W911NF-22-S-0003 Science Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART).pdf

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

ANNOUNCEMENT

FOR

THE SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS AND RESEARCH

FOR TRANSFORMATION (SMART)

SCHOLARSHIP FOR SERVICE PROGRAM

W911NF-22-S-0003

ISSUED BY:

U.S. Army Contracting Command-Aberdeen Proving Ground Research Triangle Park Division on behalf of Army Research Office and the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering

(Research, Technology and Laboratories Office)

Issued: 05 January 2022 Application Inquiries and Questions (Deadline): 23 February 2022 Applications Due: 07 March 2022

Table of Contents

I. OVERVIEW OF THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

1. Agency Name

2. Issuing Acquisition Office

3. Opportunity Title

4. Announcement Type

5. Opportunity Number

6. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number and Title

7. Response Dates

8. Funding

9. Cost Share or Matching

10. Profit/Fee

11. Place of Performance

II. DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

A. Program Description

1. Element 1

2. Element 2

3. Element 3

4. Element 4

5. Element 5

B. Federal Award Information C. Eligibility Information D. Application and Submission Information

1. Address to View Funding Opportunity Announcement

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. Proposal Review Information

1. Criteria

2. Review and Selection Process

F. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

3. Additional Reporting

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts H. Other Information

1. Incumbent Performer

2. Cooperative Agreement Proposals

I. OVERVIEW OF THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

Short Description of Funding Opportunity: The Department of Defense seeks innovative applications to cooperatively partner with eligible entities in the implementation and execution of its Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Program1. The Department intends to award ONE (1) cooperative agreement award, with a maximum award of up to $450M over a five-year period of performance.

Background: The Federal STEM Education Strategic Plan states that the pace of innovation is accelerating globally, and with it, the competition for scientific and technical talent. It further added that now more than ever, the innovation capacity of the United States will depend on an effective and inclusive STEM education system2. A readily accessible, highly technical and diverse science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent is essential to the success of the Department’s Research and Engineering mission. The National Defense Strategy has called for the Department of Defense to make significant investments in science and technology modernization priority areas to meet key capability and capacity needs3, and technical talent is essential in meeting this task. As the largest employer of Federal scientists and engineers across the Federal agencies, DoD is committed to developing the Nation’s STEM talent.

The Department of Defense (DoD) has a comprehensive approach in developing STEM talent through its K-20 STEM education and talent development efforts through DoD STEM (www.dodstem.us). DoD STEM aims to inspire, cultivate, and develop talent to address the Nation’s technological challenges, now and into the future. The largest program under DoD STEM is the National Defense Education Program (NDEP) which fosters and enhances the DoD’s ability to develop and access high-quality STEM talent vital to national defense, now and in the future. Aligned to the Federal STEM Education Strategic Plan and to the DoD STEM Strategic Plan (2021-2025)4 , NDEP addresses critical STEM education and talent development challenges using a continuous learning structure and evidence-based approaches. NDEP activities supports the DoD STEM effort in providing authentic learning experiences through a variety of education and outreach initiatives in the form of scholarships, internships, enrichment activities, competitions, and mentorships, by leveraging partners from industry, academia, and other government organizations with a shared STEM mission. One of the main NDEP efforts in addressing talent development and recruitment is through the Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Program.

SMART is a highly competitive STEM-focused scholarship-for-service program, empowered to make full-tuition awards during any phase of a scholar’s education in a regionally accredited U.S.

university or college. The program sponsors undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral study in 21 academic disciplines that the Department has identified as critical to national security and DoD’s future. Established by Congress in 2006, the program has awarded over 3,000 scholarships, and aims to increase the number of civilian scientists and engineers working at Department of Defense (DoD) laboratories and facilities.

1 https://www.smartscholarship.org 2 https://dodstem‐assets.dodstem.us/files/2018‐23‐Federal‐STEM‐Education‐Strategic‐Plan.pdf 3 https://dod.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2018‐National‐Defense‐Strategy‐Summary.pd 4 https://dodstem‐assets.dodstem.us/files/DoD_STEM_Strategic_Plan_2021.pdf

Required Overview Content

1. Agency Name Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E))

2. Issuing Acquisition Office U.S. Army Contracting Command-Aberdeen Proving Ground, Research Triangle Park (ACC- APG-RTP) Division

3. Opportunity Title The Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service Program

4. Announcement Type This is the initial announcement.

5. Opportunity Number

W911NF-22-S-0003

6. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number and Title

12.631 – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Educational Program:

Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART)

7. Response Dates Applications must be received by 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), 07 March 2022.

