W911NF25S0001 - Energetics Seedling Renewal BAA.pdf

ARMY RESEARCH OFFICE

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR

Department of Army Energetics Basic Research Center (EBRC) Fiscal Year 2025

W911NF-25-S-0001

ISSUED BY:

U.S. Army Contracting Command Aberdeen Proving Ground

Research Triangle Park Division P. O. Box 12211

Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2211

Issued: 1 October 2024 White Papers Due: 6 January 2025 Final Proposals by Invite Only Due: 7 April 2025

Special Notes

(1) Formatting of the Announcement

The following table provides an overview of the outline structure of this announcement:

I.

A.

1.

a.

i.

(1) (a) (i)

(2) See Appendix 1 for a Table of Acronyms used in this announcement.

(3) See Appendix 2 for a Schedule of Amendments. Applicants are encouraged to frequently check grants.gov, sam.gov, and the ARL website (https://arl.devcom.army.mil/) for updates and amendments to this BAA. Special Notices issued against this BAA will be posted to sam.gov.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. OVERVIEW OF THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY 1

A. Required Overview Content 1

1. Agency Name 1

2. Research Opportunity Title 1

3. Announcement Type 1

4. Research Opportunity Number 1

5. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number and Title 1

6. Response Dates 1

7. Points of Contact 1 B. Additional Overview Information 1

II. DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY 3

A. Program Description 3

1. Overview 3

2. Specific Energetics Basic Research Center Thrusts 4

3. Department of Defense High Performance Computing Program 8 B. Federal Award Information 9 C. Eligibility Information 12

1. Eligible Applicants 12

2. Cost Sharing or Matching 12

3. Other 12 D. Whitepaper Submission Information 13

1. Overview 13

2. Format and Content of Whitepapers 13

3. Restrictive Markings on Whitepapers 14

4. Evaluation and Disposition of Whitepapers 14

5. Whitepaper Submission 14 E. Proposal Preparation Information 15

1. Funding Area Two Proposal (Seedling) Information 15

2. Proposal Preparation 15 F. Proposal Application and Submission Information 16

1. Address to View Broad Agency Announcement 16

2. Content and Form of Application Submission 16

3. The Application Process 17

4. Preparation of Proposals 18

5. Submission Date and Times 29

6. Intergovernmental Review 29

7. Funding Restrictions 29

7. Other Submission Requirements 29 G. Application Review Information 31

1. Evaluation Criteria 31

2. Review and Selection Process 31

3. Recipient Qualification 40

H. Award Administration Information 42

1. Award Notices 42

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 42

a. Required Representations and Certifications 42

b. Policy Requirements 46

3. Reporting 52 I. Agency Contacts 53 J. Other Information 55

1. Contract Proposals 55

2. Grant and Cooperative Agreement Proposals 62

I. OVERVIEW OF THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

A. Required Overview Content

1. Agency Name Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM)/Army Research Laboratory (ARL)/U.S. Army Research Office (ARO)

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

2. Research Opportunity Title Department of Army Energetics Basic Research Center Fiscal Year 2025

3. Announcement Type Initial Announcement

4. Research Opportunity Number

W911NF-25-S-0001

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

12.431 – Basic Scientific Research

6. Response Dates

a. Whitepapers – 6 January 2025 no later than 4:00 PM Eastern Time on

b. Selection of whitepapers for full proposal by 14 February 2025

c. Proposals Due – 7 April 2025 no later than 4:00 PM Eastern Time

d. Selection of Proposal: ~1 June 2025

7. POINTS OF CONTACT

a. Contracting Officer: Schon Zwakman schon.m.zwakman.civ@army.mil

b. Program Manager: Ralph A. Anthenien Jr. ralph.a.anthenien2.civ@army.mil, 919-549-4317

c. Technical Points of Contact (TPOC)

i. Ralph Anthenien, ralph.a.anthenien2.civ@army.mil 919-549-4317

ii. Edward Byrd edward.f.byrd2.civ@army.mil 410-306-0729

B. Additional Overview Information

This BAA sets forth research areas of interest to the DEVCOM-ARL. This BAA is issued under FAR 6.102(d)(2), and FAR 35.016 which provides for the competitive selection of basic research proposals, and 10 U.S.C. 4001, 10 U.S.C. 4021, and 10 U.S.C. 4022, which provide the authorities for issuing awards under this announcement for basic research. The definitions of basic research may be found at 32 CFR 22.105.

Proposals submitted in response to this BAA and selected for award are considered to be the mailto:schon.m.zwakman.civ@army.mil mailto:ralph.a.anthenien2.civ@army.mil mailto:edward.f.byrd2.civ@army.mil result of full and open competition and in full compliance with the provision of Public Law 98- 369, "The Competition in Contracting Act of 1984" and subsequent amendments.

