University Health and Safety Research for the Mining Industry

CDC Office of Acquisition Services is soliciting university research proposals for NIOSH OMSHR on mining safety and health, with proposals due January 11, 2027 and questions due November 30, 2026. No set-aside is used, but eligibility is limited to U.S. academic institutions with ABET-accredited mining engineering programs. The vehicle is a Broad Agency Announcement, and grants and cooperative agreements will not be issued.

Place of performance is Reno, NV 89509. Research areas include mine ventilation, ground control, equipment safety, emergency preparedness, and occupational exposure monitoring, with emphasis on graduate education and advanced technologies. Eligible offerors must offer ABET-accredited undergraduate programs in mining engineering and graduate programs offering both master's and doctoral-level education in mining engineering. The Principal Investigator must hold a full-time academic appointment at the rank of Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor, with relevant experience in mining safety and health or related fields. Graduate students supported under awards must complete research-based theses or dissertations, and non-thesis graduate programs are ineligible.

The estimated total funding is $10 million, with approximately 5 to 10 awards anticipated. Individual awards are limited to $300,000 per year and $1.2 million total. The period of performance is one 12-month base period followed by three 12-month option periods. Awards will generally be firm-fixed-price contracts, though the Contracting Officer may negotiate a fixed-price Other Transaction Agreement under 42 U.S.C. 242c authority.

Submissions require three mandatory volumes: a Technical Proposal (maximum 20 pages), a Pricing Proposal with narrative and supporting spreadsheet, and an Administrative Proposal. Proposals go electronically to Jennifer Gartzke at xuy7@cdc.gov. Other-than-small offerors must submit a subcontracting plan through the HHS Small Business Customer Experience (SBCX) system by the proposal deadline.

Evaluation factors are scientific merit and relevance (Factor 1), graduate workforce development and research deliverables (Factor 2), research environment and collaboration (Factor 3), past performance (Factor 4), and price (Factor 5). Technical factors are significantly more important than price. The notice carries NAICS 541990, All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services, and PSC R499, Support-Professional: Other. It was posted November 5, 2026.