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NICE K12 Cybersecurity Education Outreach Program 

Notice of Funding Opportunity

April 3, 2020

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY (NOFO)

National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) 

K12 Cybersecurity Education Outreach Program

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Federal Agency Name: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 

United States Department of Commerce (DoC)

• Funding Opportunity Title: National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education 

(NICE) K12 Cybersecurity Education Outreach Program

• Announcement Type: Initial

• Funding Opportunity Number: 2020-NIST-NICE-01

• Assistance Listing (CFDA Number): 11.620, Science, Technology, Business 

and/or Education Outreach

• Dates: Applications must be received at Grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m. 

Eastern Time, Monday, June 1, 2020. Applications received after this deadline 

will not be reviewed or considered. Paper applications will not be accepted.

Applicants should be aware, and factor in their application submission planning, 

that the Grants.gov system is expected to be closed for routine maintenance at 

the following times. Applications cannot be submitted when Grants.gov is closed:

From 12:01 A.M. Eastern Time To 6:00 A.M. Eastern Time

April 18, 2020 April 20, 2020

May 16, 2020 May 18, 2020

NIST expects to complete its review, selection of successful applicants, and 

award processing by July 2020. NIST expects the earliest start date for awards 

under this NOFO to be August 2020.

Applicants are strongly urged to read Section IV.2.b. Attachment of Required 

Application Documents of this NOFO with great attention. Applicants should 

carefully follow the instructions and recommendations regarding attachments and 

use the Download Submitted Forms and Applications feature on www.grants.gov

to check that all required attachments were contained in their submission. 
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Applications submitted without the required documents will not pass the Initial 

Administrative Review, described in Section V.3.a. of this NOFO. 

When developing the submission timeline, please keep in mind that: (1) all 

applicants are required to have current registrations in the electronic System for 

Award Management (SAM.gov) and Grants.gov; (2) the free annual registration 

process in SAM.gov (see Section IV.3. and Section IV.7.a.(1).(b) of this NOFO) 

generally takes between three and five business days but can take more than 

two weeks; and (3) applicants will receive e-mail notifications over a period of up 

to two business days as the application moves through intermediate systems 

before the applicant learns via a validation or rejection notification whether NIST 

has received the application. (See Grants.gov for full information on application 

and notification through Grants.gov). Please note that a federal assistance award 

cannot be issued if the designated recipient’s registration in SAM.gov is not 

current at the time of the award.

• Application Submission Address: Applications must be submitted using 

Grants.gov.

• Funding Opportunity Description: NIST is seeking to provide financial 

assistance to support the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), 

including outreach efforts to the broader cybersecurity education community at 

the primary and secondary school levels; this program will include planning and 

managing the annual NICE K12 Cybersecurity Education Conference in the 

continental United States for up to the next five years. 

• Anticipated Amounts: In Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20), NIST anticipates funding 

one award for approximately $150,000 per year for up to five (5) years with the 

possibility of converting this award to an institutional award at the conclusion of 

the award period. The award will be fully funded in the first year. 

• Funding Instrument: Cooperative Agreement

• Eligibility: Eligibility for the program listed in this NOFO is open to all nonFederal entities. Eligible applicants include accredited institutions of higher 

education; non-profit organizations; for-profit organizations incorporated in the 

United States; state, local, territorial, and Indian tribal governments; foreign 

public entities; and foreign organizations. Please note that individuals and 

unincorporated sole proprietors are not considered “non-Federal entities” and are 

not eligible to apply under this NOFO. Although Federal entities are not eligible to 

receive funding under this NOFO, they may participate as unfunded 

collaborators. 

• Cost Sharing Requirements: Non-federal cost share IS NOT required for 

awards issued pursuant to this NOFO.
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NICE K12 Cybersecurity Education Outreach Program 

Notice of Funding Opportunity

April 3, 2020

1. Public Website and Meetings

NIST NICE Program Office has a public website, https://www.nist.gov/itl/appliedcybersecurity/nice, that provides information pertaining to this Funding 

Opportunity1. Any amendments to this NOFO will be announced through 

Grants.gov.

NIST will host an applicants’ webinar to share details and answer questions 

about this funding opportunity. Proprietary technical discussions about specific 

project ideas with NIST staff are not permitted at any time before submitting an 

application to NIST. Therefore, applicants should not raise proprietary issues at 

the applicants’ webinar. Also, NIST staff will not critique or provide feedback on 

specific project ideas while they are being developed by an applicant. However, 

questions about NICE, evaluation and award criteria, selection process, and the 

general characteristics of a competitive application can be address at the 

applicants’ webinar and by email to nice.nist@nist.gov. Attendance at the 

applicants’ webinar is not required and will not be considered in the review and 

selection process. Information on the applicants’ conference is available at

https://www.nist.gov/nice/webinars.

Applicants may submit all questions pertaining to this funding opportunity in 

writing to nice.nist@nist.gov with 2020-NIST-NICE-01 in the subject line. 

Table of Contents

I. Program Description................................................................................................ 4

II. Federal Award Information...................................................................................... 7

III. Eligibility Information ............................................................................................... 7

IV. Application and Submission Information ................................................................. 8

V. Application Review Information ............................................................................. 20

VI. Federal Award Administration Information ............................................................ 24

VII. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts ...................................................................... 27

VIII. Other Information .................................................................................................. 28

1 Refer to Section VII. of this NOFO, Federal Awarding Agency Contacts, Programmatic and Technical 

Questions, if more information is needed.
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NICE K12 Cybersecurity Education Outreach Program 

Notice of Funding Opportunity

April 3, 2020

FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Program Description

The statutory authority for the NIST National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education 

(NICE) K12 Cybersecurity Education Outreach Program is 15 U.S.C. §§ 272(b)(4) 

and 7451. 

1) Background Information 

In our connected society, almost every organization in the United States uses 

the Internet for commerce, communication, or service provision. Cybersecurity 

has therefore emerged as one of our nation’s top priorities for both national and 

economic security. Increasing our cybersecurity defenses necessarily requires 

a skilled workforce to protect businesses, non-profit organizations, academic 

institutions, and governments at all levels. Efforts to build the cybersecurity 

workforce require awareness and encouragement of our youth to pursue the

education and training to develop the knowledge and skills identified in the 

NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework. 

NICE, led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the 

U.S. Department of Commerce, is a partnership between government, 

academia, and the private sector focused on cybersecurity education, training, 

and workforce development. The mission of NICE is to energize and promote a 

robust network and an ecosystem of cybersecurity education, training, and 

workforce development. NICE fulfills this mission by coordinating with 

government, academic, and industry partners to build on existing successful 

programs, facilitate change and innovation, and bring leadership and vision to 

increase the number of skilled cybersecurity practitioners helping to keep our 

Nation secure.