The DoD agencies involved in this program reserve the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals submitted in response to this announcement. Due to Government budget uncertainties, no specific dollars have been reserved for awards under this BAA. The participating DoD agencies will provide no funding for direct reimbursement of whitepaper or proposal development costs.

Whitepapers, technical, and cost proposals (or any other material) submitted in response to this BAA will not be returned to the applicant. It is the policy of participating DoD agencies to treat all proposals as sensitive, competitive information and to disclose their contents only for the purposes of evaluation.

An applicant may withdraw a proposal at any time before award by written notice or by email sent to the Program Manager identified in Section I.A.7 of this BAA.

There is one funding area in this announcement, which is referred to as Funding Area Two (Seedling). Proposals submitted to the Seedling funding area must address elements of one of the Technical Thrust areas listed in Section II.A.2 of this document. Additional information on the scope of the funding area is listed below. Selected seedlings are expected to collaborate with and complement ongoing research in the Funding Area One effort, selected under BAA W911NF-21- S-0001 at Purdue University and which is funded through the end of FY26.

This will be a two-step application process.

The application process under this BAA consists of a Whitepaper stage and a Proposal stage. The purpose of this two-step approach is to facilitate pre-screening by the U.S. Government such that detailed proposals are only sought from applicants whose whitepapers demonstrate the most promise for award (this also helps to reduce unnecessary proposal preparation efforts). The government’s decision to invite a Proposal will be based upon the evaluation results of a timely and compliant Whitepaper submission. Only the most highly rated Whitepapers will receive an invitation from the government to submit a Proposal. An Applicant that does NOT submit a timely and compliant whitepaper, is NOT eligible to submit a Proposal for consideration for funding. An Applicant that does NOT receive an invitation from the Government to submit a Proposal is NOT eligible to submit a Proposal. An Applicant invited to submit a Proposal will receive feedback on their Whitepaper. Due to the anticipated volume of whitepapers, those not invited for full proposal will not receive feedback.

(End of Section)

II. DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

1. Overview

The EBRC is a basic research program initiated by the Combat Capabilities Development Command/Army Research Laboratory/ARO. It focuses on areas of strategic importance to U.S. national security. It seeks to increase the Army's intellectual capital in energetic materials (EM) and improve its ability to address future challenges. The EBRC brings together universities, research institutions, companies, and individual scholars and supports multidisciplinary and cross-institutional projects addressing specific topic areas determined by the Department of the Army (DA). The EBRC aims to promote research in specific areas of EMs and to promote a candid and constructive relationship between DA and the energetics research community.

The future Army is projected to be unable to achieve dominance in range and lethality due to inadequate energetic formulations and form factor limitations associated with current weapon systems. Basic research generates new knowledge that may be exploited to develop and deliver new materials and technologies that contribute to enhanced lethal effects at the system level as well as increased range and a smaller payload. These, in turn, enable space for larger, mission-critical systems, and shorter time-to-target ensuring Army battlefield dominance in Multi-Domain Operations. Army research must encompass new ways to expedite the discovery, design, and scale-up of new materials and concepts which when integrated into newly designed weapons components (e.g. additively manufactured high strength steels with pre-formed fragmentation patterns, and structural reactive materials) developed at ARL and across the Army and DoD communities, will deliver decisive weapons overmatch.

To achieve the desired future technological overmatch, advances must be made in new synthetic methodologies targeting novel energetic materials to increase performance for both explosive and propulsion applications. Physics-based synthesis (e.g., processes that use pressure, mechanical action, electromagnetic fields and/or high-energy plasmas) can potentially access materials outside those available via classical chemical synthesis, allowing exploitation of novel, non-traditional materials capable of explosive energy release (e.g., dense metastable extended solids such as doped poly-nitrogen, structural-bond-energy release materials, composite reactive materials).

Further, fundamental understanding leading to control of energy storage and release for explosive and propellant applications is required. Current knowledge gaps are extensive relying largely based on empirical rules of thumb used to identify targets. We still do not know the answers to basic questions such as “what makes a good explosive.” To address these gaps, validated multiscale models and advanced experimentation capable of capturing the relevant physics and chemistries of violent, rapid reacting events are needed to identify and understand controlling mechanisms and rates of energy release under the full range of conditions for a variety of energetic materials. This information should be able to inform the design, synthesis, and formulation of novel, stable, high-energy density materials for advanced explosive and propellant concepts. This fundamental understanding will lead to breakthrough materials and concepts.

