REVISED FULL APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS for 2018-NIST-PSIAP-UI.pdf

INSTRUCTIONS for

2018-NIST-PSIAP-UI FULL

APPLICATIONS

Applicants are strongly urged to use Grants.gov’s Download Submitted Applications option for checking that their Application’s required attachments (see pages 2 through 8 of this document, and Section IV.3.a. of the Full Announcement/NOFO document) were contained in their submission.

After submitting the Application, follow the directions found in the Grants.gov Online Users Guide (http://go.usa.gov/cjaEh). Click first on Applicants; then click on Applicant Actions; go then to the “Check My Application Status” option, and choose Download Submitted Applications.

If any, or all, of the required attachments are absent from the submission, follow the attachment directions found on pages 10 and 11 of this document and in Section IV.3.b. of the Full Announcement/NOFO document, resubmit the Application, and check again for the presence of the required attachments.

This document consists of seven important sections:

1) Overview;

2) Required Application Forms and Documents;

3) Application Format;

4) Grants.gov Application Submission Process;

5) Attachment of Required Documents;

6) Verifying the Submission and Tracking the Application; and

7) Submission Date and Time.

1) Overview

We strongly recommend that applicants do not wait until the last minute to submit an application. Allowances will not make for any late submissions. To avoid any potential processing backlogs due to last minute Grants.gov registrations, applicants are highly encouraged to begin their Grants.gov registration process early.

When developing your submission timeline, please keep in mind that (1) all applicants are required to have a current registration in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov); (2) the free annual registration process in the electronic System for Award Management (SAM.gov) may take between three and five business days or as long as more than two weeks; and (3) electronic applicants are required to have a current http://go.usa.gov/cjaEh registration in Grants.gov; and (4) applicants using Grants.gov will receive a series of e-mail messages over a period of up to two business days before learning whether a Federal agency’s electronic system has received its application.

Please note that a federal assistance award cannot be issued if the designated recipient’s registration in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) is not current at the time of the award.

Applicants will find instructions on registering with SAM.gov as part of the Grants.gov process at:

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html .

All applicants should be aware that adequate time must be factored into an applicant’s schedule for delivery of the application.

Submitters are advised that volume on Grants.gov may be extremely heavy leading up to the deadline date.

2) Required Application Forms and Documents

The Application must contain the following:

(1) SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance. The SF-424 must be signed by an authorized representative of the applicant organization.

• SF-424, Item 8.d Zip/Postal Code field should reflect the zip code + 4 (#####

- ####) format.

• Item 12, should list the NOFO number 2018-NIST-PSIAP-UI.

• SF-424, Item 18, field a., should list the total Federal budget amount requested for the entire project.

• For SF-424, Item 21, the list of certifications and assurances is contained in the SF-424B.

(2) SF-424A, Budget Information - Non-Construction Programs. The budget should reflect anticipated expenses for the project, considering all potential cost increases, including cost of living adjustments.

The Grant Program Function or Activity on Section A, Line 1, Column (a) should be entered as “Public Safety Communications Research Grant Program”. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number on Line 1, Column (b) should be entered as “11.609”. Line 1, Column (e) should reflect the anticipated federal expenses for the full term of the project.

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html

Section B, column (1) of the SF-424A should reflect funds for the first year of the award. Section B, column (2) of the SF-424A should reflect funds for the second year of the award. If the application includes a third year, use Section B, column

(3) for the third year’s budget. Section D requires a breakdown of the first year’s budget by quarter. The budget estimate for the second year of the award should be entered in Section E, field 16, column (b). If the project includes a third year, the budget estimate for the third year should be entered in Section E, field 16, column (c).

(3) SF-424B, Assurances - Non-Construction Programs

(4) CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying. Enter “2018-NIST-PSIAP-UI” in the

Award Number field. Enter the title of the application used in field 15 of the SF- 424, or an abbreviation of that title, in the Project Name field.

(5) SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if applicable)

(6) Executive Summary and Quad Chart. (This does not count toward the page limit.) The executive summary must explicitly state the objectives and approaches to meet those objectives, anticipated challenges, and benefits and impacts of the proposed project. The summary must state which goal(s) the applicant is addressing (i.e., Goal 1, Goal 2, or both). The quad chart must contain a problem statement, the concept of the proposed project, the potential impact of the project, and key milestones and/or deliverables. The executive summary and the quad chart must not exceed one (1) page each. Any materials provided beyond the one (1) page limit for the executive summary and the one (1) page limit for the quad chart will be redacted and not provided to the reviewers.