The following is an estimated summary of the events and dates associated with the SMART Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA):

EVENT DATE

Public Announcement Issued 05 January 2022 Opportunity Day 09 February 2022 Application Inquiries and Questions Deadline 23 February 2022 Applications Due 07 March 2022 Evaluations Completed 22 March 2022 Award May 2022

Opportunity Day will be held virtually on 09 February 2022 from 1300 to 1600 Eastern Standard Time (EST). To register, email osd.smart@mail.mil. More details will be provided prior to the event.

8. Funding The FOA issued is subject to the availability of funds. The FOA provides the estimated funding levels for the cooperative agreement. The Government has submitted the requisite documents to request funding for the period covered by the cooperative agreement; however, applicants are reminded that this request is subject to Presidential, Congressional and Departmental approval.

The funding levels provided in the FOA are for application preparation purposes only. The actual funding level of the cooperative agreement will be updated annually as part of the appropriation process.

9. Cost Share or Matching Cost sharing or matching is not required for this FOA.

10. Profit/Fee Profit/fee is not permitted under the cooperative agreement.

11. Place of Performance Historically the SMART Scholarship Program has had an estimated amount of 40-50 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) to provide support under the SMART Cooperative Agreement. This is a historical figure. The Applicant will use their own understanding of the fundamental elements to develop their proposed level of effort.

At least four (4) of these FTEs will liaise with the DoD Components (Army, Navy, Air Force, and 4th Estate). Though there is no requirement for these DoD Component liaisons to be physically located on-site at a DoD facility, they should be eligible to obtain Common Access Cards (CACs) and access DoD networks, if required. Work for the remainder of the personnel shall be performed at the Recipient’s facility or another authorized location.

II. DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

A. Program Description

The SMART program is a Department of Defense (DoD) scholarship-for-service program for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines critical to national security functions (10 U.S.C. § 2192a and DoDI 1025.09). SMART serves as a program for DoD that sustains and increases, where appropriate, the flow of new, highly skilled technical labor into the Department and enhances the technical skills of the current workforce. This unique and prestigious program provides scholarships, which include tuition and annual stipend, book and health allowance, and summer internships to undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in the technical fields listed in the overview of the funding opportunity. While in school, participants perform research as summer interns at participating DoD sponsoring facilities (SFs) and return to those laboratories/facilities after graduation to complete a period of obligated employment service. This provides scholars with a unique opportunity to perform research in their respective area of study. The post-graduation employment commitment is equal to or greater than the amount of time the student received scholarship funding under this program.

The SMART Scholarship Program (www.smartscholarship.org) is an opportunity for students pursuing a STEM undergraduate or graduate degree to receive a full scholarship and be gainfully employed upon degree completion. The program incentivizes students by providing funding for a STEM degree while providing the opportunity to perform hands on research at a DoD facility during the summer months and creating employment for the scholar upon successful completion of their degree. This not only provides the public with a vehicle in which to perform research topics that are on the cutting edge, but also gives opportunity in the form of full tuition to students who would potentially not have been able to attend universities or colleges due to financial distress. The DoD will offer these scholarships to individuals who have demonstrated ability and special aptitude for training in STEM. Scholarships are awarded to applicants who are pursuing a degree in, or closely related to, one of the following STEM disciplines:

Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering Biomedical Engineering Biosciences Chemical Engineering Chemistry Civil Engineering Cognitive, Neural, and Behavioral Sciences Computer and Computational Sciences/Computer Engineering Electrical Engineering Environmental Sciences Geosciences Industrial and Systems Engineering (technical tracks only) Information Sciences Materials Science and Engineering Mathematics Mechanical Engineering Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering Nuclear Engineering Oceanography Operations Research (technical tracks only) Physics

The Government may revise the aforementioned disciplines from year to year to ensure they remain relevant to the Defense mission.

The activities for the program award cycle are detailed in Figure 1. The application period for each cohort starts in August and closes in December. After the application period closes, applications are verified for eligibility, sent to a panel for evaluation and ranked as part of the review period in January. The top designated percentage of ranked applications are sent to the Sponsoring Facilities (SF) for selection. In the selection period, SFs submit a selection list of scholars. Based on program budget, award offers are sent out in April. There may be a second round of awards issued, depending on the number of declinations. Awardees participate in orientation, a site visit at the selecting SF and participate in onboarding during May and June.

Internships are also starting at this time and may extend through September depending upon the SF and scholar schedule.

Figure 1. SMART Program Award Lifecycle

Scholars complete the following four program phases during their lifecycle with the SMART Program. A summary of milestones is highlighted in Figure 2.

Award: Phase 0 begins at the time an awardee accepts a SMART award by signing the Scholar Service Agreement and ends 31 July of the award year. Phase 0 awardees do not receive award funding, nor does any time spent attending a site visit, completing orientation, or completing an onboarding session count towards completion of the service commitment.