Achieving these goals requires a teamed approach involving multiple researchers collaborating across separate disciplines. Strong collaborations between DoD and academia are necessary to overcome challenges associated with achieving the desired goals. Some of these challenges include: developing methods and materials allowing for the manipulation of energy release rates; exploitation of structures and features across length scales, fundamental understanding of the initiation, break-up, and fragmentation during and after detonative energy release; and advanced models and experimental methodologies to capture the relevant chemistry and physics. Tackling these will require a large comprehensive cooperative effort (while also allowing for single effort exploratory efforts for high-risk concepts) with a strong emphasis on new material synthesis (that targets advanced performance) with related experimental and theoretical characterization, performance evaluation, and concept development to fully exploit the totality of available energy. Listed below are knowledge gaps and basic research opportunities which are to be addressed by the EBRC. These are discussed in further detail as the Technical Thrust Areas in Section II.A.2.

a. Novel materials and synthesis methods

b. Microstructure and geometry influence on energetic release

c. Advanced diagnostics and modeling

All proposals submitted under this BAA will be considered for award as Seedlings (Funding Area 2 under the original BAA W911NF-21-S-0001, and for consistency also deemed “Funding Area 2” in this BAA). The research questions addressed by the proposals considered here must address one of the Technical Thrust Areas as described in Section II.A.2 below. It is anticipated that there will be five to six awards under Funding Area Two (Seedling). All awardees are expected to collaborate and cooperate with and among each other, with ongoing research under Funding Area One as awarded under BAA W911NF-21-S-0001 to Purdue University as well as DEVCOM-ARL and its researchers in order to achieve unity of effort towards the center’s goals. While other vehicles such as grants and contracts will be considered, the strong preference is for a cooperative agreement as award type to allow for maximum interaction, cooperation, and collaboration between the government and the awardee. This will be the preferred award type for proposals submitted to this BAA.

2. Specific Energetics Basic Research Center Thrusts

a. Background

The purpose of this BAA is to solicit ideas across a wide range of disciplines, including chemistry, physics, materials science, and engineering. Discovery and innovation that enable the rapid and effective exploration and validation of novel energetic materials. These ideas should lead to and demonstrate significant advancements in the energy density, sensitivity, structural properties, synthesis, and prediction of properties and characteristics of energetic materials and energetic material systems.

This BAA focuses on basic research as defined at 32 CFR 22.105.

b. Technical Thrusts

The technical scope of the initiative is defined along the following thrust areas: 1) novel materials and synthesis methods, 2) microstructure and geometry influence on energetic release, 3) advanced diagnostics and modeling.

i. Novel Materials and Synthesis Methods

For the purposes of this BAA, novel methods is meant to be a comprehensive term for concepts that can be clearly distinguished from traditional materials or approaches. Materials developed under this area will require advanced diagnostics to accurately and rapidly assess performance and survivability metrics, as well as requiring novel theoretical tools to guide synthesis chemists and aid in optimizing final materials. Sub-areas within in this thrust could include: inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, structural energetics, next generation synthesis techniques, and radiation interactions for driving chemistry. Additional detail, challenges, and knowledge gaps, on these sub-areas are indicated below:

(1) Inorganic chemistry includes the architecture and/or formulation of aluminum or other high energy metal or organometallic articles (including alloys, composites, coatings) to increase energy release rates. These materials also include non-traditional “non-CHNO” energetic materials. These materials will target higher detonation velocities, blast effects, thermal outputs, as well as enhancing rocket propellants through the reduction of two-phase flow losses.

Challenges include but are not limited to: control of ignition times, temperatures, and burn times; independent control of initiation and combustion conditions; material stabilization (heat, moisture, etc.); energy density; understanding multi-phase reactions; interfacial physics and chemistry; breakup and fragmentation influence on ignition and initiation.

(2) Organic chemistry includes the architecture and/or formulation of energetic binders/plasticizers, and energetic materials for explosive and propellant applications. These materials will target higher detonation velocities, blast effects, thermal outputs, as well as enhancing rocket propellants through increased performance and mechanical properties.

Challenges include lack of fundamental understanding of polymers in formulations as pertains to stress/strain properties; aging; impact of high temperatures; interfacial chemistry between polymers and energetic material crystals; and generation of new energetic polymer binders.

(3) Structural energetics includes exploring and synthesizing energetic materials targeting enhanced mechanical properties that can support significant loads with little deformation while maintaining high energy content and energy release rates. Challenges include the discovery and development of novel materials and understanding the effect of microstructure on ignition, reaction rates, and strength.

(4) Next generation synthesis techniques will consider the ability to scale up new and known compounds in new chemical spaces coupled with minimization of synthesis steps through the advancement of synthesis techniques. This will also enable the synthesis of previously notional compounds. Challenges include developing sufficient understanding of the intermediate synthesis chemistry to reduce steps. Predicting the contribution of individual molecules in formulations as well as the contribution of intermediate species and compounds during steps towards target species is also a significant challenge. Development of fast synthesis reactions that could enable flow instead of traditional batch processing is a possible research target in this sub-area.

(5) Radiation interactions for driving chemistry include exploring the driving reaction chemistry towards specific pathways through radiation (microwave, visible, infrared, ultraviolet, etc.) or plasmas. Exploration of these novel synthesis techniques will enable the synthesis of previously notional compounds as well as possibly reducing or speeding up the intermediate synthetic steps.

