FY18_BAA_Announcement_final_5.10.18.pdf

NRL BAA Announcement #N00173-18-S-BA01 Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Basic and Applied Scientific Research

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY

A. Required Overview Content

1. Federal Awarding Agency Name

2. Funding Opportunity Title

3. Announcement Type

4. Funding Opportunity Number

5. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA Numbers

6. Key Dates

7. North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code

II. DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY

A. Program Description

B. Federal Award Information

1. Eligibility for Competition

2. Contracted Fundamental Research

3. Funded Amount and Period of Performance

4. Instrument Type

5. Assistance Instruments

C. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

1. Cost Sharing or Matching

D. Application and Submission Information

1. Address to Request/Access Application Package

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

4. Submission Dates and Times

5. Intergovernmental Review

6. Funding Restrictions

7. Other Submission Requirements

E. Application Review Information

1. Criteria

2. Review and Selection Process

3. Recipient Qualification

F. Award Administration Information

1. Federal Award Notices

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

3. Reporting

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts

H. Other Information II. APPENDICES ............................................................................................................. APP 1-1

A. Research Description – Summary Topics .......................................................... APP 1-1

B. Applicable to Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Technology Investment Agreements (TIA’s) Only.......................................................................................... APP 2-1

C. Applicable to Contracts and Other Transaction Agreements Only ................ APP 3-1

I. OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY

This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for awards by the NRL Contracting Division, Code 3200 (or otherwise approved by Code 3200) as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016, the Department of Defense Grants and Agreements regulations (DoDGARS) 32 CFR 22.315(a) and DoD’s Other Transaction Guide for Prototypes Projects, USD(AT&L), OT Guide, Jan 2017. A formal Request for Proposals (RFP), solicitation, and/or additional information regarding this announcement will not be issued.

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) will not issue paper copies of this announcement. The NRL reserves the right to fund all, some, or none of the proposals received under this BAA. NRL provides no funding for direct reimbursement of proposal development costs. Technical and cost proposals (or any other material) submitted in response to this BAA will not be returned. It is the policy of NRL to treat all proposals submitted under this BAA as sensitive competitive information and to disclose their contents only for the purposes of evaluation.

This BAA is intended for proposals related to basic and applied research, and that part of development not related to the development of a specific system or hardware procurement. This Announcement is not for the acquisition of technical, engineering, and other types of support services.

Hyperlinks have been embedded within this document and appear as underlined, blue-colored words. The reader may “jump” to the linked section by clicking the hyperlink.

A. Required Overview Content

1. Federal Awarding Agency Name

Naval Research Laboratory 4555 Overlook Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20375-5320

2. Funding Opportunity Title – NRL Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Basic and Applied Scientific Research

3. Announcement Type - Initial Announcement

4. Funding Opportunity Number - N00173-18-S-BA01

5. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers – 12.300

Department of Defense (DOD), Department of the Navy, Office of Chief of Naval Research, Basic and Applied Scientific Research

6. Key Dates (See also Section D.4) This announcement will remain open for approximately one (1) year from the date of publication, or until replaced by a successor BAA. Proposals may be submitted at any time during this period. This announcement replaces N00173-17-S-BA01 dated 1 Mar 2017.

Submission of Late Proposals (Applicable to White Papers and Full Proposals) - The Government reserves the right to not review proposals submitted after 9 May 2019, or after a successor to this Long Range BAA is issued, whichever occurs first.

7. North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code

The NAICS code for contracts under this announcement is 541715 with a small business size standard of 1,000 employees.

II. DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

A. Program Description

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the Navy's corporate laboratory. NRL conducts basic and applied research for the Navy in a variety of scientific and technical disciplines. The basic research program is driven by perceptions about future requirements of the Navy. NRL conducts most of its research program at its own facilities but also funds some related research such as anticipated by this announcement. More extensive research support opportunities are available from the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). NRL announcements may be accessed via the Internet at https://www.nrl.navy.mil/doing-business/contracting-division/baa.

NRL is interested in receiving proposals for Long-Range Science and Technology (S&T) Projects which offer potential for advancement and improvement of Navy and Marine Corps operations. Readers should note that this is an announcement to declare NRL’s broad role in competitive funding of meritorious research across a spectrum of science and engineering disciplines. A brief description of the NRL Program Codes and the science and technology thrusts that NRL is pursuing is provided below. Additional information can be found at the NRL website at https://www.nrl.navy.mil/research/directorates-divisions/.

This announcement is an expression of interest only and does not commit the Government to make any award or to pay for any proposal preparation costs. The cost of proposal preparation for response to a BAA is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resultant contract or any other contract; however, it may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost specified in FAR 31.205-18.

Interested parties should be alert for any BAA amendments that may be published at the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website.

B. Federal Award Information

1. Eligibility for Competition. Proposals for renewal or supplementation of existing projects are eligible to compete with applications for new Federal awards under this BAA.

