# Presentation: 640795

## NASA Research Announcements

- Tracie M. Rustin
- PIP Level II Presentation
- December 17, 2001

## Introduction

- Why I Chose This Topic

**Notes:**
I CHOSE THIS TOPIC BECAUSE:
awarded several contracts as a result of NASA Research Announcements in the Earth Sciences Procurement Office
interested in having a complete understanding of the NRA process
recognized that there is no formal guidance for processing NRAs and was interested in knowing how other Procurement Offices handle negotiations and award – this is a result from having worked with individuals from other offices who have negotiated and reached award differently

## Introduction

- The NASA Mission:
- advance and communicate scientific knowledge and understanding of the Earth, the solar system, and the universe, and use the environment of space for research;
- explore, use, and enable the development of space for human enterprise; and
- research, develop, verify, and transfer advanced aeronautics, space, and related technologies

**Notes:**
As stated in the strategic plan, NASA’s mission is:
to advance and communicate scientific knowledge and understanding of the Earth, the solar system, and the universe, and use the environment of space for research;
to explore, use, and enable the development of space for human enterprise; and
to research, develop, verify, and transfer advanced aeronautics, space, and related technologies.

## Introduction

- NASA’s Strategic Enterprises:
- Aero-Space Technology,
- Biological and Physical Research,
- Earth Science,
- Human Exploration and Development of Space, and
- Space Science

**Notes:**
In pursuit of these goals, NASA’s programs are organized into five Strategic Enterprises:
Aero-Space Technology,
Biological and Physical Research,
Earth Science,
Human Exploration and Development of Space and 
Space Science

These Enterprises pursue these goals using a wide variety of ground-, aeronautical, and space-based programs.

## Introduction

- NASA solicits proposals via:
- Announcements of Opportunity (AO),
- NASA Research Announcements (NRA), and
- Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN)

**Notes:**
NASA carries out its research activities by soliciting proposals through a variety of announcements, which include:
the Announcement of Opportunity (AO), 
the NASA Research Announcement (NRA) and 
the Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN)

Awards through these various solicitations fund thousands of scientists, engineers and educators each year at U.S. nonprofit and commercial organizations, as well as Federal research institutions, including NASA’s field centers.

In addition, NASA solicits proposals to foster aggressive programs aimed at education and public outreach and to ensure maximum participation by small businesses and small disadvantaged businesses in NASA programs.

## Topics of Discussion

- Background
- Overview of the NRA
- Writing, Announcing and Releasing a NRA
- Proposal Review and Selection
- Award Processing
- Award Processing - Survey
- Recommendation
- Summary

**Notes:**
IN MY PRESENTATION, I WILL DISCUSS:
the background of NASA Research Announcements, there purpose as they relate to NASA’s mission
an overview of the NRA
writing, announcing and releasing the NRA
proposal review and selection of the NRA
**Main focus of my presentation is to discuss the negotiation and award of contracts as a result of NRAs (in the NASA Procurement Offices)
will provide a recommendation based on results of research

## National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958(as amended)
	http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/amendact.html

NASA Sponsored Research:
relevant to NASA’s programs
of the highest intrinsic science and technical merits
affordable and realistic in cost

- 	_[http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/amendact.html](http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/amendact.html)_
- NASA Sponsored Research:
- relevant to NASA’s programs
- of the highest intrinsic science and technical merits
- affordable and realistic in cost

**Background**

**Notes:**
In fulfillment of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, as amended, NASA endeavors to sponsor the highest quality research and development of the newest technologies related to the space and aeronautical sciences.

A key feature that distinguishes research sponsored by NASA is that it must be relevant to NASA’s programs, be of the highest intrinsic science and technical merits, and be affordable and realistic in cost.

