Solicitations Home
Section Menu
Encryption
General BAA FAQs
|
 |
|
|
General BAA Frequently Asked Questions
Proposal Submission and Evaluation:
The following questions are offered as general guidelines for those who are interested in submitting proposal abstracts and proposals to the Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO) at DARPA. Please choose from the following list of question topics.
1. I received a message discouraging me from submitting a full proposal. Does that mean I may not submit one anyway?
2. How do I go about submitting a proposal to your BAA?
3. Have you received my proposal?
4. Can I send my proposal via electronic mail?
5. Who is allowed to review my proposal?
6. How soon will we be notified of the results of the evaluation of our proposal?
7. Will you accept late proposals?
8. May I have an extension to the deadline for submission of my proposal?
9. I am writing up a proposal that I think falls under the purview of the solicited BAA; however, I will not be able to meet the proposal deadline. Would you entertain a regular/unsolicited proposal on this topic? If appropriate, I can send you an abstract right away or a white paper.
10. May I send additional information that we forgot to include in our submission?
11. In submitting the proposal, are there any signatures (from PIs, administrative personnel etc.) that need to be on the cover page or on a separate cover letter?
12. Do I need to submit an SF 1411 along with my proposal?
13. If the BAA strongly recommends teaming, what impact will it have on the chances of award if I submit a proposal as an individual organization?
14. Part of my team is a government laboratory. Is that acceptable?
1. I received a message discouraging me from submitting a full proposal. Does that mean I may not submit one anyway?
Since abstracts contain only limited information, which may not have been sufficient to convey the full potential of this work, you may choose to submit a full proposal anyway. Should you do so, please be assured that the proposal will receive full consideration. The deadline for submission of proposals is shown in the Commerce Business Daily announcement and the Proposer Information Pamphlet for the BAA.
Back to Top
2. How do I go about submitting a proposal to your BAA?
The complete instructions for proposal submission are included in the BAA Proposer Information Pamphlet for the BAA. If you do not have one, it may be found here.
Back to Top
3. Have you received my proposal?
Acknowledgment of receipt of proposals are sent to the technical point of contact listed on the proposal within 1-3 working days of the closing date.
Back to Top
4. Can I send my proposal via electronic mail?
The Proposer Information Pamphlet indicates whether or not proposal submission may be made electronically. For administrative and/or security reasons, some BAAs prohibit electronic submission.
Back to Top
5. Who is allowed to review my proposal?
Unless indicated otherwise in the BAA, all proposals are reviewed by Government employees only.
Back to Top
6. How soon will we be notified of the results of the evaluation of our proposal?
The time varies depending on the number of proposals received and other factors. Usually, notification of the results of the evaluation of proposals is sent out within two months from the closing date of the BAA.
Back to Top
7. Will you accept late proposals?
Proposals are not accepted after the deadline given in the Broad Agency Announcement. Proposals must be received at the DARPA mailroom by this deadline. A time stamp will be applied at time of receipt.
Back to Top
8. May I have an extension to the deadline for submission of my proposal?
No extension is granted to an individual or organization. Occasionally, the closing date for a BAA is extended. In this case an amendment to the BAA is published in the Commerce Business Daily and applies to all persons and organizations who wish to submit a proposal to the BAA.
Back to Top
9. I am writing up a proposal that I think falls under the purview of the solicited BAA; however, I will not be able to meet the proposal deadline. Would you entertain a regular/unsolicited proposal on this topic? If appropriate, I can send you an abstract right away or a white paper.
An unsolicited proposal must adhere to Federal Acquisition Regulations (See FAR 15.5-Unsolicited Proposals) and may not be used as a means to submit a late proposal to a published BAA. It is unfortunate that you will not have time to meet the proposal deadline. You may wish to monitor the IPTO solicitations page here for information regarding upcoming BAAs to which you may wish to respond.
Back to Top
10. May I send additional information that we forgot to include in our submission?
Additional information may not be accepted after the deadline for submissions. If such information is forwarded to DARPA, it is filed with the original submission, but it is not included with the copies that have been forwarded to reviewers. If the information reaches DARPA prior to the deadline, it will be added to the review copies as well as filed with the originally submitted material.
Back to Top
11. In submitting the proposal, are there any signatures (from PIs, administrative personnel etc.) that need to be on the cover page or on a separate cover letter?
Signatures needed may be determined by your own institution or organization.
Back to Top
12. Do I need to submit an SF 1411 along with my proposal?
No, a Standard Form 1411 is not required with the proposal submission. If your proposal is selected for funding, the contracting agent may ask for an SF 1411 or other financial information form.
Back to Top
13. If the BAA strongly recommends teaming, what impact will it have on the chances of award if I submit a proposal as an individual organization?
Unless teaming is required by the BAA, you may submit a proposal consisting of an individual organization. Your proposal will be evaluated according to the evaluation criteria for the BAA as will all other proposals.
Back to Top
14. Part of my team is a government laboratory. Is that acceptable?
In general, Government labs and FFRDCs are not permitted to compete directly with other sources. Proposals submitted by FFRDCs and Government labs are handled as in-house efforts. The proposals should be submitted directly to the appropriate DARPA program manager (PM) who must carefully evaluate their unique contributions.
If a lab or FFRDC submits a proposal to a BAA, they will be sent a letter thanking them for their interest and stating that the proposal will be reviewed, but not as part of the BAA evaluation. If a PM wants to work with a lab or FFRDC, a justified "in-house" effort would be the way to fund it.
If a proposer wants to include lab or FFRDC work, this sometimes can be done as a subcontract (depending on the lab), or by referring to "work being submitted independently to DARPA." The latter case would then refer to the SOW provided separately by the lab.
An exception to the above concerns DOD-sponsored FFRDCs that function primarily as research laboratories. These FFRDCs may respond to solicitations and announcements for programs which promote research, development, demonstration, or transfer of technology. Currently, the only three FFRDCs meeting this criteria are C3I, SEI and Lincoln Laboratory.
Back to Top
|