Degree Pursuit: Phase 1 begins 1 August of the award year and ends upon verified completion of all phase 1 requirements. During phase 1, scholars complete requirements to obtain the approved degree and any required internships, and must remain in compliance with all program policies.

Service Commitment. Phase 2 begins the service commitment as defined by the work start date. The work start date is defined as the first day of full-time employment with the SF after degree completion. Once phase 1 is verified completed, the SMART Program provides written confirmation of official entry into phase 2, including service commitment start and end dates. During phase 2, scholars complete the service commitment by working full-time for their SF.

Post-Service Commitment. Phase 3 is a post-service commitment monitoring period that begins upon completion of the service commitment. During phase 3, the SMART Program tracks scholar employment status to obtain information on scholar retention rates within the DoD.

Figure 2. SMART Scholar Lifecycle

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) manages the SMART Scholarship Program and to carry out its mission in support of these programs, OUSD(R&E) requires an entity under a Cooperative Agreement that will partner and collaborate effectively with the SMART Scholarship Program in achieving the five (5) fundamental elements listed below.

There are five (5) fundamental elements to the successful administration of the SMART Program.

These elements are as follows:

1. Cooperatively, with the SMART Program Office, assist in the administration of the program to include, but not limited to, the application and award cycle, monitoring and interaction with students during academic pursuit, monitoring of scholars upon graduation, hiring tracking, development of materials for default cases and debt establishments, web site development and maintenance, and assist in the execution of SMART at the participating DoD sponsoring facilities across each DoD Component and other DoD agencies.

2. In close collaboration with the SMART Program, maintain a SMART Information Management System that will track, update, and maintain all SMART Program data.

Maintain a public facing website and manage web portals for the following: applicants, application reviewers, sponsoring facility selectors, scholars, program administrators, sponsoring facility (SF) points of contact (POC), DoD Component Executives and representatives, and other users and stakeholders as the program evolves.

3. Develop and implement an annual marketing and outreach plan, in conjunction with the SMART Program, that supports outreach to internal and external stakeholders on behalf of the SMART Program to include HBCU/MI recruiting and partnership efforts per NDAA and 10 U.S.C. § 2192a) per FY21 NDAA.

4. Assist the SMART Program with payment of scholar’s tuition, stipends, and other expenses on behalf of the Government.

5. Perform independent program evaluations to assess progress and identify gaps and growth opportunities through collaboration with an external entity.

The (5) five fundamental elements above are being provided for Applicants to consider as a “starting point” for understanding the context of the role the Recipient and their collaborators will perform in the SMART Program. Since the resulting award will be a cooperative agreement with substantial Government involvement, it is expected the Recipient will be in regular communication with the Government working collaboratively to administer and execute the program, as well as to identify new and emerging areas of interest and targeted areas of special emphasis during performance under the cooperative agreement. In addition, this collaboration will result in bringing new talent, ideas, and techniques to the Government and will also introduce Scholars to the roles and needs of the Warfighter. This collaboration will also provide access to the DoD’s world class research facilities to the selected Scholar, while pursuing collaborative fundamental research of mutual interest to the DoD and the Scholars. Substantial Government involvement with the Recipient is expected through the collaborative planning and management of the SMART scholarship and through the research to be performed by the Scholars.

It is the intent of this FOA to solicit the most creative, innovative, and effective approaches to assist in the success of the SMART Program. In response to the FOA an Applicant must submit a proposal that provides evidence of their ability to perform the following:

1. Element 1

Cooperatively, with the SMART Program Office, assist in the administration of the program including, but not limited to: the application and award cycle, monitoring and interaction with students during academic pursuit, monitoring of scholars upon graduation, hiring tracking, development of materials for default cases and debt establishments, web site development and maintenance, and assist in the execution of SMART at the participating DoD sponsoring facilities across each DoD Component and other DoD agencies.

Overview: The main objective of the SMART Program is to recruit and retain highly qualified, highly talented students to the DoD workforce. Since the SMART Program has a broad reach across each DoD Component and other DoD agencies, the effectiveness of the program relies heavily on the cooperation and coordination with the Applicant. While working closely with the Government, the Applicant will provide program information not only within the DoD, but to the public and other federal agencies, while assisting the SMART Program Office efficiently and effectively administer the program. In order to be able to provide these scholarships to the public, the Recipient must be able to demonstrate its capabilities to assist the Government in the tasks below.

The Recipient will establish policies, procedures, and tools that allow for the efficient tracking, updating, and monitoring of scholars throughout the entire SMART program from application through post service commitment and debt collection, if required. The Recipient will develop and maintain all official program forms, including a participating scholar handbook and resources for the participating DoD sponsoring facilities.