## NASA Research Announcement

type of Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)

general research opportunity that solicits relatively nonspecific research, technology, or education projects that are funded by NASA’s yearly, ongoing budgets

- type of Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)
- general research opportunity that solicits relatively nonspecific research, technology, or education projects that are funded by NASA’s yearly, ongoing budgets

**Background**

**Notes:**
A NRA is a type of Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) – a general announcement of an agency’s research interest including criteria for selecting proposals and soliciting the participation of all offerors capable of satisfying the Government’s needs
BAA’s are used for the acquisition of basic and applied research and that part of development not related to developing a specific system or hardware

NRA - general research opportunity that solicits relatively nonspecific research, technology, or education projects that are funded by NASA’s yearly, ongoing budgets
an NRA provides for submission of competitive project ideas, conceived by the offerors in one or more program areas of interest
All types of organizations are invited to submit a proposal for a NRA including for profit, nonprofit and government entities
NASA especially seeks to encourage participation from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s), Other Minority Universities (OBU’s) and small disadvantaged businesses (SDB’s) and women-owned small businesses (WOSB’s)
conducted under a Broad Agency Announcement, the NRA process is considered competitive by FAR 6.102(d)(2); the NRA requests proposals from all sources, not restricting competition
 an NRA is not to be used when a requirement is sufficiently defined or to solicit a specific end product or service

## Writing, Announcing and Releasing a NRA

NASA NRAs:

“Summary of Solicitation” 

“Description of Program Opportunity”

- NASA NRAs:
- “Summary of Solicitation”
- “Description of Program Opportunity”

**Overview of the NASA Research Announcement **

**Notes:**
NASA NRAs, regardless of their objectives, are patterned on a standard format, that at a minimum, include:

“Summary of Solicitation” 
normally two to three pages
describes the program and summarizes pertinent information for the NRA,
is signed by the responsible NASA program official, and
provides any additions or amendments to the standard guidance and /or formats found in the Guidebook for Proposers Responding to a NRA for the preparation and submission of proposals

“Description of Program Opportunity”
describes in detail the objectives for which proposals are being solicited by that particular NRA

## Writing, Announcing and Releasing a NRA

Commerce Business Daily (CBD) Synopsis:

pursuant to Federal statute 

in an effort to reach the widest practicable audience

- Commerce Business Daily (CBD) Synopsis:
- pursuant to Federal statute
- in an effort to reach the widest practicable audience

**Overview of the NASA Research Announcement **

**Notes:**
Pursuant to Federal statute and to facilitate reaching the widest practicable audience, all NRAs must be synopsized in the Commerce Business Daily (CBD) 15 calendar days prior to their release -- this requirement pertains to those NRAs that provide for the possibility of contract awards

The FAR provides seven exceptions to the synopsis requirement; however, these exceptions rarely apply to NRAs.

Notwithstanding the FAR and NFS requirements, if prior to release of an NRA it is decided that subsequent awards will be limited to grants or cooperative agreements, publishing a CBD synopsis is not required. However, it is strongly advised that ALL NRAs, not those just soliciting contract awards, be advertised in the CBD.

In general, all NRAs are advertised in the CBD and NASA’s recipient community is accustomed to this practice.

## Writing, Announcing and Releasing a NRA

Additional Advertising:

“Research Opportunities”
	http://www.nasa.gov

NASA’s Acquisition Internet Service (NAIS)
	http://procurement.nasa.gov

CBDNet Internet Site
	 http://cbdnet.gpo.gov

- Additional Advertising:
- “Research Opportunities”
- 	_[http://www.nasa.gov](http://www.nasa.gov/)_
- NASA’s Acquisition Internet Service (NAIS)
- 	_[http://procurement.nasa.gov](http://procurement.nasa.gov/)_
- CBD*Net* Internet Site
- 	 _[http://cbdnet.gpo.gov](http://cbdnet.gpo.gov/)_

**Overview of the NASA Research Announcement **

**Notes:**
As a favor to the interested members of the science, technical and educational research communities, NASA also provides direct notification of the intended release of all program announcements through Internet-based or postal mail services. 

NRAs issued by Headquarters program offices are posted to the respective program office website under the “Research Opportunities” option (NASA home page).

Headquarters and Center initiated NRAs are also posted on the NASA Acquisition Internet Service.

