Category Archives: Engineering & Technology

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA) for Extramural Biomedical Research and Development

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This BAA is intended to solicit extramural research and development ideas using the authority provided by United States Code, Title 10, Section 2358. This BAA is issued under the provisions of the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-369), as implemented in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.102(d) (2) and 35.016 and in DoD Grant and Agreement Regulations (DoDGARs) 22.315. In accordance with FAR 6.102, projects funded under this BAA must be for basic and applied research to support scientific study and experimentation directed toward advancing the state-of-the-art or increasing knowledge or understanding rather than focusing on development of a specific system or hardware solution. Research and development funding through this BAA are intended and expected to benefit and inform both military and civilian medical practice and knowledge.

This BAA provides a general description of USSOCOM’s research and development programs, including research areas of interest, evaluation and selection criteria, pre-proposal/pre-application and full proposal/application preparation instructions, and general administrative information. Submission of a pre-proposal/pre-application is required. After review, if the USSOCOM is interested in receiving a full proposal/application, the Applicant or Offeror will be invited to submit a full proposal or full application. Specific submission information and additional administrative requirements can be found in the document titled “General Submission Instructions” available in Grants.gov along with this BAA.

USSOCOM utilizes the tools and processes provided by Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). The CDMRP manages the electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) system and retrieval and processing of full proposal/application submissions from Grants.gov. Refer to Section II.G, Agency Contacts, for additional information.

DARPA Defense Sciences Office BAA – Habitus for Cognitive Science, Computation & Defense

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This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) constitutes a public notice of a competitive funding opportunity as described in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016 as well as 2 C.F.R. § 200.203. Any resultant negotiations and/or awards will follow all laws and regulations applicable to the specific award instrument(s) available under this BAA, e.g., FAR 15.4 for procurement contracts.

The Defense Sciences Office (DSO) at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA) is soliciting innovative research proposals to create self-sustaining, adaptive,
generalizable, and scalable methods for generating causal system models based on local
knowledge to aid operational decision making. Understanding how to work with and influence local systems to support stability operations is critical for operational decision making and is most challenging in undergoverned regions in which the systems themselves are often in flux or illegible. Establishing stability in such regions requires we facilitate actions that are in line with local views, yet our current means for understanding local systems such as the political, socioeconomic, and/or those related to health and infrastructure are limited.

Humans develop causal cognitive representations – or cognitive models – of systems of which they are a part. These models include factors (or variables), relationships among factors, and contexts that affect both. The knowledge behind these models is often hyper-localized, changing dramatically with regional and/or population dependent interactions of factors such as terrain, industries, population density (urban, rural), shared history, formal and informal power structures, religion, and ethnicity. These cognitive models, though often implicit, allow one to estimate which factors are most important for a given outcome and how those factors interact to anticipate future outcomes based on history, current events, and trends.

National Science Foundation PAPPG (NSF 20-1) Frequently Asked Questions

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The NSF has issued a set of Current and Pending Support Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that accompany the revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 20-1), effective June 1, 2020. The FAQs address policy questions related to the PAPPG clarifications to the current and pending support coverage, as well as questions regarding use of an NSF-approved format for current and pending support. The FAQs will be updated periodically as appropriate.

If you have any questions regarding the 2020 PAPPG, please contact the DIAS/Policy Office by email at policy@nsf.gov

2020 Preservation Technology and Training Grants

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The U.S. Department of the Interior – National Park Service 2020 Preservation Technology and Training Grants (PTT) are intended to create better tools, better materials, and better approaches to conserving buildings, landscapes, sites, and collections. PTT are administered by the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training – NCPTT, the National Park Service’s innovation center for the preservation community. The competitive grants program will provide funding to federal agencies, states, tribes, local governments, and non-profit organizations. PTT Grants will support the following activities:

  • Innovative research that develops new technologies or adapts existing technologies to preserve cultural resources – typically 20,000 dollars.
  • Specialized workshops or symposia that identify and address national preservation needs – typically 15,000 to 20,000 dollars.
  • How-to videos, mobile applications, podcasts, best practices publications, or webinars that disseminate practical preservation methods or provide better tools for preservation practice – typically 5,000 to 15,000 dollars.

The maximum grant award is 20,000 dollars. The actual grant award amount is dependent on the scope of the proposed activity. NCPTT does not fund brick and mortar grants.

If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact Todd Wilson.

FY2021 Defense University Instrumentation Program (DURIP)

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This announcement seeks proposals from universities to purchase equipment and instrumentation in support of research in areas of interest to the Department of Defense.

DoD interests include the areas of research supported by the Army Research Office (ARO), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), hereafter generally referred to collectively as “we,” “our,” “us,” or “administering agency.” We use “administering agency” to provide a generic reference to any of the administering agencies.

A central purpose of the DURIP is to provide equipment and instrumentation to enhance research related education in areas of interest and priority to the DoD. Therefore, your proposal must address the impact of the equipment or instrumentation on your institution’s ability to educate students through research in disciplines important to DoD missions.

ADMINISTERING AGENCY – HOW TO FIND RESEARCH INTERESTS

Army Research Office (ARO)

Navigate to the “Broad Agency Announcements” section to see the most recent ARL or ARO Core Broad Agency Announcement for Basic and Applied Scientific Research.

Office of Naval Research (ONR)

Select “Work With Us” and then “Funding Opportunities” to see the Long Range Broad Agency Announcement for Navy and Marine Corps Science and Technology, BAA N00014-20-S-B001.

Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)

Navigate to https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=314753 to view the “Research Interests of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research,” BAA FA9550-19-S-0003.

You must refer to the websites cited above for detailed technical information and the technical goals. DoD encourages you to contact the Program Managers listed in the cited announcements before submitting proposals to explore research areas of mutual interest to you and us.

You may submit a single DURIP proposal to more than one administering agency; however, only one administering agency will fund it, if selected. There is no limit on the total number of different proposals you can submit. There is no limit to the number of awards a single applicant organization can receive under this competition. DoD discusses this again in sections C.3.b Amount of Requested DoD Funding and D.4.g Submission to Multiple Administering Agencies.

DoD reserves the right to select and fund for award, all, some, part, or none of the proposals received. There is no guarantee of award.