The Recipient, in collaboration with the SMART Program and DoD Components, will assist in supporting and administering the SMART Program for OUSD(R&E) and the DoD Components and other DoD agencies. Tasks to consider will include, but are not limited to, data calls and analytics, program information distribution, assist with scholar issues or concerns and resolution, debt collection, and other tasks. These tasks will be accomplished by working directly with the SMART Program Office, the DoD Components, participating SMART facilities, and SMART scholars.

The Recipient will work closely with the Government to communicate with outside information inquiries from the general public as well as applicants or participants. These communications can come in the form of email, telephone, fax, or other traditional forms of communication.

Responses to these communications should occur within one (1) business day. Any information needed to develop a response should be worked jointly between the Recipient and the Government.

The Recipient will collaborate with the Government to host, maintain and update the existing SMART Scholarship Program website as required at various times within the scholarship lifecycle, to include the following:

A public-facing website containing SMART Scholarship Program information A public web portal to facilitate applications to the program.

A restricted web portal to facilitate the evaluation of applications.

A restricted web portal to facilitate the review of eligible applicants and the selection of potential awardees made by the participating DoD sponsoring facilities.

A restricted web portal for scholarship awardees to facilitate the program on-boarding, service agreement signing, and virtual orientation presentations/webinars.

A restricted web portal for program Administrators to manage applicant and participant data and program files for statistical and management purposes readily accessible and easily manipulated into reports and charts.

A restricted web portal for scholar participants, housing all relevant program documents.

A restricted web portal for participating DoD sponsoring facility points-of-contact to aid in the execution of the SMART program and its requirements at the facility level.

A restricted web portal for DoD Component Executives to complete tasking required on behalf of the individual DoD Components and other DoD agencies.

Other web portals as the program evolves.

The website and associated portals should have seamless integration with the SMART Information Management System (SIMS) detailed in Element 2.

The Recipient should have a transition in plan, to transfer the management of the existing website, within 15 calendar days of award. It is anticipated that the full transition for a fully operational website, to include all portals, will be completed within 60 calendar days.

Due to the amount of personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), financial, and other sensitive information that the program requires from applicants and participants, security of the website and associated databases in Element 2 is of upmost importance.

2. Element 2

In close collaboration with the SMART Program, maintain a SMART Information Management System that will track, update, and maintain all SMART Program data.

Overview: A complex, comprehensive database and web based user interface is imperative to the successful administration and management of the SMART Program. The database is used to house SMART scholar information that is collected, compiled, reported, and maintained by the Recipient during the course and scope of administering the SMART Scholarship Program. The data elements that should be considered are, but not limited to: names, addresses, schools/grades/and other participant academic information, demographic data, financial data, internship data, site visit data, service commitment data, post-service commitment data and debt collection data, as required. Much of this information falls under Personally Identifiable Information (PII) guidelines. PII data collected shall be collected in accordance with DoD Instructions (DoD 5400.11-R), as amended and up to date. This database is the backbone of the program and provides the main capability to track participants’ degree pursuit, internships, satisfaction with the program, changes to the individual service agreements, financial projections, and other details that enable the program to run efficiently and effectively.

The Recipient, using a robust software development lifecycle, will propose a plan to create and maintain a SMART Information Management System (SIMS) database to support all the participant data and files. The Government will work closely with the Recipient to determine if the plan is feasible and the course of action to implement the approved plan. The Recipient will then continue to work in close coordination with the Government to discuss and implement new functionality, improvements, user views, and other tasks. All SIMS data will be readily available to the Government for statistical and management purposes and should be easily manipulated into reports and charts when required.

The database should be restricted to SMART Program administrators, but provide seamless integration with all other program portals and web tools. At all times, the Government shall own the database and all data rights associated with the information contained within the database and website. Data to be considered to be in the database should include: data associated with all participants of the program since its inception, a repository for program, policy, and process documents, and other data and documents required to administer the program. The recipient should also consider the personnel needed, that are sufficiently trained in database management, such that they can maintain and update the system, generate required reports, and respond to queries for information to complete this task. The Government will at all times have access to the database and associated reporting and data analytics tools needed to derive program and participant information.

At the conclusion of this agreement or when terminated, all such data shall be forwarded to the Government using PII-regulatory procedures. Any copies shall be destroyed when PII-protected records/documents are successfully transferred to Government. The Government point of contact is the CAM. PII information shall be properly marked as PII and protected, stored, transmitted and destroyed as the Recipient would its trade secrets, business sensitive information, and PII.

Recipient should execute a non-disclosure agreement with all who have access to this data; and shall not disclose this data for any purpose than that set forth in this agreement. Therefore, it is not available for third-party access without the express consent of the Cooperative Agreement Manager (CAM), or an auditor/investigator/inspector general of the United States, Department of Defense. Recipient personnel shall receive training in proper handling of PII information.

