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NIST Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program - User Interface

Notice of Funding Opportunity

October 30, 2017

October 30, 2017

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY (NOFO)

NIST Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program – User Interface (PSIAP-UI)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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

United States Department of Commerce (DoC)

• Funding Opportunity Title: NIST Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program 

– User Interface

• Announcement Type: Initial

• Funding Opportunity Number: 2018-NIST-PSIAP-UI

• Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.609, 

Measurement and Engineering Research and Standards

• Dates: Required Pre-Applications must be received electronically through 

Grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, Friday, December 29, 2017. 

Pre-Applications received after this date will not be reviewed or considered. NIST 

will consider the date and time recorded by www.grants.gov as the official 

submission time. Assessment of Pre-Applications, selection, and notification to 

applicants is expected to be complete on or about January 26, 2018. Selected 

applicants will then be invited to submit a Full Application. Full Applications must 

be received electronically through Grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern 

Time, Tuesday, March 27, 2018. Applications received after this deadline will not 

be reviewed or considered. 

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

for both Pre- and Full Applications, that the Grants.gov system is expected to 

be closed for routine maintenance from 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time, Saturday, 

November 18, 2017 until Monday, November 20, 2017 at 6:00 a.m. Eastern 

Time; and from 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time, Saturday, December 16, 2017 until 

Monday, December 18, 2017 at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time; and again from 12:01 

a.m. Eastern Time, Saturday, February 17, 2018 until Tuesday, February 20, 

2018 at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time; and also from 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time, 

Saturday, March 17, 2018 until Monday, March 19, 2018 at 6:00 a.m. Eastern 

Time. Pre- and Full Applications cannot be submitted when Grants.gov is 

closed.
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NIST expects to complete its review, selection of successful Full Applicants, and 

award processing by May 2018. NIST expects the earliest start date for awards 

under this NOFO to be June 1, 2018.

Applicants are strongly urged to read Section IV.2.b. and IV.3.b. Attachment 

of Required Documents for Pre-Applications and Full Applications of this 

NOFO with great attention. Applicants should carefully follow the 

instructions and recommendations regarding attachments and use the 

Download Submitted Applications feature on www.grants.gov to check that 

all required attachments were contained in their submission. PreApplications and Full Applications submitted without the required 

documents will not pass the Initial Administrative Review, described in 

Section V.4.a.(1) of this NOFO for Pre-Applications and Section V.4.b.(1) of 

this NOFO for Full Applications. 

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

applicants are required to have a current registration in the electronic System for 

Award Management (SAM.gov); (2) the free annual registration process in the 

SAM.gov (see Section IV.4. and Section IV.8.a.(1).(b) of this NOFO) often takes 

between three and five business days and may take as long as two weeks; (3) 

electronic applicants are required to have a current registration in Grants.gov; 

and (4) applicants using Grants.gov 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 www.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.

• Application Submission Address: Applications must be submitted using 

Grants.gov.

• Funding Opportunity Description: The NIST Public Safety Innovation 

Accelerator Program – User Interface seeks applications from eligible applicants 

for activities to accelerate research, development, production, and testing of user 

interface technologies and capabilities through the use of virtual reality (VR) and 

augmented reality (AR) for first responders as described in Section I. of this

NOFO.

• Anticipated Amounts: In FY 2018, NIST anticipates funding up to $5,000,000 in 

new awards. For awards covering Goal 1 - AR/VR Technology Development and 

Prototyping, funds are expected to range from $200,000 to $500,000 per year

per project. For awards covering Goal 2 – Research on the Effectiveness and 
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NIST Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program - User Interface

Notice of Funding Opportunity

October 30, 2017

Transferability of AR/VR Simulations, funds are expected to range from $100,000 

to $200,000 per year per project. If applicants submit one proposal covering both 

goals, the combined awards range is expected to be $200,000 to $600,000 per 

year. Project performance periods may be up to two (2) years, with the exception 

of proposals submitted by institutions of higher education for the purposes of 

supporting research by graduate students as part of a doctoral program, for

which the period of performance may be up to three (3) years. All awards will be 

consistent with the multi-year funding policy (see Section II.2. of this NOFO).

• Funding Instrument: Grant or cooperative agreement, as appropriate. 

• Eligibility: All programs listed in this NOFO are open to all non-Federal entities. 

