The
contracting officer shall report suspected fraudulent claims to the Headquarters
Offices of Inspector General (Code W) and the General Counsel (Code G).
1833.210 Contracting officer’s
authority.
See NASA
Policy Directive 2010.2 on use of
Alternative Dispute Resolution.
1833.211 Contracting officer’s decision.
(a)(4)(v) The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals
is the NASA Administrator’s authorized representative for hearing appeals of
contracting officer final decisions.
Accordingly, contracting officers shall cite that fact in the final
decision letter, provide the Board’s mailing address (Armed Services Board of
Contract Appeals, Skyline Six, 5109 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA
22041-3208), and include a notification that the Board’s operating
procedures appear in Part 48, Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter 2, Appendix
A.
1833.215 Contract clause.
The
contracting officer shall use the clause at FAR 52.233-1, Disputes, with its Alternate I whenever continued performance is
vital to national security, the public health and welfare, important agency
programs, or other essential supplies or services whose timely reprocurement
from other sources would be impracticable.
(6) Small Business Size for the Small
Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program and for the Targeted Industry
Categories under the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program.
[Complete only if the offeror has represented itself to be a small business
concern under the size standards for this solicitation.]
(i) [Complete only for solicitations
indicated as being set-aside for emerging small
businesses in
one of the four designated industry groups (DIGs).] The offeror represents as
part of its offer that it [ ] is,
[ ] is not an emerging small business.
(ii) [Complete only for solicitations
indicated as being for one of the targeted industry
categories
(TICs) or four designated industry groups (DIGs).] Offeror represents as
follows:
(A) Offeror's number of
employees for the past 12 months (check the Employees
column if size
standard stated in the solicitation is expressed in terms of number of
employees); or
(B) Offeror's average annual
gross revenue for the last 3 fiscal years (check the Average Annual Gross
Number of Revenues column if size standard stated in the solicitation is
expressed in terms of annual receipts).
(Check one of
the following):
|
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
|
AVERAGE
ANNUAL GROSS REVENUES
|
|
___ 50 or
fewer
|
___ $1 million
or less
|
|
___ 51-100
|
___
$1,000,001--$2 million
|
|
___ 101-250
|
___
$2,000,001--$3.5 million
|
|
___ 251-500
|
___
$3,500,001--$5 million
|
|
___ 501-750
|
___
$5,000,001--$10 million
|
|
___ 751-1000
|
___
$10,000,001--$17 million
|
|
___ Over 1000
|
___ Over $17
million
|
(7)
HUBZone small business concern. [Complete only if the offeror
represented itself as a small business concern in paragraph (c)(1) of this
provision.] The offeror represents as part of its offer that--
(i) It [ ] is, [ ] is not a
HUBZone small business concern listed, on the date of this
representation,
on the List of Qualified HUBZone Small Business Concerns maintained by the
Small Business Administration, and no material change in ownership and control,
principal office, or HUBZone employee percentage has occurred since it was
certified by the Small Business Administration in accordance with 13 CFR Part
126; and
(ii) It [ ] is, [ ] is not a
joint venture that complies with the requirements of 13
CFR Part 126, and
the representation in paragraph (c)(11)(i) of this provision is accurate for
the HUBZone small business concern or concerns that are participating in the
joint venture. [The offeror shall enter the name or names of the HUBZone small
business concern or concerns that are participating in the joint venture:
__________________________.] Each
HUBZone small business concern participating in the joint venture shall submit
a separate signed copy of the HUBZone representation.
(8) (Complete if dollar value of the
resultant contract is expected to exceed $25,000 and the offeror has
represented itself as disadvantaged in paragraph (c)(4) of this provision.) [The
offeror shall check the category in which its ownership falls]:
____ Black American.
____ Hispanic American.
____ Native American (American Indians, Eskimos,
Aleuts, or Native Hawaiians).
____
Asian-Pacific American (persons with origins from Burma, Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Japan, China, Taiwan, Laos, Cambodia (Kampuchea),
Vietnam, Korea, The Philippines, U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
(Republic of Palau), Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of
Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Samoa,
Macao, Hong Kong, Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, or Nauru).
____
Subcontinent Asian (Asian-Indian) American (persons with origins from India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, the Maldives Islands, or Nepal).
____
Individual/concern, other than one of the preceding.
(d) Representations required to implement
provisions of Executive Order 11246—
(1) Previous contracts and compliance.
The offeror represents that--
(i) It [ ] has, [ ] has not
participated in a previous contract or subcontract subject
to the Equal
Opportunity clause of this solicitation; and
(ii) It [ ] has, [ ] has not
filed all required compliance reports.
(2) Affirmative
Action Compliance. The
offeror represents that--
(i) It
[ ] has developed and has on file,
[ ] has not developed and does not
have on file, at each establishment, affirmative action programs required by
rules and regulations of the Secretary of Labor (41 CFR Parts 60-1 and 60-2),
or
(ii) It [ ] has not previously had contracts subject to the written
affirmative action programs requirement of the rules and regulations of the
Secretary of Labor.
(e) Buy American Act--Certificate.
(Applies only if the clause at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.225-1, Buy American Act--Supplies,
is included in this solicitation.)
(1) The offeror certifies that each end
product, except those listed in paragraph (e)(2) of this provision, is a
domestic end product as defined in the clause of this solicitation entitled
"Buy American Act--Supplies" and that the offeror has considered components
of unknown origin to have been mined, produced, or manufactured outside the
United States. The offeror shall list as foreign end products those end
products manufactured in the United States that do not qualify as domestic end
products.
(2) Foreign End Products:
|
LINE ITEM NO.
|
COUNTRY OF
ORIGIN
|
|
___________________
|
_____________________
|
|
___________________
|
_____________________
|
|
___________________
|
_____________________
|
[List
as necessary]
(3) The Government will evaluate offers
in accordance with the policies and procedures of FAR Part 25.