All SIMS infrastructure should be authorized at FedRAMP High/Impact Level 4 (www.fedramp.gov).

3. Element 3

The Recipient will work closely with the Government to actively market and provide outreach support to the general public and external stakeholders (including but not limited to: colleges and universities, affinity groups, and other scholarship programs) on behalf of the SMART Program as follows.

Overview: A comprehensive and coordinated overarching marketing strategy is essential to the successful management, administration, and measurement of SMART. The primary objective of the SMART marketing strategy is to promote SMART as a coordinated and cohesive effort. This includes individual SMART facilities’ outreach events to promote the SMART Program to the public. In order to recruit and retain highly qualified, and talented students, the Recipient will enable the SMART Program to implement marketing strategies and tactics designed to influence and educate High School and College students, educators and other key stakeholders about the STEM educational opportunities available across the SMART continuum, as well as DoD STEM career opportunities. This plan will include what information will be given to the public to include one of a kind internship opportunities and employment opportunities.

The Recipient, in collaboration with the SMART Program Office, will prepare marketing and promotional materials periodically in accordance to program application and award cycle. In collaboration with the SMART Program Office, the Recipient will promote the SMART Program to ensure a broad and diverse applicant pool. Marketing and promotional material should contain or identify web links that contain SMART Program information, program contact information, and other promotional information.

The Recipient will collaborate with the Government to publicize and promote the SMART Scholarship Program to a wide ranging, national audience, comparable to other nationally renowned undergraduate and graduate level science and technology programs, to attract the highest qualified prospective applicants. This includes the design and distribution of advertising and application materials and an appropriate method to reach audiences from which qualified applicants will be drawn. This includes, but is not limited to: in-person events, university visits, print, electronic, virtual webinars, and other media outlets.

The target audiences for the promotion of the SMART Scholarship Program includes, but is not limited to: U.S citizens pursing a STEM degree, U.S. colleges and universities, appropriate professional, academic, and/or student associations, National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) fellowship and National Science Foundation (NSF) award recipients whose award periods are ending by have not yet completed their degree programs, deans and department chairs in STEM disciplines at U.S. colleges and universities, and others. Consideration should also include the SMART participating facilities from the DoD Components and other DoD agencies, ensuring SMART has wide visibility within the DoD science and technology directorates (i.e. commands and organizations within the DoD responsible for science and/or technology research, and/or engineering, programs and/or activities) (herein referred to as directorates and/or commands).

The Recipient will work closely with the SMART Program Office to:

Manage official SMART Program social media accounts including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and others as social media landscapes evolve.

Utilize social media to engage with the general public, reach untapped and targeted audiences, and identify and expand advertising opportunities designed to increase earned media and diversity among applicants and evaluators.

Use industry standard social media analytics tools to measure and evaluate effectiveness of engagement.

Regularly produce media highlights and features on scholars, mentors, and participating sponsoring facilities (online, in print, on social media) in order to promote the successes of existing and past participants, and to attract future applicants.

The SMART program is committed to diversifying participation. Specifically, the application pool and ultimately, participating scholars. As part of this effort, the Recipient will support outreach to underrepresented minorities based on the following descriptions:

Students belonging to racial and ethnic minorities that are historically underrepresented (HUR) in STEM (i.e., Alaska Natives, Native Americans, Blacks or African Americans, Latinx/Hispanics, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders)

Females in certain STEM fields where they remain underrepresented (Gender). For instance, currently females are underrepresented in the physical sciences, engineering, math and physics.

The Recipient will devote at least one (1) FTE with the role of liaising with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Minority Institutions, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and other minority-serving institutions in support of these strategic diversification goals.

The Government and Recipient will collaborate to address Congressional objectives in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) FY215 (reference sections 242 and 250) and 10 USC 2192a. The SMART program has outlined the following goals to support this initiative:

University Engagement: Build relationships with administration, faculty, and staff at HBCU/MIs.

Engage/Education SMART Sponsoring Facilities: Provide tools to SFs that allow them to broaden diversity in selections/awards.

Consortium/Affinity Group Partnerships: Establish strategic recruiting partnerships.

The Government and Recipient will further collaborate to solicit and award strategic outreach and recruiting grants to affinity groups and underrepresented academic institutions annually (or

5 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th‐congress/house‐bill/6395 semi-annually). The Government envisions this effort will allow SMART to leverage wider networks for underrepresented applicants, as well as to solicit innovative ideas for increasing the representation of minority groups in STEM.

