NineSights Community – Request for Proposal: ‪Materials for Weather Protection of Buildings‬

Due Date: April 4, 2019

Opportunity

The RFP sponsor is open to a range of potential outcomes – licensing, technology acquisition, contract research, joint development, supplier agreement, etc

Timeline

Phase 1 – up to six (6) months from selection of submitted proposals during which the concept is validated/demonstrated and strategies for commercial development are developed

Phase 2 – 18-24 month period during which the technology is demonstrated in pilot line

Financials

Funding up to US$ 75,000 for development of a suitable solution.

Alternatively, the RFP sponsor will consider any reasonable business relationship with qualified partner(s) selected on the ability to address the issues described in this project.

RFP Title
Materials for Weather Protection of Buildings

RFP Description

NineSigma, representing a major building materials manufacturer, invites proposals for methods, materials, or novel approaches to re-inventing weather protection for residential buildings. The weather barrier may be directly exposed or behind a decorative façade, and should be able to withstand thermal, moisture, and UV environments for at least 10 years. Solutions that do not need a decorative façade, that provide lower installed/labor cost versus current solutions, or are cradle-to-cradle approaches are strongly preferred. Solutions that impact vapor barrier, roofing, or sheathing applications are also strongly preferred. The partner is open to a wide range of potential solutions (e.g., replacement with alternative substances, new material architectures, novel processing methods) that can achieve this objective.

Background

Residential homes in North America currently use 13.5 billion square feet of asphalt shingles, over 25 billion square feet of vapor barrier products, and billions of board feet of sheathing. The solutions for these markets are under intense pressure for a variety of reasons, including labor shortages, disposal/sustainability, and evolving building codes for fortified or storm-resistant building design.

The RFP sponsor is seeking novel approaches to weatherproofing for residential construction in North America. Potential solutions from adjacent industries are of significant interest to this client, including approaches that include new or novel materials, innovations in manufacturing processes, and engineering solutions.

Key Success Criteria

The technology must:

• Perform as well as, or better than, weatherproofing approaches currently used in commercial and residential buildings
• Maintain weatherproofing performance characteristics for a minimum of 10 years
• Be able to demonstrate protection from UV exposure, thermal conditions, moisture and vapor permeability without loss of mechanical integrity
• Demonstrate a clear path to high volume production
• Be able to reduce installed cost benefit for currently used approaches in conventional wood frame construction by at least 20%, ideally greater than 50%

Possible Approaches

Possible approaches might include, but are not limited to:

• Materials substitution, functional materials, engineered products, or material structures
• Weatherproofing agents or additives that impart weatherproofing properties in construction materials
• Modifications to current manufacturing processes
• Additive manufacturing (3-D Printing)
• Micro-scale structural reorganization
• Coatings, surface treatments, sealing agents, or other post-processing solutions

Approaches not of Interest

The following approaches are not of interest:

• Approaches that do not have a demonstrable path to high volume production, or that do not save labor
• Modifications of current weatherproofing approaches (e.g. asphalt, Tyvek, etc.) that do not significantly improve performance and/or meet the desired price point noted in this RFP
• Materials or solutions that cannot meet safety or toxicity standards for residential home construction in the U.S.
• Concepts, ideas, or any early-stage technology that has not yet been demonstrated at lab or pilot scale

Items to be Submitted

Your response should address the following:

• Non-confidential description of proposed technology and working principle
• Availability of technical data including weather resistance performance, MSDS, manufacturability, permeability, and durability
• Technical maturity of the approach (concept, reduced to practice, prototype, ready to commercialize, ready to implement, commercialized)
• Pathway to commercial scale including timing, estimated budget, and capacity for manufacture
• Estimated unit cost of proposed technology
• Position on intellectual property including patent references
• Desired relationship with sponsor
• Team description and related experience

What’s New in Federal Grants: Opportunities Supporting Native American Libraries, Community Programming, and More – Grants.gov Community Blog

Native American Library Services Enhancement Grant

• Institute of Museum and Library Services
• Current Closing Date for Applications: May 1, 2019 
• Native American Enhancement grants are competitive grants available to carry out activities, described in 20 U.S.C. 9141, that advance the programs and services of eligible Native American libraries

Burma Leadership Activity

• Agency for International Development, Burma USAID – Rangoon
• Current Closing Date for Applications: April 22, 2019
• The United States Agency for International Development (USAID/Burma) is seeking applications for a Cooperative Agreement from qualified US and non-US organizations to implement the Burma Leadership Activity in which USAID seeks to provide no more than $19 million in total USAID funding over a 5-year period. The Burma Leadership Activity is a scholarship program for promising young individuals in Burma to improve technical competencies and leadership. The scholarship program will also prepare participants to promote respect for ethnic and religious diversity

Planning Grants for Engineering Research Centers (ERC)

• National Science Foundation
• Current Closing Date for Applications: June 3, 2019
• The ERC program is placing greater emphasis on research that leads to societal impact, including convergent approaches, engaging stakeholder communities, and strengthening team formation, in response to the NASEM study recommendations. The ERC program intends to support planning activities leading to convergent research team formation and capacity-building within the engineering community