2. Contracted Fundamental Research. With regard to any restrictions on the conduct or outcome of work funded under this BAA, NRL will follow the guidance on and definition of “contracted fundamental research” as provided in the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics) Memorandum of 24 May 2010.

As defined therein the definition of “contracted fundamental research,” in a DoD contractual context, includes research performed under grants and contracts that are (a) funded by Research, Development, Test and Evaluation Budget Activity 1 (Basic Research), whether performed by universities or industry or (b) funded by Budget Activity 2 (Applied Research) and performed on campus at a university. The research shall not be considered fundamental in those rare and exceptional circumstances where the applied research effort presents a high likelihood of disclosing performance characteristics of military systems or manufacturing technologies that https://www.nrl.navy.mil/doing-business/contracting-division/baa https://www.nrl.navy.mil/doing-business/contracting-division/baa https://www.nrl.navy.mil/research/directorates-divisions/ are unique and critical to defense, and where agreement on restrictions have been recorded in the contract or grant.

Pursuant to DoD policy, research performed under grants and contracts that are a) funded by Budget Activity 2 (Applied Research) and NOT performed on-campus at a university or b) funded by Budget Activity 3 (Advanced Technology Development) does not meet the definition of “contracted fundamental research.” In conformance with the USD (AT&L) guidance and National Security Decision Directive 189, NRL will place no restriction on the conduct or reporting of unclassified “contracted fundamental research,” except as otherwise required by statute, regulation or executive order. For certain research projects, it may be possible that although the research being performed by the prime contractor is restricted research, a subcontractor may be conducting “contracted fundamental research.” In those cases, it is the prime contractor’s responsibility in the proposal to identify and describe the subcontracted unclassified research and include a statement confirming that the work has been scoped, negotiated, and determined to be fundamental research according to the prime contractor and research performer.

Normally, fundamental research is awarded under grants with universities and under contracts with industry. Non-fundamental research is normally awarded under contracts and may require restrictions during the conduct of the research and DoD pre-publication review of such research results due to subject matter sensitivity. Potential offerors should consult with the appropriate NRL Technical POCs to determine whether the proposed effort would constitute basic research, applied research or advanced research.

FAR Part 35 restricts the use of Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs), such as this, to the acquisition of basic and applied research and that portion of advanced technology development not related to the development of a specific system or hardware procurement.

Contracts and grants and other assistance agreements made under BAAs are for scientific study and experimentation directed towards advancing the state of the art and increasing knowledge or understanding.

3. Funded Amount and Period of Performance – The funded amount and period of performance of each proposal selected for award may vary depending on the research area and the technical approach to be pursued by the offeror selected.

4. Instrument Type(s) - Awards may take the form of contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, technology investment agreements, and other transaction agreements, as appropriate. The following provides brief descriptions of potential instrument types:

a. Procurement Contract: A legal instrument, consistent with 31 U.S.C. 6303, which reflects a relationship between the Federal Government and a state government, a local government, or other entity/contractor when the principal purpose of the instrument is to acquire property or services for the direct benefit or use of the Federal Government.

b. Assistance Instruments.

i. Grant: A legal instrument consistent with 31 U.S.C. 6304, is used to enter into a relationship:

• 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.

• 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

ii. Cooperative Agreement: A legal instrument which, consistent with 31 U.S.C 6305, is used to enter into the same kind of relationship as a grant, except that substantial involvement is expected between the Federal Government and the recipient when carrying out the activity contemplated by the cooperative agreement. No fee or profit is allowed. (For information on the substantial involvement NRL expects to have in cooperative agreements, prospective offerors should contact the Technical Point of Contact identified in the research area of interest.)

iii. Technology Investment Agreement (TIA): Assistance Transaction other than a

Grant or a Cooperative Agreement (see 32 CFR Part 37). A legal instrument, consistent with 10 U.S.C. 2371, which may be used when the use of a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement is not feasible or appropriate for basic, applied, and advanced research projects. The research covered under a TIA shall not be duplicative of research being conducted under an existing DoD program. To the maximum extent practicable, TIAs shall provide for a 50/50 cost share between the Government and the applicant. An applicant’s cost share may take the form of cash, independent research and development (IR&D), foregone intellectual property rights, equipment, access to unique facilities, and/or other means. Due to the extent of cost share, and the fact that a TIA does not qualify as a “funding agreement” as defined at 37 CFR 401.2(a), the intellectual property provisions of a TIA can be negotiated to provide expanded protection to an applicant’s intellectual property. No fee or profit is allowed on TIAs.

c. Other Transaction for Prototype (OTA): A legal instrument, consistent with 10 U.S.C.

