AFRL Center for Entrepreneurial Space Grant

The below questions are the Government’s clarifications and/or responses to the Funding Opportunity FA9453-10-2-0004 posted on 16 Jun 2010.

1. Question: Section three for award information of announcement FA9453-10-2-0004 lists non-profit organizations are eligible for consideration. Does this include not-for-profit organizations also?
• Response: Essentially, both nonprofit and not-for-profit are the same and can be used interchangeably. The Government’s intent is that the potential recipient must be an organization that does not exist to earn or distribute taxable wealth to individuals or stakeholders (i.e. for-profit).

2. Question: Is notice FA9453-10-2-0004 geared toward a company overseeing and coordinating the tasks listed, or is the notice actually looking for small aerospace companies to provide proposals for development of technologies in collaboration with a university?
• Response: Referencing notice FA9453-10-2-0004, Section II, 1.0., Funding Amount and Project Period of Performance, AFRL plans to make one award. Specifically, AFRL is seeking one company to execute Attachment A, Statement of Work.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY AMENDMENTS: Offerors should monitor http://www.grants.gov for any additional notices to this funding opportunity that may permit extensions to the proposal submission date or otherwise modify this announcement.

The below paragraphs from Funding Opportunity FA9453-10-2-0004 posted on 16 Jun 2010 are amended to correct the “day” proposals are due in the Executive Summary and the notification of funding decisions date to the applicants in Full Text Announcement Section VI, 1.0.

Executive Summary: AFRL will consider all proposals that are postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service, hand-delivered, sent through an official service with documentation indicating AFRL acceptance from a delivery service, or submitted via Grants.gov on or before 2:00 mountain standard time on Friday, 16 July 2010. Any proposals postmarked, hand delivered, or submitted via the Grants.gov website at http://www.grants.gov after the due date and time will not be considered for funding. No proposals will be accepted by facsimile, or email.

SECTION VI: Award Administration Information
1.0 Award Notices
It is expected that applicants will be notified in writing of funding decisions on or around 3 August 2010 either via email or U.S. Postal Service. Notification of selection does not indicate that the applicant can start work on the project. Program initiation is dependent upon award of the Cooperative Agreement.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY AMENDMENTS: Offerors should monitor http://www.grants.gov for any additional notices to this funding opportunity that may permit extensions to the proposal submission date or otherwise modify this announcement.

The below paragraphs from Funding Opportunity FA9453-10-2-0004 posted on 16 Jun 2010 are amended to correct the “day” proposals are due in the Executive Summary and the notification of funding decisions date to the applicants in Full Text Announcement Section VI, 1.0.

Executive Summary: AFRL will consider all proposals that are postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service, hand-delivered, sent through an official service with documentation indicating AFRL acceptance from a delivery service, or submitted via Grants.gov on or before 2:00 mountain standard time on Friday, 16 July 2010. Any proposals postmarked, hand delivered, or submitted via the Grants.gov website at http://www.grants.gov after the due date and time will not be considered for funding. No proposals will be accepted by facsimile, or email.

SECTION VI: Award Administration Information
1.0 Award Notices
It is expected that applicants will be notified in writing of funding decisions on or around 3 August 2010 either via email or U.S. Postal Service. Notification of selection does not indicate that the applicant can start work on the project. Program initiation is dependent upon award of the Cooperative Agreement.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY AMENDMENTS: Offerors should monitor http://www.grants.gov for any additional notices to this funding opportunity that may permit extensions to the proposal submission date or otherwise modify this announcement.

Important Dates:

16 June 2010 Issuance of Solicitation
16 July 2010 Proposal Submission Deadline (See Section IV for more information)
3 August 2010 Approximate Date to notify applicants of results
19 August 2010 Approximate award date

Executive Summary

The Air Force Research Laboratory, Space Vehicles Directorate, Technology and Education Outreach Branch (AFRL/RVOT) is announcing a request for proposals for supporting or stimulating the creation and development of entrepreneurial space companies, commercializing their technologies, and developing the workforce to fuel their growth. The immediate benefit of the effort is to promote economic and workforce development in the aerospace industry. Ultimately the new companies and workforce development programs should provide innovative technologies and well-qualified scientists, engineers, and technicians to meet both commercial and military space requirements.