(f)(1) Buy American Act--North American
Free Trade Agreement--Israeli Trade Act--Certificate. (Applies only if the
clause at FAR 52.225-3, Buy American
Act--North American Free Trade Agreement--Israeli Trade Act, is included in
this solicitation.)
(i) The offeror certifies that each end product,
except those listed in paragraph (f)(1)(ii) or (f)(1)(iii) of this provision,
is a domestic end product as defined in the clause of this
1852.232-81 Contract Funding.
As prescribed in 1832.705-270(b), insert the
following clause:
CONTRACT FUNDING
(JUNE 1990)
(a)
For purposes of payment of cost, exclusive of fee, in accordance with
the Limitation of Funds clause, the total amount allotted by the Government to
this contract is $ . This allotment is for [Insert applicable
item number(s), task(s), or work description] and
covers the following estimated period of performance: .
(b)
An additional amount of $
is obligated under this contract for payment of fee.
(End of clause)
1852.232-82 Submission of Requests for Progress
Payments.
As prescribed in 1832.502-470, insert the
following clause:
SUBMISSION OF REQUESTS FOR PROGRESS
PAYMENTS
(MARCH 1989)
The Contractor shall request progress
payments in accordance with the Progress Payments clause by submitting to the
Contracting Officer an original and two copies of Standard Form (SF) 1443,
Contractor's Request for Progress Payment, and the contractor's invoice (if
applicable). The Contracting Officer's
office is the designated billing office for progress payments for purposes of
the Prompt Payment clause.
(End of clause)
1852.233-70
Protests to NASA.
As prescribed in 1833.106-70, insert the
following provision:
PROTESTS TO NASA
(OCTOBER 2002)
Potential bidders or offerors may submit a
protest under 48 CFR Part 33 (FAR Part 33) directly to the Contracting Officer. As an alternative to the
Contracting Officer's consideration of a protest, a potential bidder or offeror
may submit the protest to the Assistant Administrator for Procurement, who will
serve as or designate the official responsible for conducting an independent
review. Protests requesting an independent
review shall be addressed to Assistant Administrator for Procurement, NASA Code
H, Washington, DC 20546-0001.
(End of provision)
1852.235-70 Center
for AeroSpace Information - Final Scientific and Technical Reports.
As prescribed in
1835.070(a), insert the following clause:
CENTER FOR AEROSPACE INFORMATION -
FINAL SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL REPORTS
(JULY 2000)
(a) The Contractor should register with and
avail itself of the services provided by the NASA Center for AeroSpace Information
(CASI) (http://www.sti.nasa.gov) for the conduct of research or
research and development required under this contract. CASI provides a variety of services and
products as a central NASA repository of research information, which may
enhance contract performance. The
address is set out in paragraph (d) of this clause.
(b) Should the CASI information or service
requested by the Contractor be unavailable or not in the exact form necessary
by the Contractor, neither CASI nor NASA is obligated to search for or change
the format of the information. A
failure to furnish information shall not entitle the Contractor to an equitable
adjustment under the terms and conditions of this contract.
(c) In addition to
the final report, as defined at 1827.406-70(a)(3), submitted to the contracting
officer, a reproducible copy and a printed or reproduced copy of the final
report or data shall be concurrently submitted to:
Center for AeroSpace Information
(CASI)
Attn: Document Processing Section
7121 Standard Drive
Hanover, Maryland 21076-1320
Phone: 301-621-0390
FAX:
301-621-0134
(d) The last page of the final report
submitted to CASI shall be a completed Standard Form (SF) 298, Report
Documentation Page. In addition to the
copy of the final report, the contractor shall provide, to CASI, a copy of the
letter transmitting the final report to NASA for its Document Availability
Authorization (DAA) review.
(e) The contractor
shall not release the final report, outside of NASA, until the DAA review has
been completed by NASA and availability of the report has been determined.
(End of clause)
1852.235-71 Key Personnel and Facilities.
As prescribed in
1835.070(b), insert the following clause:
KEY PERSONNEL AND FACILITIES
(MARCH 1989)
(a) The personnel and/or facilities listed
below (or specified in the contract
Schedule) are considered essential to
the work being performed under this contract.
Before removing, replacing, or diverting any of the listed or specified
personnel or facilities, the Contractor shall (1) notify the Contracting
Officer reasonably in advance and (2) submit justification (including proposed
substitutions) in sufficient detail to permit evaluation of the impact on this
contract.
(b) The Contractor shall make no diversion
without the Contracting Officer's written consent; provided, that the
Contracting Officer may ratify in writing the proposed change, and that
ratification shall constitute the Contracting Officer's consent required by
this clause.
(c) The list of personnel and/or facilities
(shown below or as specified in the contract Schedule) may, with the consent of
the contracting parties, be amended from time to time during the course of the
contract to add or delete personnel and/or facilities.
[List here the
personnel and/or facilities considered essential, unless they are specified in
the contract Schedule.]
(End of clause)
1852.235-72
Instructions for Responding to NASA Research Announcements.
As prescribed in 1835.070(c), insert the following
provision:
INSTRUCTIONS
FOR RESPONDING TO NASA RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENTS
(OCTOBER
2002)
(a) General.
(1)
Proposals received in response to a NASA Research Announcement (NRA) will be
used only for evaluation purposes.
NASA does not allow a proposal, the contents of which are not available
without restriction from another source, or any unique ideas submitted in
response to an NRA to be used as the basis of a solicitation or in negotiation
with other organizations, nor is a pre-award synopsis published for individual
proposals.