2371b, which may be used when the use of a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement is not feasible or appropriate for prototype projects directly relevant to enhancing the mission effectiveness of military personnel and the supporting platforms, systems, components, or materials proposed to be acquired or developed by the Department of Defense, or for improvement of platforms, systems, components, or materials in use by the armed forces. The effort covered under an OTA shall not be duplicative of effort being conducted under an existing DoD program (please refer to the DoD “Other Transactions Guide for Prototype Projects” dated January 2017. This document along with other OTA resources may be accessed at the following link: http://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/cpic/cp/10USC2371bOTs.html

5. Assistance Instruments - Any assistance instrument awarded under this announcement will be governed by the award terms and conditions that conform to DoD’s implementation of OMB circulars applicable to financial assistance. Terms and conditions of new awards made after December 26, 2014, will include revisions to reflect DoD implementation of new OMB http://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/cpic/cp/10USC2371bOTs.html guidance in 2 CFR Part 200, “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.” The DoD Terms and Conditions are located at http://www.NRL.navy.mil/Contracts-Grants/submit-proposal/grants-proposal/grants-terms-conditions.aspx.

C. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

a. All responsible sources from academia, industry and the research community may submit proposals under this BAA. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) are encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals. However, no portion of this BAA will be set aside for Small Business or other socio-economic participation. All businesses both small and large are encouraged to submit proposals and compete for funding consideration.

b. Federally Funded Research & Development Centers (FFRDCs), including Department of Energy National Laboratories, are not eligible to receive awards under this BAA. However, teaming arrangements between FFRDCs and eligible principal Offerors are allowed so long as such arrangements are permitted under the sponsoring agreement between the Government and the specific FFRDC.

c. Navy laboratories, military universities and warfare centers as well as other

Department of Defense and civilian agency laboratories are also not eligible to receive awards under this BAA and should not directly submit either white papers or full proposals in response to this BAA. If any such organization is interested in one or more of the programs described herein, the organization should contact an appropriate NRL Technical POC to discuss its area of interest.

The various scientific divisions of NRL are identified at https://www.nrl.navy.mil/research/directorates-divisions/. As with FFRDCs, these types of federal organizations may team with other eligible sources from academia and industry that are submitting proposals under this BAA.

d. University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs) are eligible to submit proposals under this BAA unless precluded from doing so by their Department of Defense UARC contract.

e. Teams are also encouraged and may submit proposals in any and all areas. However, Offerors must be willing to cooperate and exchange software, data and other information in an integrated program with other contractors, as well as with system integrators, selected by NRL.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching - Cost sharing is not expected and will not be used as a factor during the merit review of any proposal hereunder. However, the Government may consider voluntary cost sharing if proposed.

http://www.onr.navy.mil/Contracts-Grants/submit-proposal/grants-proposal/grants-terms-conditions.aspx http://www.onr.navy.mil/Contracts-Grants/submit-proposal/grants-proposal/grants-terms-conditions.aspx https://www.nrl.navy.mil/research/directorates-divisions/

D. Application and Submission Information

1. Address to Request (Access) Application Package - This BAA may be accessed from the sites below. Amendments, if any, to this BAA will be posted to these websites when they occur. Interested parties are encouraged to periodically check these websites for updates and amendments.

a. Grants.gov (www.grants.gov)

b. FedBizOpps (www.fbo.gov)

c. NRL website https://www.nrl.navy.mil/doing-business/contracting-division/baa

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

a. General Information

Interested offerors must first submit a white paper (WP), which are continuously accepted prior to closing date of the announcement. The purpose of a WP is to preclude unwarranted effort on the part of an offeror whose proposed work is not of interest to NRL.

Offerors of those WPs found to be consistent with the intent of the BAA will be invited to submit a full proposal. An invitation does not assure an offeror of a subsequent contract award. If selected for a full proposal, additional guidance will be provided via email.

The selection for award of proposals submitted in response to the BAA will be primarily based on a scientific review. The major purpose of the review will be to determine the relative merit of the proposed technical approach and its relationship to areas of research interest stated in the BAA. Business and contractual aspects, including proposed cost and cost realism, will also be considered as part of the evaluation. Selection of proposals for award will be based on the potential benefits to the Government weighed against the cost of the proposals, in view of the availability of funds.

White Paper Evaluation/Notification: NRL evaluations of the white papers will be issued via email notification. Any Offeror whose white paper technology was deemed to be of no “particular value” to the Navy is ineligible to submit a full proposal under this BAA.

All proposal submissions will be protected from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with FAR Subpart 15.207, applicable law, and DoD/DoN regulations. Offerors are expected to appropriately mark each page of their submission that contains proprietary information.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Titles given to the White Papers/Full Proposals should be descriptive of the work they cover and not be merely a copy of the title of this solicitation.

b. Submission of Unclassified and Classified Proposals

• White Papers and Full Proposals submitted under this BAA are expected to be http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.fbo.gov/ https://www.nrl.navy.mil/doing-business/contracting-division/baa unclassified; however, classified proposals are permitted. If a classified proposal is submitted and selected for award, the resultant contract will be unclassified. An ‘unclassified’ Statement of Work (SOW) must accompany any classified proposal.

