FISCAL YEAR
2003 DEPSCoR ANNOUNCEMENT
The Fiscal Year
2003 Department of Defense
Experimental
Program to Stimulate Competitive Research
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION
II. AREAS OF INTEREST
III. CONDITIONS
IV. DATES
V. PROPOSALS
A. Proposal
Submission
B. Proposal Content
C. Financial Content
of the Proposal
D. Proposal
Evaluation and Selection
E. Awards
Appendix A: NSF EPSCoR State Committees
Appendix B: Late Submissions and Withdrawals of
Proposals
Appendix C: Proposal Cover
Appendix D: Certifications Regarding Debarment,
Suspension, and Other
Responsibility
Matters; Restrictions on Lobbying; and
Drug-Free
Workplace Requirements
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The Department of Defense Experimental Program
to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR)
I. INTRODUCTION
The Department of Defense (DoD) announces the fiscal year 2003 Department of Defense Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR). The program is sponsored by the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Laboratories and Basic Sciences [ODUSD(LABS)] and will be administered through the Army Research Office (ARO), Office of Naval Research (ONR), Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), and the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) with the cooperation of the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) State Committees. The DoD plans to award fiscal year 2003 DEPSCoR appropriations through this announcement. ARO, ONR, AFOSR, and MDA (henceforth referred to as "agencies") will award research grants based on this announcement. It is anticipated that the Army, Navy, and Air Force will each receive an equal portion of the FY03 funds available to support proposals accepted under this BAA. It is further anticipated that the MDA will receive an amount of funds equal to approximately one fourth of that available to the Army, Navy, or Air Force.
The program statute for DEPSCoR (section 257 of Public
Law 103-337, as amended) states that DEPSCoR's objectives are to: (1) enhance
the capabilities of institutions of
higher education ("universities") in eligible States to develop,
plan, and execute science and engineering research that is competitive under
the peer‑review systems used for awarding Federal research assistance;
and (2) increase the probability of long‑term growth in the competitively
awarded financial assistance that universities in eligible States receive from
the Federal Government for science and engineering research. Consistent with these long‑term
objectives of building research infrastructure, the DoD intends to
competitively make, and fund from fiscal year 2003 appropriations, multiyear
awards for research and for associated graduate education of scientists and
engineers in areas important to national defense.
Only National Science Foundation (NSF) EPSCoR State
Committees (see Appendix A) may submit proposal packages in response to this
announcement. Universities in EPSCoR States/territories with degree granting
programs in science, mathematics, and/or engineering are eligible to submit
proposals for DEPSCoR research grants via their EPSCoR State Committee proposal
package. Currently, universities in 18
States, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands (listed below) are eligible to
receive awards under this announcement.
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STATES AND TERRITORIES
CURRENTLY ELIGIBLE FOR DEPSCoR AWARDS
Alabama Nevada
Alaska
North Dakota
Arkansas Oklahoma
Hawaii South
Carolina
Idaho South
Dakota
Kansas Vermont
Kentucky West Virginia
Maine
Wyoming
Montana Puerto Rico
Nebraska U.S.
Virgin Islands
II.
AREAS
OF INTEREST
The Army, Navy, and Air Force (Services), and the Missile
Defense Agency (MDA) publish their specific research areas of interest in
separate Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs).
DEPSCoR research projects may address any of the technical areas listed
in the Services' or MDA’s BAA.
BAAs and program
descriptions are available on-line at the following addresses:
U.S. Army
Research Office:
http://www.aro.army.mil (select “Funding Opportunities”)
Select BAA# DAAD19-00-R-0010, See Part I, A
(Army Research Office)
The help
line is available at 919-549-4375
Office of
Naval Research:
http://www.onr.navy.mil (select "Science and Technology")
Air Force
Office of Scientific Research:
http://www.afosr.af.mil
(select "Research Opportunities")
The help
line is available at 301-975-0103 from 8:30 to 5:00 p.m.
http://www.acq.osd.mil/bmdo/barbb/barbb.htm
Proposals to perform research in listed technical areas,
or other areas important to national defense, will be considered. For detailed information regarding technical
goals,
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potential proposers are
advised to consult these announcements and to contact DoD
program managers listed
therein to explore possible mutual interest before submitting proposals.
DEPSCoR may fund single investigator or multiple
investigator research proposals and, to a lesser extent, center of excellence
research proposals. Multiple
institution or multiple investigator research projects that are not fully
integrated to address one focused technical issue are not normally funded and
are discouraged. Given the intent of
the DEPSCoR program to build infrastructure, DEPSCoR can provide more funding
for critical research-infrastructure elements than traditional,
single-investigator awards. Therefore,
to support the proposed research, a DEPSCoR proposal appropriately may request
more funding for infrastructure elements than a single-investigator
proposal. For example, funding for
training graduate students and for acquiring or refurbishing instrumentation
needed to conduct the proposed research are appropriate infrastructure
expenditures. The awards are to be
forward funded, generally for activities not to exceed a three year
period. In this way, DEPSCoR
contributes to the States' goals of developing new research capabilities and
infrastructure while simultaneously supporting DoD research goals.