NICE’s Strategic Plan (available here) has the following goals: 

1. Accelerate learning and skills development - Inspire a sense of urgency 

in both the public and private sectors to address the shortage of skilled 

cybersecurity workers.

2. Nurture a diverse learning community - Strengthen education and 

training across the ecosystem to emphasize learning, measure 

outcomes, and diversify the cybersecurity workforce.

3. Guide career development and workforce planning - Support employers 

to address market demands and enhance recruitment, hiring, 

development, and retention of cybersecurity talent.
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NICE K12 Cybersecurity Education Outreach Program 

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The NICE K12 Cybersecurity Education Conference brings together K12 

educators and others interested in K12 cybersecurity education for today’s 

youth. This annual, two-day event helps attendees learn about increasing 

cybersecurity career awareness, integrating cybersecurity into educational 

portfolios, exploring innovative educational approaches, and designing 

academic and career pathways that are aligned to the NICE Cybersecurity 

Workforce Framework. (See https://www.nist.gov/itl/appliedcybersecurity/nice/events/nice-k12-cybersecurity-education-conference for 

more information about the 2019 and past conferences.)

2) Overview 

A strategic objective of NICE is to inspire cybersecurity career awareness with 

students in elementary school, stimulate cybersecurity career exploration in 

middle school, and enable cybersecurity career preparedness in high school. 

NICE seeks to provide financial assistance to an organization engaged with 

stakeholders involved in helping youth pursue cybersecurity education and 

workforce opportunities through a year-round communication and engagement

strategy that culminates in the annual NICE K12 Cybersecurity Education 

Conference.

Applicants should emphasize how they will reach a range of different stakeholders 

including specific details of the stakeholder communities they would intend to 

include. In addition, applicants should discuss how the outreach strategy will work 

across different geographic regions and how they will attract underrepresented 

populations such as women and minorities. The process should include tactics for 

bringing diverse stakeholders within regional and local communities together in a 

national K12 cybersecurity education community. 

The stakeholder engagement strategy must reflect the need to reach out to and 

build consensus among diverse stakeholders including but not limited to: 

• K12 educators and curriculum specialists

• District and school administrators

• Career and Technical Education program educators and student 

organizations

• School counselors

• Students

• Cybersecurity competition organizers

• Instructional technology coaches

• Education technology vendors

• Non-profit organizations.

Note that this is a list of examples and is not meant to be comprehensive. NICE 

encourages applicants to provide details on how they will reach stakeholders with 
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NICE K12 Cybersecurity Education Outreach Program 

Notice of Funding Opportunity

April 3, 2020

different interests within these broad categories. 

It is critical that the outreach strategy and conference participation demonstrate a 

commitment to inclusion, including the participation of underrepresented 

populations and different geographic regions. The outreach strategy should 

outline how the applicant will seek out and engage with stakeholders on 

cybersecurity K12 education on a continuing basis. The applicant should 

describe activities and platforms, outside of the annual conference, that will be 

used to engage with the public on cybersecurity K12 education. 

Responsibilities under the cooperative agreement will include leading the NICE 

K12 Cybersecurity Education Conference planning and execution efforts. This 

includes the full range of pre-conference activities from determining breakout 

tracks, program content, speaker selection, and arranging the venue to 

managing the conference logistics to post conference wrap up activities. NICE 

expects the conference to be kept affordable to a wide range of participants. 

The approach for planning and managing the annual conference must include

the full range of activities:

• Identifying conference location,

• Managing the budget, 

• Working with stakeholders to determine content and agenda, 

• Managing conference logistics,

• Developing an outreach strategy for the conference, 

• Conducting the conference, and

• Evaluating the conference for improvements from year to year. 

Conference locations must change from year to year within the continental 

United States. Applicants should plan for annual conferences of 200 to 500 

attendees with venues that keep costs affordable and have reasonable 

transportation options for the attendees. 

Applicants should emphasize how their proposed planning efforts keep the 

conference accessible, affordable, and nationally representative of the intended 

audience.

In adhering to 2 C.F.R. § 200.432, Conferences, and applicable government 

policies, the recipient must ensure the following conditions are met: 

• The recipient will host all necessary webpages associate with the 

conference/meeting, including pages for marketing, registration, 

and other information-sharing aspects of meeting planning. The 

website(s) utilized by the recipient must not have a “.gov” website 

address. 
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NICE K12 Cybersecurity Education Outreach Program 

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• The recipient will not display the NIST or Department of 

Commerce logos on any conference/meeting related materials, 

signs, webpages, or other documents. 

• The recipient will take all necessary steps to ensure that the 

conference does not appear to be sponsored or hosted by NIST 

or the Department of Commerce. 

NICE anticipates that this will be up to a five-year award for long-term community 

building and includes the possibility of converting this award to an institutional 

award at the conclusion of the five-year award period on a non-competitive basis.

II. Federal Award Information

1. Funding Instrument

The funding instrument that will be used is a Cooperative Agreement. The 

nature of NIST’s “substantial involvement” will generally include collaboration 

with the recipient organization in developing and implementing the approved 

scope of work.

2. Funding Availability

In FY20, NIST anticipates funding one award for approximately $150,000 per 

year for up to five (5) years with the possibility of converting this award to an 

institutional award at the conclusion of the award period. The award will be 

fully funded in the first year. 

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

Eligibility for the program listed in this NOFO is open to any U.S.-located nonFederal entities. Eligible applicants include institutions of higher education, 

non-profit organizations, for-profit organizations, state and local governments, 

Indian tribes, hospitals, and foreign organizations. Please note that individuals 

and unincorporated sole proprietors are not considered “non-Federal entities” 

and are not eligible to apply under this NOFO. Although Federal entities are 

not eligible to receive funding under this NOFO, they may participate as 

unfunded collaborators.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

Matching funds are not required.

3. Program Income

For the purposes of this program, applicants should not budget program 

income as non-federal cost share. Rather, the recipient must expend all 

program income (as defined in 2 C.F.R. § 200.307) generated pursuant to this 

project by using the "additive method" under 2 C.F.R. § 200.307(e)(2), with 
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NICE K12 Cybersecurity Education Outreach Program 

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any excess program income to be disposed of pursuant to the “deductive 

method” under 2 C.F.R. § 200.307(e)(1).

The applicant must clearly identify in its proposal whether the applicant 

anticipates generating program income pursuant to the proposed project 

(e.g., registration fees, etc.). If program income is anticipated under the 

project, the applicant must identify the anticipated amount of program income 

in the Form SF-424A and properly report all program income generated 

pursuant to the project in the Form SF-425.

IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Address to Request Application Package

The application package is available at Grants.gov under Funding 

Opportunity Number 2020-NIST-NICE-01.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

a. Required Forms and Documents. The Application must contain the 

following:

(1) SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance. The SF-424 must be 

signed by an authorized representative of the applicant organization. 

For SF-424, Item 8.d. Zip/Postal Code field, should reflect the Zip code 

+ 4 (#####-####) format. 

For SF-424, Item 12, should list the NOFO number 2020-NIST-NICE01. 

SF-424, Item 18, should list the total budget information for the 

duration of the project. 

The list of certifications and assurances referenced in Item 21 of the 

SF-424 is contained in the SF-424B.

Instructions for filling in the SF-424 can be found in the 2020-NISTNICE-01 Application Instructions document found on Grants.gov, as 

well as at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html.

(2) SF-424A, Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs. 

 The budget should reflect anticipated expenses for the entire project, 

considering all potential cost increases, including cost of living 

adjustments.
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a) The applicant should reflect each year of the project, up to the first 

four (4) years, on the SF-424A form that appears as part of the 

mandatory forms in the Grants.gov application package. The 

second SF-424A form should be submitted to cover year five (5) of 

the project, and its submission details are found in in Section 

IV.2.a.(10). of this NOFO.

b) In Section A, the Grant Program Function or Activity on Line 1 

under Column (a) should be entered as “Science, Technology, 

Business and/or Education Outreach”, or an abbreviation thereof. 

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number in on Line 1 

under Column (b) should be entered as “11.620”. The total budget 

amount for the term of the award should be listed in Section A, 

Line 1, Column (e).

c) Section B, Column (1) of the SF-424A should reflect funds for the 

first year of the award. Section B, Column (2) of the SF-424A 

should reflect funds for the second year of the award. Section B, 

Column (3) of the SF-424A should reflect funds for the third year of 

the award. Section B, Column (4) of the SF-424A should reflect 

funds for the fourth year of the award.

d) Section D requires a breakdown of the first year’s budget by 

quarter. The budget estimate for the second year of the award 

should be entered in Section E, Line 16, Column (b). The budget 

estimate for the third year of the award should be entered in 

Section E, Line 17, Column (b). The budget estimate for the fourth

year of the award should be entered in Section E, Line 16, Column 

(d).

(3) CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying. Enter “2020-NIST-

 NICE-01” in the Award Number field. Enter the title of the 

 application, or an abbreviation of that title, in the Project Name 

 field.

(4) SF-424B, Assurances – Non-Construction Programs. (if applicable) 

The SF-424B is required for all applicants that have not updated their 

System for Award Management (SAM.gov) entity registration since 

February 2, 2019 to include the Federal financial assistance certifications 

and representations (certs and reps). If an applicant has updated their 

SAM.gov entity registration since February 2, 2019 to include the 

certifications and representations, then the SF-424B is not required. 

(5) SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if applicable). 
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(6) Project Narrative. The Project Narrative is a word-processed document of 

no more than twelve (12) pages (double-spaced between lines), which is 

responsive to the program description (see Section I. of this NOFO) and 

the evaluation criteria (see Section V.1. of this NOFO). The executive 

summary may not exceed two (2) pages, and counts toward the 12 

(twelve) page limit of the project narrative.

The projective narrative should contain the following information:

a) Executive Summary. An executive summary of the proposed 

project, consistent with the evaluation criteria (see Section V.1. of 

this NOFO). The executive summary should include listing the 

proposed project participants, the scope of the proposed work, and 

an overview of the proposed approach to engaging with the K12 

cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development 

community. The executive summary may not exceed two (2) 

pages.

b) Outreach Strategy. A description of the approach for reaching 

diverse stakeholders in the K12 cybersecurity education, training, 

and workforce development community. Applicants should 

emphasize how they will reach a range of different stakeholders 

including the specifics of the stakeholder communities to contact. 

In addition, applicants should discuss how the outreach strategy 

will work across regions and to attract underrepresented 

populations. This section should address the Outreach Strategy 

evaluation criterion (see Section V.1.a. of this NOFO).

c) Conference Planning. A complete approach covering all aspects 

of the outreach strategy, including a schedule of measurable 

events and milestones. The approach for planning and managing 

the annual conference should also be included and be 

comprehensive for the full range of activities involved:

i. Identifying conference location,

ii. Controlling the budget,

iii. Working with stakeholders to determine content and agenda,

iv. Managing conference logistics,

v. Developing an outreach strategy for the conference,

vi. Conducting the conference, and

vii. Evaluating the conference for improvements from year to 

year.

Applicants should emphasize how their proposed planning efforts 

keep the conference accessible, affordable, and nationally 
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representative of the intended audience. This section should 

address the Conference Planning evaluation criterion (see Section 

V.1.b. of this NOFO).

d) Resources. A description of the tools, technology, and human 

capital that will be utilized for the full scope of the outreach 

program. For organizations, this includes existing infrastructure 

(e.g., websites, conference registration systems, channels for 

promotion), qualifications, and proposed roles, of the participating 

organization(s) including proposed subawardees and contractors.

For key personnel, this includes a description of the qualifications 

of the key personnel and the time commitments and proposed 

role(s) of the key personnel. For both organizations and key 

personnel, include information on relevant past efforts with similar 

projects and experiences collaborating, if appropriate. This section 

should address the Qualifications and Experience of Key 

Personnel and Resource Availability evaluation criterion (see 

Section V.1.c. of this NOFO).

e) Resumes of Key Personnel must be included. Resumes are not 

included in the page count of the Project Narrative. Resumes 

included as part of the application must be a maximum of two 

pages each. Additional pages beyond the two pages per resume 

will not be considered during the evaluation of the application.

(7) Budget Narrative and Justification. There is no set format for the Budget 

Narrative and Justification; however, further explanation must be provided 

for the specific cost categories and line items identified in the SF-424A 

form as well as any other information you deem necessary for NIST’s 

consideration.

The written justification should include the necessity and the basis for the 

cost. Proposed funding levels must be consistent with the project scope, 

and only allowable costs should be included in the budget. Information on 

cost allowability is available in the Uniform Administrative Requirements, 

Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 C.F.R. 

Part 200 (http://go.usa.gov/SBYh), which apply to awards in this program.

The Budget Narrative does not count against the twelve (12) page limit of 

the Project Narrative.