Subject to the availability of funding, AFRL/RVOT plans to award one cooperative agreement under this notice pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 6305. Funding for this program is anticipated from a Congressional Add. The anticipated effort will cover a technical period of performance of one year and six months.

AFRL will consider all proposals that are postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service, hand-delivered, sent through an official service with documentation indicating AFRL acceptance from a delivery service, or submitted via Grants.gov on or before 2:00 mountain standard time on Wednesday, 16 July 2010. Any proposals postmarked, hand delivered, or submitted via the Grants.gov website at http://www.grants.gov after the due date and time will not be considered for funding. No proposals will be accepted by facsimile, or email.

Air Force Research Laboratory, Space Vehicles Directorate
Center for Entrepreneurial Space
Initial Funding Opportunity Announcement
FA9453-10-2-0004
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number 12.800

FULL TEXT ANNOUNCEMENT

SECTION 1: Funding Opportunity Description

1.0 Background:

The U.S. Space community requires small, innovative space entrepreneurs to maintain the country’s preeminence in the space industry. The Futron Corporation’s annual space competitiveness reports continually re-assess the competitive landscape of space activity. Among many parameters, a common thread through all the reports shows that much of the industrial innovation for space systems emerges from small, nimble entrepreneurial space companies. Continual innovation is essential for the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), Department of Defense (DoD) as well as the U.S. commercial space sector to remain competitive in the space arena. There is significant concern within industry and government regarding the sustainment of innovative small companies to support the space sector. Historically, small space companies have been a prolific source of innovation to all aspects of space technology.

2.0 Objective: To support the creation and development of entrepreneurial space companies, to promote commercialization of their technologies, and to help develop the workforce to fuel their growth.

3.0 Tasks:

3.1 Establish the commercial viability of new technologies being developed by small entrepreneurial space companies for potential relevance to AFRL and other national aerospace entities.

3.2 Provide business incubator resources and services to entrepreneurial space companies in the aerospace industry that have been selected based on an open call and vetted through an evaluation team.

3.3 Provide start up support to a minimum of six participant companies that have been selected as participants in the business incubator. The AFRL Program Manager will assist in the selection process by providing an assessment of the relevance and applicability of each company’s products or technology to Air Force and DoD mission requirements. Support activities can include, but are not limited to any or all of the following:

3.3.1 Establish and provide a level of support funding (if any) for each participant company based on relevance to AFRL and other national aerospace entities.
3.3.2 Provide office space and services (e,g. communications equipment and services; copiers; auditing and legal support; and marketing and web design services), to participant companies requiring such space and services.
3.3.3 Provide commercialization resources and support to participant companies to help commercialize space technologies.
3.3.4 Provide business training and mentoring to participant companies.

3.4 Administer a program for workforce development in aerospace technician positions. Support a minimum of 30 technician trainees into full-time employment in the aerospace industry by encouraging space companies to hire program participants and by providing grants to offset the cost of technical training. AFRL will collaborate in this workforce development activity by making the students aware of hiring opportunities for AFRL permanent positions.

3.5 In conjunction with a top US University with a doctorate granting Aerospace Engineering/Science program, develop and administer a program for workforce development in aerospace science and engineering positions. Assist in funding a minimum of 30 students enrolled in the University’s Aerospace Engineering/Science program in academics and hands-on experience of designing innovative aerospace technology. AFRL will collaborate in this workforce development activity by actively recruiting the students to participate in AFRL’s Phillips and Space Scholars programs and the University NanoSat Program, and by making them aware of hiring opportunities for AFRL permanent positions.

3.6 Stay abreast of the latest trends and developments in the aerospace industry by attending and participating in other national entrepreneurial aerospace programs, organizations, conferences, and symposia deemed to further the mission of the Center.

4.0 Authorizing Statue and Regulations: 31 U.S.C. 6305

SECTION II: Award Information

1.0 Funding Amount and Project Period of Performance: AFRL plans to make one award for approximately $1.4M for the period of performance of this requirement, dependent on the availability of funds. The technical period for performance is one year and six months with three additional months for report writing. The anticipated start date resulting from this solicitation is 19 August 2010.

2.0 Award Type: AFRL has determined that a cooperative agreement is the appropriate assistance instrument.

SECTION III: Award Information

1.0 Eligible Applicants: Non-profit organizations are eligible to submit proposals in response to this notice. For-profit organizations are not eligible to submit proposal in response to this notice.