(2)
A solicited proposal that results in a NASA award becomes part of the record of
that transaction and may be available to the public on specific request;
however, information or material that NASA and the awardee mutually agree to
be of a privileged nature will be held in confidence to the extent permitted
by law, including the Freedom of Information Act.
(3) NRAs contain programmatic information and certain requirements which
apply only to proposals prepared in response to that particular
announcement. These instructions
contain the general proposal preparation information which applies to responses
to all NRAs.
(4) A contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or other agreement may be
used to accomplish an effort funded in response to an NRA. NASA will determine the appropriate award
instrument. Contracts resulting from
NRAs are subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation and the NASA FAR
Supplement. Any resultant grants or
cooperative agreements will be awarded and administered in accordance with the
NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Handbook (NPG 5800.1).
(5)
NASA does not have mandatory forms or formats for responses to NRAs; however,
it is requested that proposals conform to the guidelines in these
instructions. NASA may accept proposals
without discussion; hence, proposals should initially be as complete as
possible and be submitted on the proposers' most favorable terms.
(6)
To be considered for award, a submission must, at a minimum, present a specific
project within the areas delineated by the NRA; contain sufficient technical
and cost information to permit a meaningful evaluation; be signed by an
official authorized to legally bind the submitting organization; not merely
offer to perform standard services or to just provide computer facilities or
services; and not significantly duplicate a more specific current or pending
NASA solicitation.
(b) NRA-Specific Items. Several proposal submission items appear
in the NRA itself: the unique NRA
identifier; when to submit proposals; where to send proposals; number of copies
required; and sources for more information.
Items included in these instructions may be supplemented by the NRA.
(c) The
following information is needed to permit consideration in an objective
manner. NRAs will generally specify
topics for which additional information or greater detail is desirable. Each proposal copy shall contain all
submitted material, including a copy of the transmittal letter if it contains
substantive information.
(1) Transmittal Letter or Prefatory Material.
(i) The legal name and address of the organization and specific division
or campus identification if part of a larger organization;
(ii) A brief, scientifically valid project title intelligible to a
scientifically literate reader and suitable for use in the public press;
(iii) Type of organization: e.g., profit, nonprofit, educational, small
business, minority, women-owned, etc.;
(iv) Name and telephone number of the principal investigator and
business personnel who may be contacted during evaluation or negotiation;
(v) Identification of other organizations that are currently evaluating
a proposal for the same efforts;
(vi) Identification of the NRA, by number and title, to which the
proposal is responding;
(vii) Dollar amount requested, desired starting date, and duration of
project;
(viii) Date of submission; and
(ix) Signature of a responsible
official or authorized representative of the organization, or any other person
authorized to legally bind the organization (unless the signature appears on
the proposal itself).
(2) Restriction on Use and Disclosure of Proposal Information. Information contained in proposals is used
for evaluation purposes only. Offerors
or quoters should, in order to maximize protection of trade secrets or other
information that is confidential or privileged, place the following notice on
the title page of the proposal and specify the information subject to the
notice by inserting an appropriate identification in the notice. In any event, information contained in
proposals will be protected to the extent permitted by law, but NASA assumes no
liability for use and disclosure of information not made subject to the notice.
Notice
Restriction
on Use and Disclosure of Proposal Information
The
information (data) contained in [insert page numbers or other identification]
of this Proposal constitutes a trade secret and/or information that is
commercial or financial and confidential or privileged. It is furnished to the Government in confidence
with the understanding that it will not, without permission of the offeror, be
used or disclosed other than for evaluation purposes; provided, however, that
in the event a contract (or other agreement) is awarded on the basis of this
proposal the Government shall have the right to use and disclose this
information (data) to the extent provided in the contract (or other
agreement). This restriction does not
limit the Government's right to use or disclose this information (data) if
obtained from another source without restriction.
(3) Abstract. Include a concise (200-300 word if not otherwise specified in the
NRA) abstract describing the objective and the method of approach.
(4) Project Description.
(i) The main body of the proposal shall be a detailed statement of the
work to be undertaken and should include objectives and expected significance;
relation to the present state of knowledge; and relation to previous work done
on the project and to related work in progress elsewhere. The statement should outline the plan of
work, including the broad design of experiments to be undertaken and a
description of experimental methods and procedures. The project description should address the evaluation factors in
these instructions and any specific factors in the NRA. Any substantial collaboration with
individuals not referred to in the budget or use of consultants should be
described. Subcontracting significant
portions of a research project is discouraged.
(ii) When it is expected that the effort will require more than one
year, the proposal should cover the complete project to the extent that it can
be reasonably anticipated. Principal
emphasis should be on the first year of work, and the description should distinguish
clearly between the first year's work and work planned for subsequent years.
(5) Management
Approach. For large or complex
efforts involving interactions among numerous individuals or other
organizations, plans for distribution of responsibilities and arrangements
for ensuring a coordinated effort should be described.
(6) Personnel. The principal investigator is responsible for supervision of the
work and participates in the conduct of the research regardless of whether
or not compensated under the award. A
short biographical sketch of the principal investigator, a list of principal
publications and any exceptional qualifications should be included. Omit social security number and other
personal items which do not merit consideration in evaluation of the
proposal. Give similar biographical
information on other senior professional personnel who will be directly
associated with the project. Give the
names and titles of any other scientists and technical personnel associated
substantially with the project in an advisory capacity. Universities should list the approximate
number of students or other assistants, together with information as to their
level of academic attainment. Any
special industry-university cooperative arrangements should be described.
(7) Facilities and Equipment.
(i) Describe available facilities and major items of equipment
especially adapted or suited to the proposed project, and any additional major
equipment that will be required.
Identify any Government-owned facilities, industrial plant equipment,
or special tooling that are proposed for use.
Include evidence of its availability and the cognizant Government points
of contact.