• Unclassified Proposal Instructions: Unclassified proposals shall be submitted in accordance with this Section.

• Special Instructions for Classified White Papers and Proposal: Contact nrlproposals@nrl.navy.mil for instructions on how to submit Classified white papers and Proposals.

• For both classified and unclassified proposals, a non-proprietary version of the

Statement of Work must also be submitted. Do not put proprietary data or markings in or on the Statement of Work. For proposals containing data that the offeror does not want disclosed to the public for any purpose, or used by the Government except for evaluation purposes, the contractor shall mark the title page with the following legend:

“This proposal includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed--in whole or in part--for any purpose other than to evaluate the proposal. If, however, a contract is awarded to this offeror as a result of--or in connection with--the submission of this data, the Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the resulting contract. This restriction does not limit the Government’s right to use information contained in this data if is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained in (insert numbers or other identification of sheets).”

• Each sheet of data that the offeror wishes to restrict must be marked with the following legend:

“Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject to the restriction on the title page of this proposal.”

c. White Paper Requirements.

ii. White Paper Format.

• Paper size – 8.5 x 11 inch paper

• Margins – 1 inch

• Spacing –single-spaced

• Font – Times New Roman, 12 point

• Page limit– 5 pages.

ii. White Paper Submission. The white paper must be a Microsoft Word 2010 compatible, or PDF format attachment to the email. There is an email size limit of 5MB per email.

mailto:nrlproposals@nrl.navy.mil

iii. White Paper Content: White papers shall include the following:

FOR ALL WHITE PAPERS

Submit one original of each WP to Technical Point of Contact via the email address listed in the last paragraph of each topic summary. The subject of the email shall be "Subj: BAA number (i.e., N00173-18-S-BA01), Summary Topic # (i.e., 57-18-01) and Topic Title (i.e., High Frequency Radar)".

• Cover Page: The Cover Page shall be labeled “WHITE PAPER” and shall include the BAA Number N00173-18-S-BA01, summary topic number, proposed title, technical points of contact, telephone number, facsimile number, and E-mail address.

• Technical Concept: A description of the technology innovation and technical risk areas.

FOR BASIC RESEARCH

• Future Naval Relevance (where applicable) – A description of potential Naval relevance and contributions of the effort to the agency’s specific mission.

• Rough Order of Magnitude cost estimate

FOR APPLIED RESEARCH AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

• Operational Naval Concept (where applicable) – A description of the project objectives, the concept of operation for the new capabilities to be delivered, and the expected operational performance improvements.

• Operational Utility Assessment Plan (where applicable) – A plan for demonstrating and evaluating the operational effectiveness of the Offeror’s proposed products or processes in field experiments and/or tests in a simulated (where applicable)

• Operational Utility Assessment Plan (where applicable) – A plan for demonstrating and evaluating the operational effectiveness of the Offeror’s proposed products or processes in field experiments and/or tests in a simulated environment.

• Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost estimate.

d. Full Proposals: (See Appendices 2 and 3 for instructions.)

i. Instructions for Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and TIA’s. (See Appendix 2)

ii. Instructions for Contracts and Other Transaction Agreements. (See Appendix 3)

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) - All offerors submitting proposals or applications must:

a. Be registered in the SAM prior to submission;

b. Maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application under consideration by any agency; and

c. Provide its DUNS number in each application or proposal it submits to the agency.

SAM may be accessed at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM

4. Submission Dates and Times -

(See Section I, paragraph A.6, Key Dates, for information)

5. Intergovernmental Review – RESERVED.

6. Funding Restrictions – RESERVED.

7. Other Submission Requirements

a. Grant, Cooperative Agreement, and TIA Proposals shall be submitted through Grants.gov. (See Appendix 2.)

b. Submission of Full Proposals for Contracts and Other Transaction Agreements shall be submitted to nrlproposals@nrl.navy.mil upon invitation. (See Section (D)(2)(c) above)

E. Application Review Information

1. Criteria

Awards under this BAA will be made in accordance with FAR 35.016(e) or 2 C.F.R 200. The primary basis for selecting proposals for acceptance will be technical merit, importance to agency programs, and fund availability. To the extent appropriate, cost realism and reasonableness will also be considered when selecting proposals. NRL reserves the right to request and require any additional information and documentation after it makes the type of award instrument determination. NRL reserves the right to remove Offerors from award consideration when the parties fail to reach agreement on award terms, conditions, and cost/price within a reasonable time, or when the Offeror fails to timely provide requested or required additional information.

