SPECIAL NOTICE
A -- DUAL USE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPENT COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NOTICE (CAN)
- Notice Date
- 11/19/2002
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- Contracting Office
- NASA Procurement Office, Code DA00, Stennis Space Center (SSC), MS 39529-6000
- ZIP Code
- 39529-6000
- Solicitation Number
- NASA-SNOTE-021119-001
- Archive Date
- 11/19/2003
- Description
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) Dual Use Technology Development A Cooperative Agreement Notice for the Dual Use Technology Development Program CAN-SSC-03-01 Proposals Due January 31, 2003 Released November 19, 2002 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 Description of the Opportunity 1 1.1 Purpose 1 1.2 Scope 1 1.3 Partnership Principles 2 2.0 Project Requirements 2 2.1 Technical Requirements 2 2.2 Commercialization Requirements 3 2.3 Reporting Requirements 3 3.0 Proposal Instructions for CAN 3 3.1 Proposal Submission 3 3.2 Proposal Content and Format 4 3.3 Technical Proposal 4 3.4 Personnel and Facilities Plan 4 3.5 Business/Commercialization Plan 4 3.6 Cost Plan 5 3.7 Schedule/Milestones 6 4.0 Evaluation Factors 7 4.1 Factor: Technical Merit and Feasibility 7 4.2 Factor: Commercialization 7 4.3 Factor: Cost realism 8 Cooperative Agreement Notice Dual Use Technology Development 1.0 Description of the Opportunity 1.1 Purpose One of the charters of the Commercial Technology Program is to facilitate the commercialization of technologies developed for the use of NASA. The Dual Use cooperative agreement opportunity described in this notice is one method of accomplishing this objective. The purpose of the Dual Use program is to integrate the commercialization process into development projects as early as possible so the project has a goal of developing a commercial application as well as developing the technology for NASA use. This integration will be accomplished by selecting partners who will cooperatively share in the development of the technology for an identified commercialization purpose while simultaneously developing the technology for the specified NASA need. 1.2 Scope This solicitation is seeking responses from commercial partners interested in entering into a cooperative agreement with NASA for the joint development of a Dual Use technology project. It is published as NASA Cooperative Agreement Notice, CAN-SSC-03-01 entitled "Dual Use Technology Development Cooperative Agreement Notice." The Dual Use projects are sponsored and managed by the Office of Technology Transfer at the John C. Stennis Space Center, Stennis Space Center (SSC), MS 39529-6000. Proposals should be submitted in accordance with the instructions in this CAN and should meet the project requirements identified. The projects will be selected based on the criteria described in the following sections. NASA plans to fund up to six projects at approximately $20,000 to $75,000 per project with a period of performance of approximately 12 months. Projects are contingent upon availability of funds. The participating partner will contribute resources to match the NASA funding. The projects will be joint development efforts in the areas of rocket propulsion testing and earth system science that will include collaboration with NASA or NASA support contractor personnel. NASA facilities may be available for use in the technology development and demonstration if needed and stipulated in the agreement. NASA will award cooperative agreements under the CAN in accordance with Section D of the NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Handbook. The Handbook is available on the internet at http://procurement.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/nais/nasa_ref.cgi. Under a CAN, the funding agency will have substantial involvement in, and contribution to, the technical aspects of the effort. Cooperative Agreements differ from grant programs where there is no substantial involvement of the funding agency in monitoring the work or research program. This type of agreement allows contact with any potential technical resources at Stennis Space Center during the development of the proposal. 1.3 Partnership Principles In a cooperative agreement between NASA and a commercial firm, substantial resource contribution on the part of the Recipient is required. The Recipient is expected to contribute at least 50 percent of the total resources required to accomplish the cooperative agreement. Recipient contributions may be cash, non-cash or both. Milestone billing is the method of payment to the Recipient under cooperative agreements. Performance based milestones are used as the basis of establishing a set of verifiable milestones for payment purposes. Each milestone payment shall be established so that the Government payment is at the same share ratio as the cooperative agreement share ratio. The partner will establish the milestones necessary to accomplish the technology development. These milestones will be identified in the proposal. NASA requires that the first Milestone be a project "kick-off" meeting between the partner and NASA. At a minimum, a brief status report will be required at completion of each milestone. NASA also requires that the last Milestone be a project closeout briefing between NASA and all parties involved. The final milestone payment will not be made until all reporting requirements for the project have been submitted. 