Proposals for the construction or refurbishment of
buildings will not be considered under this solicitation. Administrative costs incurred by the EPSCoR
State Committees, associated with either the preparation of proposals or
related to the administration of grants resulting from this solicitation, are
the responsibility of the EPSCoR State Committees and are nonreimbursable by
DoD. State Committees are encouraged to
include proposal sections from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (as
determined by the Secretary of Education to meet requirements of 34 CFR Section
608.2) and from Minority Institutions (HBCU/MIs) (as defined by 10 U.S.C. §
2323 (a)(1)(C)) in their proposal packages.
However, no funds are specifically allocated for HBCU/MI participation.
III. CONDITIONS
Only EPSCoR State Committees established for the purposes
of NSF's EPSCoR program may submit proposal packages in response to this
announcement. Awards made as a result
of this solicitation will be limited to universities in States/territories that
are eligible under the DEPSCoR program authority at the time awards are
announced. Currently, there are EPSCoR State Committees in 18 States,
Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands (see Appendix A) which are eligible
under the DEPSCoR program authority.
Universities in NSF EPSCoR States/territories with degree
granting programs in
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science, mathematics, and/or
engineering may submit proposals for DEPSCoR research
grants via their EPSCoR
State Committee. Each State Committee
will decide which
DEPSCoR proposals submitted to it will be forwarded to DoD (see
limits described below). Proposals not submitted through an EPSCoR State
Committee will be rejected.
Each NSF EPSCoR State Committee may submit a proposal
package requesting up to $5 million
of support from DoD for a 36-month effort. Each proposal package may contain up
to ten (10) separately fundable
sections requesting
a minimum of $500,000 each. DoD may select or reject an entire State
proposal package or fund only sections of a State proposal package.
To maximize the DEPSCoR program objectives, DEPSCoR awards require an
annual minimum non-federal cost sharing or matching of one-to-two (i.e., at
least one dollar from State, institutional, and/or private sector sources to
match each two dollars of DEPSCoR support being provided). Matching funds may support items such as
salaries, indirect costs, operating expenses, or new equipment. The review process will take into account
the magnitude and scope of the non-federal investment in support of the State's
DEPSCoR objectives.
Sufficient funds are not available to meet all research
and infrastructure needs of the universities in all DEPSCoR
States. It is
the responsibility of the EPSCoR State Committee to encourage, identify and
submit proposal sections which are most likely to: (1) enhance the capabilities
of universities to become more competitive under the peer-review systems used
for awarding Federal research assistance; and
(2) increase the probability of long-term growth in DoD research support
for focused areas of interest within each State. Awards will be restricted to universities
doing or demonstrably capable of doing research of interest to DoD. Each separately fundable section of the
States' proposal packages may be for support of equipment and either a single
investigator, multiple investigator, or to a lesser extent, center of
excellence research proposal
in a focused research area.
Although the DEPSCoR is a multi-agency program with multiple contacts for technical discussion, one DoD agency (either ARO, AFOSR, ONR, or MDA) must be listed as the "lead reviewer" of each separately fundable section of the State's proposal package. If a lead reviewer (i.e. agency) is not listed, one will be assigned. If possible, also list the specific division/directorate in the agency's organization requested to review each section (listed in the agency's BAA). The listed lead reviewer will have primary responsibility for reviewing that separately fundable section of the proposal package. It is anticipated that the Army, Navy, and Air Force will each receive an equal portion of the FY03 funds available to support proposals accepted under this BAA. It is further anticipated that the MDA will receive an amount of funds equal to approximately one fourth of that available to the Army, Navy, or Air Force. For FY02 the distribution of
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proposals submitted to lead reviewers was as follows: 41% Army, 32% Navy, 24% Air Force and 3% MDA. Other agencies will review the research area of every State proposal section to determine relevance to their research priorities. The agencies may then choose to do a full review of a section for which they are not the lead reviewer in order to determine their possible interest in funding or co-funding that section.
DEPSCoR funds may be used to enhance existing or develop
new research capabilities in support of DoD research goals. Proposals may contain requests for equipment
necessary for the completion of the proposed research. General-purpose computing facilities and
purely instructional equipment are not appropriate for DEPSCoR funding, but
requests for funding for specialized computers required for specific DEPSCoR
research programs are appropriate. DoD recognizes that the infrastructure
aspect of DEPSCoR may lead to the purchase of equipment that has utility beyond
the specific research effort proposed. Funds under DEPSCoR may not be
used for construction or modification of buildings or facilities.