(7) Technical Proposal. The Technical Proposal is a document of no more than twenty (20) pages total, which is responsive to the program description (see Section I. of this NOFO) and the evaluation criteria (see Section V.2. of this NOFO). The Technical Proposal must contain the following information:

(a) Project Description. This is a detailed description of the proposed project and should include:

i. A clear problem statement and well-defined objectives;

ii. A description of how the proposed R&D aligns with and meets the relevant goal(s) described in Section I. of this NOFO;

iii. A technology assessment that reflects the current state of the technology and the projected state of the technology as a direct result of successful project completion;

iv. Technology-specific key performance indicators and goals, as well as measurement techniques;

v. Hardware platform(s) and software engine(s) to be used to achieve objectives;

vi. Drawings, renderings, or diagrams and an explicit description of standards-based vs. non-standards-based interfaces, if applicable;

vii. Identification of anticipated outputs with a discussion of how the research and technology developed will be disseminated or made available; and

viii. Discussion of potential impacts to first responder communications and operations.

This section will be evaluated in accordance with the following three evaluation criteria: Technical, Performance, and Price (see Sections V.2.a.-c., of this NOFO).

(b) Project Execution. This section should provide clear and quantifiable milestones, timelines, and outputs that support the goals in the technical proposal. Technology transfer activities should not be included in this section, but rather in the Project Description, Section IV.3.a.(7)(a)vii (Identification of anticipated outputs with a discussion of how the research and technology developed will be disseminated or made available).

This section will be evaluated in accordance with the Performance evaluation criteria (see Section V.2.b.) of this NOFO).

(c) Qualifications and Resources Availability. This section should provide a detailed description of the qualifications of key personnel, both technical and managerial, who will be assigned to work on the proposed project. In addition, the applicant’s experience with technology development and production should be described, as well as the applicant’s access to the necessary staff, equipment, facilities, and overall support and resources required to accomplish the proposed objectives. Examples of the applicant’s demonstrated success on projects that are similar in scope and magnitude to the proposed project should be included in this section, if applicable. In addition, the applicant’s plans to sustain and manage work related to or in support of the proposed project once the project is complete should be included.

criteria (see Section V.2.b.) of this NOFO.

(8) Resume(s). Resumes are required for all key personnel, including the principal investigator. Resumes are limited to two (2) pages per individual and do not count toward the twenty (20) page limit.

criterion (see Section V.2.b. of this NOFO).

(9) Budget Narrative. (This does not count toward the page limit). The Budget

Narrative must provide a detailed breakdown of each of the object class categories as reflected on the SF-424A. The budget justification should address all the budget categories (personnel, fringe benefits, equipment, travel, supplies, other direct costs and indirect costs) for which Federal funds are requested. The written justification should include the necessity and the basis for the cost.

Proposed funding levels must be consistent with the project scope, and only allowable costs should be included in the budget. Information on cost allowability is available in the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 C.F.R. Part 200 (http://go.usa.gov/SBYh), which apply to awards in this program. Information needed for each category is as follows:

. (a) Personnel. At a minimum, the budget justification for all personnel should include the following: name, job title, commitment of effort on the proposed project in terms of average number of hours per week or percentage of time, salary rate, total direct charges on the proposed project, description of the role of the individual on the proposed project and the work to be performed.

. (b) Fringe Benefits. Fringe benefits should be identified separately from salaries and wages and based on rates determined by organizational policy. The items included in the fringe benefit rate (e.g. health insurance, parking, etc.) should not be charged under another cost category.

. (c) Equipment. Equipment is defined as an item of property that has an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more (unless the organization has established lower levels) and an expected service life of more than one year. Any items that do not meet the threshold for equipment can be included under the supplies line item. The budget justification should list each piece of equipment, the cost, and a description of how it will be used and why it is necessary to the successful completion of the proposed project.

Please note that any general use equipment (computers, etc.) charged directly to the award should be allocated to the award according to expected usage on the project.

. (d) Travel. For travel costs required by the recipient to complete the project, the budget justification for travel should include the following: destination; names and number of people traveling; dates and/or duration; mode of transportation, lodging and subsistence rates; and description of how the travel is directly related to the proposed project. For travel that is yet to be determined, please provide best estimates based on prior experience. If a destination is not known, an approximate amount may be used with the assumptions given for the location of the meeting.