Announcements may also be accessed through the CBDNet Internet Site

## Proposal Review and Selection

Peer Evaluation
NRA Program Officer
NASA Selecting Official
Selection Announcement

- Peer Evaluation
- NRA Program Officer
- NASA Selecting Official
- Selection Announcement

**Overview of the NASA Research Announcement **

**Notes:**
To be competitive for selection, proposals must fully satisfy the evaluation criteria, which will be discussed further later, as judged through review by the peer review panel and by programmatic evaluation for cost and relevance by NASA

The program officer selects the panel based on their known expertise relevant to the content of each proposal and avoidance of conflicts of interest;  the panel consists of qualified peers of the proposer who are knowledgeable though not necessarily specialists in the objective(s) solicited by the NRA

Following peer evaluation, the cognizant NRA program officer will evaluate the competitively rated proposals against the programmatic objectives and financial limitations stated in the NRA; the program officer then presents a recommendation for selection based on the entirety of these factors to the NASA Selecting Official identified in the NRA

The Selecting Official selects for funding those proposals deemed worthy as judged against all of the evaluation criteria, the objectives of the NRA and the available financial resources

Following selection, each proposer will be notified of the disposition of his/her proposal and provided with a debriefing to explain that decision; selected proposers will be advised that they will be contacted by the responsible NASA Procurement Office to arrange for implementation of award

## Proposal Review and Selection

Evaluation Criteria:
relevance to NASA’s objectives, intrinsic merit and cost (principal elements)

consideration of potential contribution of the effort to NASA’s mission

- _Evaluation Criteria_:
- relevance to NASA’s objectives, intrinsic merit and cost *(principal elements)*
- consideration of potential contribution of the effort to NASA’s mission

**Overview of the NASA Research Announcement **

**Notes:**
As a general rule, the evaluation criteria applies to all NRAs, however they may be augmented and/or amended in each NRA

Evaluation Criteria:
Unless otherwise specified in the NRA, the principal elements considered in evaluating a proposal are its relevance to NASA’s objectives, its intrinsic merit, and its cost – the failure of a proposal to be rated highly in any one of these elements is sufficient cause for the proposal to not be selected

Evaluation of a proposal’s relevance to NASA’s objectives includes the consideration of the potential contribution of the effort to NASA’s mission

## Proposal Review and Selection

Evaluation Criteria (cont.):
intrinsic merit includes the consideration of:
overall scientific/technical merit
offeror’s capabilities, related experience, facilities, and  techniques

- _Evaluation Criteria (cont.)_:
- intrinsic merit includes the consideration of:
- overall scientific/technical merit
- offeror’s capabilities, related experience, facilities, and  techniques

**Overview of the NASA Research Announcement **

**Notes:**
Evaluation of intrinsic merit includes the consideration of the following factors of equal importance:
overall scientific or technical merit of the proposal and/or unique innovative methods, approaches, concepts or advanced technologies demonstrated,
the offeror’s capabilities, related experience, facilities, and  techniques or a unique combination of these which are integral factors for achieving the proposal’s objectives

## Proposal Review and Selection

Evaluation Criteria (cont.):
intrinsic merit includes the consideration of:
qualifications, capabilities and experience of the proposed principal investigator, team leader or key personnel
overall standing among similar proposals and/or evaluation against the state-of-the-art

- _Evaluation Criteria (cont.)_:
- intrinsic merit includes the consideration of:
- qualifications, capabilities and experience of the proposed principal investigator, team leader or key personnel
- overall standing among similar proposals and/or evaluation against the state-of-the-art

**Overview of the NASA Research Announcement **

**Notes:**
Evaluation of intrinsic merit includes the consideration of the following factors of equal importance (cont.):
qualifications, capabilities and experience of the proposed principal investigator, team leader or key personnel which is critical in achieving the proposal objectives, and 
overall standing among similar proposals and/or evaluation against the state-of-the-art

## Proposal Review and Selection

Evaluation Criteria (cont.):
evaluation of cost includes realism and reasonableness of proposed cost and available funds

- _Evaluation Criteria (cont.)_:
- evaluation of cost includes realism and reasonableness of proposed cost and available funds

**Overview of the NASA Research Announcement **

**Notes:**
Evaluation of cost may include the realism and reasonableness of the proposed cost and the comparison of that proposed cost to available funds – low cost, while desirable, does not offset the importance of realism and reasonableness of the proposed budget