IV. DATES
Proposals, in the
quantity and format described herein, must be received at
Army Research Office (ARO) no later than 4:00 p.m. local time on October
24, 2002.
Proposals received after the designated time and date will
be handled in accordance with the procedures in the provision titled "Late
Submissions and Withdrawals of Proposals" (See Appendix B). As noted therein, proposals sent by U.S.
Postal Service Express Mail by October 21st, 2002 will be accepted and
considered for an award. Only NSF
EPSCoR State Committees may submit proposals.
Award recommendations for FY 2003 DEPSCoR funds will be
announced on or about January 31,
2003, and will be followed up with a letter to the EPSCoR State
Committees. Each Committee will be
responsible for notifying all the participating institutions of higher education
in its State of the award recommendations.
Proposals should cite JUNE 1,
2003 as the proposed start date.
V. PROPOSALS
A. Proposal
Submission
EPSCoR State Committees shall submit the State proposal
package. Each
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separately fundable section
of the proposal package must bear, as a cover, Appendix C
and must have a separate
budget. Plastic covers (clear or
otherwise) or binders shall not be used.
The individual sections must be signed by appropriate university
officials and marked original.
The original and nine (9) copies of the signed original must be sent to
ARO at one of the following addresses:
Use this address for
commercial carriers: Use this
address for U.S. Mail:
U.S. Army Research
Office
U.S. Army Research Office
ATTN: AMSRL-RO-RI (02-R-0006) ATTN: AMSRL-RO-RI
(02-R-0006)
4300 South Miami
Boulevard
P.O. Box 12211
Durham, NC 27703-9142 Research Triangle Park,
NC Phone # (919) 549-4207,
Mr. David Seitz
27709-2211
Please note that proposals delivered by
commercial carriers are considered "hand carried" and no exceptions
can be made which allow such proposals to be considered if, for any reason, they are received after the deadline. Offerors are advised that some proposals responding to past
announcements that were sent via commercial carriers were delayed during
shipment and arrived after the deadlines, typically by one or two days. To decrease the possibility that proposals
delivered by commercial carriers will arrive after the deadline and thus be
ineligible to compete, offerors are encouraged to schedule delivery to occur
well before the deadline date.
Each proposal
should be typed with 1 inch margins on 8-1/2 x 11 inch white paper, and with a
font size not smaller than 10-12 point.
Each separately fundable section should be bound or stapled separately,
with no more than 25 single-sided
pages, not counting the cover (Appendix C), and the budget. Separate attachments, such as brochures or
reprints, will not be accepted.
Proposals submitted in whole or in part by electronic media (computer
disk or tape, facsimile machine, electronic mail, etc.) will not be accepted.
Each State proposal
package should also contain two copies of an executive summary not exceeding
ten (10) pages from the EPSCoR State Committee which relates the proposed
research to both DoD needs and State goals for stimulating competitive research
capabilities.
B. Proposal Content
Each separately fundable section of the proposal package must be complete and self-contained to qualify for review.
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The DoD is interested
primarily in the research and related science and engineering education and the
research related infrastructure development that the research facilitates. For this reason, the proposal must adequately
describe the effort so that judgments can be made on relevance to DoD research
goals and the infrastructure benefit.
1. Cover: Each
separately fundable section must bear Appendix C as a cover. For each section, no other sheet or page
should precede this cover. Each section
of the original proposal package and each copy must include this cover. To
facilitate review, the lead reviewer's Division or Directorate having a
research area of interest best matching the proposed research should be
listed. The name of an individual at the lead reviewer (ARO, ONR, AFOSR, or MDA) can be included here as a suggested reviewer,
or the technical area addressed by the proposal can be listed.
2. Abstract: The abstract of the proposed research for each separately fundable
section should be no more than one page.
The abstract must be contained within the 25 page limit.
3. Text: The technical portion of each separately fundable section shall
contain (within the 25
page limit) the following:
(a)
Describe
in detail the research to be undertaken.
State the objectives and approach and the relationship to the state of
knowledge in the field and to comparable work elsewhere. Include an appropriate bibliography and list
of literature citations. Discuss the
nature of the expected results.
(b)
Describe
how this effort relates to and advances the research infrastructure development
goals of the university or the State.
(c)
Describe
plans for the education of graduate students in the specified research areas of
interest. Estimate the number of
graduate students and of other technical personnel who will be directly
associated with the project.
(d)
Describe
plans for the involvement and interaction with DoD, other federal laboratories,
industry or other existing research centers of excellence.
(e)
Describe
facilities available for performing the proposed research and any additional
facilities or equipment that the organization proposes to acquire at its own
expense.
(f)
Provide
a rationale for each item of equipment requested in the budget and how this
equipment will contribute to the infrastructure building goals of the proposal.