Challenges include identifying controlling mechanisms and species/radiation interactions. The ability to control and stabilize non-equilibrium chemistry and chemical kinetics is critical.

This is not an all-inclusive list but is provided to help potential authors to target their proposals appropriately.

ii. Microstructure and Geometry Influence on Energetic Release

Research into the role microstructure and geometry play in the performance, response, and survivability of materials and formulations is crucial in maximizing gains in energetic material performance. Models and processing techniques developed under this line of effort will require advanced diagnostics to accurately and rapidly evaluate material characteristics, as well as requiring novel theoretical tools to gain fundamental understanding of the relevant physics and chemistry occurring across time and length scales. Sub-areas within in this thrust could include:

exploiting microstructure in EM response; and energy focusing, geometry, and sequencing.

Additional detail, challenges, and knowledge gaps, on these sub-areas are indicated below:

(1) Exploiting microstructure in EM response includes understanding the role of microstructure on performance and the physical / mechanical properties required to enable engineering solutions to formulations and system level response. Advances in this area will allow for the design and control of mechanical response and performance increases through control over physical microstructure and not solely through stored chemical energy. Challenges and gaps include the ability to image, in real-time, the evolution of microstructure during reactive and non-reactive events. Understanding how the microstructure evolves under extreme conditions (temperature, vibration) is necessary. Development of understanding of the connectivity across scales (from molecular to meso/grain scale) is critical. Another challenge is developing understanding of how shockwaves interact with material grain boundaries, material interfaces, and material defects.

(2) Focusing, geometry, and sequencing involves the exploration of novel geometries to exploit advanced materials geometries (possibly via advanced manufacturing techniques) and form-factors to maximize energy density and other performance gains through manipulation of large-scale interactions between different munition materials and material boundaries and interfaces.

Advances in this area will allow for the design and control of mechanical response and performance increases through control over large scale physical structure and not solely through stored chemical energy. Challenges include understanding the directing and focusing of shockwave and phonon energy to achieve desired energetic performance. Challenges also include phonon and acoustic coupling to chemistry especially involving interfaces and defects and where the material under question may be undergoing extreme strain at extreme pressures with significant temperature gradients.

This is not an all-inclusive list but is provided to help potential authors to target their proposals

iii. Advanced Diagnostics and Modeling

Research into advanced diagnostics and modeling is essential for characterization and understanding of the effects of novel chemistries, formulations, structures, and non-linear effects controlling performance and material response. Research will be driven to identification and fundamental understanding of factors controlling EM processes occurring through chemistries at extreme states, providing exploitable information leading to control the output of EM. Advances in diagnostics and modeling and simulation (M&S) are also needed for understanding of burning rate dependence on pressure to enable design of propellants with extended plateau burning behavior. Techniques developed under this thrust could be employed in a “fail early, fail fast” optimization approach to enable the rapid development of novel materials and concepts. Sub-areas within in this thrust could include: next generation diagnostics and advanced M&S.

Additional detail, challenges, and knowledge gaps, on these sub-areas are indicated below

(1) Next generation diagnostics are needed to advance small-scale tests designed to correctly reflect large-scale performance and mechanical metrics (all performance metrics, stability, etc.).

These advanced diagnostics should enable experimental stepping up in scale, ensuring translation between the small (milligram to gram scale) to system (kilogram and higher) level performance, and will be tied closely with modeling at each step, culminating in models capable of a priori prediction of system performance. Challenges in this area include obtaining a fundamental understanding of what is “lost” in scaling (particle interaction, additional heat and radiative losses, levels of turbulence in surrounding atmosphere, loss of “run-up” time/distance).

Additional challenges include imaging and optical diagnostics into/through dense clouds and opaque materials, and quickly obtaining equations of state with small sample sizes.

(2) Advanced modeling and simulation are needed to fully understand and subsequently enable tailoring of target materials, formulations, processing conditions, initiation, micro- and macro-structures, overall performance, and mechanical properties. Challenges include capturing relevant chemistry and physics with computational efficiency to enable design and characterization in silico. Modeling challenges would include determining suitable performance, mechanical, and multi-species/component metrics for target molecules, developing reduced order models (including machine-learned surrogate models) that depict full chemical mechanisms obtained from quantum mechanical models, overcoming difficulties associated with limited data for verification and validation, uncertainty quantification, and determination of appropriate use of machine learning and artificial intelligence methods and methodologies.

This is not an all-inclusive list but is provided to help potential authors to target their proposals

3. Department of Defense High Performance Computing Modernization Program

The DoD High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) furnishes the DoD Science &Technology (DoD S&T) and Development Test and Evaluation (DT&E) communities with use-access to very powerful high-performance computing systems. Recipients of DoD contracts, grants, and assistance instruments may be eligible to use HPCMP assets in support of their funded activities if program manager approval is obtained and if security/screening requirements are favorably completed.