(ii) Before requesting a major item of capital equipment, the proposer
should determine if sharing or loan of equipment already within the
organization is a feasible alternative.
Where such arrangements cannot be made, the proposal should so
state. The need for items that
typically can be used for research and non-research purposes should be
explained.
(8) Proposed Costs (U.S. Proposals Only).
(i) Proposals should contain cost
and technical parts in one volume: do not use separate "confidential"
salary pages. As applicable, include
separate cost estimates for salaries and wages; fringe benefits; equipment;
expendable materials and supplies; services; domestic and foreign travel; ADP
expenses; publication or page charges; consultants; subcontracts; other
miscellaneous identifiable direct costs; and indirect costs. List salaries and wages in appropriate
organizational categories (e.g., principal investigator, other scientific and
engineering professionals, graduate students, research assistants, and
technicians and other non-professional personnel). Estimate all staffing data in terms of staff-months or fractions
of full-time.
(ii)
Explanatory notes should accompany the cost proposal to provide identification
and estimated cost of major capital equipment items to be acquired; purpose and
estimated number and lengths of trips planned; basis for indirect cost
computation (including date of most recent negotiation and cognizant agency);
and clarification of other items in the cost proposal that are not
self-evident. List estimated expenses as
yearly requirements by major work phases.
(iii) Allowable costs are governed by FAR Part 31 and the NASA FAR Supplement Part 1831 (and OMB Circulars A-21 for educational
institutions and A-122 for nonprofit organizations).
(iv)
Use of NASA funds--NASA funding may not be
used for foreign research efforts at any level, whether as a collaborator or a
subcontract. The direct purchase of
supplies and/or services, which do not constitute research, from non-U.S. sources
by U.S. award recipients is permitted. Additionally, in accordance with the
National Space Transportation Policy, use of a non-U.S. manufactured launch
vehicle is permitted only on a no-exchange-of-funds basis.
(9) Security. Proposals should not contain security classified material. If the research requires access to or may
generate security classified information, the submitter will be required to
comply with Government security regulations.
(10)
Current Support. For other current projects being conducted
by the principal investigator, provide title of project, sponsoring agency, and
ending date.
(11)
Special Matters.
(i) Include any required statements of environmental impact of the
research, human subject or animal care provisions, conflict of interest, or on
such other topics as may be required by the nature of the effort and current
statutes, executive orders, or other current Government-wide guidelines.
(ii)
Identify and discuss risk factors and issues throughout the proposal where they
are relevant, and your approach to managing these risks.
(iii)
Proposers should include a brief description of the organization, its facilities,
and previous work experience in the field of the proposal. Identify the cognizant Government audit
agency, inspection agency, and administrative contracting officer, when
applicable.
(d) Renewal Proposals.
(1)
Renewal proposals for existing awards will be considered in the same manner as
proposals for new endeavors. A renewal
proposal should not repeat all of the information that was in the original
proposal. The renewal proposal should
refer to its predecessor, update the parts that are no longer current, and
indicate what elements of the research are expected to be covered during the
period for which support is desired. A
description of any significant findings since the most recent progress report
should be included. The renewal
proposal should treat, in reasonable detail, the plans for the next period,
contain a cost estimate, and otherwise adhere to these instructions.
(2)
NASA may renew an effort either through amendment of an existing contract or by
a new award.
(e) Length.
Unless otherwise specified in the NRA, effort should be made to keep
proposals as brief as possible, concentrating on substantive material. Few proposals need exceed 15-20
pages. Necessary detailed information,
such as reprints, should be included as attachments. A complete set of attachments is necessary for each copy of the
proposal. As proposals are not
returned, avoid use of "one-of-a-kind" attachments.
(f) Joint Proposals.
(1)
Where multiple organizations are involved, the proposal may be submitted by
only one of them. It should clearly describe
the role to be played by the other organizations and indicate the legal and
managerial arrangements contemplated.
In other instances, simultaneous submission of related proposals from
each organization might be appropriate, in which case parallel awards would be
made.
(2)
Where a project of a cooperative nature with NASA is contemplated, describe the
contributions expected from any participating NASA investigator and agency
facilities or equipment which may be required.
The proposal must be confined only to that which the proposing
organization can commit itself.
"Joint" proposals which specify the internal arrangements NASA
will actually make are not acceptable as a means of establishing an agency
commitment.
(g) Late Proposals. Proposals or proposal modifications received after the
latest date specified for receipt may be considered if a significant reduction
in cost to the Government is probable or if there are significant technical
advantages, as compared with proposals previously received.
(h) Withdrawal. Proposals may be withdrawn by the proposer at any time
before award. Offerors are requested to
notify NASA if the proposal is funded by another organization or of other
changed circumstances which dictate termination of evaluation.
(i) Evaluation Factors.
(1)
Unless otherwise specified in the NRA, the principal elements (of approximately
equal weight) considered in evaluating a proposal are its relevance to NASA's
objectives, intrinsic merit, and cost.
(2) Evaluation
of a proposal's relevance to NASA's objectives includes the consideration of
the potential contribution of the effort to NASA's mission.
(3)
Evaluation of its intrinsic merit includes the consideration of the following
factors of equal importance:
(i) Overall scientific or technical merit of the proposal or unique and
innovative methods, approaches, or concepts demonstrated by the proposal.
(ii) Offeror's capabilities, related experience, facilities, techniques,
or unique combinations of these which are integral factors for achieving the
proposal objectives.
(iii) The qualifications, capabilities, and experience of the proposed
principal investigator, team leader, or key personnel critical in achieving the
proposal objectives.
(iv) Overall standing among similar proposals and/or evaluation against
the state-of-the-art.
(4)
Evaluation of the cost of a proposed effort may include the realism and
reasonableness of the proposed cost and available funds.