The Recipient will provide reports and analysis regarding outreach effectiveness in the following areas:

An annual report detailing metrics on applicant diversity and inclusion, branding, media, marketing, and the scholar experience at the end of each application season (typically quarter 2 of the fiscal year, after the application period closes).

An annual outreach plan for the upcoming award cycle (to be delivered by quarter 3 of the fiscal year, ahead of the next year’s application period).

Quarterly reports on social media effectiveness and insights from the analytic/listening tools.

Quarterly reports regarding SMART HBCU/MI Initiative progress. The HBCU/MI Initiative outlines specific goals, objective and measurements of success to increase the number of HBCU/MI SMART program applicants and scholars. This initiative is in response to section 250 of the FY21 NDAA authorizes the Secretary of Defense to diversify participation in the SMART Scholarship-for-Service Program.

Assist in the development of any and all statutory reporting requirements, including the FY21 NDAA final report due in 2024.

4. Element 4

Assist the SMART Program with payment of scholar’s tuition, stipends, and other expenses on behalf of the Government.

Overview: The need for the SMART Program to pay tuition to universities and colleges on behalf of students, as well as pay the scholar’s their stipends is imperative to the effective administration of the program. The timely payment of stipends and tuition solidifies the reputation of the SMART Program among public opinion allowing it to retain its prestige and ability to recruit.

The need for an intermediary to take federal funds and disburse them to universities, colleges, and individuals is an essential element to the SMART Program that needs to be fulfilled.

The Applicant should consider that upon selection of the scholarship awardees, administrative files for each new scholarship recipient and information will be entered into the SIMS database.

Presently, the scholarship provides stipend, textbook/miscellaneous allowances, internship support payments (if required), and full tuition and required fees to the institution attended by the scholarship awardee. The annual stipend for scholarship recipients will be determined for each year for each class. Stipends are determined by the OUSD(R&E). Stipends and other expenses are paid monthly directly to the scholars while tuition and fee payments are paid directly to the academic institution based on institutional billing practices.

The Applicant should consider proposing an efficient and effective plan to distribute stipend and academic fees on time, provide stipend payments monthly directly to the awardees, and pay tuition and fees based on institutional billing practices, using common financial business practices and tools. The anticipated number of scholars in academic pursuit over the course of the CA is projected to be approximately 1,000 per year, with approximately 90% of those participants requiring stipends paid through this agreement. The Recipient will need to consider other payments such as: funding for new awardees eligible for a site visit allotment, stipends for the academic evaluation panelists participating in the evaluation panel, or other payments that may be made throughout the year. Anticipated funding level for tuition and stipends and other academic expenses is $60 - $100 million per year, based on budget.

The Recipient should to take into consideration that a report of the amount of all stipend payments and allowance on each scholarship program participant is needed to be sent to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on the appropriate Federal forms and within the IRS required timeframe.

Each year approximately 10% of SMART Scholarship Program participants in academic pursuit are current DoD employees (retention participants). The DoD will fund retention participant stipend and benefits outside of the Cooperative Agreement. However, the Recipient should expect to assist the DoD in preparing some associated paperwork needed for the DoD to efficiently deliver this funding to the DoD Components and facilities (statements of work, descriptions of funding amounts, etc.). The recipient will pay tuition and fees for retention participants in a similar fashion to their ‘recruitment’ peers.

Recipient will provide monthly reports to SMART Program Office detailing current execution and projected costs for both administrative/operational efforts and scholar costs and expenses.

5. Element 5

Perform independent program evaluations to assess progress and identify gaps and growth opportunities.

Overview: The SMART program is committed to establishing best practices, and understanding the impact of current and new processes. Conducting program assessments will provide SMART with data that will identify gaps and growth opportunities. These assessments will provide suggestions for immediate action (within the next program year), as well as to assist in long-term strategic planning.

To preserve integrity of a third party evaluation, the Recipient should consider partnering with an external entity within the Cooperative Agreement to perform independent evaluations of the SMART Program that is longitudinal in nature and consider the following key areas:

Application, evaluation and selection processes Diversity of applicant and scholar pool (to include demographic analysis) Outcome evaluation of SMART program (cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis) Scholar experience and retention Scholar hiring process (timeliness)

The Recipient, in close coordination with the Government, will develop annual reports, widely available to the public, that detail both the immediate and long term impact that SMART has on the DoD mission, as well as longer longitudinal evaluations for the SMART Program Office detailing program and process effectiveness.

When scoping the evaluation effort, the Recipient and evaluation partner should bear in mind the existing data-rich resource in SIMS, though others may be useful.

B. Federal Award Information

The FOA is expected to result in the award of a cooperative agreement with a performance period of five (5) years. The anticipated award amount of the cooperative agreement over the five-year performance period is up to $450,000,000 (subject to availability of funding). See breakout in Table 1 below.