As is described in Section I.E. of this NOFO, PSIAP-UI recipients will be required to send a minimum of one team member to the PSCR Public Safety Broadband http://go.usa.gov/SBYh

Stakeholder Meetings each June during the term of the award to meet with stakeholders and present key plans and findings of their work to date. The meetings are typically three to four days in length, but the exact dates and location of future meetings have not been determined yet. The stakeholder’s meeting will be held in the continental United States.

In addition, PSCR encourages applicants to consider other academic, industry, and public safety forums to present their work. Applicants that propose such activities should address the potential impact in the technical proposal.

Applicants should factor in the cost for attending these events in their budget narrative and SF424A form.

. (e) Supplies. Provide a list of each supply, and the breakdown of the total costs by quantity or unit of cost. Include the necessity of the cost for the completion of the proposed project.

. (f) Contracts/Subawards. Each contract or subaward should be treated as a separate item. Describe the services to be provided and the necessity of the subaward or contract to the successful performance of the proposed project. Contracts are for obtaining goods and services. Subawardees perform part of the project scope of work.

For each subaward, applicants must provide budget detail justifying the cost of the work performed on the project.

. (g) Other Direct Costs. For costs that do not easily fit into the other cost categories, e.g., publishing fees or software distribution expenses, please list the cost, and the breakdown of the total costs by quantity or unit of cost. Include the necessity of the cost for the completion of the proposed project. Only allowable costs can be charged to the award.

This section will be evaluated in accordance with the Price evaluation criterion (see Section V.2.c. of this NOFO). It will also be reviewed to determine if all costs are reasonable, allocable, and allowable under 2 C.F.R. Part 200 Subpart E, Cost Principles.

(10) Indirect Cost Rate Agreement. If indirect costs are included in the proposed budget, provide a copy of the approved negotiated agreement if this rate was negotiated with a cognizant Federal audit agency. If the rate was not established by a cognizant Federal audit agency, provide a statement to this effect. If the successful applicant includes indirect costs in the budget and has not established an indirect cost rate with a cognizant Federal audit agency, the applicant will be required to obtain such a rate in accordance with the Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions (https://go.usa.gov/xXRxK).

Alternatively, in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.414(f), applicants that have never received a negotiated indirect cost rate may elect to charge indirect costs https://go.usa.gov/xXRxK to an award pursuant to a de minimis rate of 10 percent of modified total direct costs (MTDC), in which case a negotiated indirect cost rate agreement is not required. Applicants proposing a 10 percent de minimis rate pursuant to 2 C.F.R.

§ 200.414(f) should note this election as part of the budget and budget narrative portion of the application.

(11) Letters of Commitment. Letters of commitment must be submitted by all funded and unfunded entities that will have an active role in executing the activities outlined in the technical proposal. Letters of commitment should address the level of participation, qualifications of the personnel who will be actively involved, and the potential impact on the field. Letters of commitment must be signed by an individual with sufficient authority to legally bind the organization to its commitment.

Letters of commitment will be evaluated in accordance with the Performance evaluation criteria (see Section V.2.b. of this NOFO). Letters of commitment do not count against the twenty (20) page limit of the technical proposal.

(a) Public Safety Organizations. All Full Applications must include at least one

Letter of Commitment from a PSO. Letters of commitment from PSO partners must address the importance of the proposed work as well as potential impact for first responders and public safety in general. The letters of commitment must also include a detailed description of how the PSO will be actively engaged throughout the proposed project. For purposes of this NOFO, PSOs include U.S. federal, state, and local EMS, fire services, law enforcement, and public safety communications/911 centers. Please note that Federal entities are not eligible to receive funding under this NOFO, though they may participate as unfunded collaborators.

(12) Data Management Plan. Consistent with NIST Policy 5700.001, Managing Public Access to Results of Federally Funded Research, and NIST Order 5701.002, Managing Public Access to Results of Federally Funded Research, applicants must include a Data Management Plan (DMP).