Offerors’ proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria:

1) Overall scientific and technical merits of the proposal and responsiveness to the topic, https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM i.e., the degree of innovation, soundness of technical concept, Offeror's awareness of the state of the art and understanding of the scope of the problem, significance and originality of the technical approach and effort needed to address/solve the problem, and anticipated scientific impact within the field. The following areas will also be considered: (1) the Offeror’s capabilities, related experience, facilities, techniques or unique combinations of these which are integral factors for achieving the proposal objectives, and (2) the qualifications, capabilities and experience of the proposed Principal Investigator (PI), team leader and key personnel who are critical to achieving the proposal objectives.

2) Potential Naval relevance and contribution to the NRL and Department of Navy mission.

3) The availability of funds. (Not applicable to white papers)

Criteria 1, 2, and 3 are equally important.

2. Review and Selection Process

a. Proposals will not be evaluated against each other since they are not submitted in accordance with a common work statement. NRL’s intent is to review proposals as soon as possible after they arrive; however, proposals may be reviewed periodically for administrative reasons.

The ultimate recommendation for award of proposals is made by NRL's scientific/technical community. Recommended proposals will then be forwarded to the NRL Contracting Division. Any notification received from NRL that indicates that the Offeror's full proposal has been recommended does not ultimately guarantee an award will be made. This notice indicates that the proposal has been selected in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated above and has been sent to the Contracting Division to conduct cost analysis, determine the offeror's responsibility, to confirm whether funds are available, and to take other relevant steps necessary prior to commencing negotiations with the offeror.

b. Commitment to Small Business- (For Contract Awards Only)

The Naval Research Laboratory is strongly committed to providing meaningful prime and subcontracting opportunities for small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs), woman-owned small businesses (WOSBs), historically underutilized business zone (HUBZone) small businesses, veteran-owned small business (VOSBs), service disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs), historically black colleges and universities, and minority institutions, and other concerns subject to socioeconomic considerations through its awards.

Businesses unfamiliar with doing business with the government and that require assistance may contact the state-specific Department of Defense (DoD) Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC). DoD PTACs serve as a resource for businesses pursuing and performing under contracts with DoD, other federal agencies, state and local governments and with government prime contractors. Assistance provided by the PTACs is usually free of charge.

PTAC support includes registration in systems such as SAM, identification of contract opportunities, understanding requirements and preparing and submitting proposals. The PTACs have a presence in each state, Puerto Rico and Guam.

To locate a local PTAC visit:

http://www.dla.mil/SmallBusiness/Pages/ProcurementTechnicalAssistanceCenters.aspx or http://www.aptac-us.org/new/ .

i. Subcontracting Plan - For proposed contract awards exceeding $700,000, large businesses and non-profits (including educational institutions) shall provide a Subcontracting Plan (hereafter known as ‘the Plan’) that contains all elements required by FAR 19.704, FAR 52.219-9 (DEVIATION 2016-O0009 ALT III) and as supplemented by DFARS 252.219-7003

(DEVIATION 2016-O0009).

NOTE: Small businesses are exempt from this requirement to submit a subcontracting plan.

The Plan must be submitted as an attachment to the “Proposal Checklist” and will not be included in the page count. If a company has a Master Subcontracting Plan, as described in FAR

19.701 or a Comprehensive Subcontracting Plan, as described in DFARS 219.702, a copy of the Plan shall also be submitted as an attachment to the “Proposal Checklist”.

Plans will be reviewed for adequacy, ensuring that the required information, goals, and assurances are included. FAR 19.702 requires an apparent successful offeror to submit an acceptable Plan. If the apparent successful offeror fails to negotiate a Plan acceptable to the contracting officer within the time limit prescribed by the contracting officer, the offeror will be ineligible for award.

Offerors shall propose a plan that ensures small businesses (inclusive of SDBs, WOSBs, HUBZone, VOSBs and SDVOSBs) will have the maximum practicable opportunity to participate in contract performance consistent with efficient performance.

As a baseline, Offerors shall, to the best extent possible, propose realistic goals to ensure small business participation in accordance with the current or most recent fiscal year subcontracting goals found on the DoD Office of Small Business Program website at:

http://business.defense.gov/. If proposed goals are below the statutory requirements, then the offeror shall include in the Plan a viable written explanation as to why small businesses are unable to be utilized and what attempts were taken to ensure that small business were given the opportunity to participate in the effort to the maximum extent practicable.

ii. Small Business Participation Statement

If subcontracting opportunities exist, all prime Offerors shall submit a Small Business Participation Statement regardless of size in accordance with DFARS 215.304 when receiving a contract for more than the simplified acquisition threshold (i.e., $150,000). All offerors shall provide a statement of the extent of the offeror’s commitment in providing meaningful subcontracting opportunities for small businesses and other concerns subject to socioeconomic http://www.dla.mil/SmallBusiness/Pages/ProcurementTechnicalAssistanceCenters.aspx http://www.aptac-us.org/new/ http://business.defense.gov/ http://www.acq.osd.mil/osbp/ considerations through its awards and must agree that small businesses, VOSBs, SDVOSBs, HUBZones, SDBs, and WOSBs concerns will have the maximum practicable opportunity to participate in contract performance consistent with efficient performance.