Additional information and an application may be found at https://www.hpc.mil/.

(end of section) https://www.hpc.mil/

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

It is anticipated the awards will be made in the form of contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements.

While other vehicles such as grants and contracts will be considered, the strong preference is for a cooperative agreement as the award type to allow for maximum interaction, cooperation, and collaboration between the government and the awardee. The awards will be made at funding levels commensurate with the proposed research, investigator/team type, as well as availability of funding. We realize the preparation of a research proposal often represents a substantial investment of time and effort by the applicant. Therefore, in an attempt to minimize this burden, we are requiring applicants interested in funding under Funding Area Two (Seedling) of this BAA to submit four-page (technical content) whitepapers describing the type of research effort to be proposed. Whitepapers received will be reviewed and ranked by a government panel. A detailed description of the whitepaper submissions can be found in Section D.

Whitepapers of the very highest merit will be invited to submit full proposals. The determination that a proposal should invited will be made by the Government and communicated to the applicants. An Applicant that does NOT receive an invitation from the Government to submit a Proposal is NOT eligible to submit a Proposal. Only those applicants invited by a TPOC and/or the Program Manager will be eligible to submit a proposal.

Under Funding Area Two, the awards for full proposals will contain a base period for twenty-four months. This base period may be incrementally funded.

It is anticipated that up to ~$1M in annual aggregate funding will be available for all awards under Funding Area Two (Seedling). It is anticipated that the Seedling awards will range from $60k to $250k per year, with typical awards in the range of $120k-$180k per year. Awards in the upper end of the range will be made only for extremely meritorious proposals. Seedling Proposals submitted under Funding Area Two in excess of $250k per year will not be considered.

Whitepapers and subsequent invited full proposals may only be submitted to Funding Area Two (Seedling). Whitepapers and proposals must clearly state which funding area it is being submitted under for consideration as well as which Technical Thrust Area. Multiple whitepapers and proposals from a single institute may be submitted.

All proposals selected for award under this BAA will be expected to collaborate with and complement ongoing research under Funding Area One as awarded under BAA W911NF-21-S-0001 to Purdue University, and which is funded through the end of FY26.

The ACC-APG RTP Division has the authority to award a variety of instruments on behalf of ARO.

Anticipated awards will be made in the form of contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements. The ACC- APG RTP Division reserves the right to select the type of instrument most appropriate for the effort proposed. While other vehicles such as grants and contracts will be considered, the strong preference is for a cooperative agreement as the award type to allow for maximum interaction, cooperation, and collaboration between the government and the awardee. This will be the preferred award type for Funding Area Two (Seedling). Applicants should familiarize themselves with these instrument types and the applicable regulations before submitting a proposal. Following are brief descriptions of the possible award instruments:

1. 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. Contracts are primarily governed by the following regulations:

a. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

b. Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS)

c. Army Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (AFARS)

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

a. The principal purpose of which is to transfer a thing of value to the recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law or the United States, rather than to acquire property or services for the Federal Government’s direct benefit or use.

b. In which substantial involvement is not expected between the Federal Government and the recipient when carrying out the activity contemplated by the grant.

c. No fee or profit is allowed.

3. Cooperative Agreement. A legal instrument, 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.

4. Grants and 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

5. Grants and 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

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

a. FAR, DFARS, and AFARS: https://www.acquisition.gov

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

c. DoD Research and Development General Terms and Conditions:

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

d. Agency-specific Research Terms and Conditions:

https://arl.devcom.army.mil/resources/baa-forms/#terms-and-conditions https://www.acquisition.gov/ http://www.ecfr.gov/ https://www.nre.navy.mil/work-with-us/manage-your-award/manage-grant-award/grants-terms-conditions https://www.nre.navy.mil/work-with-us/manage-your-award/manage-grant-award/grants-terms-conditions https://arl.devcom.army.mil/resources/baa-forms/#terms-and-conditions https://arl.devcom.army.mil/resources/baa-forms/#terms-and-conditions

C. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants under this BAA include institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, state and local governments, and for-profit organizations (i.e. large and small businesses) in the United States or its territories. Whitepapers and proposals will be evaluated only if they are for fundamental scientific study and experimentation directed toward advancing the scientific state of the art or increasing basic knowledge and understanding. Whitepapers and proposals focused on specific devices or components are beyond the scope of this BAA. More than one whitepaper and/or proposal is allowable from any single institution or organization.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

Generally, there is no requirement for cost sharing, matching, or cost participation to be eligible for award under this BAA. Cost sharing and matching is not an evaluation factor used under this BAA.

In addition, if cost sharing is proposed on a grant or cooperative agreement proposal submitted by a nonprofit or institution of higher education, the award will be subject to the restrictions at 2 CFR

200.306. If cost sharing is proposed on a contract proposal, the award will be subject to the restrictions at FAR 35.003.