Eligible applicants include institutions of higher education, non-profit 

organizations, for-profit organizations, state and local governments, Indian tribes, 

hospitals, foreign public entities, and foreign governments. 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. 

NIST will consider multiple Pre-Applications and Full Applications per applicant; 

however, an individual researcher may only be listed as the principal investigator

on one Pre-Application and Full Application. In addition, applicants should refrain 

from submitting multiple Pre-Applications with related subject matter.

• Cost Sharing Requirements: Matching funds are not required for this NOFO. 

• Public Website, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and Webinar: NIST has 

a public website (www.nist.gov/ctl/pscr or www.pscr.gov) that provides 

information pertaining to this Funding Opportunity1. NIST anticipates that a 

“Frequently Asked Questions” section or other resource materials will be 

maintained and updated on the website as needed to provide additional guidance 

and clarifying information that may arise related to this Funding Opportunity. Any 

amendments to this NOFO will be announced through Grants.gov.

Applicants must submit all questions pertaining to this funding opportunity in 

writing to pscr@nist.gov with “PSIAP-UI” in the subject line. Questions submitted 

to NIST may be posted on www.nist.gov/ctl/pscr. Alternatively, applicants may 

ask questions during the informational public webinar as described in the next 

paragraph.

 

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

Questions, if this link is no longer working or more information is needed.
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October 30, 2017

NIST will host a webinar to provide general information regarding this NOFO, 

offer general guidance on preparing applications, and answer questions. 

Scheduling details about the webinar will be available at www.nist.gov/ctl/pscr. 

Proprietary technical discussions about specific project ideas will not be 

permitted and NIST staff will not critique or provide feedback on specific project 

ideas while the competition is in progress. However, questions about the PSIAPUI, eligibility requirements, evaluation and award criteria, selection process, and 

the general characteristics of a competitive application can be addressed at the 

webinar and by e-mail to pscr@nist.gov as described in the previous paragraph. 

There is no cost to attend the webinar, but participants must register in advance. 

Participation in the webinar is not required, and will not be considered in the 

application review and selection process. Additional information on the PSIAP-UI

and webinar is available at www.nist.gov/ctl/pscr.

Table of Contents

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

II. Federal Award Information.................................................................................... 13

III. Eligibility Information ............................................................................................. 14

IV. Application and Submission Information ............................................................... 14

V. Application Review Information ............................................................................. 28

VI. Federal Award Administration Information ............................................................ 34

VII. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts ...................................................................... 47

VIII. Other Information .................................................................................................. 47

FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Program Description

The statutory authority for the NIST Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program is 15 

U.S.C. § 3706 and 47 U.S.C. § 1443.

The NIST Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program – User Interface (PSIAP-UI) is 

seeking applications to accelerate research and development (R&D) around the use of 

augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) for improving public safety user 

interfaces. 
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NIST Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program - User Interface

Notice of Funding Opportunity

October 30, 2017

Specifically, PSIAP-UI is seeking applications within two goal areas: (1) AR/VR 

Technology Development and Prototyping and (2) Research on the Effectiveness 

and Transferability of AR/VR Simulations. These goals, and specific technical areas 

of research in the PSIAP-UI program, are discussed in detail in Section I.D. of this 

NOFO.

A. PSCR Background

The Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) division, housed within NIST’s 

Communications Technology Laboratory, conducts research for the first responder 

community.

The PSIAP-UI is one of several initiatives within PSCR. The goal of the PSIAP-UI is to 

accelerate R&D in AR/VR that directly impacts first responder operations through 

improved user interfaces.

The purpose of this NOFO is to implement technology that will enable researchers to 

test user interfaces to enhance public safety. Award recipients will help achieve this by 

creating new technology or applying current technology to a specific public safety use 

case. Recipients will also conduct research to support testing user interfaces within the 

AV/VR environment and ensure the results are transferable to real-world 

implementations. PSCR intends to build an AR/VR test bed for the public safety 

communications research community. The R&D produced from the awards made under 

this NOFO will aide in the future development of this test bed.

In 2013, PSCR initiated a strategy planning effort to identify potential R&D focus areas2.

First responders, government officials, industry leaders and academics who participated 

in that effort identified Enhanced User Interface/User Experience (UI/UX) as one of 

three key portfolios for R&D investment.