This assertion will be reviewed to ensure that it supports this policy by providing meaningful subcontracting opportunities. The statement should be submitted as an attachment to the “Proposal Checklist” and will not be included in the page count.

iii. Subcontracting Resources

Subcontracting to a prime contractor can be a good way to participate in the contracting process. The following is a list of potential resources that may assist in locating potential subcontracting partners/opportunities/resources:

*Companies Participating in DoD Subcontracting Program Report *DAU Small Business Community of Practice (SB COP) *DefenseLink ≥ $7.0 M Award Notices *DoD OSBP Prime Contractors and Subcontractors with Subcontracting Plans *Dynamic Small Business Search *Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS) *Federal Business Opportunities (FEDBIZOPPS) *Navy SBIR/STTR Search – Website or Brochure *DoD Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) *Small Business Administration (SBA) Subcontracting Opportunities Directory *SBA Subnet

For a description and associated websites visit the NRL Office of Small Business Programs webpage at: https://www.nrl.navy.mil/doing-business/small-business

In accordance with FAR 5.206, the following entities may transmit a notice to the Government-wide Point of Entry (GPE) at www.fedbizops.com to seek competition for subcontracts, to increase participation by qualified small businesses, VOSBs, SDVOSBs, HUBZones, SDBs, and WOSBs, and to meet established subcontracting plan goal as follows:

1) A contractor awarded a contract exceeding $150,000 that is likely to result in the award of any subcontracts;

2) A subcontractor or supplier, at any tier, under a contract exceeding $150,000, which has a subcontracting opportunity exceeding $15,000.

The notices must describe:

(a) The business opportunity;

(b) Any prequalification requirements; and

(c) Where to obtain technical data needed to respond to the requirement.

An example of a place in which prime contractors may post solicitations or sources https://www.nrl.navy.mil/doing-business/small-business http://www.fedbizops.com/ sought notices for small business is the SBA SUB-Net. The SUB-Net database provides a listing of subcontracting solicitations and opportunities posted by large prime contractors and other non-federal organizations.

c. Options - The Government will evaluate options for award purposes by adding the total cost for all options to the total cost for the basic requirement. Evaluation of options will not obligate the Government to exercise the options during contract or grant performance.

d. Evaluation Panel - Technical and cost proposals submitted under this BAA will be protected from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with FAR 3.104-4 and 15.207. The cognizant Government scientific experts will perform the evaluation of technical proposals.

Restrictive notices notwithstanding, one or more support contractors may be utilized as subject-matter-expert technical consultants. However, proposal selection and award decisions are solely the responsibility of Government personnel. Each support contractor’s employee having access to technical and cost proposals submitted in response to this BAA will be required to sign the NRL Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) for Contractor Support prior to receipt of any proposal submissions.

3. Recipient Qualifications

a. Applicable to Grants, Cooperative Agreements and TIAs (See Appendix 2.)

b. Applicable to Contracts and Other Transaction Agreements (See Appendix 3.)

F. Federal Award Administration Information

1. Federal Award Notices

a. Applicants whose proposals are recommended for award may be contacted by a Contract or Grant specialist to discuss additional information required for award. This may include representations and certifications, revised budgets or budget explanations, certificate of current cost or pricing data, subcontracting plan for small businesses, and/or other information as applicable to the proposed award.

The notification e-mail must not be regarded as an authorization to commit or expend funds. The Government is not obligated to provide any funding until a Government Contracting Officer or Grants Officer, as applicable, signs the award document.

The award document signed by the Contracting Officer or Grants Officer is the official and authorizing award instrument.

b. The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) award/modification documents are only available via the Department of Defense (DoD) Electronic Document Access System (EDA) within the Wide Area WorkFlow e-Business Suite (https://wawf.eb.mil/).

https://wawf.eb.mil/

EDA is a Web-based system that provides secure online access, storage and retrieval of awards and modifications to DoD employees and vendors.

NRL creates an award notification profile for every award.

For grants, the notification profile will use the email addresses from the Application for Federal Assistance, SF424, to notify the recipient of an award. NRL recommends that organizations provide a global business address for their entity in Field 5 (Application Information) of the SF424. NRL is using the following three email addresses entered by the grantee on the SF424 application to create the EDA notification profile:

i. Applicant Information (Field 5 - Email)

ii. Project Director / Principal Investigator (Field 14 - Email)

iii. Authorized Representative (Field 19 - Email)

For all other awards, the notification profile will use the email address from the Business Point of Contact to notify the recipient of an award.