3. Other

Pursuant to the policy of FAR 35.017 and supplements, selected Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC) may propose under this BAA as allowed by their sponsoring agency and in accordance with their sponsoring agency policy.

D. WHITEPAPER SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Overview

Whitepapers should focus on describing details of the proposed research, including how it is innovative, how it could substantially increase the scientific state of the art, Army/DOD relevance, and potential impact.

Whitepapers for Funding Area Two are limited to six (6) total pages; four (4) pages for whitepaper technical content, one (1) cover page and a one (1) page addendum as discussed below. Evaluators will only review the whitepaper cover page, up to four whitepaper technical content pages, and the one-page addendum.

Whitepapers must be in the following format but do not require any special forms:

• Page Size: 8 ½ x 11 inches

• Margins – 1 inch

• Spacing – single

• Font – Times New Roman, 12 point

Combine all files and forms into a single PDF before submitting.

2. Format and Content of Whitepapers:

a. COVER PAGE (not to exceed one page):

The whitepaper cover page shall include at a minimum: Title of the whitepaper, name and contact information of the individual and organization submitting the whitepaper, the Funding Area, the BAA number of this announcement, and the TPOC name, if known. If submitted under Funding Area Two (Seedling) the Cover page shall indicate which of the three Technical Thrusts the proposal will address.

b. ––TECHNICAL CONTENT (Funding Area Two (Seedling)) (not to exceed four pages):

i. Scientific (max. 3 pages) – What is your basic idea? Why is it innovative? What are the technical challenges to this idea you will be focused on with your research? What are the scientific and technical approaches to overcome the challenges?

ii. Impact (max 0.5 page) – If successful, how will this work improve the capabilities (energy density, sensitivity, structural properties, synthesis, and prediction of properties and characteristics) of future energetic materials and energetic material systems?

iii. Programmatic (max 0.5 page) – To the extent known at this point, provide details on the research team (if more than one PI), timeline, deliverables, and estimated cost of the research. Brief per year descriptions are an acceptable level of granularity.

c. ADDENDUM (Funding Area Two (Seedling) not to exceed 1 page):

Include biographical sketches of the key personnel who will perform the research, highlighting their qualifications and experience.

3. Restrictive Markings on whitepapers:

a. Any proprietary data that the applicant intends to be used only by the Government for evaluation purposes must be clearly marked. The applicant must also identify any technical data or computer software contained in the whitepaper that is to be treated by the Government as limited rights in technical data and restricted rights in computer software. In the absence of such identification, the Government will conclude there are no limitations or restrictions on technical data or computer software included in the whitepaper. Records or data bearing a restrictive legend may be included in the whitepaper. It is the intent of the Army to treat all whitepapers as procurement sensitive before award and to disclose their contents only for the purpose of evaluation.

Care must be exercised to ensure that classified, sensitive, and critical technologies are not included in a whitepaper. If such information is required, appropriate restrictive markings and procedures should be applied prior to submission of the whitepaper.

b. Applicants are cautioned, however, that portions of the whitepapers may be subject to release under terms of the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, as amended.

4. Evaluation and Disposition of whitepapers

a. Evaluation Process: Applicants are advised that invitations for proposals will be made based on the whitepaper submission and the availability of funding. The whitepaper will be evaluated for

1) the concept’s scientific merit, 2) technical and resource plausibility, and 3) potential contributions of the effort to the Army and DoD mission. Applicants whose whitepapers are evaluated as having significant scientific merit may be invited to submit a full proposal. An applicant may not submit a proposal without submitting a whitepaper and receiving a proposal invite from the Government.

b. Disposition Process: The applicant will be notified in writing (email) after completion of the evaluation. Whitepapers will not be returned to applicants.

5. Whitepaper Submission

All whitepapers must be emailed directly to the following email address:

usarmy.rtp.devcom-arl.mbx.baa4@army.mil

In the email subject line, include the phrase “Whitepaper Submission EBRC,” the BAA number W911NF-25-S-0001, and the research thrust area from Section II.A.2 of this BAA. Whitepapers submitted via email must be in a single PDF formatted file as an email attachment.

mailto:usarmy.rtp.devcom-arl.mbx.baa4@army.mil

E. PROPOSAL PREPARATION INFORMATION

1. Funding Area Two Proposal (Seedling) Information

a. Eligibility. An Applicant that does NOT submit a timely and compliant Whitepaper under Funding Area Two (Seedling) is NOT eligible to submit a Funding Area Two (Seedling) Proposal for consideration for funding. Only the most highly rated Whitepapers will receive an invitation from the government to submit a Proposal. An Applicant that does NOT receive an invitation from the government to submit a Proposal is NOT eligible to submit a Funding Area Two (Seedling) Proposal.

b. Research Sought and Duration. Proposals in the amount of $60k-$250k per year are sought for research in the areas identified Section II.A.2.in the research thrust areas section of this BAA.

The awards will contain a base period for 24 months.