This section will be evaluated in accordance with the Budget Narrative

evaluation criteria (see Section V.1.d. of this NOFO). It will also be 

reviewed to determine if all costs are reasonable, allocable, and allowable 

under 2 C.F.R. Part 200 Subpart E, Cost Principles.
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Information needed for each category is as follows:

a) Personnel - At a minimum, the budget justification for all 

personnel should include the following: job title, commitment of 

effort on the proposed project in terms of average number of hours 

per week or percentage of time, salary rate, total personnel 

charges for each identified position on the proposed project, 

description of the role of the individual on the proposed project and 

the work to be performed.

b) Fringe Benefits – Fringe benefits for each position should be 

identified separately from salaries and wages and based on rates 

determined by organizational policy. The items included in the 

fringe benefit rate (e.g., health insurance, parking, etc.) should not 

be charged under another cost category.

c) Travel - For all travel costs, the budget justification for travel 

should include the following: destination; names or number of 

people traveling; dates and/or duration; mode of transportation, 

lodging and subsistence rates; and description of how the travel is 

directly related to the proposed project. For travel that is yet to be 

determined, please provide best estimates based on prior 

experience. If a destination is not known, an approximate amount 

may be used with the assumptions given for the location of the

meeting.

d) Equipment - equipment, the cost, and a description of how it will 

be used and why it is necessary to the successful completion of 

the proposed project. Please note that any general use equipment 

(computers, etc.) charged directly to the award should be allocated 

to the award according to expected usage on the project. 

Applicants should provide at least two (2) quotes, if available, for 

equipment costing $25,000 or more. If two (2) quotes are not 

available, please provide a statement as to why two (2) quotes are 

not available. 

e) Supplies – Supplies are defined as All tangible personal property 

other than that described as equipment. Provide a list of each 

supply, and the breakdown of the total costs by quantity or unit of 

cost. Include the necessity of the cost for the completion of the 

proposed project.

f) Contractual (i.e. Contracts or Subawards) – Each contract or 

subaward should be treated as a separate item. Identify the cost 
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and describe the services to be provided and the necessity of the 

subaward or contract to the successful performance of the 

proposed project. Contracts are for obtaining normal goods and 

services. Subawardees perform part of the project scope of work. 

g) Construction – Not an allowable cost under this NOFO.

h) Other Direct Costs – For costs that do not easily fit into the other 

cost categories, please list the cost, and the breakdown of the total 

costs by quantity or unit of cost. Include the necessity of the cost 

for the completion of the proposed project. Only allowable costs 

can be charged to the award.

(8) Indirect Cost Rate Agreement. If indirect costs are included in the 

proposed budget, provide a copy of the approved negotiated 

agreement if this rate was negotiated with a cognizant Federal audit 

agency. If the rate was not established by a cognizant Federal audit

agency, provide a statement to this effect. If the successful applicant 

includes indirect costs in the budget and has not established an 

indirect cost rate with a cognizant Federal audit agency, the applicant will 

be required to obtain such a rate in accordance with Section B.06 of the 

Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and 

Conditions, dated April 30, 2019.

Alternatively, in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.414(f), applicants that 

have never received a negotiated indirect cost rate may elect to charge 

indirect costs to an award pursuant to a de minimis rate of 10 percent of 

modified total direct costs (MTDC), in which case a negotiated indirect 

cost rate agreement is not required. Applicants proposing a 10 percent de 

minimis rate pursuant to 2 C.F.R. § 200.414(f) should note this election as 

part of the budget portion of the application.

(9) Current and Pending Support Form. Any application that includes 

investigators, researchers, and key personnel must identify all sources of 

current and potential funding, including this proposal. Any current project 

support (e.g., Federal, state, local, public or private foundations, etc.) must 

be listed on this form. The proposed project and all other projects or 

activities requiring a portion of time of the Principal Investigator (PI), co-PI,

and key personnel must be included, even if no salary support is received. 

The total award amount for the entire award period covered, including 

indirect costs, must be shown as well as the number of person-months per 

year to be devoted to the project, regardless of the source of support. 

Similar information must be provided for all proposals already submitted or 

that are being submitted concurrently to other potential funders. 
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Applicants must complete the Current and Pending Support Form, using 

multiple forms as necessary to account for all activity for each individual 

identified in the PI, co-PI and key personnel roles. A separate form should 

be used for each identified individual. 

Applicants must download the Current and Pending Support Form from 

the NIST website at https://www.nist.gov/oaam/grants-managementdivision/current-and-pending-support and reference the guidance provided 

as it contains information to assist with accurately completing the form.

(10) SF-424A, Budget Information - Non-Construction Programs 

Applications are for five-year projects. The SF-424A form that appears as 

part of the mandatory forms in the Grants.gov application package covers 

the first four (4) years of the project. The second SF-424A form should be 

submitted to cover year five (5) of the project. A fillable SF-424A form can 

be found at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html

near the top of the screen and labeled “Budget Information – NonConstruction Program SF-424A”. Applicants should download the fillable 

SF-424A form, complete the information for year five (5) of the project and 

submit the completed form as an attachment, using the procedure 

described in Section IV.2.b., Attachment of Required Application 

Documents.

b. Attachment of Required Documents

Items IV.2.a.(1) through IV.2.a.(5) above are part of the standard 

application package in Grants.gov and can be completed through the 

download application process. 

Items IV.2.a.(6) through IV.2.a.(10) should be attached to field 15 of the 

SF-424 form by clicking on “Add Attachment”.

Following these directions will create zip files which permit transmittal of 

the documents electronically via Grants.gov. 

Applicants should carefully follow specific Grants.gov instructions at 

www.Grants.gov to ensure the attachments will be accepted by the 

Grants.gov system. A receipt from Grants.gov indicates only that an 

application was transferred to a system. It does not provide details 

concerning whether all attachments (or how many attachments) 

transferred successfully. Applicants will receive a series of e-mail 

messages over a period of up to two business days before learning 

whether a Federal agency’s electronic system has received its application.

Applicants are strongly advised to use Grants.gov’s “Download Submitted 

Forms and Applications” option, found at 

https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/Applicants/CheckApplicationStatus/
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DownloadSubmittedFormsAndApplications.htm to check that their 

application’s required attachments were contained in their submission.

After submitting the application, check the status of your application here:

CHECK APPLICATION STATUS . If any, or all, of the required 

attachments are absent from the submission, follow the attachment 

directions found above, resubmit the application, and check again for the 

presence of the required attachments.

If the directions found at 

https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm#t=GetStarted%2FGetStar

ted.htm are not effective, please contact the Grants.gov Help Desk 

immediately. If calling from within the United States or from a U.S. 

territory, please call 800-518-4726. If calling from a place outside the 

United States or a U.S. territory, please call 606-545-5035. E-mails should 

be addressed to support@grants.gov. Assistance from the Grants.gov 

Help Desk will be available around the clock every day, with the exception 

of Federal holidays. Help Desk service will resume at 7:00 a.m. Eastern 

Time the day after Federal holidays.