IMPORTANT: In some cases, EDA notifications are appearing in recipients' Junk Email folder.

If you are experiencing issues receiving EDA notifications, please check your junk email. If found, please mark EDA notifications as "not junk."

If you do not currently have access to EDA, you may complete a self-registration request as a “Vendor” via https://wawf.eb.mil/ following the steps below:

1. Click "Accept"

2. Click "Register" (top right)

3. Click "Agree"

4. In the "What type of user are you?" drop down, select "Vendor"

5. Select the systems you would like to access (iRAPT at a minimum)

6. Complete the User Profile and follow the site instructions

Allow five business days for your registration to be processed. EDA will notify you by email when your account is approved.

To access awards after your registration has been approved, log into https://wawf.eb.mil/, select "EDA", select either EDA location, Select "Contracts", select your search preference, enter the Contract Number (or, if applicable, enter the Grant Number in the Contract Number field), and select "View".

Registration questions may be directed to the EDA help desk toll free at 866-618-5988, commercial at 801-605-7095, or via email at disa.ogden.esd.mbx.cscassig@mail.mil (Subject:

EDA Assistance).

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

a. Applicable to All mailto:disa.ogden.esd.mbx.cscassig@mail.mil

i. Offerors should be aware of recent changes in export control laws. Offerors are responsible for ensuring compliance with all U.S. export control laws and regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR)( 22 CFR Parts 120 - 130) and Export Administration Regulation (EAR) (15 CFR Parts 730 – 774), as applicable. In some cases, developmental items funded by the Department of Defense are now included on the United States Munition List (USML) (22 CFR Part 121) and are therefore subject to ITAR jurisdiction.

In other cases, items that were previously included on the USML have been moved to the EAR Commerce Control List (CCL). Offerors should address in their proposals whether ITAR or EAR restrictions apply to the work they are proposing to perform for NRL. The ITAR and EAR are available online at http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/ECFR?page=browse . Additional information regarding the President's Export Control Reform Initiative can be found at http://export.gov/ecr/index.asp.

Offerors must comply with all U.S. export control laws and regulations, including the ITAR and EAR, in the performance of any award or agreement resulting from this BAA.

Offerors shall be responsible for obtaining any required licenses or other approvals, or license exemptions or exceptions if applicable, for exports of hardware, technical data, and software (including deemed exports), or for the provision of technical assistance.

ii. Security Classification:

In order to facilitate intra-program collaboration and technology transfer, the Government will attempt to enable technology developers to work at the unclassified level to the maximum extent possible. If access to classified material will be required at any point during performance, the Offeror must clearly identify such need in Section II, Block 11 of the Proposal Checklist.

The Proposal Checklist can be found at https://www.NRL.navy.mil/Contracts-Grants/submit-proposal/contracts-proposal/cost-proposal .

If it is determined that access to classified information will be required during the performance of an award, a Department of Defense (DD) Form 254 will be attached to the contract, and FAR 52.204-2 - Security Requirements will be incorporated into the contract. The contractor must provide the name of their FSO, phone number, complete address and CAGE Code. The facility must have a current Secret facility clearance and personnel with final clearances at proposal submission.

Any contracts that require contractor personnel performing any function designated as a component of the Cyber Security Work Force (CSWF), and/or having privileged user access to NRL information systems and/or networks will require a completed NACLC with submitted Tier 5 (SSBI) background investigations as specified in SECNAV M-5510.30. Even for Secret access, the contract facility will require a current TS facility clearance to meet the investigation requirements. This requirement is also applicable to contractors who will be developing or modifying computer hardware and software as a deliverable to NRL in support of a contract.

Any unclassified contracts that will have foreign national participation, to include dual citizens, must be approved in advance in accordance with NRL’s facility access control procedures and http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/ECFR?page=browse http://export.gov/ecr/index.asp https://www.onr.navy.mil/Contracts-Grants/submit-proposal/contracts-proposal/cost-proposal https://www.onr.navy.mil/Contracts-Grants/submit-proposal/contracts-proposal/cost-proposal access will be restricted to public release information and systems only. Foreign nationals may not perform on NRL classified contracts.

NRL does not provide access to classified material under grants.

iii. Requirements Concerning Live Organisms:

(1) Use of Human Subjects in Research:

(a) You must protect the rights and welfare of individuals who participate as human subjects in research under this award and comply with the requirements of the Common Rule at 32 CFR part 219 and applicable provisions of DoD Instruction 3216.02, Protection of Human Subjects and Adherence to Ethical Standards in DoD-Supported Research (2011), the DON implementation of the human research protection program contained in SECNAVINST 3900.39E (or its replacement), 10 USC 980 “Limitation on Use of Humans as Experimental Subjects,” and when applicable, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other federal and state law and regulations.