Reviewers are instructed to judge each proposal against the stated evaluation criteria and not to compare proposals

To help ensure uniformity of reviews, reviewers are asked to document their findings using clear language that is understandable to the non-specialist by means of perceived major and minor strengths and weaknesses –  this is completed by use of the standard adjectival scale, which ranges from excellent to poor

## 
Negotiations 

Award

- Negotiations
- Award

**Award Processing **

**Notes:**
When a proposal is selected for award, negotiation and award will be handled by the procurement office in the funding installation

An approved procurement request, including certification that funds are available, is required prior to an award of any grant, contract or cooperative agreement resulting from a NRA

The proposal is used as the basis for negotiation; the Contracting Officer may send the offeror a model contract, request agreement or identification of any exceptions, request the offeror to complete and return certifications and representations and any other information pertinent to negotiation

IMPORTANT NOTE(S):
 until award is made, there is no guarantee that the recommended financial resources will be available
awards are made to the proposing institution and not directly to the Principal Investigator

## Funding Mechanisms Used:
Grants, 
Cooperative Agreements,
Contracts,
Interagency Agreements, and
NASA’s internal processes

- Grants,
- Cooperative Agreements,
- Contracts,
- Interagency Agreements, and
- NASA’s internal processes

**Award Processing **

**Notes:**
The funding mechanisms used for research selected through a NRA are grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, interagency agreements, and NASA’s own internal processes for funding activities at its Centers and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

** The Contracting Officer shall choose the appropriate award instrument

Grants and cooperative agreements with nonprofit organizations are managed by a NASA Grant Officer and will be awarded and administered in accordance with the NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Handbook

Cooperative agreements with for-profit entities may be managed by a Contracting Officer or Grant Officer

Contracts with either nonprofit or for-profit organizations are managed by a NASA Contracting Officer and are subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the NASA FAR Supplement

Interagency agreements for the transfer of Federal funds are arranged by NASA management following currently applicable policies and procedures

Research and Technology Operations Plans (RTOP’s) are used for the funding of research tasks at NASA Centers and JPL and are administered from NASA Headquarters

## Award Processing - Survey

- Goddard Space Flight Center Procurement Offices
*offices that award *_*contracts*_* as a result of NRAs*
- Goddard Space Flight Center COTRs
*thoughts on procurement negotiation and award process*
- Other NASA Centers

**Notes:**
IN CONDUCTING MY SURVEY:
surveyed various NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Procurement Offices that award contracts as a result of NRAs to discover their approach for negotiations and award
also spoke with various Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COTR) to receive feedback on the negotiation and award process 
also spoke with other NASA center procurement offices for feedback regarding their negotiation and award process

## Award Processing - Survey

**Questions**
- What has your experience shown as to the type of contract most often used for NRAs? *(cost-reimbursement vs. firm-fixed price)*
- What level of cost analysis do you perform?

**Notes:**
NOTE:  my main area of focus for my research was on contracts awarded as a result of NRA; therefore, I did not survey the grant offices nor asked questions regarding cooperative agreements or any other instrument used as a result of NRAs

## Award Processing - Survey

**Questions**
- Oftentimes, it is the COTRs belief that the peer review panel results serve as the technical evaluation? Do you request additional information from your COTR?
- Often, the Statement of Work (SOW) for a NRA is incomplete *(i.e., no deliverables, no indication of work to be completed in proposed option years)*.* *Do you request additional information? Do you incorporate the proposal by reference in lieu of the SOW?