(j) Evaluation Techniques. Selection decisions will be made following
peer and/or scientific review of the proposals. Several evaluation techniques are regularly used within
NASA. In all cases proposals are
subject to scientific review by discipline specialists in the area of the
proposal. Some proposals are reviewed entirely in-house, others are evaluated
by a combination of in-house and selected external reviewers, while yet others
are subject to the full external peer review technique (with due regard for
conflict-of-interest and protection of proposal information), such as by mail
or through assembled panels. The final
decisions are made by a NASA selecting official. A proposal which is scientifically and programmatically meritorious,
but not selected for award during its initial review, may be included in
subsequent reviews unless the proposer requests otherwise.
(k) Selection for Award.
(1)
When a proposal is not selected for award, the proposer will be notified.
NASA will explain generally why the proposal was not selected. Proposers desiring additional information
may contact the selecting official who will arrange a debriefing.
(2)
When a proposal is selected for award, negotiation and award will be handled by
the procurement office in the funding installation. The proposal is used as the basis for negotiation. The contracting officer may request
certain business data and may forward a model award instrument and other
information pertinent to negotiation.
(l) Additional Guidelines
Applicable to Foreign Proposals and Proposals Including Foreign Participation.
(1) NASA
welcomes proposals from outside the U.S.
However, foreign entities are generally not eligible for funding from
NASA. Therefore, unless otherwise noted in the NRA, proposals from foreign
entities should not include a cost plan unless the proposal involves
collaboration with a U.S. institution, in which case a cost plan for only the
participation of the U.S. entity must be included. Proposals from foreign entities and proposals from U.S. entities
that include foreign participation must be endorsed by the respective
government agency or funding/sponsoring institution in the country from which
the foreign entity is proposing. Such
endorsement should indicate that the proposal merits careful consideration by
NASA, and if the proposal is selected, sufficient funds will be made available
to undertake the activity as proposed.
(2) All foreign proposals must be typewritten in
English and comply with all other submission requirements stated in the
NRA. All foreign proposals will undergo
the same evaluation and selection process as those originating in the U.S. All proposals must be received before the
established closing date. Those
received after the closing date will be treated in accordance with paragraph
(g) of this provision. Sponsoring
foreign government agencies or funding institutions may, in exceptional situations, forward a proposal without
endorsement if endorsement is not possible before the announced closing
date. In such cases, the NASA
sponsoring office should be advised when a decision on endorsement can be
expected.
(3)
Successful and unsuccessful foreign entities will be contacted directly
by the NASA sponsoring office. Copies
of these letters will be sent to the foreign
sponsor. Should a foreign proposal or a
U.S. proposal with foreign participation be selected, NASA's Office of External
Relations will arrange with the foreign sponsor for the proposed participation
on a no-exchange-of-funds basis, in which NASA and the non-U.S. sponsoring
agency or funding institution will each bear the cost of discharging their
respective responsibilities.
(4) Depending on the nature and extent of the
proposed cooperation, these arrangements
may entail:
(i) An exchange of letters between NASA and
the foreign sponsor; or
(ii) A formal Agency-to-Agency Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU).
(m) Cancellation of NRA. NASA reserves the right to make no
awards under this NRA and to cancel this NRA.
NASA assumes no liability for canceling the NRA or for anyone's failure
to receive actual notice of cancellation.
(End of
provision)
(b) The
program office shall:
(1) Synopsize
the AO in the Commerce Business Daily and on the NAIS prior to release;
(2)
Determine if there is instrumentation or support equipment available which
may be appropriate to the AO with all necessary background data considered
essential for use by a proposer;
(3)
Determine mailing lists, including the mailing list maintained by the International
Affairs Division, Office of External Relations, for broad dissemination of the
AO; and
(4)
Assure mandatory provisions are contained in the AO.
(c) Other methods of dissemination of the AO may
also be used, such as the use of press releases, etc. When possible, the AO should be widely publicized through publications
of appropriate professional societies; however, NASA policy does not allow
payment for the placement of advertisements.
1872.303 Responsibilities.
(a) The program office originator is responsible
for the content of the AO and coordination with concerned Headquarters offices
and field installations. All personnel
involved in the evaluation of proposals are responsible for familiarizing
themselves and complying with this part and other applicable regulations. To this end, they are expected to seek the
advice and guidance of appropriate Headquarters program and staff offices, and
Project Installation management.
(b) The
Program Office is also responsible for coordinating the AO with the International
Affairs, Educational Affairs, Management Support Divisions, Office of External
Relations, Office of General Counsel, Office of Safety and Mission Assurance,
and Office of Procurement prior to issuance (see NPD 1360.2,
Initiation and Development of International Cooperation in Space and
Aeronautics Programs).
(c) Concurrence of the Office of Procurement is
required before issuance of an AO.
1872.304 Proposal opportunity period.
(a) The AO must accommodate to the maximum extent
practicable opportunities afforded by the Shuttle/Spacelab flights. The following methods may be used to enable
an AO to be open for an extended period of time and/or to cover a series or
range of flight possibilities or disciplines:
(1)
The AO may be issued establishing a number of proposal submission dates. Normally, no more than three proposal
submission dates should be established.
The submittal dates may be spread over the number of months most
compatible with the possible flight opportunities and the availability of
resources necessary to evaluate and fund the proposals.
(2)
The AO may be issued establishing a single proposal submission date. However, the AO could provide that NASA
amend the AO to provide for subsequent dates for submission of proposals, if
additional investigations are desired within the AO objectives.
(3)
The AO may provide for an initial submission date with the AO to remain open
for submission of additional proposals up to a final cutoff date. This final date should be related to the
availability of resources necessary to evaluate the continuous flow of
proposals, the time remaining prior to the flight opportunity(s) contemplated
by the AO, and payload funding and availability.