Applicants are notified effective 1 Jan 1998, in order to be eligible to receive any DoD award, contractors must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) Database, unless the contractor meets any exceptions of DFARS 204.7302. On-line instructions can be accessed from the CCR website home page at http://www.ccr.gov.

All proposals for assistance require certification of compliance with national policy mandates. Statues and Government-wide regulations require some certifications to be submitted at the time of proposal. These certifications are set forth at 2 CFR §180.335 regarding debarment and suspension; 32 CFR 26 regarding drug-free workplace; and 32 CFR Part 28, Appendix A regarding lobbying. The certifications are provided in Attachment C.

An “Administrative Access to Proprietary Information” consent provision is applicable to this announcement with anticipation of incorporation of the provision by reference into any resultant agreement. This provision is included at Attachment D to this notice. The consent form as well as any limitations to FAR certifications must be signed and submitted with the proposal. All proposal packages should clearly indicate any limitations on the disclosure of proprietary information.

Applicants are hereby notified that the Government intends to utilize CC & G and Contract Allocation Services (CAS) contractors for administrative purposes on the award of the final agreement. All contractor personnel will sign a Nondisclosure Agreement and will not use the agreement information for any purpose other than administration.

Applicants are hereby notified that the Government intends to utilize Universal Technology Corporation (UTC) contractors for preparation or assistance in developing the work statement, and interaction with the contractor upon the award of the final agreement. All contractor personnel will sign a Nondisclosure Agreement and will not use the agreement information for any purpose other those actions stated in this paragraph.
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2.0 Threshold Eligibility Criteria: Only proposals from eligible entities (See Section III, 1.0) that meet the threshold eligibility criteria described above in Section III, 1.0 will be evaluated against the criteria in Section V. Applicants deemed ineligible for funding consideration as a result of the threshold eligibility review will be notified in writing within 15 calendar days of the ineligibility determination.

Proposals must substantially comply with the proposal submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section IV of this notice, or they will be rejected. Where a page limit is expressed in Section IV with respect to the narrative proposal, pages in excess of the page limitation will not be reviewed.

In addition, proposals must be post marked by or received via grants.gov on or before the proposal submission deadline published in Section IV of this notice, or they will be rejected. Proposals postmarked or received via Grants.gov after the submission will be considered late and returned to the sender without further consideration unless the applicant can clearly demonstrate that it was late due to AFRL mishandling. For hard copy submissions, where Section IV requires proposal receipt by a specific person/office by the submission deadline, receipt by an agency mailroom is not sufficient. Applicants should confirm receipt of their proposal with the assistance specialist, LaDonna Nivens, at 505-853-2279 or ladonna.nivens@kirtand.af.mil as soon as possible after submission to ensure proposal receipt.

SECTION IV: Application and Submission Information

1.0 Address to Request Application Package:

If you are not registered, go to http://www.Grants.gov and click on “Get Registered” on the left side of the page. Note that the registration process may take up to 21 days to complete actions before you will be able to submit proposals.

To begin the proposal process under this grants notice, go to http://www.grants.gov and click on the “Apply for Grants” tab on the left side of the page. Then click on “Apply Step 1: Download a Grant Application Package” to download the compatible Adobe viewer and obtain the application package. To apply through Grants.gov, you must use Adobe Reader application and download the compatible Adobe Reader version. (Adobe Reader applications are available to download for free on the grants.gov website. For more information on Adobe Reader, please visit the Help section on Grants.gov).

Additionally, the grants.gov Organization Registration Checklist is located at http://www.grants.gov/section3/OrganizationRegCheck.pdf to guide you through the process.

Once you have downloaded the viewer, you may retrieve the application package by entering the Funding Opportunity Number, FA9453-10-02-0004, or the CFDA number 12.800 that applies to the notice, in the appropriate field.

Should you have questions relating to the registration process, system requirements, how an application form works or the submittal process, call Grants.gov at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov.