## Award Processing - Survey

**Responses**
- no *‘hard fast’* rules as to type of contract that should be used; should be dependent on the nature of the work proposed, the dollar value and the size of the proposing organization
- level of cost analysis varies from little to none to a performing a full analysis
- varied thoughts regarding peer review panels’ evaluation and the SOW

**Notes:**
SUMMARY OF THE RESPONSES
Responses
research suggested that some procurement offices have “hard fast rules” as to the type of contract that should be used for NRAs, while others indicated that the type of contract used (cost-reimbursement vs. firm-fixed price) is dependant on the nature of the work, the dollar value and the size of the business and whether the business has an acceptable accounting system
research also indicated significant differences as to the level of cost analysis performed throughout the Center – ranging from little to none to a full analysis of labor, overhead, G&A, etc.; I found that this was often dependent upon the Procurement Managers regulations
research also indicated that there is no set rule among the procurement offices regarding technical evaluations – some request further information from the COTR even to just concur with peer review panel comments, while others agree with some COTRs in that the peer review evaluation IS the technical evaluation
in reference to the SOW, additional information is often requested and the proposal is incorporated by reference 

FROM COTRs:
in response to the negotiation and award process, many COTRs believe that the process is too slow – they believe there should be a streamline process to assist in improving the timeliness 

## Award Processing - Survey

**Suggestions**
- “a contract is a contract is a contract”
- contracts in a R&D environment should always be awarded as cost-reimbursement type contracts
- SOW should always state exactly what we are buying for the funding proposed for both basic and option years

**Notes:**
SUMMARY OF THE SUGGESTIONS
Suggestions
it was suggested that a contract is a contract is a contract; therefore, handle the negotiation process of an NRA as you would any other type of contract
for example, always perform full cost analysis as it may indicate significant differences in cost from that proposed – the fact that contract is a result of NRA is insignificant
in an R&D environment, you should always award cost-reimbursement type contracts as the success of the research is invalid and there is no guarantee that the total amount of funding received will actually be expended
SOW should always state exactly what we are buying for the funding proposed for both basic and option years

## Recommendation

- consistency among the NASA Goddard Procurement Office Division
- use contract type that is most suitable for the work
*consider the factors per FAR 16.104 and the limitations of using cost-reimbursement type contracts per FAR 16.301-3(a)(1)*
- full cost analysis
- revised Statements of Work and Cost Proposals

**Notes:**
BASED ON MY RESEARCH, MY RECOMMENDATIONS ARE: 
there is plenty of guidance for drafting NRAs and instructions for proposers responding to NRAs; however, as stated earlier in my presentation, I recognized that there is no formal guidance for the negotiation and award of NRAs – whether they should be treated as any other contract or handled differently because its an NRA **there should be consistency among the Center – if there is a different award process for NRAs then some form of written guidance should be established; consistency will eliminate any employee misunderstandings as individuals transfer from one office to another and may also assist in speeding up the negotiation and award process
use the contract type that is most suitable for the work; I believe the ideal contract type for research/R&D environment is cost-reimbursement; however, we must consider the factors per FAR 16.104 when selecting contract type and also the limitations of using cost-reimbursement type contracts per FAR 16.301-3(a)(1)
**for example, small businesses, who generally do not have accounting systems that can handle cost-reimbursement type contracts, often get selected for award; per my experience, the only way to get companies approved for an acceptable accounting system is to go to DCAA which is not cost effective for DCAA and also extremely time consuming when our main goal is to reach award in a timely manner - therefore, it may be times when using what is considered the ‘less than ideal’ contract type for research is necessary and justifiable 
although we should be flexible and understand that the work is for research, we should perform full cost analysis (labor, O/H, G&A, etc.) as it may prove major differences in cost than that proposed; it is our responsibility to ensure fair and reasonable cost and the responsibility should not be placed on the peer review panel who are not experts in this area
if SOW is not complete, we should always request a revision as the SOW should state exactly what we are buying; in addition, there is quite a delay from selection to when we receive award packages; therefore, we should always request revised cost proposals

## Summary

- Background
- Overview of the NRA
- Writing, Announcing and Releasing a NRA
- Proposal Review and Selection
- Award Processing
- Award Processing - Survey
- Recommendation

**Notes:**
WHAT I HAVE DISCUSSED WITH YOU TODAY  IS:
the background of NASA Research Announcements
The writing, announcing and releasing of a NRA
NRA proposal review and selection
discussed the award process of awarding NRAs
survey and survey results of how various procurement offices award contracts as a result of NRAs
I have discussed with you the comments and suggestions from industry
and finally I’ve made a recommendation of how we can improve the NRA award process

## Questions