A UI/UX working group was formed and their inputs along with industry forecasts were 

incorporated into a 20-year technology roadmap to benefit the entire public safety 

community3. As a follow-up, a UI/UX R&D Summit was held to further discuss and 

prioritize the scope of work identified in the technology roadmap, focusing on twelve 

operational objectives that included AR interfaces and VR systems. Attendees were 

instructed to identify the most pressing technology gaps currently limiting the use of 

 

2 Location-Based Services R&D Roadmap; NIST Technical Note 1883; 

http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/TechnicalNotes/NIST.TN.1883.pdf

3Public Safety User Interface R&D Roadmap; NIST Technical Note 1961;

http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/TechnicalNotes/NIST.TN.1961.pdf
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UI/UX in the public safety arena, and then to prioritize these challenges based on five 

investment criteria – leverage, feasibility, impact on public safety processes, 

rewards/results, and uniqueness to public safety.

More information about PSCR, as well as technology roadmaps and summit reports, 

may be found at www.nist.gov/ctl/pscr.

AR/VR and Public Safety

Simulation systems have been used for years to train personnel in a variety of 

industries. Pilots have clocked hours in flight simulators, the military have trained 

personnel through war games, and teachers have inspired students through immersive

experiences. Similar systems have recently emerged that leveraged VR to provide 

training for fire fighters (e.g., FLAIM) and law enforcement personnel (e.g., UCF E2i 

Creative Studio). These systems are beneficial tools for developing skills for new 

recruits and veterans alike and afford the opportunity to test new technologies before 

they are implemented in the real world.

AR/VR offer new opportunities to develop and test technology for public safety

operations and communications, and the user interface is an ideal technology to test 

within an AR/VR environment. While AR/VR do not replace the need for real-life 

training, they allow for repeatable and measurable testing in a safe and controlled 

environment. Developing a new product for first responders requires complex and 

resource-intensive testing. AR/VR shifts this paradigm by leveraging realistic 

simulations within a VR/AR environment, reducing the time to bring a product to market 

and helping ensure that new public safety devices have a positive impact on first 

responder operations. 

First responders will have a greater dependency on user interfaces as new technology 

and systems are developed to support their operations. An AR/VR environment that 

offers public safety-specific content, including scenarios, equipment, and tasks, will

provide a safe and effective means for testing and developing these enhanced user 

interfaces.

B. Research Opportunities under this NOFO

Awardees will create VR/AR content including: the design and development of virtual 

environments (e.g., subway, roadway), programming tasks (e.g., extinguish fire, medical 

assessment), and implementing user interfaces (e.g., heads-up display). Awardees may

also conduct research to enhance traditional AR/VR systems to become more modular 

and adaptable to various scenarios, create objects to be used as tools or equipment, 
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develop additional user interfaces through haptic feedback (e.g., sound, tactile), and 

prototype innovative technology that may be used when interacting within an AR/VR 

experience. 

Awardees may also address specific research areas around the effectiveness and 

transferability of testing within an AR/VR environment. Potential areas of research 

include cognitive load, physical strain, content, user interface attributes and delivery, 

measurement capabilities, and testing methodologies.

C. Basic Competition Information

Applicants may address both goals described below in Section I.D. of this NOFO within 

one application or focus on one of the two goals. Applicants also have the option of 

submitting multiple applications provided that the subject matter and principal 

investigator are not listed in another application under this NOFO.

PSCR is requiring Pre-Applications for the PSIAP-UI NOFO. The Pre-Application will 

contain an abbreviated narrative, resumes of key personnel, a quad chart and a budget 

estimate for the proposed project. 

Successful pre-applicants will be invited to submit a Full Application. Applicants will be 

limited to submitting Full Applications for the goals specified in their successful PreApplications.

Applicants are required to develop partnerships with PSOs. Potential applicants are 

responsible for contacting the organizations and arranging partnerships. NIST will not 

assist potential applicants with finding partners. For purposes of this NOFO, PSOs 

include U.S. federal, state, and local emergency medical services (EMS), fire services, 

law enforcement, and public safety communications/911 centers. 

Applicants should propose projects that include active and sustained engagement with 

first responders. This engagement ensures that the R&D outputs of each PSIAP-UI 

project are highly relevant and will have a meaningful impact on the public safety 

community. Applicants are encouraged to include funding in their proposed budget for 

non-federal first responders and public safety personnel to actively participate within 

their projects, and to budget significant time and sufficient travel for this interaction. 