2. Proposal Preparation.

a. Eligible applicants should submit proposals with technical sections that are no more than ten

(10) pages in length for Funding Area Two (Seedling) proposals. Proposals to Funding Area Two (Seedling) shall clearly state in the forefront material the Technical Thrust addressed by the proposal. No brochures or explanatory material should be submitted with the proposal.

b. Proposed research efforts must be “stand alone” and not predicated on the use of any facilities other than those under the direct control of the applicant(s).

c. The research proposal should follow the format set forth in Section II.F (Proposal Application and Submission Information) of this BAA. Limited rights in technical data and restricted rights in computer software should be identified as an attachment to the proposal. Otherwise, it will be concluded that the proposal does not contain any such limitations or restrictions.

d. The principal investigator(s) (PI) should disclose and explain the relevance of the proposal to the research interests identified earlier in the research thrust areas of this BAA.

F. PROPOSAL APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Address to View Broad Agency Announcement

This BAA may be accessed via the following websites:

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

b. Federal Business Opportunities (beta.SAM.gov) - FBO.gov has been moved to beta.SAM.gov and is now known as Contract Opportunities.

c. ARL website: https://arl.devcom.army.mil/collaborate-with-us/opportunity/broad-agency-announcement/

Amendments to this BAA, if any, will be posted to these websites when they occur. Interested parties are encouraged to periodically check these websites for updates and amendments.

The following information is for those invited to respond to this BAA:

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

a. General Information

i. Preliminary Inquiries: Potential applicants may make preliminary inquiries to the TPOCs and/or Program Manager as to the appropriateness of the type of research effort contemplated, before expending extensive effort in preparing a whitepaper and/or detailed proposal or submitting proprietary information.

*NOTE: The Government will not be obligated by any discussion that arises out of preliminary inquiries.

ii. Classified Submissions: Classified proposals are not accepted under this BAA.

iii. Use of Color in Proposals: All proposals received will be stored as electronic images. Electronic color images require a significantly larger amount of storage space than black-and-white images. As a result, applicants’ use of color in proposals should be minimal and used only when necessary for details. Do not use color if it is not necessary.

iv. Post-Employment Conflict of Interest: There are certain post-employment restrictions on former federal employees, including special government employees (18 U.S.C. 207). If a prospective applicant believes a conflict of interest may exist, the situation should be discussed with the TPOC listed in the BAA for their area of scientific research who will then coordinate with appropriate ARO legal counsel prior to the applicant expending time and effort in preparing a proposal.

v. Statement of Disclosure Preference: In accordance with Section II.F.4.iii of this BAA, ARO Form 52 or 52A shall be completed stating your preference for release of information contained in your proposal.

Copies of these forms may be downloaded from the ARO web site at https://arl.devcom.army.mil/resources/baa-forms

NOTE: Proposals may be handled for administrative purposes by support contractors. These support http://www.grants.gov/ https://arl.devcom.army.mil/collaborate-with-us/opportunity/broad-agency-announcement/ https://arl.devcom.army.mil/collaborate-with-us/opportunity/broad-agency-announcement/ contractors are prohibited from submitting proposals under this BAA and are bound by non-disclosure and/or conflict of interest requirements as deemed appropriate.

vi. Equipment: Normally, title to equipment or other tangible property purchased with Government funds vests with nonprofit institutions of higher education or with nonprofit organizations whose primary purpose is conducting scientific research if vesting will facilitate scientific research performed for the Government. For-profit organizations are expected to possess the necessary plant and equipment to conduct the proposed research. Deviations may be made on a case-by-case basis to allow for-profit organizations to purchase equipment but regulatory disposition instructions must be followed.

3. The Application Process

The application process is in three stages as follows:

i.Stage 1-. Prospective applicants must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) (https://www.sam.gov) prior to submitting an application or plan.

ii. Stage 2 – Prospective proposers are required to submit whitepapers prior to the submission of a complete, more detailed proposal as described in the sections above.

iii. Stage 3 – The most highly rated and approved whitepaper applicants will be invited by the Government and are required to submit proposals in order to be considered for funding. Only applicants requested by the TPOCs and/or the Program Manager are eligible to submit proposals. All proposals submitted under the terms and conditions cited in this BAA will be reviewed.

All proposals for Assistance Instruments must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov using Workspace. Proposals for Contracts may be submitted via either Grants.gov or email to:

usarmy.rtp.devcom-arl.mbx.baa4@army.mil

See Section II.F.4 of this BAA for information on the proposal submission process.