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(g)
Identify
other parties who will receive the proposal or who will partially fund the
proposed effort or activity.
4. Curriculum Vitae: Furnish a brief vitae for key personnel
critical to the research, including senior investigators. Provide short biographical sketches and list
relevant publications. This information must be contained within the 25-page
limit.
C. Financial
Content of the Proposal (Budget)
The financial portion of each separately fundable section
should contain a cost estimate for the proposed effort that is sufficiently
detailed by element of cost for meaningful evaluation. The budget must include the
period-of-performance (with a proposed June
1, 2003 start date), a total estimated cost of the project, and the amount
and source of project funding (i.e., funds requested from DoD, any funds
provided under current grants or contracts with DoD or other federal agencies,
and non-federal funds to be provided as cost sharing or matching). The estimated project costs must be shown in
total as well as broken down for each year of the program to show the following
cost elements:
1. Salary Costs: For all employees, indicate the amount of
time being charged to this proposed project (e.g., number of months) and show
resulting costs based on current or projected salary and benefits.
2. Supplies and Materials: Estimate costs of supplies and materials.
3. Equipment: Describe any equipment to be acquired and the basis of cost
estimates. Costs should be based on
recent quotations from manufacturers or distributors.
4. Travel Costs: Estimate the required amount of travel and
state its
relationship to the
research. List the proposed destinations
and basis of cost estimates.
5. Publication and Report Costs: Estimate the costs of publishing and
reporting research results.
6.
Subaward Costs: Support
the estimate of subaward work by indicating the specific items or portion of
the work to be subawarded, type of subaward anticipated, name of subawardee,
and a detailed cost summary.
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7.
Consultant Costs: State the planned daily
consultant fee and travel
expenses, the nature of the consulting effort, and the reason consultants are required to complete the effort.
8. Communication
Costs: Estimate communication costs
(i.e., long distance telephone calls, telegrams, and postage) not included in
overhead.
9. Other
Direct Costs: Itemize other
anticipated direct costs such as rental for computers and other equipment. Unusual or expensive items should be fully
justified.
10. Overhead Rates: State whether or not a recent predetermined
or provisional overhead rate has been negotiated by a federal agency and, if
so, when and by which federal agency.
Always state the basis on which the overhead rate is calculated (i.e.,
"salaries and wages" or "total costs") and the period of the
grantee's fiscal year. Include a copy
of any current indirect rate agreement or provide a URL if this document is
available from the internet.
11. Total
Costs: Give the total costs, year
by year, and the cost for the entire proposed grant period.
12. Cost Sharing or Matching Plans: Construct a table showing the cost sharing
or matching share committed to this DEPSCoR proposal section in the following
categories: State, institutional, and
private sector. In each category, show
the amount and nature of the planned expenditure share (e.g., State
appropriation, equipment, faculty release time for research, etc.). A signed statement of commitment regarding
the cost sharing or matching funds described above should be obtained from the
appropriate State, institutional, and/or private sector officials.
D. Certifications
All awards require certifications of compliance with
national policy requirements. Statutes
and government wide regulations require some certifications to be submitted at
the time of proposal submission rather than at the time of award. Proposers, by signing and submitting a
proposal with the required cover, Appendix C, are providing the certification
at 32 CFR Part 25 regarding debarment, suspension, and other responsibility
matters; the certification at 32 CFR Part 25 regarding drug-free workplace
requirements; and the certification at 32 CFR Part 28 regarding lobbying. Full text of these certifications may be
found in Appendix D.
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E. Proposal Evaluation and Selection
Cognizant DoD technical program managers will review
separately fundable sections of the States' proposal packages that are in their
technical areas. Based on evaluations
by DoD program managers using the seven criteria below, separately fundable
sections will be selected for funding by the participating agencies. The agencies will reconcile any overlap and
coordinate complementary efforts to ensure the broadest impact with the funds
available.
The primary evaluation criteria (of equal importance to
each other) will be:
1.
The
scientific and technical merits of the proposed research.
2.
The
potential contributions of the proposed research to the defense missions of the
participating agencies.
3.
The
likelihood of the proposed effort to advance the research infrastructure goals
of the university or State by developing new or enhancing existing research
capabilities and to broaden the university research base in support of national
defense.
4.
The
potential to contribute to the education of future scientists and engineers in
disciplines critical to the DoD mission.
Other evaluation criteria
(of less importance than 1, 2, 3, and 4 but of equal importance to each other)
are:
5.
The
qualifications, capabilities, experience, and past research accomplishments of
the proposed Principal Investigator, team leader and other key personnel who
are critical to achieving the objectives of the proposal.
6.
The
proposed involvement and interaction with DoD or other federal laboratories,
industry, or other existing research centers of excellence.
7.
The
realism and reasonableness of cost, cost sharing or matching, and availability
of funds.
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