2.0 Project Requirements 2.1 Technical Requirements The objective of Dual Use projects is to develop technologies for a commercial purpose while simultaneously meeting a NASA need. All proposals must clearly identify the technical requirements for the NASA need at the John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC). The main focus areas at SSC are Propulsion Testing and Earth System Science. Technical needs in the area of propulsion testing include, but are not limited to, development of wireless data acquisition systems to provide sensor measurements such as temperatures, vibrations, or vacuum pressure from remote facility locations. These measurement systems would be utilized in facility systems to monitor vacuum pressure in vacuum jacketed cryogenic piping, mechanical vibrations introduced into the facility piping systems, and other remote measurements from controlled hazard sites. Other technical needs in the area of propulsion testing include tools that will enhance the analysis, modeling and design capabilities at Stennis in areas such as complex fluid flow systems. In addition, there is interest in a Data Acquisition and Control System (DACS) digital redline buss that can provide information to the Control System in 1 to 5 ms. Another area of interest is technologies that would improve the liner/plug arrangement in balanced trim valves. Technical needs in the area of earth sciences include, but are not limited to, development of multi-spectral image manipulators for ArcIMS to process remotely sensed for identification and enhancement of selected features such as specific soil and crop information. There is also interest in innovative techniques for portable, highly accurate instruments for the spectral absorption and real time detection and measurement of particulate materials in water samples. Another area of interest is processing methods of remotely sensed data that will extract smog/fog features from the data to provide images of the terrain below the smog/fog area. It is expected that parties interested in partnering with SSC on technology development contained in this solicitation will contact SSC to gain a better understanding of the technical requirements. In addition to addressing the NASA need, a project in these areas must also identify the commercial market potential of the technology. 2.2 Commercialization Requirements The second objective of Dual Use projects is the commercialization of the technology. All proposals must contain a business plan, which includes a market feasibility study of the proposed technology, an estimate of financial resources required to commercialize the technology, and the strategy to produce and market the technology. 2.3 Reporting Requirements All proposals must contain provisions for reporting the progress and results of the Dual Use project to the Office of Technology Transfer and the Technical Monitor. The content and frequency of the reports must be identified in the proposal. At a minimum, progress must be reported at each milestone and a final report detailing the results of the project. In addition, the reporting clauses in a cooperative agreement requires that any reportable technology or innovation developed during the partnership must be reported even though the Intellectual Property of any innovation is retained by the partner. 3.0 Proposal Instructions for CAN 3.1 Proposal Submission Three (3) copies of the proposal should be submitted to NASA. An official authorized to certify company contribution, as well as, the management and financial aspects of the proposed project must sign the proposals. All proposals should be sent to: NASA Acquisition Management Office/Code BA31 John C. Stennis Space Center Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000 This office must receive proposals no later than 4:00 PM on January 31, 2003. 3.2 Proposal Content and Format All proposals shall contain the following sections: 1) Technical Proposal section detailing the technical objectives and methods to be used in the project, 2) Business/Commercialization Plan section outlining the commercialization goals and processes, 3) Personnel and Facilities section describing the relevant experience of the key personnel and the facilities to be used in the execution of the project, and 4) Cost section containing both the expected NASA cost and the contributions of the company. All proposals should contain the sections listed above and be assembled in the following order with the page limitations shown. Title Page 1 Introduction 2 Technical Proposal 4 Business/Commercialization Plan 3 Personnel and Facilities 2 Cost Plan 2 Schedule 2 Milestones 1 3.3 Technical Proposal A project proposal must present a scientific or technical innovative approach that addresses a specific NASA technology need in the areas described in Section 2.1. The proposal should contain a clear and succinct statement of the specific technology development proposed and a brief explanation of how this innovative approach is relevant and important to meeting the identified technology need. A work plan should be included that indicates what development effort will be performed, where it will be performed, and how it will be performed. The methods planned to achieve each objective or task should be discussed in detail. These task descriptions should be linked to the milestones defined for the payment schedule. 3.4 Personnel and Facilities Plan Key personnel involved in the development activities will be identified in this section. Key personnel are the principal investigator and other individuals whose expertise and functions are essential to the success of the project. Provide biographic information including directly related education and experience. Describe in detail any subcontracting, consultant, or other business arrangements. The offeror should identify and describe the relevant facilities and equipment currently available, and those to be purchased, to support the proposed activities. NASA strongly discourages funding the acquisition of equipment, instrumentation, or facilities. 3.5 Business/Commercialization Plan This section will describe plans for commercialization by identifying the contemplated commercial product and/or service and describe the corresponding commercial venture and the unique competitive advantage of both. Provide a market feasibility study by identifying the target market and showing the distinction between U.S. Government and other markets with an estimated potential market size in terms of revenues to be realized by the offeror. Show the strategic relevance of the project to the offeror with the proposed technology in terms of the offeror's current business segments, overall business plan, and relative position with respect to its competitors. Describe the amounts and sources of private financial resources expended and committed to date with respect to the technology development project and business development of the targeted commercial venture with evidence of the offeror's current financial strength. 