The DMP is a supplementary document of not more than two pages that must include, at a minimum, a summary of proposed activities that are expected to generate data, a summary of the types of data expected to be generated by the identified activities, a plan for storage and maintenance of the data expected to be generated by the identified activities, and a plan describing whether and how data generated by the identified activities will be reviewed and made available to the public. As long as the DMP meets these NIST requirements, it may take the

1http://www.nist.gov/data/upload/Final-P-5700.pdf 2http://www.nist.gov/data/upload/Final-O-5701_0.pdf http://www.nist.gov/data/upload/Final-P-5700.pdf http://www.nist.gov/data/upload/Final-O-5701_0.pdf form specified by the applicant’s institution or some other entity (e.g., the National Science Foundation3 or the National Institutes of Health4).

All applications for activities that will generate scientific data using NIST funding are required to adhere to a DMP or explain why data sharing and preservation are not within the scope of the project.

For the purposes of the DMP, NIST adopted the definition of “research data” at 2 C.F.R. § 200.315(e)(3) (available at http://go.usa.gov/3sZvQ).

Reasonable costs for data preservation and access may be included in the application.

The sufficiency of the DMP will be considered as part of the administrative review (see Section V.3.a. of this NOFO); however, the DMP will not be evaluated against any evaluation criteria.

Please pay close attention to the guidance in Section 5) of this document, “Attachment of Required Documents”.

3) Application Format

(1) Paper, E-mail and Facsimile (fax) Submissions. Will not be accepted.

(2) Figures, Graphs, Images, and Pictures. Should be of a size that is easily readable or viewable and may be landscape orientation.

(3) Font. Easy to read font (12-point minimum). Smaller type may be used in figures and tables but must be clearly legible.

(4) Page Limit. The Full Application Executive Summary is limited to one (1) page; the Full Application Quad Chart is limited to one (1) page; and the Full Application Technical Proposal is limited to twenty (20) pages.

(5) Page Limit Excludes: SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance; SF-424A, Budget Information – Non-Construction Programs; SF-424B, Assurances – Non-Construction Programs; CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying; SF- LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities; Resumes of key personnel (although resumes are limited to two (2) pages each); Budget Narrative; Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, Letters of Commitment; Letters of Support; and the Data Management Plan.

3http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/dmp.jsp 4http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing/data_sharing_guidance.htm http://go.usa.gov/3sZvQ http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/dmp.jsp http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing/data_sharing_guidance.htm

(6) Page size. 21.6 centimeters by 27.9 centimeters (8 ½ inches by 11 inches).

(7) Application language. English.

4) Grants.gov Application Submission Process

(1) Applications must be submitted via Grants.gov at www.grants.gov, under announcement 2018-NIST-PSIAP-UI.

a) Submitters of electronic applications should carefully follow specific Grants.gov instructions to ensure the attachments will be accepted by the Grants.gov system. A receipt from Grants.gov indicating an application is received does not provide information about whether attachments have been received. For further information or questions regarding applying electronically for the 2018-NIST-PSIAP-UI announcement, contact Christopher Hunton by phone at 301-975-5718 or by e-mail at grants@nist.gov.

b) Applicants are strongly encouraged to start early and not wait until the approaching due date before logging on and reviewing the instructions for submitting an application through Grants.gov. The Grants.gov registration process must be completed before a new registrant can apply electronically. If all goes well, the registration process takes three (3) to five (5) business days. If problems are encountered, the registration process can take up to two (2) weeks or more. Applicants must have a valid unique entity identifier number and must maintain a current registration in the Federal government’s primary registrant database, the System for Award Management (https://www.sam.gov/), as explained on the Grants.gov Web site. See also Section IV.4. of the Full Announcement/NOFO document. After registering, it may take several days or longer from the initial log-on before a new Grants.gov system user can submit an application. Only individuals authorized as organization representatives will be able to submit the application, and the system may need time to process a submitted application. Applicants should save and print the proof of submission they receive from Grants.gov. If problems occur while using Grants.gov, the applicant is advised to (a) print any error message received and (b) call Grants.gov directly for immediate assistance. If calling from within the United States or from a U.S. territory, please call 800-518-4726. If calling from a place other than the United States or a U.S. territory, please call 606-545-5035. Assistance from the Grants.gov Help Desk will be available around the clock every day, with the exception of Federal holidays. Help Desk service will resume at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time the day after Federal holidays. For http://www.grants.gov/ mailto:grants@nist.gov https://www.sam.gov/ assistance using Grants.gov, you may also contact support@grants.gov.

c) To find instructions on submitting an application on Grants.gov, Applicants should refer to the “Applicants” tab in the banner just below the top of the www.grants.gov home page. Clicking on the “Applicants” tab produces two useful sources of information, Applicant Actions and Applicant Resources, which applicants are advised to review.