Applicants can track their submission in the Grants.gov system by 

following the procedures at the Grants.gov site (http://go.usa.gov/cjamz). It 

can take up to two business days for an application to fully move through 

the Grants.gov system to NIST.

NIST uses the Tracking Numbers assigned by Grants.gov and does not 

issue Agency Tracking Numbers.

c. Application Format

(1) Paper, Email, and Facsimile (fax) Submissions. Will not be accepted.

(2) Figures, Graphs, Images, and Pictures. Should be of a size that is easily 

readable or viewable and may be displayed in landscape orientation. Any 

figures, graphs, images, or pictures will count toward the page limits for 

the Project Narrative.

(3) Font. Easy to read font (10-point minimum). Smaller type may be used in 

figures and tables but must be clearly legible.

(4) Page Limit. The Project Narrative is limited to twelve (12) pages double 

spaced, noting the limit of two (2) pages for the Executive Summary.

Resumes are not included in the page count of the Project Narrative. 

However, if resumes are included, resumes must be a maximum of two 

(2) pages each.
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(5) Page Limit Exclusions:

SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance;

SF-424A, Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs

SF-424B, Assurances – Non-Construction Programs;

CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying;

SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities;

Budget Narrative and Justification;

Indirect Cost Rate Agreement;

Current and Pending Support Form;

SF-424A, Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs for fifth year 

budget.

(6) Page Layout. The Proposal must be in portrait orientation.

(7) Page size. 21.6 centimeters by 27.9 centimeters (8 1⁄2 inches by 11 

inches).

(8) Page numbering. Number pages sequentially.

(9) Application language. English. All documents must be in English, 

including but not limited to the initial application, any additional 

documents submitted in response to a NIST request, all reports, and any 

correspondence with NIST. 

(10) Typed document. All applications, including forms, must be typed;

handwritten forms will not be accepted.

d. Application Replacement Pages. Applicants may not submit 

replacement pages and/or missing documents once an application has been 

submitted. Any revisions must be made by submission of a new application 

that must be received by NIST by the submission deadline.

e. Pre-Applications. Pre-applications will not be accepted under this NOFO.

f. Certifications Regarding Federal Felony and Federal Criminal Tax

Convictions, Unpaid Federal Tax Assessments and Delinquent

Federal Tax Returns. In accordance with Federal appropriations law, an 

authorized representative of the selected applicant(s) may be required to 

provide certain pre-award certifications regarding federal felony and 

federal criminal tax convictions, unpaid federal tax assessments, and 

delinquent federal tax returns.

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM). 
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Pursuant to 2 C.F.R. part 25, applicants and recipients are required to: (i) be 

registered in SAM before submitting its application; (ii) provide a valid unique 

entity identifier in its application; and (iii) continue to maintain an active SAM 

registration with current information at all times during which it has an active 

Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal 

awarding agency, unless otherwise excepted from these requirements pursuant 

to 2 C.F.R. § 25.110. NIST will not make a Federal award to an applicant until the 

applicant has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and SAM 

requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by 

the time that NIST is ready to make a Federal award pursuant to this NOFO, 

NIST may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award 

and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal award to another 

applicant.

4. Submission Dates and Times

 Applications must be received at Grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern 

 Time, Monday, June 1, 2020. NIST will consider the date and time recorded by 

Grants.gov as the official submission time. Applications received after this 

deadline will not be reviewed or considered. Paper applications will not be

accepted.

Applicants should be aware, and factor in their application submission planning, 

that the Grants.gov system is expected to be closed for routine maintenance at 

the following times. Applications cannot be submitted when Grants.gov is closed:

From 12:01 A.M. Eastern Time

Saturday

To 6:00 A.M. Eastern Time

Monday

April 18, 2020 April 20, 2020

May 16, 2020 May 18, 2020

When developing the submission timeline, please keep in mind that: (1) all 

applicants are required to have current registrations in the electronic System for 

Award Management (SAM.gov) and Grants.gov; (2) the free annual registration 

process in the SAM.gov (see Sections IV.3. and IV.7.a.(1).(b). of this NOFO) 

generally takes between three and five business days but can take more than 

two weeks; and applicants will receive e-mail notifications over a period of up to 

two business days as the application moves through intermediate systems before 

the applicant learns via a validation or rejection notification whether NIST has 

received the application. (See Grants.gov for full information on application and 

notification through Grants.gov.) Please note that a Federal assistance award 

cannot be issued if the designated recipient’s registration in the System for 

Award Management (SAM.gov) is not current at the time of the award.
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5. Intergovernmental Review

Applications under this Program ARE NOT subject to Executive Order 12372.

6. Funding Restrictions

Profit or fee is not an allowable cost.

7. Other Submission Requirements

a. Applications must be submitted electronically.

(1) Applications must be submitted at Grants.gov.

(a) Applicants should carefully follow specific Grants.gov instructions to 

ensure that all attachments will be accepted by the Grants.gov 

system. A receipt from Grants.gov indicating an application is 

received does not provide information about whether attachments 

have been received. For further information or questions regarding 

applying electronically for the 2020-NIST-NICE-01 announcement, 

contact the Grants.gov Help Desk at 800-518-4726.

(b) Applicants are strongly encouraged to start early and not wait until 

the approaching due date before logging on and reviewing the 

instructions for submitting an application through Grants.gov. The 

Grants.gov registration process must be completed before a new 

registrant can apply electronically. The typical registration process 

takes three to five business days. If problems are encountered, the 

registration process can take two weeks or more. Applicants must 

have a valid unique entity identifier number and must maintain a 

current registration in the Federal government’s primary registrant 

database, the System for Award Management 

(https://www.sam.gov/), as explained on the Grants.gov Web site 

(also see Section IV.3. of this NOFO). After registering, it may take 

several days or longer from the initial log-on before a new 

Grants.gov system user can submit an application. Only individuals 

authorized as organization representatives will be able to submit 

the application, and the system may need time to process a 

submitted application. Applicants should save and print the proof of 

submission they receive from Grants.gov. If problems occur while 

using Grants.gov, the applicant is advised to (a) print any error 

message received and (b) call Grants.gov directly for immediate 

assistance. If calling from within the United States or from a U.S. 

territory, please call 800-518-4726. If calling from a place other than 

the United States or a U.S. territory, please call 606-545-5035. 