Table 1. SMART Program Award Lifecycle

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Total Cooperative Agreement (NTE):

$80M $80M $90M $100M $100M

Total Administrative: TBD by Applicant

Element 1 Program Administration

TBD by Applicant

Element 2

SIMS

TBD by Applicant

Element 3 Outreach

Strategic Outreach & Recruiting Grants @ $1M/yr., with the remaining Element 3 effort TBD by Applicant

Element 4 Administer Scholar Payments TBD by Applicant

Element 5 Evaluation

NTE: $1M/yr.

Total Scholarships: No less than 80-85% of the total annual award.

The total not to exceed (NTE) budget for each year of the funding opportunity is summarized in Table 1. Applicants should formulate their own budgets based on their understanding of the requirements, but should keep in mind the following: (1) The Government projects initially devoting $1M/year towards Strategic Outreach and Recruiting Grants, with the remaining Element 3 budget to be determined by the Applicant based on the scope of the other requirements; (2) The total amount budgeted for the entire evaluation effort under Element 5 should not exceed $1M/year; and (3) Administrative costs should be optimized in order to maximize the funding available for scholarships each year, with no less 80-85% of the total annual award devoted to scholarships (new and existing) in order to meet the Department’s projected award targets over the next five years.

Below is a brief description of a cooperative agreement:

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 (see definition "grant"), except that substantial involvement is expected between the Federal Government and the recipient when carrying out the activity contemplated by the cooperative agreement. The term does not include "cooperative research and development agreements" as defined in 15 U.S.C. 3710a.

No fee or profit is allowed.

Cooperative agreements for institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, foreign organizations, and foreign public entities are primarily governed by the following:

a. Federal statutes

b. Federal regulations

c. 2 CFR Part 200, as modified and supplemented by DoD's interim implementation found at 2 CFR Part 1103

d. 32 CFR Parts 21, 22, 26, and 28

e. DoD Research and Development General Terms and Conditions

f. Agency-specific Research Terms and Conditions

Cooperative agreements for for-profit and nonprofit organizations exempted from Subpart E—Cost Principles of 2 CFR Part 200, are primarily governed by the following:

a. Federal statutes

b. Federal regulations

c. 32 CFR Part 34 - Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements with For-

Profit Organizations

d. 32 CFR Parts 21, 22, 26, and 28

e. DoD Research and Development General Terms and Conditions

f. Agency-specific Research Terms and Conditions

The authority for the SMART Program is USC Title 10, Section 2192a: “The Secretary of Defense shall carry out a program to provide financial assistance for education in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology skills and disciplines that, as determined by the Secretary, are critical to the national security functions of the Department of Defense and are needed in the Department of Defense workforce.”

The following websites may be accessed to obtain an electronic copy of the governing regulations and terms and conditions:

a. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): http://www.ecfr.gov

b. DoD Research and Development General Terms and Conditions:

https://www.onr.navy.mil/work-with-us/manage-your-award/manage-grant-award/grants-terms-conditions

c. Agency-specific Research Terms and Conditions:

https://www.arl.army.mil/business/broad-agency-announcements/

Substantial Government involvement is expected under the cooperative agreement and essential to the performance and successful execution of the SMART Program. The substantial Government involvement anticipated for the SMART Program is contained is Section A.

Program Description of this announcement. The cooperative agreement enables and encourages the Recipient to synchronize and coordinate the program planning and execution of the SMART Program with the Government’s primary representative, the Cooperative Agreement Manager

(CAM). It is the CAM’s responsibility to provide technical and fiscal oversight over the SMART Cooperative Agreement.

The CAM must ensure that the SMART Program is planned and executed in alignment with priorities and core objectives, within the parameters of the cooperative agreement, and in adherence to annually approved program plans and funding levels. In addition, it is the CAM’s responsibility to effectively and efficiently integrate STEM assets/resources across DoD’s Science and Technology (S&T) Enterprise to ensure program participants are exposed to and learn about STEM opportunities and careers within DoD. Substantial Government involvement is required to provide students STEM opportunities at laboratories and to integrate DoD involvement and representation during SMART events.

Deliverables:

Element# Title Description/Type of Format Due Date Reviewer/ Acceptor

All Elements (1-5)

Written monthly status reports describing work performed during the month, anticipated future work, problems and/or delays

Microsoft Word, Excel 10th of each month CAM

All Elements (1-5)

Quarterly Meetings Agenda and Presentation

Microsoft Word, Excel 5 calendar days prior to quarterly meeting

CAM

All Elements (1-5)

Program documentation such as annual reports, miscellaneous data requests, etc.