FY19 High Priority-Commercial Motor Vehicle Grant Program (HP-CMV)

• Department of Transportation, DOT/Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
• Current Closing Date for Applications: April 16, 2019
• The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announces the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 High Priority-Commercial Motor Vehicle (HP-CMV) program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to solicit applications from eligible entities to support the HP-CMV program activities. As the lead government agency responsible for the regulation and safety oversight of commercial motor vehicles (CMV), FMCSA may award HP-CMV funds to support innovative and impactful projects that advance its mission to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. Funding is available for the support of enforcement projects that improve safety and compliance with FMCSA’s regulations for projects that are national in scope, increase public awareness and education, demonstrate new technologies, and reduce the number/rate of CMV crashes

Forecast: National Volunteer Care Corps

• Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living
• Estimated Application Due Date: June 7, 2019
• The Administration for Community Living/Administration on Aging (ACL/AoA) is making this competitive grant opportunity available to eligible entities for the purpose of testing and supporting models of local programming designed to place volunteers in communities to assist family caregivers and/or assists older adults and individuals with disabilities in maintaining independence by providing non-medical care.

What’s New in Federal Grants: Opportunities Supporting Space Science, Youth Mentoring, and More – Grants.gov Community Blog

ROSES 2018: Planetary Mission Concept Studies

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA Headquarters
• Current Closing Date for Applications: May 21, 2019
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) announces the release of its annual NASA Research Announcement (NRA), Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES)– 2018. ROSES is an omnibus NRA, with many individual program elements, each with its own due dates and topics. All together these cover the wide range of basic and applied supporting research and technology in space and Earth sciences supported by SMD. Awards will be made as grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and inter- or intra-agency transfers, depending on the nature of the work proposed, the proposing organization, and/or program requirements

OJJDP FY 19 Mentoring Opportunities for Youth Initiative

• Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention
• Current Closing Date for Applications: April 22, 2019
• The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) supports a wide range of mentoring initiatives aimed at preventing and reducing juvenile delinquency. This multi-category solicitation supports youth mentoring services (1:1, group or peer) provided by National and Multi-State mentoring organizations as well as mentoring for specific populations

OJJDP FY 19 Juvenile Justice Emergency Planning and Demonstration Program

• Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention
• Current Closing Date for Applications: April 22, 2019
• The purpose of the Juvenile Justice Emergency Planning Demonstration Program is to support implementation of the principles outlined in the Emergency Planning for Juvenile Justice Residential Facilities by developing, improving, and/or implementing emergency planning activities for state, tribal, county, and local juvenile justice residential facilities

Pilot Services Research Grants Not Involving Clinical Trials

• Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health
• Current Closing Date for Applications: January 7, 2022
• The purpose of this funding announcement is to encourage pilot research that is not an immediate precursor to testing a service intervention but is consistent with NIMH priorities for services research. While NIMH now requires use of an experimental therapeutics model for all intervention studies, there is recognition that some mission-relevant areas of services research do not involve clinical trials.

As announced in this guide notice, NIH now administers two programs using the R15 activity code. The Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) targeting
undergraduate-focused institutions and the Research Enhancement Award Program
(REAP) targeting graduate schools of arts and
sciences and health professional schools that grant baccalaureate or advanced
degrees. Both programs aim to expose students to research and strengthen
the research environment of schools that have not been major recipients of NIH
support.

Specific organization and principal investigator eligibility requirements are outlined
in the funding opportunity announcements posted for each R15 program.
Institutions must verify their eligibility at the time of application, as NIH
no longer maintains the list of institutions ineligible for R15 grants.

To help you navigate these changes, please see the following
resources:

• Open Mike blog
• NIH Research Enhancement Award (R15) webpage
• Need Help Determining Organization Funding Levels for R15 Eligibility?
• Sample Provost Letters Certifying Eligibility
• R15 Frequently Asked Questions

In November, NIH announced the publication of new funding opportunities specifically for Basic Experimental Studies Involving Humans (BESH) (see Open Mike Blog).

Need help determining if your research fits within the scope of a BESH funding opportunity announcement (FOA)? Check-out these new resources:

• New FAQs
• Table comparing Funding Opportunity Types by Clinical Trial Allowability
• Guidance for Determining if a Study Falls Within a BESH FOA

We have also updated our Clinical Trial Case Studies to include examples of Basic Experimental Studies Involving Humans (see Cases #9, #14, #40, #41). Want to narrow down the list of Case Studies? Try the keyword filter to sort and view Case Studies by study type.

Note that participation in funding opportunities for Basic Experimental Studies with Humans will vary by NIH Institute and Center (IC). Many ICs will continue to accept Basic Experimental Studies with Humans through existing FOAs that accept clinical trials (FOAs designated as Clinical Trial Required or Clinical Trial Optional). It is important to check with a Program Officer to determine the most appropriate FOA for your application.