Requests for waiver of electronic submission requirements may be submitted via email to:

usarmy.rtp.devcom-arl.mbx.baa4@army.mil or regular mail (USPS):

Army Research Office ATTN: RDRL-RO (Proposal Processing) P.O. Box 12211

RTP, NC 27709-2211

All required forms for proposals may be downloaded from the ARO web site at:

https://arl.devcom.army.mil/resources/baa-forms https://www.sam.gov/

4. Preparation of Proposals

a. Proposal Contents

i. COVER PAGE:

(1) A Cover Page is required. For contract proposals submitted by email, use ARO Form 51. For all Assistance instruments and contract proposals submitted via Grants.gov, use the SF 424 (R&R) Form. Proposals will not be processed without either: (1) a signed Cover Page, ARO Form 51, or (2) a SF 424 (R&R) Form.

(2) Should the project be carried out at a branch campus or other component of the applicant, that branch campus or component should be identified in the space provided (Block 11 on the ARO Form 51 and Block 12 on the SF 424 (R&R) Form).

(3) The title of the proposed project should be brief, scientifically representative, intelligible to a scientifically-literate reader, and suitable for use in the public domain.

(4) The proposed duration for which support is requested should be consistent with the nature and complexity of the proposed activity.

(5) Specification of a desired starting date for the project is important and helpful; however, requested effective dates cannot be guaranteed.

(6) Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 7701, as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 [Section 31001(I)(1), Public Law 104-134] and implemented by 32 CFR 22.420(d), federal agencies shall obtain each awardees’ Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). The TIN is being obtained for purposes of collecting and reporting on any delinquent amounts that may arise out of an awardees’ relationship with the Government.

(7) Applicants shall provide their organization’s Unique Entity Identifier (formerly DUNS). This number is a nine-digit number assigned by SAM. See Section II.F.4.d of this BAA for requirements pertaining to the Unique Entity Identifier.

(8) Applicants shall provide their assigned Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code. The CAGE Code is a 5-character code assigned and maintained by the Defense Logistics Service Center (DLSC) to identify a commercial plant or establishment.

ii. TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Use the following format for the Table of Contents. Forms are available at https://arl.devcom.army.mil/resources/baa-forms under “BAA Forms” (Forms, ARO BAA Forms).

SECTION PAGE NUMBER Table of

Contents A-1

Statement of Disclosure Preference (Form 52 or 52A) B-1

Research and Related Other Project Information B-2

Project Abstract C-1

Project Description (Technical Proposal) D-1 Biographical

Sketch E-1 Bibliography F-

Current and Pending Support G-1 Facilities, Equipment, and Other Resources H-1

Proposal Budget I-1

Contract Facilities Capital Cost of Money (DD Form 1861) J-1

Appendices K-1

List Appendix Items:

This format applies to all proposals submitted via email and via Grants.gov. Applicants should show the location of each section of the proposal, as well as major subdivisions of the project description.

iii. STATEMENT OF DISCLOSURE PREFERENCE (FORM 52 OR 52A): Complete and sign ARO Form 52 (Industrial Contractors) or ARO Form 52A (Educational and Nonprofit Organizations).

iv. RESEARCH AND RELATED OTHER PROJECT INFORMATION: Must be completed and signed by all applicants.

v. PROJECT ABSTRACT:

(1) The project abstract shall be completed on the form entitled “Publicly Releasable Project

Abstract” found at the following website: https://arl.devcom.army.mil/resources/baa-forms.

(2) Unless otherwise instructed in this BAA, the project abstract shall include a concise statement of work and basic approaches to be used in the proposed effort. The abstract should include a statement of scientific objectives, methods to be employed, and the significance of the proposed effort to the advancement of scientific knowledge.

(3) The abstract should be no longer than one (1) page (maximum 4,000 characters).

(4) The project abstract shall be marked by the applicant as publicly releasable. By submission of the project abstract, the applicant confirms that the abstract is releasable to the public. For a proposal that results in a grant award, the project abstract will be posted to a searchable website available to the general public to meet the requirements of Section 8123 of the DoD Appropriations Act, 2015. The website address is https://www.dtic.mil

(5) The Abstract shall clearly indicate to which Funding Area the Proposal is being submitted.

(6) Proposals to Funding Area Two (Seedling) shall clearly state which Technical Thrust the proposal addresses.

vi. PROJECT DESCRIPTION (TECHNICAL PROPOSAL): The technical portion of the proposal is limited to ten (10) pages for proposals under Funding Area Two (Seedling) and shall contain the following:

(1) A complete discussion stating the background and objectives of the proposed work, the challenges to achieving the objectives, scientific approaches to be considered, the relationship to competing or related research, and the level of effort to be employed. Include also the nature and extent of the anticipated results and how they will significantly advance the scientific state-of-the-art.

Also, include the manner in which the work will contribute to the accomplishment of the Army and DoD’s mission. Ensure the proposal identifies any scientific uncertainties and describes specific approaches for the resolution or mitigation of the uncertainties. More specifically, the proposal shall include:

(a) A list intellectual property owners, if any

(b) A brief description of the overall goal for the effort

(c) Impact, if successful, both to the Army and DoD

(d) For background include how is it done today, what is new in your approach and why you think it will be successful

(e) List any…