Applicants will receive a series of e-mail messages over a period of up to two business days before learning whether a Federal agency’s electronic system has received its application. Closely following the detailed information in these subcategories will increase the likelihood of acceptance of the application by the Federal agency’s electronic system.

Applicants should pay close attention to the guidance under “Applicant FAQs,” as it contains information important to successful submission on Grants.gov, including essential details on the naming conventions for attachments to Grants.gov applications.

All applicants should be aware that adequate time must be factored into applicants’ schedules for delivery of their application. Applicants are advised that volume on Grants.gov may be extremely heavy on the deadline date.

The application must be both received and validated by Grants.gov. The application is “received” when Grants.gov provides the applicant a confirmation of receipt and an application tracking number. If an applicant does not see this confirmation and tracking number, the application has not been received. After the application has been received, it must still be validated. During this process, it may be “validated” or “rejected with errors.” To know whether the application was rejected with errors and the reasons why, the applicant must log in to Grants.gov, select “Applicants” from the top navigation, and select “Track my application” from the drop-down list. If the status is “rejected with errors,” the applicant may still seek to correct the errors and resubmit your application before the deadline. If the applicant does not correct the errors, the application will not be forwarded to NIST by Grants.gov.

Refer to important information in Section IV.5 Submission Dates and Times, of the Full Announcement/NOFO document to help ensure your Application is received on time.

5) Attachment of Required Documents

Items (1) through (5) in Section 2) above, Required Application Forms and Documents, are part of the standard application package in Grants.gov and can be completed through the download application process.

mailto:support@grants.gov http://www.grants.gov/

Items (6) through (12) in Section 2) above, Required Application Forms and Documents, must be completed and attached by clicking on “Add Attachments” found in item 15 of the SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance. This will create a zip file that allows for transmittal of the documents electronically via Grants.gov.

Applicants should carefully follow specific Grants.gov instructions at www.grants.gov to ensure the attachments will be accepted by the Grants.gov system. A receipt from Grants.gov indicates only that an application was transferred to a system. It does not provide details concerning whether all attachments (or how many attachments) transferred successfully. Applicants using Grants.gov will receive a series of e-mail messages over a period of up to two business days before learning whether a Federal agency’s electronic system has received its application.

6) Verifying the Submission and Tracking the Application

The Grants.gov Online Users Guide available at the Grants.gov site (http://go.usa.gov/cjaEh) provides vital information on application process. See especially the “Check My Application Status” option, found by clicking first on Applicants, and then by clicking on Applicant Actions. Use this feature to verify that all required attachments were present in the submission.

After submitting the application, follow the directions found in the Grants.gov Online Users Guide (http://go.usa.gov/cjaEh). Click first on Applicants; then click on Applicant Actions; go then to the “Check My Application Status” option, and choose Download Submitted Applications. Follow the directions found there. Remember, in order for this to work, don’t just visit Grants.gov. Log

in. And remember to click on the record found on the Check My Application Status screen in order to see the List of Forms and Files Received screen.

If any, or all, of the required attachments are absent from the submission, follow the attachment directions found in the Full Announcement/NOFO document, resubmit the application, and check again for the presence of the required attachments.

Applicants can track their submission in the Grants.gov system by following the procedures at the Grants.gov site (http://go.usa.gov/cjamz). It can take up to two business days for an application to fully move through the Grants.gov system to

NIST.

NIST uses the Tracking Numbers assigned by Grants.gov, and does not issue its own Agency Tracking Numbers.

http://www.grants.gov/ http://go.usa.gov/cjamz

7) Submission Date and Time

Electronic applications must be received at Grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, Wednesday, Tuesday, March 27, 2018. Applications received after this deadline will not be reviewed or considered. Paper applications will not be accepted.

Applicants should be aware, and factor in their application submission planning, that the Grants.gov system is expected to be closed for routine maintenance at these times:

from 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time, Saturday, February 17, 2018 until 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time, Tuesday, February 20, 2018, and again from 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time, Saturday, March 17, 2018 until 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time, Monday, March 19, 2018.

Applications cannot be submitted when Grants.gov is closed.