(b)
Generally, a core payload of investigations would be selected from the initial
submission of proposals under the above methods of open-ended AOs. These selections could be final or
tentative recognizing the need for further definition. Proposals received by subsequent submission
dates would be considered in the scope of the original AO but would be subject
to the opportunities and resources remaining available or the progress being
made by prior selected investigations.
(c) Any proposal, whether received on the initial
submission or subsequent submission, requires notification to the investigator
and the investigator's institution of the proposal disposition. Some of the
proposals will be rejected completely and the investigators immediately
notified. The remaining unselected
proposals may, if agreeable with the proposers, be held for later consideration
and funding and the investigator so notified.
However, if an investigator's proposal is considered at a later date,
the investigator must be given an opportunity to validate the proposal with the
investigator's institution and for updating the cost and other data contained
in the original submission prior to a final selection. In summary, NASA may retain proposals, receiving Category I, II, or III
classifications (see 1872.403-1(e)), for possible later sponsorship until no
longer feasible to consider the proposal.
When this final stage is reached, the investigator must be promptly
notified. Proposing investigators not desiring their proposals be held for
later consideration should be given the opportunity to so indicate in their
original submissions.
1872.305 Guidelines for announcement of opportunity.
(a) The AO should be tailored to the particular
needs of the contemplated investigations and be complete in itself. Each AO will identify the originating
program office and be numbered consecutively by calendar year, e.g., OA‑1-95,
OA-2-95; OLMSA-1-95; OSS-1-95; etc. The
required format and detailed instructions regarding the contents of the AO are
contained in 1872.705.
(b) The
General Instructions and Provisions (1872.705-1)
are necessary to accommodate the unique aspects of the AO process. Therefore, they must be appended to each AO.
(c) At the time of issuance, copies of the AO must
be furnished to Headquarters, Office of Procurement (Code HS) and Office of
General Counsel (Code GK).
(d) Proposers
should be informed of significant departures from scheduled dates for
activities related in the AO.
1872.306 Announcement of opportunity soliciting
foreign participation.
Foreign
proposals or U.S. proposals with foreign participation shall be treated in
accordance with 1835.016-70.
Additional guidelines applicable to foreign proposers are contained in
the Management Plan Section of 1872.705-2
and must be included in any Guidelines for Proposal Preparation or otherwise
furnished to foreign proposers.
1872.307 Guidelines for proposal preparation.
While not all of the
guidelines outlined in 1872.705-2 will be applicable in response to every AO,
the investigator should be informed of the relevant information required. The proposal may be submitted on a form
supplied by the Program Office.
However, the proposal should be submitted in at least two sections: (a) Investigation and Technical Plan;
and (b) Management and Cost Plan as described in 1872.705-2. Investigators shall be required to identify
and discuss risk factors and issues throughout the proposal where they are
relevant, and describe their approach to managing these risks.
Subpart 1872.4--Evaluation
of Proposals
1872.401 General.
(a) The evaluation process considers the aspects
of each proposal by the following progressive sorting:
(1) A
review resulting in a categorization is performed by using one of the methods
or combination of the methods outlined in 1872.403. The purpose of this initial review is to determine the scientific
and/or technological merit of the proposals in the context of the AO
objectives.
(2)
Those proposals which are considered to have the greatest scientific or
technological merit are then reviewed in detail for the engineering,
management, and cost aspects, usually by the project office at the installation
responsible for the project.
(3)
Final reviews are performed by the program office and the steering committee
and are aimed at developing a group of investigations which represent an
integrated payload or a well-balanced program of investigation which has the
best possibility for meeting the AO’s objectives within programmatic
constraints.
(b) The
importance of considering the interrelationship of the several aspects of the
proposals to be reviewed in the process and the need for carefully planning
their treatment should not be overlooked.
An evaluation plan should be developed before issuance of the AO. It should cover the recommended staffing for
any subcommittee or contractor support, review guidelines as well as the
procedural flow and schedule of the evaluation. While not mandatory, such a plan should be considered for each
AO. A fuller discussion of the
evaluation and selection process is included in the following sections of this
subpart.
1872.402 Criteria for evaluation.
(a) Each AO must indicate those criteria which the
evaluators will apply in evaluating a proposal. The relative importance of each criterion must also be
stated. This information will allow investigators
to make informed judgments in formulating proposals that best meet the stated
objectives.
(b)
Following is a list of general evaluation criteria appropriate for inclusion
in most AOs:
(1)
The scientific, applications, and/or technological merit of the investigation.
(2)
The relevance of the proposed investigation to the AO's stated scientific,
applications, and/or technological objectives.
(3)
The competence and experience of the investigator and any investigative team.
(4)
Adequacy of whatever apparatus may be proposed with particular regard to its
ability to supply the data needed for the investigation.
(5)
The reputation and interest of the investigator's institution, as measured by
the willingness of the institution to provide the support necessary to ensure
that the investigation can be completed satisfactorily.
(6)
Cost and management aspects will be considered in all selections.
(7) The proposed approach to managing risk (e.g., level of
technology maturity being applied or developed, technical complexity,
performance specifications and tolerances, delivery schedule, etc.).
(8) Other or additional criteria may be used, but the evaluation
criteria must be germane to the accomplishment of the stated objectives.
(c) Once the AO is issued, it is essential that
the evaluation criteria be applied in a uniform manner. If it becomes apparent, before the date set
for receipt of proposals, that the criteria or their relative importance
should be changed, the AO will be amended, and all known recipients will be
informed of the change and given an adequate opportunity to consider it in
submission of their proposals.
Evaluation criteria and/or their relative importance will not be changed
after the date set for receipt of proposals.
1872.403
Methods of evaluation.
