Notice of Funding Opportunity Air Force Research Laboratory/Phillips Research Site AFRL LA LUZ ACADEMY SOLICITATION CONTENTS 1. Requirement Description 2. General Information 3. Program Schedule and Budget 4. Responses and Feedback 5. Education Initiative 6. Proposal Preparation Instructions 7. Evaluation Criteria 8. Award 1. REQUIREMENT DESCRIPTION A. AFRL La Luz Academy is an Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) education outreach program for the Phillips Research Site (PRS) at Kirtland Air Force Base. This program targets fifth through twelfth grade students throughout New Mexico and reaches more than 5000 students per year. The programs goal is to inspire future scientists and engineers (S&Es) by providing on-hand science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) activities, mapped to New Mexico Contest Standards and Benchmarks. The program integrates AFRL technologies and utilizes AFRL S&Es in the development/delivery of the outreach activities. The Academys programs are organized by grade level into Flights starting with the fifth grade Mars Mission Flight and ending with the twelfth grade Students Planning and Conducting Engineering (SPACE) Flight. A schedule of activities is included the Statement of Work. Additional information on the Academy and all of its Flights is available on-line at http://www.kirtland.af.mil/afrl_vs/factsheets/index.asp. B. Communications and proposals, pursuant to this Notice of Funding Opportunity, shall be forwarded to Ms. Rita Varley, Contract Negotiator, at AFRL/RVKE, 2251 Maxwell Ave SE, Bldg 424, Rm 209, Kirtland AFB NM 87117-2773, phone (505) 846-4398,
[email protected]. Technical questions shall be communicated to Ms. Holly Victorson, AFRL/RVOT, 3550 Aberdeen Ave SE, Bldg 497, Rm 233, Kirtland AFB NM 87117-5776, phone (505) 846-0605,
[email protected]. 2. GENERAL INFORMATION A. Potential responders are notified that 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 a contractor meets any of the exceptions of DFARS 204.7302. On-line registration instructions can be accessed from the CCR home page http://www.ccr.gov/. B. Non-FAR Certifications. All proposals for assistance require certifications of compliance with national policy mandates. Statutes 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. C. Disclosure Limitations. An Administrative Access to Proprietary Information consent provision is applicable to this announcement with anticipation of incorporation of the provision by reference into any resulting agreement. This provision is included as Attachment D to this announcement. The consent form as well as the Non-FAR certifications must be signed and submitted with the proposal. All proposal packages should clearly indicate any limitations on the disclosure of proprietary information. Offerors are hereby notified that the Government intends to utilize the contractors CC&G and Contract Allocation Services (CAS) for administrative purposes on the award of and final agreement. All contractor personnel will sign a Nondisclosure Agreement and will not use the agreement information for any purpose other than administration. 3. PROGRAM SCHEDULE AND BUDGET The government anticipates awarding one (1) Cooperative Agreement based upon submission of a proposal package, which will consist of a technical proposal and a budget proposal. The Government anticipates award by the middle of June 2010. The period of performance that will result from this solicitation will be five (5) years. To avoid delays in evaluation, all proposal packages must be prepared in accordance with the instructions included in this Notice of Funding Opportunity. All proposals submitted under this announcement shall be valid for at least 90 days from the proposal date. The budget for this Cooperative Agreement is $1.2M/year for a total value of $6.0M. This is an estimate only and not a promise for funding, as all funding is subject to change due to Government discretion and availability. 4. RESPONSES AND FEEDBACK Letters notifying offerors of the Governments decision to accept or reject their proposal package will be sent to the offerors after the evaluation has been completed. Offerors are cautioned that only a Grants/Agreements Officer may obligate the Government to any agreement involving expenditure of government funds. 5. EDUCATION INITIATIVE 5.1. Statement of Work (see Attachment A) 5.2. Government Furnished Property/Equipment The SOW requires the recipient to maintain and administer the statewide network of 60 automated weather stations that comprise the Pinpoint WeatherNet previously established, and classroom and office computers. The estimated value of the GFP is $250,000. 5.3. Base Support The Government will provide the facilities and support on Kirtland AFB (Buildings 1908 and 1909) to include: 3 fully equipped classrooms including student computers Office space, furniture, and supplies for all staff members Storage space for educational supplies and preparation space for class projects Communication equipment and services, ADPE equipment, internet access Access to reproduction and computer graphic equipment 5.4 Associate Contractor Agreement The Recipient shall enter into an Associate Contractor Agreement (ACA) with New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology* for portions of the agreement requiring joint participation in the accomplishment of the Government's requirement. The agreements shall include the basis for sharing information, data, technical knowledge, expertise, and/or resources essential to the integration effort for the PRS Education Outreach initiatives such as: University Interactions o Scholars o University NanoSat Program o Strategic Partnership Universities Professional Development o System Engineering Graduate Certificates o Adjunct Professors The recipient shall ensure the greatest degree of cooperation for the development of the program to meet the terms of the agreement. *New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology is AFRL PRSs Partnership Intermediary 5.5 Minimum Personnel Requirements This Cooperative Agreement requires the contractor to manage and conduct the AFRL La Luz Academy science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education outreach program sponsored by the AFRL Directorates at Kirtland AFB. The targeted student population is New Mexico 5th -12th graders. It is expected that the contractor will provide a Director/Educator to manage the program and teach some classes and Educators to teach the majority of the classes. The minimum requirements for the Director/Educator and Educator positions are listed in Attachment E. 5.6 Additional Objectives AFRL encourages all proposals to include expansions of or additions to the tasks described in SOW Section 3. These will be pursued to the extent that the recipient is able to obtain additional funding from non-DoD sources (e.g., matching funds and/or in-kind consideration). Examples of potential