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NIST Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program –

Mission Critical Voice Test Equipment (MCVTE)

Notice of Funding Opportunity 

Frequently Asked Questions 

1. How do I apply?

The application package is available at www.grants.gov under Funding 

Opportunity Number 2019-NIST-PSIAP-FR3D. All application materials must be 

received via grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, July 26, 2019. 

For further information or questions regarding electronic applications on 

Grants.gov, contact:

Leon Sampson

Phone: (301) 975-3086

Email: Leon.Sampson@nist.gov

2. Can I submit multiple applications? 

No, NIST will only consider one application per applicant. However, an applicant 

entity may be proposed as a subrecipient, contractor, or unfunded collaborator 

within applications submitted by other entities. 

3. What kind of “outputs” are you looking for? Papers, software, prototypes?

The outputs of the MCVTE funding opportunity are equipment and code 

required to test communications devices for Mission Critical Push-To-Talk (MCPTT) 

and related public safety features such as Mission Critical Data (MCData) and 

Mission Critical Video (MCVideo). Test equipment and associated code

produced will support the 3GPP-created test cases for MCPTT, MCData and 

MCVideo. 

4. This program is for a 2-year, $12,000,000 project, correct?

A 2-year, $6,000,000 project would represent the maximum amount of funding 

NIST could provide to a single awardee. While we have not explicitly defined 

separate tracks for small, medium, and large projects, we anticipate funding 

awards up to approximately $3,000,000, per year, for up to two years per award.
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5. We are already working with NIST under a CRADA (Cooperative Research 

and Development Agreement). Are we eligible to apply for this grant?

Potentially: Being a CRADA partner does not, in itself, preclude you from 

applying to this competition, but conflicts are possible. For example, an entity 

cannot receive NIST funds for the same activities being performed under the 

CRADA. If you are a current CRADA partner and considering applying, please 

contact us directly to discuss your specific situation.

6. Are non-US entities eligible for this program?

Yes, this NOFO is open to all non-federal entities including foreign public entities 

and foreign governments.

7. Who owns IP rights to work funded under this program?

Invention rights for work funded under this program are governed by the BayhDole Act, 35 U.S.C. § 200 et seq. Generally, the inventor who conceives the 

invention (the recipient) may elect to own the invention rights, though the 

Federal Government receives certain use rights and there are some obligations. 

See section C.03 in the Department of Commerce’s Financial Assistance 

Standard Terms and Conditions, for more information. Please note, this FAQ is 

not legal advice.

8. Can award recipients market the outputs of their projects?

Award recipients, after the conclusion of the award period, will have the ability 

to market and sell the outputs of their funded projects.

9. Does this competition allow equipment purchases?

Equipment that is necessary for the execution of the proposed project is 

allowable, provided it is consistent with 2 CFR § 200.439 “Equipment and other 

capital expenditures”.

10.What’s the timeline for applications and NIST’s response?

Key expected dates are provided below:

Date Event
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May 10, 2019 Notice of Funding Opportunity is published on 

Grants.gov

July 26, 2019 Deadline for Application Submissions

October 2019 Application Review Decisions and Selected/Not 

Selected Notifications to Applicants 

11.What’s the “unique entity identifier number” in section IV.3?

Applicants will need a “D-U-N-S” number, which is a free, unique identifier 

provided by Dun and Bradstreet. Applicants will also need to obtain an 

Employer Identification Number (EIN) provided by the Internal Revenue Service.

Note, if your organization does not have these numbers, it may take some time 

to acquire them. Please see the Organization Applicant Registration page on 

the Applicants tab on Grants.gov.

12.Do references and citations count towards the page limit?

Yes, references and citations count toward the twenty-four page limit for the 

technical proposal.

13. What if my institution will be collecting data about people, subjects, or 

participants during our proposed project?