Alternative
methods are available to initiate the evaluation of proposals received in
response to an AO. These are referred
to as the Advisory Subcommittee Evaluation Process, the Contractor Evaluation
Process, and the Government Evaluation Process. In all processes, a subcommittee of the appropriate Program
Office Steering Committee will be formed to categorize the proposals. Following categorization, those proposals
still in consideration will be processed to the selection official.
1872.403-1 Advisory subcommittee evaluation process.
(a) Evaluation of scientific and/or technological
merit of proposed investigations is the responsibility of an advisory subcommittee
of the Steering Committee. The
subcommittee constitutes a peer group qualified to judge the scientific and
technological aspects of all investigation proposals. One or more subcommittees may be established
depending on the breadth of the technical or scientific disciplines inherent
in the AO's objectives. Each subcommittee
represents a discipline or grouping of closely related disciplines. To maximize the quality of the subcommittee
evaluation and categorization, the following conditions of selection and
appointment should be considered.
(1)
The subcommittee normally should be established on an ad hoc basis.
(2)
Qualifications and acknowledgment of the professional abilities of the subcommittee
members are of primary importance.
Institutional affiliations are not sufficient qualifications.
(3)
The executive secretary of the subcommittee must be a full-time NASA employee.
(4)
Subcommittee members should normally be appointed as early as possible and
prior to receipt of proposals.
(5)
Care must be taken to avoid conflicts of interest. These include financial interests, institutional affiliations,
professional biases and associations, as well as familiar relationships. Conflicts could further occur as a result of
imbalance between Government and non-Government appointees or membership from
institutions representing a singular school of thought in discipline areas
involving competitive theories in approach to an investigation.
(6) The subcommittee should convene as a
group in closed sessions for proposal evaluation to protect the proposer's
proprietary ideas and to allow frank discussion of the proposer's
qualifications and the merit of the proposer's ideas. Lead review responsibility for each proposal may be assigned to
members most qualified in the involved discipline. It is important that each proposal be considered by the entire
subcommittee.
for investigations are sought, this section should
describe the requirement, if any, for selected investigators to serve on
advisory or working groups. In those
instances where the project or program has not yet been approved, a qualifying
statement should be included to indicate that this AO does not constitute an
obligation for the Government to carry the effort to completion.
II. NASA’s Safety Priority.
Safety is the freedom from those conditions
that can cause death, injury, occupational illness; damage to or loss of
equipment or property, or damage to the environment. NASA’s safety priority is to protect--
(2) Astronauts and pilots;
(3)
The NASA workforce (including contractor employees working on NASA contracts);
and (4) High-value equipment and property.
III. AO Objectives.
This section will give a succinct statement
of the specific scientific, applications, and/or technological objective(s) for
the opportunity(s) for which proposals are sought.
IV. Background.
This section
should provide an explanation of the context of the opportunity, i.e., information
which will help the reader understand the relevance of the opportunity.
V. Proposal Opportunity Period.
This
section should provide the proposal opportunity period(s). The following methods may be used
individually or in conjunction for establishing the proposal opportunity
period(s):
(a) The AO may be issued establishing a single
date by which proposals may be received.
However, the AO could provide that the agency may amend the AO to provide
for subsequent dates for submission of proposals, if additional investigations
are desired.
(b) The AO
may be issued to provide for an initial submission date with the AO to remain
open for submission of additional proposals up to a final cutoff date. This final date should be related to the
availability of resources necessary to evaluate the continuous flow of
proposals and the time remaining prior to the flight opportunities
contemplated by the AO.
(c) The AO may be issued establishing a number of
dates by which proposals may be received.
Normally no more than three proposal submission dates should be established. The submittal dates may be spread over the
number of months most compatible with the possible flight opportunities and
the availability of resources necessary to evaluate and fund the proposal. If desired, this section should further inform
the reader that if a proposal receives a Category I, II, or III rating but is
not selected for immediate support, the proposal may, if desired by the
proposer, be held by NASA for later consideration within the ground rules set
forth in paragraphs l and 2. The
section should inform the reader that if the person wishes the proposal to be
so treated, it should be indicated in the proposal. This section should further indicate that offerors whose
proposals are to be considered at a later time will be given the opportunity to
revalidate their proposals with their institution and update cost data.
VI. Requirements and Constraints.
(a) This section will include technical,
programmatic, cost, and schedule requirements or constraints, as applicable,
and will specify performance limits such as lifetime, flight environment,
safety, reliability, and quality assurance provisions for
flight-worthiness. It will specify the
requirements and constraints related to the flight crew and the ground
support. It will also include
requirements for data analysis, estimated schedule of data shipment to user or
observer, need for preliminary or raw data analysis and interim reports. It will specify the planned period (time)
for data analysis to be used for budgeting.
It will provide any additional information necessary for a meaningful
proposal.
(b) When
NASA determines that instrumentation, ground support equipment, or NASA
supporting effort will be required or may be expected to be required by the
contemplated investigations, the AO should indicate to the potential
investigators that they must submit specific information regarding this
requirement to allow an in-depth evaluation of the technical aspects, cost,
management, and other factors by the Installation Project Office.
VII. Proposal Submission Information.
(a) Preproposal Activities--In this section,
the AO will indicate requirements and activities such as the following:
(1)
Submittal of "Notice of Intent" to propose (if desired), date for
submission, and any additional required data to be submitted. Indicate whether there are information
packages which will only be sent to those who submit "Notice of Intent."
(2)
Attendance at the preproposal conference (if held). Information should be provided as to time, place, whether attendance
will be restricted in number from each institution, and whether prior notice of
intention to attend is required. If desired,
a request may be included that questions be submitted in writing several days
before the conference in order to prepare replies.
(3)
The name and address of the scientific or technical contact for questions or
inquiries.
(4)
Any other preproposal data considered necessary.