2.0 Content and Form of Application Submission:

Proposals for grants may be submitted either (1) directly with a hard copy to the AFRL assistance specialist listed in this notice or 2) electronically through the Grants.gov government-wide electronic portal. You must notify the assistance specialist immediately upon submitting your proposal electronically. For Hard Copy Submission: The original proposal plus three (3) copies must be received by AFRL/RVKS, Attn: LaDonna Nivens, 2251 Maxwell Ave SE, Kirtland AFB NM 87117-5773, NLT the deadline located in this section to be considered.
The electronic submission of your proposal must be made by an official representative of your institution who is registered with Grants.gov and is authorized to sign applications for federal assistance.

Each proposal will be evaluated using the criteria referenced in Section V. of this notice. You must submit a singled-spaced narrative proposal of up to 25 pages, but no more than 25 pages (double-sided, if possible) in length by the date and time specified in Section IV. Review the directions for the preparation of the proposal. Proposals not compliant with the requirement will not be considered for funding and will be returned to the applicant.

Proposal Cover Page – SF 424 (R&R) Form: All proposals, both electronic and hard copies, for grants must include SF 424 (R&R) as a cover page. Forms are included in the proposal package located on Grants.gov.

Technical Proposals-Technical proposals are intended to provide a specific approach to accomplishing the requirements in the offeror’s proposed Statement of Work (SOW). The technical proposal is limited to twenty-five (25 pages), excluding the title page/coversheet, resumes, and budget proposal. There is no specific format for technical proposals. Each technical proposal must provide an approach to meet the objectives of the SOW and qualifications and experience of the offeror.

Budget and Schedule -The budget proposal is restricted by page count and shall conform to Attachment B, Instructions for Preparing Budgets (Assistance). Budget detail should clearly identify costs, which are internal to the offeror and those that are used in pursuit of the objectives such as scholarships, training, course preparation, etc. Note: An applicant must demonstrate that it selected the subcontractor (s) competitively or that a proper non-competitive sole source award was consistent with the regulations will be made to the contractor(s), that efforts were made to provide small and disadvantaged businesses with opportunities to compete, and that some form of cost and price analysis was conducted. Tables 1 and 2 shall be completed for the entire performance period. No Profit/Fee will be paid on this Cooperative Agreement. Proposals must stand-alone and be complete. Other Direct Costs Category Year 1 Year 2-This section should also include a program execution schedule; be sure to include the objectives and/or goals, major milestones, throughout the period of performance in this section.

Attachments: A. Scope of Work, B. Cost Proposal Instruction – Assistance, C. Local Non-FAR Representations, and Certifications D. Administrative Access Provision

Proposal Submission Deadline: The deadline for application submission either electronically via Grants.gov or hardcopy at the address listed in this section is 16 July 2010, 2:00 PM mountain standard time.

3.0 Other Submission Requirements:

Additional requirements include the process your organization must complete include: obtaining a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, registering with the Central Contract Registry (CCR), and registering with Grants.gov. Designating an E-Business Point of Contact (EBiz POC) and obtaining a special password called MPIN are important steps in the registration process. Go to www.grants.gov/applicants/org_step5.jsp . Your organization’s E-Business POC, identified during CCR Registration, must authorize someone to become an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). This safeguards your organization from individuals who may attempt to submit proposals without permission. Note: In some organizations, a person may serve as both an E-Business POC and an AOR.

SECTION V: Application Review Information

Evaluation Criteria-AFRL will conduct a merit-based evaluation of each eligible proposal. Organization and clarity of information are critical to all of the evaluation criteria. The evaluation criteria are listed in order of precedence.

(a) The overall innovativeness, merit and soundness of approach proposed toward the requirements stated herein.
(b) Capability to accomplish the requirements in the SOW.
(c) Cost –Realism and reasonableness of cost

No further evaluation criteria will be used in assessing the proposals. The technical and budget proposals will be evaluated at the same time. The Government reserves the right to award none of the proposals received, or to award all, or a portion, of the SOW/technical proposal selected for award. Only the Agreements Officer will make awards and/or conduct negotiations with the selected offeror. Award will be made in accordance with the DoDGARS to the offeror whose proposal package conforms to this Notice of Funding Opportunity and whose proposal is considered most advantageous to the public interest.

SECTION VI: Award Administration Information

1.0 Award Notices
It is expected that applicants will be notified in writing of funding decisions on or around 26 July 2010 either via email or U.S. Postal Service. Notification of selection does not indicate that the applicant can start work on the project. Program initiation is dependent upon awa