Protection of human subjects is a priority of PSCR’s research and development 

programs. If you receive funding for a project that potentially includes research 

involving human subjects, or data or recordings involving human subjects 

(including software testing), the NIST Human Subjects Protection Office (HSPO)

must perform a review of your proposal as described in the Notice of Funding 

Opportunity. You may be asked to provide details about your proposed human 

subjects research; supporting documents such as consent forms; survey 

instruments; and IRB documentation. Before research involving human subjects 

may commence, it must be explicitly authorized by the NIST Grants Officer in the 

form of a Special Award Condition. 

NIST uses the Common Rule for the Protection of Human Subjects, codified by 

the Department of Commerce at 15 C.F.R. Part 27, to define its criteria for 

research involving human subjects. 
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15. Are federally funded research and development centers (FFRDC) eligible to 

apply?

Because of the funding instruments used to manage FFRDCs, FFRDCs are 

generally not eligible to apply. Interested FFRDCs should discuss this further with 

their Contracting Officer. FFRDCs are, however, eligible to be subcontractors to 

other eligible applicants.

16. Where can I find information about past awards?

To learn more about research and development projects funded by PSCR, visit

https://www.nist.gov/ctl/pscr/funding-opportunities/past-funding-opportunities.

17. Can you review our technical proposal and provide comments if they meet 

the R&D objectives in the NOFO?

PSCR cannot review or comment on an applicant’s proposed technical solution. 

Applicants should refer to Section I of the PSIAP-MCVTE NOFO for details about

the program goals and the types of research projects that the program is 

looking to fund. 

18. What is the process in 3GPP for creating test cases and the accompanying 

TTCN?

3GPP RAN5 produces written test cases, called "prose", in technical 

specifications. The prose is written under the umbrella of a RAN5-approved work 

item which is overseen by a rapporteur. For MCS (MCPTT, MCVideo, and 

MCData), the finsihed prose can be found in the TS 36.579 family. Task Force 

160, or TF160, takes the prose and translates it into TTCN. RAN5 has a welldefined process for performing verification of the TTCN implementation of TF160. 

It is specified in the RAN5 PRD12 document, available here:

https://www.3gpp.org/ftp/tsg_ran/WG5_Test_ex-T1/PRD/RAN5_PRD12v61.zip

Because of the lack of cooperation from UE vendors and test equipment 

vendors in regards to MCS, TF160 has experienced some difficulties in verifying 

the TTCN relative to past efforts with other features. The outcomes of this NOFO 

could possibly help alleviate these difficulties. Note that RAN5 verification is a 

pre-requisite for GCF/PTCRB validation to happen.

19. For funding/cost proposal, is it ok to allocate funding to protect IP rights (i.e. 

to get legal counsel)?
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No, these costs are not allowable. Please see, 2 C.F.R. §200.435(h), Defense and 

prosecution of criminal and civil proceedings, claims, appeals and patent 

infringements, which states, “Costs of legal, accounting, and consultant 

services, and related costs, incurred in connection with patent infringement 

litigation, are unallowable unless otherwise provided for in the Federal award”. 

20. Can we use outsourcing companies? – e.g. USA or Europe or India?

Yes, you may subcontract or make subawards as part of the proposed project.

21. When attempting to upload the proposal documents into grants.gov, I 

received an error concerning the Project Summary/Abstract attachment in 

regards to the Research And Related Other Project Information. However, the 

NOFO states that this form is not relevant to the competition. How should I 

proceed?

Please note that the Project Summary/Abstract field (#7), which has a place to 

attach an optional Project Summary/Abstract, is not relevant to this 

competition. However, to avoid getting a validation error in grants.gov, 

applicants will be required to attach a blank page to this field. Applicants are 

not required to write or provide a Project Summary/Abstract, but they will be 

required to attach a blank form for the submission or else the application will be 

rejected by grants.gov. NIST will be amending the NOFO and extending the 

deadline until Friday, July 26th, to ensure applicants don’t have problems 

because of this change to grants.gov.