3.6 Cost Plan The Cost Plan should contain a budget and co-funding plan that contains clear identification of cash requirements and contributions as well as the value of in-kind resources dedicated to accomplishing the project. Under the terms of a cooperative agreement, the offeror is required to contribute at least 50% of the total resources required to accomplish the cooperative agreement. This contribution can be in cash, non-cash, or a combination. The budget must be sufficient and reasonable to accomplish the project. It must identify the costs for the milestones and final deliverables. It must also contain a clear co-funding plan for the use of NASA resources. The Cost Plan should be prepared in accordance with the following guidelines and completed for each of the agreement years. The Plan shall include the resources requested from NASA. The costs for the project and the shared funding requirements of the Cost Plan should be reflected in a Table similar to that shown in Exhibit 3.6.1. The cost categories in the table should be based on the descriptions in the following sections. Salaries and Wages: The names of the Principal Investigator and other senior associates should be listed along with the estimated number of calendar year person months for which NASA funding is requested or cost sharing will be provided. For other professionals and associates, each position must be listed, with the number of full time equivalent person months and rate of pay (hourly, monthly, or annual). For clerical, secretarial, supporting staff, etc., only the total numbers of persons and total amount of salaries per year in each category are required. Salaries requested must be consistent with the institution's regular practices. Cost Category Total Per Cost Category NASA Funding Amount Cost Sharing Amount Salaries & Wages Fringe Benefits Materials Other Direct Indirect (Overhead) Total Exhibit 3.6.1: Budget and Cost Sharing Requirements Breakdown Fringe Benefits: Contributions to employee (social security, retirement, etc.) may be treated as direct costs if that is the company's usual accounting practice. Materials: Equipment purchases are discouraged, especially computing equipment. Equipment or materials costing $1,000 or more should be listed individually by description and estimated cost and adequately justified. Allowable items for NASA funding will be limited to equipment and apparatus that are not already available for the conduct of the work. General purpose office equipment will not be considered eligible for support. NASA prefers that these items be a part of the proposer's cost sharing plan. Other Direct Costs: Travel - Mode of travel, destination, number of days, perdiem, and relevance to the proposed activities should be specified. In order to qualify for support, attendance at meeting or conferences must directly contribute to specific project objectives. Allowance for air travel normally will not exceed the cost of round trip, economy air accommodations. Indirect Costs: The basis and rate for all indirect fees and costs, including overhead and general and administrative expenses must be within generally acceptable levels, conform to typical Federal grant and contract guidelines, and be clearly specified in the proposal. 3.7 Schedule/Milestones The schedule section will define the development schedule with key milestones clearly identified on the schedule. Definitions of the key milestones should be included with task descriptions and assignments, resource allocations, and planned accomplishments in the Technical Proposal. The due dates for any identified deliverables, by either party of the agreement, will be shown on the schedule. NASA requires that the first Milestone be a project "kick-off" meeting between the partner and NASA. NASA also requires that the last Milestone be a project closeout briefing between NASA and all parties involved. 4.0 Evaluation Factors The proposals will be evaluated on the following factors. These factors will be weighted as follows: Factor Weight (%) Technical Merit and Feasibility 40 Business/Commercialization Plan 40 Cost Realism 20 100 4.1 Factor: Technical Merit and Feasibility The proposed project will be evaluated on whether it offers a feasible technical approach to a NASA problem or need. Specific objectives, approaches and plans for developing and verifying the innovation must demonstrate a clear understanding of the problem and current state-of-the-art. The degree of understanding and significance of the risks involved in the proposed innovation must be presented. The technical capabilities and experiences of the principal investigator or project manager, key personnel, staff, consultants and subcontractors, if any, will be evaluated for consistency with the research effort and their degree of commitment and availability. The necessary facilities required must be shown to be adequate and any reliance on external sources, such as Government Furnished Equipment or Facilities, addressed. The information used to evaluate this factor is to be included in the proposal as described in Sections 3.3 and 3.4 above. 4.2 Factor: Commercialization Plan The commercialization plan will be evaluated on the strength of the commercial potential of the technology. This includes the offeror's ability to identify a specific, well-defined commercial product or service based on the technology to be developed and a realistic target market niche of sufficient size with the potential for meeting a well-defined need within the target market niche. The evaluation will also consider the capability of the offeror to bring the remaining necessary private financial, physical, personnel and other resources to bear in a timely manner to achieve commercial application of the technology. In applying these commercial criteria, NASA will assess proposal information in terms of credibility, objectivity, reasonableness of key assumptions, independent corroborating evidence, internal consistency, demonstrated awareness of key risk areas and critical business vulnerabilities, and other indicators of sound business analysis and judgment. 4.3 Factor: Cost Realism The cost plan will be evaluated to ensure that the proposed budget is sufficient and reasonable to accomplish the project. The evaluation will assess whether there is clear identification of cash requirements and contributions as well as the value of in-kind resources dedicated to accomplishing the project. The evaluation will ensure the plan meets the terms of the cooperative agreement that there is a contribution of at least 50% of the total resources required to accomplish the cooperative agreement whether in cash or in kind contributions.
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