Assistance from the Grants.gov Help Desk will be available around 

the clock every day, except for Federal holidays. Help Desk service 
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will resume at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time the day after Federal 

holidays. For assistance using Grants.gov, the applicant may also 

contact support@grants.gov.

(c) To find instructions for submitting an application on Grants.gov, 

applicants should refer to the “Applicants” tab in the banner just 

below the top of the Grants.gov home page. Clicking on the 

“Applicants” tab produces two exceptionally useful sources of 

information, Applicant Actions and Applicant Resources, which 

applicants are advised to review.

Applicants will receive a series of e-mail messages over a period of 

up to two business days before learning whether a Federal 

agency’s electronic system has received its application. 

Applicants should pay close attention to the guidance under 

Grants.gov’s “Applicant FAQs”, as it contains information important 

to successful submission, including essential details on the naming 

conventions for attachments to applications.

All applicants should be aware that adequate time must be factored 

into applicants’ schedules for delivery of their application. 

Applicants are advised that volume on Grants.gov may be 

extremely heavy leading up to the deadline.

The application must be both received and validated by Grants.gov. 

The application is “received” when Grants.gov provides the 

applicant a confirmation of receipt and an application tracking 

number. If an applicant does not see this confirmation and tracking 

number, the application has not been received. After the application 

has been received, it must still be validated. During this process, it 

may be “validated” or “rejected with errors”. To ascertain whether 

the application was rejected with errors and the reasons for the 

rejection, the applicant must log in to Grants.gov, select 

“Applicants” from the top navigation, and select “Track my 

application” from the drop-down list. If the status is “rejected with 

errors,” the applicant may still seek to correct the errors and 

resubmit the application before the deadline. If the applicant does 

not correct the errors, the application will not be forwarded to NIST 

by Grants.gov.

Refer to important information in Section IV.4. Submission Dates 

and Times, to help ensure the application is received on time.
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b. Amendments. Any amendments to this NOFO will be announced through 

Grants.gov. Applicants may sign up on Grants.gov to receive amendments 

by e-mail.

V. Application Review Information

1. Evaluation Criteria

The evaluation criteria that will be used in evaluating applications and their 

assigned weights are as follows:

a. Outreach Strategy (0 – 30 points sub-criteria below receive equal 

weight).

(1) Reviewers will evaluate the extent to which the applicant’s 

proposed approach clearly addresses the program goals (see 

Section I. of this NOFO).

(2) Reviewers will evaluate the likelihood that the applicant’s proposed 

process for bringing diverse stakeholders within the community 

together will be effective. This includes evaluating the 

comprehensiveness and potential effectiveness of the plan to 

recruit key leading organizations to host and sponsor conferences. 

and the extent to which the approach is likely to reach the full range 

of diverse stakeholders in the cybersecurity education, training, and 

workforce development community. Diversity will be considered 

demographically and regionally and in the range of participants 

within the cybersecurity education and workforce development 

community.

b. Conference Planning (0 to 30 points, sub-criteria below receive equal 

weight).

(1) Reviewers will evaluate the comprehensiveness and likelihood of 

success of the applicant’s proposed plan for managing and 

conducting the full range of activities needed for the annual 

conference, including the plans to manage the project tasks, 

timeline, and work of all project staff, to ensure realization of project 

goals and objectives. 

(2) Reviewers will consider how the proposed plan keeps the 

conference affordable, nationally representative, and accessible.

c. Qualifications and Experience of Key Personnel and Resources

Availability. (0-20 points) Reviewers will evaluate the appropriateness

and extent of the qualifications and experience of the key personnel and 

proposed staff to assess the likelihood of achieving the objectives of the 

project. The extent to which the applicant organization and any proposed 

partner organizations have experience reaching geographically diverse 
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groups and past experience in similar collaborations will also be 

considered. 

d. Budget Narrative. (0-20 points). Reviewers will assess the budgeted 

costs against the proposed activities to determine the practicality of the 

proposed budget with respect to developing and implementing the 

proposed project.

2. Selection Factors 

a. The Selection Factors for this competition are:

(1) Results of the merit reviewers’ evaluations.

(2) The availability of funding.

(3) Whether the project duplicates other projects funded by NIST or 

other Federal agencies.

(4) Alignment with the NOFO objectives.

(5) Regional diversity of conference locations over the period of the 

award.

3. Review and Selection Process

Proposals, reports, documents, and other information related to applications 

submitted to NIST and/or relating to financial assistance awards issued by 

NIST will be reviewed and considered by Federal employees, or non-Federal 

personnel who have entered into conflict of interest and confidentiality 

agreements covering such information, when applicable.

a. Initial Administrative Review of Applications

Applications received by the deadline will be reviewed to determine 

eligibility, completeness, and responsiveness to this NOFO and to the 

scope of the stated program objectives (see Section I. of this NOFO). 

Applications determined to be ineligible, incomplete, and/or nonresponsive 

may be eliminated from further review. However, NIST, in its sole 

discretion, may continue the review process for an application that is 

missing non-substantive information, the absence of which may easily be 

rectified during the review process.

b. Full Review of Eligible, Complete, and Responsive Applications.

Applications that are determined to be eligible, complete, and responsive 

will proceed for full reviews in accordance with the review and selection 

process below: 

(1) Merit Review. At least three (3) objective reviewers, who may be 

Federal employees or non-Federal personnel, with appropriate 

professional and technical expertise relating to the topics covered in 
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this NOFO, will evaluate and score each eligible, complete, and 

responsive application based on the evaluation criteria (see Section 

V.1. of this NOFO). While every application will have at least three 

(3) reviewers, applications may have more than three (3) reviewers 

if specialized expertise is needed to evaluate an application. During 

the review process, the reviewers may discuss the applications with 

each other, but scores will be determined on an individual basis. 

Based on the numerical average of the reviewers’ scores, a rank 

order will be prepared.

If more than 25 applications receive merit review and the top 5 

applications in the rank order have an average numerical score 

within a 5-point range, NIST will convene an Evaluation Board, a 

committee comprised of Federal employees knowledgeable in the 

subject matter of this NOFO and its objectives. If these criteria are 

not met, then the rank order will be forwarded to the Selecting 

Official for further consideration. 

The Evaluation Board, if convened, may determine a numeric score 

threshold and applications with an average numeric score above the 

threshold will be deemed finalists, while applications with an 

average numeric score below the threshold will not receive further 

review or consideration in the competition. Finalists may receive 

written follow-up questions from the Evaluation Board in order to 

clarify information in the applicant’s proposal. If deemed necessary, 

all finalists may be invited to participate in web conferences with the 

Evaluation Board to provide additional clarifications about their 

proposal. As a result of any clarifying information received during 

this process, the Evaluation Board members may decide by 

consensus to revise the rank order of the finalists. 