(b) Format of Proposals--This section
should provide the investigator with the information necessary to enable an
effective evaluation of the proposal.
The information is as follows:
(1) Proposal--The AO should indicate how
the proposal should be submitted to facilitate evaluation. The proposal should be submitted in at least
two sections; (i) Investigation and Technical Section; and (ii) Management and
Cost Section.
(2) Signatory--The proposal must be signed
by an institutional official authorized to ensure institutional support, sponsorship
of the investigation, management, and financial aspects of the proposal.
(3) Quantity--The number of copies of the
proposal should be specified. One copy
should be clear black and white, and on white paper of quality suitable for
reproduction.
(4) Submittal Address--Proposals from
domestic sources should be mailed to arrive not later than the time indicated
for receipt of proposals to:
National
Aeronautics and Space Administration
Office
of (Program)
Code AO No.
Washington,
DC 20546
(5) Format--To aid in proposal evaluation,
and to facilitate comparative analysis, a uniform proposal format will be
required for each AO. The number of
pages, page size, and restriction on photo reduction, etc., may be
included. The format contained in
Appendix B can be used as a
guide. Proposers may be requested to respond
to all of the items or the AO may indicate that only selected items need be
addressed. Using the Appendix format as
a guide, specific guidelines may be prepared for the AO or an appropriate form
developed.
(c) Additional
Information--This section may be used to request or furnish data necessary
to obtain clear proposals that should not require further discussions with the
proposer by the evaluators. Other pertinent
data could also be included, such as significant milestones.
(d) Foreign Proposals--The procedures for
submission of proposals from outside the U.S. are contained in Appendix B,
"Guidelines for Proposal Preparation."
This section will describe any additional requirements, for example, if
information copies of proposals are required to be furnished by the proposer
to other organizations at the same time the proposal is submitted.
(e) Cost
Proposals (U.S. Investigators Only)--This section defines any special
requirements regarding cost proposals of domestic investigators. Reference then should be made to the cost
proposal certifications indicated in Appendix B, "Guidelines for Proposal Preparation."
VIII. Proposal
Evaluation, Selection, and Implementation.
(a) Evaluation
and Selection Procedure.
(1)
This section should notify the proposers of the evaluation process.
(2)
For example, a statement similar to the following should be included:
"Proposals
received in response to this AO will be reviewed by a subcommittee appointed
by the (appropriate Program AA). The
purpose of the review is to determine the scientific/technical merit of the
proposals in the context of this AO and so categorize the proposals. Those proposals which are considered to have
the greatest scientific/technical merit are further reviewed for engineering,
integration, management, and cost aspects by the Project Office at the
installation responsible for the project.
On the basis of these reviews, and the reviews of the responsible
Program Office and the Steering Committee, the (appropriate Program Associate
Administrator) will appoint/select the investigators/investigations."
(b) Evaluation Criteria.
(1)
This section should indicate that the selection of proposals which best meet
the specific scientific, applications, and/or technological objectives, stated
in the AO, is the aim of the solicitation.
This section should list the criteria to be used in the evaluation of
proposals and indicate their relative importance. See NASA FAR Supplement 1872.402 for a listing of criteria generally
appropriate.
(2)
This section will also inform the proposers that cost and management factors,
e.g., proposed small business participation in instrumentation fabrication or
investigation support, will be separately considered.
IX. Schedule.
This
section should include the following, as applicable:
(a) Preproposal conference date.
(b) Notice
of Intent submittal date.
(c) Proposal submittal date(s).
(d) Target
date for announcement of selections.
X. Appendices.
(a) General Instructions and Provisions (must be
attached to each AO).
(b) Other
Pertinent Data, e.g., Spacelab Accommodations Data.
/s/ Associate Administrator
for (Program)
1872.705-1 Appendix A:
General Instructions and Provisions.
Include
the following in all Announcements of Opportunity:
I. Instrumentation and/or Ground Equipment.
By
submitting a proposal, the investigator and institution agree that NASA has
the option to accept all or part of the offeror's plan to provide the
instrumentation or ground support equipment required for the investigation or
NASA may furnish or obtain such instrumentation or equipment from any other
source as determined by the selecting official. In addition, NASA reserves the right to require use, by the
selected investigator, of Government instrumentation or property that becomes
available, with or without modification, that will meet the investigative
objectives.
II. Tentative Selections, Phased
Development, Partial Selections, and
Participation with Others.
By
submitting a proposal, the investigator and the organization agree that NASA has
the option to make a tentative selection pending a successful feasibility or
definition effort. NASA has the option
to contract in phases for a proposed experiment, and to discontinue the
investigative effort at the completion of any phase. The investigator should also understand that NASA may desire to
select only a portion of the proposed investigation and/or that NASA may desire
the individual's participation with other investigators in a joint investigation,
in which case the investigator will be given the opportunity to accept or
decline such partial acceptance or participation with other investigators prior
to a selection. Where participation
with other investigators as a team is agreed to, one of the team members will
normally be designated as its team leader or contact point.
III. Selection Without Discussion.
The
Government reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received in response
to this AO when such action shall be considered in the best interest of the
Government. Notice is also given of
the possibility that any selection may be made without discussion (other
than discussions conducted for the purpose of minor clarification). It is therefore emphasized that all
proposals should be submitted initially on the most favorable terms that the
offeror can submit.
IV. Foreign Proposals.
See
Appendix B, Management Plan and Cost Plan, paragraph (a)(3).
V. Treatment of Proposal Data.
It is NASA
policy to use information contained in proposals and quotations for evaluation
purposes only. While this policy does
not require that the proposal or quotation bear a restrictive notice, offerors
or quoters should place the following notice on the title page of the proposal
or quotation and specify the information, subject to the notice by inserting
appropriate identification,