Reports, lists, tables, charts, forms as required in Microsoft Office format

Ongoing CAM

Element 1 Final fully functional web portals including online application, selection, awards, orientation, sponsoring facility POC, and administrative portals

Website should be available and fully functional. Access for SMART Participants and all individuals and organizations as directed by the CAM

The Recipient shall have a transition in plan, to transfer the management of the existing website, within 15 calendar days of award. It is anticipated that the full transition for a fully operational website, to include all portals, will be completed within 60 calendar days. Then continuous through performance period

CAM

Element 1 Web Maintenance and Hosting Services

The recipient will host and provide web maintenance services on a routine continually basis throughout agreement performance

Continuous through performance period with no downtime longer than 8 hours per day with a monthly limit of 24 hours per month

CAM

Element 1 Applicant Cost Detail Worksheet

A Microsoft Excel worksheet listing the expected tuition costs for each applicant. The worksheet should also include other applicant specific data as required by the CAM

No later than 10 calendar days after close of application

CAM

Element 1 Final award lists and applicant materials

Electronic copies of service/command specific awardee files to be sent to each primary service POC and each command having selected participants

Due to service CAM, CAOs and command POC's no later than 5 calendar days after close of selection

CAM

Element 1 Attendance at meetings and presentation of program briefs

Personal appearance or video or teleconference, meeting minutes as necessary

Ongoing and as needed in coordination with service CAO and CAM

CAM

Element 1 IRS reporting of stipend and allowance for each participant and academic evaluation panelist.

Federal forms as required by

IRS

As required by IRS IRS

Element 1 SMART Program Annual Report

Annual report following report template in Microsoft Word format

30 calendar days after the end of the program year

CAM

Element 2 Fully functioning Database of participant records to support, track and report program progression, termination and debt collection and other issue, as needed

SMART Information Management (SIMS) database

Draft database within 15 calendar days of award.

The Government will have 5 business days to review the draft and provide comments and changes. The final deliverable will be required 45 calendar days after receipt of the Government comments on the draft. All SMART data shall be migrated to the SIMS including validation of data accuracy within 60 calendar days of award of agreement.

CAM

Element 3 Promotion Materials Print materials, electronic correspondence, journal articles, advertisements, announcements, and social media posts in either print or digital form where appropriate

Government shall have 5 calendar days to approve material.

Published/reprinted materials shall be available within 10 calendar days of each print or correspondence

CAM

Element 3 Science and Technology Academia List

The recipient will update and maintain a list of Science and Technology faculty members

No later than 30 calendar days after award

CAM

Element 3 Media/Branding Update Provide report/brief detailing outreach on social media platform monitoring tool

Quarterly CAM

Element 3 Outreach Annual Report An annual report detailing metrics on diversity and inclusion, branding, media, marketing and the scholar experience

Read ahead provided week prior and report submitted at the beginning of quarter 3

CAM

Element 3 SMART HBCU/MI Report Provide a report on SMART HBCU/MI Initiative progress.

Quarterly CAM

Element 3 SMART HBCU/MI Report Compile and report all relevant demographic data per NDAA reporting requirements

Report due Sep 2024.

Draft report due 30 days prior.

CAM

Element 4 Administer Stipends Administer reports and records of payment to scholarship recipients

Continuous through performance period

CAM

Element 5 Independent Evaluation Provide a final report detailing results of the SMART evaluations, and describing the SMART Program longitudinal evaluation

Annually (Sep) CAM

PROGRAM TRANSITION

The existing SMART Cooperative Agreement ends on 01 October 2022. The period of performance for the base year of this new Cooperative Agreement is expected to start on 01 August 2022 (which coincides with the beginning of the academic year). The transition period is estimated to be two months. The periods of performance for each subsequent option year will run from 01 August through 31 July of the following year to align with the academic calendar. The CAM will facilitate the transition of all fundamental elements from the current Recipient to new Recipient.

Specific items to be transitioned to the new Recipient are listed below, but are not inclusive of everything to be transferred:

The domain smartscholarship.org and all sub-domains under it. (The Government owns the domain. However, the Recipient will pay all fees associated with the upkeep of the domain)

Social media accounts and passwords (The Government owns all accounts, though the Recipient manages and maintains them).

All Scholar and Program data from in SIMS in COTS format A clone of the current SIMS environment, to include all documents, standard operating procedures, automated workflows, data structures, reports, Program forms, and any other data relevant to the administration of the Program iPads and other equipment Financial projections and documents Outreach and marketing plans, tools, and supplies

All other documentation

The Recipient will develop and implement a plan to identify the tasks and activities required to efficiently transfer all documentation, processes to recipient hardware and software systems to ensure seamless program operation upon agreement award. The plan should identify resources required with responsibilities, define schedules and resource estimates, and address plans to minimize operation risks.