expansions or additions are: (a) Teacher Institute: Administer, execute, and enhance a week-long, summer STEM professional development activity for up to 30 NM teachers. The program shall be open to all NM school districts. The goal of the program is to promote STEM education by providing teachers with concepts, tools, and resources that can be transferred to the creation of motivating hands-on activities for their students. (b) Enhance the AFRL STEM outreach program through partnership/grant opportunities with the State of New Mexico. (c) Develop and implement STEM based curriculum in conjunction with national initiatives (i.e. National Science Foundation, US Department of Education, etc.) including extending the AFRL La Luz Academy programs to reach students below 5th grade. (d) Develop and implement STEM based curriculum that targets students of military families, including those children who are surviving dependents of military personnel who died or were disabled while in active military service. (e) Develop and implement STEM based distance learning curriculum and capabilities. 6. PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS 6.1 General Instructions (a) Eligibility restricted to New Mexico education agencies, colleges, universities, and any other nonprofit institutions that are dedicated to improving science, mathematics, and engineering education. (b) Offerors are advised that only Grants/Agreements Officers are legally authorized to contractually bind or otherwise commit the government. (c) The cost of preparing proposal packages (technical and budget proposals) in response to this Notice of Funding Opportunity is not considered an allowable direct charge to the resulting agreement. (d) Other Submission Requirements. (1) 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 available on Grants.gov. To access the forms, go to http://grants.gov/agencies/aforms_repository_information.jsp (2) Proposals for Grants: Proposals for grants may be submitted either (1) directly with a hard copy to the AFRL Contracts Negotiator listed in paragraph 1.B. above or (2) electronically through the Grants.gov government-wide electronic portal. You must notify the Contracts Negotiator immediately upon submitting your proposal electronically. (3) For Hard Copy Submission: The original proposal plus three (3) copies must be received by AFRL/RVKE, Attn. Rita A. Varley, 2251 Maxwell Ave SE, Kirtland AFB NM 87117-5773, NLT 18 March 2010, 2:00 PM local time to be considered. (4) For Electronic Submission: i. Advance Preparation Electronic proposals must be submitted through Grants.gov. There are several one-time actions your organization must have completed. Long before the proposal submission deadline, you should verify that the persons authorized to submit proposals for your organization have completed these actions. If not, it may take them up to 21 days to complete the actions before they will be able to submit proposals. ii. Electronic Submission Process: The process your organization must complete includes obtaining a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, registering with the Central Contract Registry (CCR), registering with the credential provider, 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/GetStarted. iii. Your organizations 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. iv. The Grants.gov Organization Registration Checklist is located at http://www.Grants.gov/section3/OrganizationRegCheck.pdf to guide you through the process. v. If a proposal is submitted through Grants.gov, PureEdge Viewer will need to be downloaded. This small, free program will allow you to access, complete, and submit applications electronically and securely. For a free version of the software, visit the following web site: www.Grants.gov/DownloadViewer. vi. 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
[email protected]. (5) Submitting the Electronic Proposal i. Application forms and instructions are available at Grants.gov. To access these materials, go to http://grants.gov Select Apply for Grant, and then select Download Application Package. Enter the CFDA number (typically 12.800). You should also enter the BAA number, and then follow the prompts to download the application package. ii. The applicant will receive a confirmation page upon completing the submission to Grants.gov. This confirmation page is a record of the time and date stamp that is used to determine whether the proposal was submitted by the deadline. A proposal received after the deadline is late and will not be considered for an award. 6.2 Technical Proposals Technical proposals are intended to provide a specific approach to accomplishing the requirements in the offerors proposed Statement of Work (SOW). The technical proposal is limited to thirty-five (35 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. 6.3 Budget and Schedule (a) The budget proposal is not be restricted by page count and shall conform to Attachment C, 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, educational products, course preparation, etc. 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. (b) Other Direct Costs. Due to the difficulty in estimating travel required for visiting schools, program meetings, and maintaining the WeatherNet stations, and purchasing supplies for student activities, each offeror shall use the following amounts, in the years indicated, in their proposal. No additional supporting documentation is required of these cost elements. Category Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Total Travel $ 50,000 $ 52,500 $ 55,000 $ 57,500 $ 60,000 $275,000 Supplies $140,000 $150,000 $160,000 $170,000 $180,000 $800,000 (c) 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. 7. EVALUATION CRITERIA Evaluation Criteria: Evaluation of proposals will be accomplished using the criteria below. No further evaluation criteria will be used in assessing the proposals. 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. 1. Capability to accomplish the requirements in the SOW 2. Conformance to minimum personnel requirements 3. Understanding of the SOW requirements 4. Creativity in approaches to adding new, externally funded, programs to expand the reach of AFRL La Luz Academy (b) Overall value (cost) and realism of the proposed effort. 8. AWARD Each proposal will be evaluated independently. The government will follow the evaluation procedure described previously. No other evaluation factors will be used. The technical and budget proposals will be evaluated at the same time. The Government reserves the right 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. Program initiation is dependent upon award of the Cooperative Agreement. 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 government. Attachments A. Scope of Work B. Cost Proposal Instruction Assistance C. Local Non-FAR Representations and Certifications D. Administrative Access Provision E. Minimum Personnel Requirements