A final ranking will be provided to the Selecting Official for further 

consideration. 

(2) Selection. The Selecting Official, the director of NICE, will make 

final award recommendations to the NIST Grants Officer. The 

Selecting Official shall generally select and recommend the most 

meritorious application for an award based upon the rank order of 

the applications. The Selecting Official retains the discretion to select 

and recommend an application out of rank order based on the 

Selection Factors (see Section V.2. of this NOFO). 

NIST reserves the right to negotiate the budget costs with any 

applicant selected to receive an award, which may include 

requesting that the applicant removes certain costs. Additionally, 
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NIST may request that successful applicants modify objectives or 

work plans and provide supplemental information required by the 

agency prior to award. NIST also reserves the right to reject an 

application where information is uncovered that raises a reasonable 

doubt as to the responsibility of the applicant. NIST may select 

some, all, or none of the applications, or part(s) of any application. 

The final approval of a selected application - and issuance of an 

award - will be by the NIST Grants Officer. The award decisions of 

the NIST Grants Officer are final.

c. Federal Awarding Agency Review of Risk Posed by Applicants. After 

applications are proposed for funding by the Selecting Official, the NIST 

Grants Management Division (GMD) performs pre-award risk 

assessments in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.205, which may include a 

review of the financial stability of an applicant, the quality of the applicant’s 

management systems, the history of performance, and/or the applicant’s 

ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory, or other requirements 

imposed on non-Federal entities. 

In addition, prior to making an award where the total Federal share is 

expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (currently 

$250,000), NIST GMD will review and consider the publicly available 

information about that applicant in the Federal Awardee Performance and 

Integrity Information System (FAPIIS). An applicant may, at its discretion, 

review and comment on information about itself previously entered into 

FAPIIS by a Federal awarding agency. As part of its review of risk posed 

by applicants, NIST GMD will consider any comments made by the 

applicant in FAPIIS in making its determination about the applicant’s 

integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal 

awards. Upon completion of the pre-award risk assessment, the Grants 

Officer will make a responsibility determination concerning whether the 

applicant is qualified to receive the subject award and, if so, whether 

appropriate specific award conditions that correspond to the degree of risk 

posed by the applicant should be applied to an award.

4. Anticipated Announcement and Award Date

Review of applications, selection of successful applicants, and award processing 

is expected to be completed by July 2020. The earliest start date for awards 

under this NOFO is expected to be August 2020.

5. Additional Information

a. Safety. Safety is a top priority at NIST. Employees and affiliates of award 

recipients who conduct project work at NIST will be expected to be safetyconscious, to attend NIST safety training, and to comply with all NIST 
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safety policies and procedures, and with all applicable terms of their guest 

research agreement.

b. Notification to Unsuccessful Applicants. Unsuccessful applicants will 

be notified by e-mail and will have the opportunity to receive a debriefing 

after the opportunity is officially closed. Applicants must request within 10 

business days of the email notification to receive a debrief from the 

program office. The program office will then work with the unsuccessful 

applicant in arranging a date and time of the debrief.

c. Retention of Unsuccessful Applications. Unsuccessful applications will 

be retained in accordance with the General Record Schedule 1.2/021.

VI. Federal Award Administration Information

1. Federal Award Notices. Successful applicants will receive an award package 

from the NIST Grants Officer.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

a. Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit 

Requirements. Through 2 C.F.R. § 1327.101, the Department of 

Commerce adopted Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost 

Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 C.F.R. Part 

200, which apply to awards in this program. Refer to 

http://go.usa.gov/SBYh and http://go.usa.gov/SBg4.

b. Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and 

Conditions. The Department of Commerce will apply to each award in 

this program, the Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions in 

effect on the date of award. The current version, dated April 30, 2019, is 

accessible here. Refer to Section VII. of this NOFO, Federal Awarding 

Agency Contacts, Grant Rules and Regulations, if you need more 

information. 

c. Pre-Award Notification Requirements. The Department of Commerce 

will apply the Pre-Award Notification Requirements for Grants and 

Cooperative Agreements dated December 30, 2014 (79 FR 78390), 

accessible at http://go.usa.gov/hKkR. Refer to Section VII. of this NOFO, 

Federal Awarding Agency Contacts, Grant Rules and Regulations, for 

more information.

d. Funding Availability and Limitation of Liability. Funding for the 

program listed in this NOFO is contingent upon the availability of 

appropriations. NIST or the Department of Commerce will not be 

responsible for application preparation costs, including but not limited to if 
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this program fails to receive funding or is cancelled because of agency 

priorities. Publication of this NOFO does not oblige NIST or the 

Department of Commerce to award any specific project or to obligate any 

available funds.

e. Collaborations with NIST Employees. If an applicant proposes 

collaboration with NIST, the statement of work should include a statement 

of this intention, a description of the collaboration, and prominently identify 

the NIST employee(s) involved, if known. Any collaboration by a NIST 

employee must be approved by appropriate NIST management and is at 

the sole discretion of NIST. Prior to beginning the merit review process, 

NIST will verify the approval of the proposed collaboration. Any 

unapproved collaboration will be stricken from the application prior to the 

merit review. Any collaboration with an identified NIST employee that is 

approved by appropriate NIST management will not make an application 

more or less favorable in the competitive process.

f. Use of Government-Owned Intellectual Property. If the applicant 

anticipates using any Government-owned intellectual property to carry out 

the work proposed, the applicant should identify such intellectual property. 

This information will be used to ensure that no Federal employee involved 

in the development of the intellectual property will participate in the review 

process for that competition. In addition, if the applicant intends to use 

Government-owned intellectual property, the applicant must comply with 

all statutes and regulations governing the licensing of Federal government 

patents and inventions, described in 35 U.S.C. §§ 200-212, 37 C.F.R. Part 

401, 2 C.F.R. §200.315, and in Section C.03 of the Department of 

Commerce Financial Assistance Terms and Conditions dated April 30, 

2019.

Any use of government-owned intellectual property by a recipient of an 

award under this announcement is at the sole discretion of the Federal 

Government and will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis if a project is 

deemed meritorious. The applicant should indicate within the statement of 

work whether it already has a license to use such intellectual property or 

whether it intends to seek one.

If any inventions made in whole or in part by a Federal employee arise in 

the course of an award made pursuant to this NOFO, the United States 

Government may retain its ownership rights in any such invention. 

