant fails to provide requested additional information in a timely manner.

The Recipient(s) that has been deemed successful will receive a pre-award notice via e-mail from the WHS/AD Grants Officer. The Government may initiate Grant negotiations when deemed appropriate to do so. Unsuccessful applicants will also be notified via e-mail at that time.

Once a recipient of award is announced, the recipient of award only shall submit the required information for electronic submission. The recipient of award shall use the

Grants.gov website (https://www.grants.gov). Recipient shall complete the mandatory forms in the application package template associated with this NFO.

D. FEDERAL SHARE NOTICE

It is anticipated that the Federal share of any award under the announcement may exceed the simplified acquisition threshold, inform applicants that: (i) the agency will review the information that is currently in the designated integrity and performance system through SAM (currently FAPIIS); (ii) an applicant may review information in

FAPIIS and comment on any information about itself; and (iii) the agency will consider any comments by the applicant, along with other information in FAPIIS, in making judgement about the applicant’s integrity, business ethics and record of performance under Federal awards when completing a review of risk (see DoD

Instruction 3210.08 on use of the performance and integrity information in FAPIIS and 2 CFR 200.205 “Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants.”

VI. FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

A. AWARD NOTICES

Applicants whose applications are recommended for negotiation of award will be contacted by a DoD Contract/Grant Specialist to discuss any additional information required for award. This may include representations and certifications, revised budgets or budget explanations, or other information as applicable to the proposed award. The actual award start date will be determined at this time.

Applicants who did not receive an award are not entitled to a debrief.

The notification e-mail regarding a selection is not authorization to commit or expend

DoD funds. A DoD grants officer is the only person authorized to obligate and approve the use of Federal funds. This authorization is in the form of a signed award.

B. RECIPIENT QUALIFICATION

Prior to making an award under this NFO in an amount greater than the simplified acquisition threshold, which currently is $150,000, the DoD Grants Officer will review and consider any information about the applicant that is in the designated integrity and performance system accessible through SAM (currently the Federal

Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS)) (see 41 U.S.C.

2313).

An applicant may, at its option, review information currently in FAPIIS (accessible through SAM) and comment on any information about itself that a Federal awarding agency (DoD or other federal awarding agency) previously entered.

DoD will consider any comments by the applicant, in addition to the other information in FAPIIS, in making a judgment about the applicant's integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under federal awards when completing the review of risk posed by applicants as described in 2 CFR 200.205, Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants, as implemented by DoD at 2 CFR part 1103.

C. ADMINISTRATIVE AND…