(b) For proposals containing activities that include or may include “research involving human subjects” as defined in DoDI 3216.02, prior to award, the Offeror must submit documentation of:

(i) Approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) (IRB-approved research protocol, IRB- approved informed consent document, and other material they considered); proof of completed human research training (e.g., training certificate or institutional verification of training for the principal investigator, co-investigators); and the Offeror’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)-issued Federal wide Assurance (FWA#),

(ii) Any claimed exemption under 32 CFR 219 101(b), including the category of exemption, supporting documentation considered by your institution in making the determination (e.g., protocol, data collection tools, advertisements, etc.). The documentation shall include a short rationale supporting the exemption determination. This documentation should be signed by the IRB Chair or IRB vice Chair, designated IRB administrator or official of the human research protection program.

(iii) Any determinations that the proposal does not contain activities that constitute research involving human subjects, including supporting documentation considered by your institution in making the determination. This documentation should be issued by the IRB Chair or IRB vice Chair, designated IRB administrator or official of the human research protection program.

(c) Documentation must be submitted to the NRL Human Research Protection Official (HRPO), by way of the NRL Program Officer. If the research is determined by the IRB to be greater than minimal risk, you also must provide the name and contact information for the independent research monitor and a written summary of the monitors’ duties, authorities, and responsibilities as approved by the IRB. For assistance with submission of human subject research related documentation, contact the NRL Human Research Protection Official (HRPO) at (202) 767-3864.

(d) Contracts, orders, or grant awards and any subawards or modifications will include a statement indicating successful completion of the HRPO review. Research involving human subjects must not be commenced under any contract award or modification or any subcontract or grant subaward or modification until awardee receives notification from the Contracting or Grants Officer that the HRPO has approved the assurance as appropriate for the research under the award or modification and that the HRPO has reviewed the protocol and accepted the IRB approval or determination for compliance with Federal, DoD and DON research protection requirements. See, DFARS 252.235-7004. Guidance:

https://www.onr.navy.mil/About-ONR/compliance-protections/Research-Protections/Human- Subject-Research

iv. Use of Recombinant DNA or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules: Proposals which call for experiments using recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules must include documentation of compliance with NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules (NIH Guidelines), approval of the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), and copies of the DHHS Approval of the IBC letter. Guidance:

https://www.ONR.navy.mil/About-ONR/compliance-protections/Research- Protections/recombinant-or-synthetic-nucleic-acid-molecules

v. Institutional Dual Use Research of Concern: As of September 24, 2015, all institutions and United States Government (USG) funding agencies subject to the United States Government Policy for Institutional Oversight of Life Sciences Dual Use Research of Concern must comply with all the requirements listed therein. If your research proposal directly involves certain biological agents or toxins, contact the cognizant Technical Point of Contact. U.S.

Government Science, Safety, Security (S3) guidance may be found at http://www.phe.gov/s3/dualuse.

vi. Department of Defense High Performance Computing Program: The DoD High Performance Computing Program (HPCMP) furnishes the DoD S&T and RDT&E communities with use-access to very powerful high performance computing systems. Awardees of NRL contracts, grants, and other assistance instruments may be eligible to use HPCMP assets in support of their funded activities if NRL Technical Point of Contact approval is obtained and if security/screening requirements are favorably completed. Additional information and an application may be found at http://www.hpcmo.hpc.mil/.

vii. Project Meetings and Reviews (if applicable): Individual program reviews between the NRL sponsor and the performer may be held as necessary. Program status reviews may also be held to provide a forum for reviews of the latest results from experiments and any other incremental progress towards the major demonstrations. These meetings will be held at various sites throughout the country. For costing purposes, offerors should assume that 40% of these meetings will be at or near NRL, Washington, DC and 60% at other locations such as the contractor/grantee’s facility, other contractor’ facility or government facilities. Interim meetings are likely, but these will be accomplished via video telephone conferences, telephone https://www.onr.navy.mil/About-ONR/compliance-protections/Research-Protections/recombinant-or-synthetic-nucleic-acid-molecules https://www.onr.navy.mil/About-ONR/compliance-protections/Research-Protections/recombinant-or-synthetic-nucleic-acid-molecules http://www.phe.gov/s3/dualuse/Documents/durc-policy.pdf http://www.phe.gov/s3/dualuse/Documents/durc-policy.pdf http://www.phe.gov/s3/dualuse http://www.hpcmo.hpc.mil/ conferences, or via web-based collaboration tools.

b. Applicable to Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and TIAs (Appendix 2).

c. Applicable to Contracts and Other Transaction Agreements (Appendix 3).

3. Reporting: If the Federal share of any Federal award may include more than $500,000 over the period of performance, the post award reporting requirements, Award Term and Condition for Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters (2 CFR Part 200 Appendix XII), is applicable as follows:

A. Reporting of Matters Related to Recipient Integrity and…