Licensing or other disposition of Federal Government’s rights in such 

inventions will be determined solely by the Federal Government, and 

include the possibility of the Federal Government putting the intellectual 

property into the public domain.
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3. Reporting

a. Reporting Requirements. The following reporting requirements described in 

Sections A.01, Reporting Requirements, of the Department of Commerce 

Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions, dated April 30, 2019,

apply to awards in this program:

(1) Financial Reports. Each award recipient will be required to submit an 

SF-425, Federal Financial Report on a semi-annual basis for the 

periods ending March 31 and September 30 of each year. Reports will 

be due within 30 days after the end of the reporting period to the NIST

Federal Program Officer, Grants Officer and Grants Specialist named 

in the award documents. A final financial report is due within 90 days 

after the end of the project period.

(2) Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR). Each award 

recipient will be required to submit a RPPR to the Federal Program 

Officer, NIST Grants Officer and Grants Specialist named in the award 

documents on a semi-annual basis for the periods ending March 31 

and September 30 of each year. Reports will be due within 30 days 

after the end of the reporting period. The RPPR shall conform to the 

requirements in 2 C.F.R. § 200.328 (http://go.usa.gov/xkVgP) and 

Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and 

Conditions, Section A.01.

A final RPPR shall be submitted within 90 days after the expiration 

date of the award, and publication citation information as well as links 

to publicly available data shall be submitted as soon as they become 

available. 

(3) Patent and Property Reports. From time to time, and in accordance 

with the Uniform Administrative Requirements (see Section VI.2. of this 

NOFO) and other terms and conditions governing the award, the 

recipient may need to submit property and patent reports.

(4) Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters. In accordance with 

section 872 of Public Law 110-417 (as amended; see 41 U.S.C. 2313), 

if the total value of a recipient’s currently active grants, cooperative 

agreements, and procurement contracts from all Federal awarding 

agencies exceeds $10,000,000 for any period of time during the period 

of performance of an award made under this NOFO, then the recipient 

shall be subject to the requirements specified in Appendix XII to 2 

C.F.R. Part 200, http://go.usa.gov/cTBwC, for maintaining the currency 

of information reported to SAM that is made available in FAPIIS about 
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certain civil, criminal, or administrative proceedings involving the 

recipient.

b. Audit Requirements. The Department of Commerce Financial Assistance 

Standard Terms and Conditions, Section D.01, and 2 C.F.R. Part 200 Subpart 

F, adopted by the Department of Commerce through 2 C.F.R. § 1327.101, 

require any non-Federal entity (i.e., including non-profit institutions of higher 

education and non-profit organizations) that expends Federal awards of 

$750,000 or more in the recipient’s fiscal year to conduct a single or program

specific audit in accordance with the requirements set out in the Subpart. 

Additionally, unless otherwise specified in the terms and conditions of the 

award, entities that are not subject to Subpart F of 2 C.F.R. Part 200 (e.g., 

for-profit commercial entities) that expend $750,000 or more in DOC funds 

during their fiscal year must submit to the Grants Officer either: (i) a financial 

related audit of each DOC award or subaward in accordance with Generally 

Accepted Government Auditing Standards; or (ii) a project specific audit for 

each award or subaward in accordance with the requirements contained in 2 

C.F.R. § 200.507. Applicants are reminded that NIST, the Department of 

Commerce Office of Inspector General, or another authorized Federal agency 

may conduct an audit of an award at any time.

c. Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. In 

accordance with 2 C.F.R. Part 170, all recipients of a Federal award made on 

or after October 1, 2010, are required to comply with reporting requirements 

under the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 

(Public Law No. 109-282). In general, all recipients are responsible for 

reporting sub-awards of $25,000 or more. In addition, recipients that meet 

certain criteria are responsible for reporting executive compensation. 

Applicants must ensure they have the necessary processes and systems in 

place to comply with the reporting requirements should they receive funding. 

Also see the Federal Register notice published September 14, 2010, at 75 FR 

55663 available here http://go.usa.gov/hKnQ.

VII. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts

Questions should be directed to the following:

Subject Area Point of Contact

Programmatic and Technical Questions Danielle Santos

Phone: 301-975-5048

E-mail: danielle.santos@nist.gov with 

‘2020-NIST-NICE-01’ in subject line

Technical Assistance with Grants.gov 

Submissions

grants.gov

Phone: 800-518-4726

E-mail: support@grants.gov 
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Subject Area Point of Contact

Grant Rules and Regulations Gilberto Castillo

Phone: 301-975-3726

Fax: 301-975-6368

E-mail: gilbert.castillo@nist.gov

VIII. Other Information

1. Personal and Business Information

The applicant acknowledges and understands that information and data 

contained in applications for financial assistance, as well as information and data 

contained in financial, performance and other reports submitted by applicants, 

may be used by the Department of Commerce in conducting reviews and 

evaluations of its financial assistance programs. For this purpose, applicant 

information and data may be accessed, reviewed and evaluated by Department 

of Commerce employees, other Federal employees, and also by Federal agents 

and contractors, and/or by non-Federal personnel, all of whom enter into 

appropriate conflict of interest and confidentiality agreements covering the use of 

such information. As may be provided in the terms and conditions of a specific 

financial assistance award, applicants are expected to support program reviews 

and evaluations by submitting required financial and performance information 

and data in an accurate and timely manner, and by cooperating with Department 

of Commerce and external program evaluators. In accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 

200.303(e), applicants are reminded that they must take reasonable measures to 

safeguard protected personally identifiable information and other confidential or 

sensitive personal or business information created or obtained in connection with 

a Department of Commerce financial assistance award.

In addition, Department of Commerce regulations implementing the Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552, are found at 15 C.F.R. Part 4, Public 

Information. These regulations set forth rules for the Department regarding 

making requested materials, information, and records publicly available under the 

FOIA. Applications submitted in response to this Federal Funding Opportunity 

may be subject to requests for release under the Act. If an application contains 

information or data that the applicant deems to be confidential commercial 

information that should be exempt from disclosure under FOIA, that information 

should be identified, bracketed, and marked as Privileged, Confidential, 

Commercial or Financial Information. In accordance with 15 CFR § 4.9, the 

Department of Commerce will protect from disclosure confidential business 

information contained in financial assistance applications and other 

documentation provided by applicants to the extent permitted by law.
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2. Public Website

The NICE Program Office at NIST has a public website,

https://www.nist.gov/itl/applied-cybersecurity/nice, that provides information 

pertaining to this Funding Opportunity2. Any amendments to this NOFO will be 

announced through Grants.gov.

Applicants must submit all questions pertaining to this funding opportunity in 

writing to nice.nist@nist.gov with 2020-NIST-NICE-01 in the subject line. 

2 Refer to Section VII. of this NOFO, Federal Awarding Agency Contacts, Programmatic and Technical 

Questions, if more information is needed.