Federal entities are not eligible to receive funding under this NOFO, though they may 

participate as unfunded collaborators. Potential applicants who are proposing work that 

would benefit from the involvement of public safety personnel, but who have not yet 

identified suitable partners, are encouraged to submit Pre-Applications. Pre-applicants 

invited to submit Full Application will be required to have letters of commitment from 

PSOs as part of their Full Applications.
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Applicants should also ensure that their R&D projects are tailored to disseminate their 

ideas and technology to the public safety stakeholder community. Dissemination may 

be achieved through publications and technology transfer including: commercialization, 

training, or the release of tools, designs, and/or data sets. Applicants may include costs 

to support the dissemination of the results and lessons of their PSIAP-UI R&D efforts to 

the public safety stakeholder community in their project budgets.

D. Technical Program Goals

Recipients will rapidly accelerate the objectives of the PSIAP-UI through innovative 

R&D projects addressing one or both program goals: Goal 1 - AR/VR Technology 

Development and Prototyping and Goal 2 - Research on the Effectiveness and 

Transferability of AR/VR Simulations. 

1. Goal 1 - AR/VR Technology Development and Prototyping

The wide array of public safety operations present a development opportunity within the 

user interface technology area. First responders are seeing an increase in both the 

amount and types of data presented to them (e.g., location-based sensors, video 

streaming content). To benefit from these data sources, user interfaces need to be 

developed that allow first responders to interact effectively with the systems, without 

inducing cognitive overload. AR/VR afford the unique opportunity to develop, test, and 

measure the effectiveness of these user interfaces in a controlled environment without 

putting a public safety user in danger.

AR/VR is a rapidly growing technology. Despite this momentum, currently the products 

in the AR/VR marketplace that meet the requirements of public safety users are limited.

Accordingly, PSCR seeks applications under this NOFO for R&D projects to stimulate 

commercial and technical organizations to create and support a market for public safety 

user interfaces. This market would improve the current state of AR/VR technologies 

specifically for fire fighter, EMS, and law enforcement operations and tasks. PSCR 

intends to use the technology developed from these grants to create a testbed 

environment in AR/VR for testing, measuring and developing future user interfaces.

Applicants have the opportunity to develop key components of this testbed, as well as 

user interfaces that will potentially be used by PSOs. 

a. Scenarios from NISTIR 8181 - Incident Scenarios Collection for Public Safety 

Communications Research: Framing the Context of Use:
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Multiple vendors now offer unique hardware and software platforms that support several 

graphic engines and development tools. To obtain the greatest benefit for public safety, 

PSCR strives to have open solutions that allow for future integration. Developers should 

take into consideration the ease of access, development and integration for the 

hardware, software, and engines selected for their solutions. PSCR has not identified 

specific AR/VR hardware (e.g., HTC Vive, Microsoft HoloLens) or software solutions 

(i.e., Unreal, Unity graphic engines) for development, but is requiring that the technology 

selected be unmodified (i.e., default versions). Applicants must clearly identify in their 

proposals any additional dependencies (e.g., plug-ins) their solution will require.

Due to this variety of hardware and software platforms available, PSCR is requiring 

applicants to develop at least one incident scenario. This provides a comparative 

baseline across the solutions and minimizes the resources necessary for integrating

additional technologies (e.g., prototypes, user interfaces). Three scenarios have been 

selected from the NISTIR 8181 - Incident Scenarios Collection for Public Safety 

Communications Research: Framing the Context of Use and are listed below in I.1.a.iiii. Applicants must use at least one of the following scenarios in their proposals, but 

may use more than one scenario and may also develop additional scenarios as part of 

their proposal.

These scenarios were selected to provide PSCR with a broad range of public safety 

operations and to supplement current AR/VR environments PSCR has already 

developed. Developers should reference the NISTIR 8181 - Incident Scenarios 

Collection for Public Safety Communications Research: Framing the Context of Use for 

additional details related to each scenario, including the consideration factors for each, 

and other example incident scenarios. Applicants are encouraged to go beyond these 

descriptions and add specific tasks or operations that would benefit testing of user 

interfaces.

i. NISTIR 8181 – Scenario 3, Subway Fire - At 15:14, an Office of Unified 

Communications (OUC) operator received a call from a subway supervisor about a 

debris fire on the tracks near a major subway station. Additional 9-1-1 calls were 

received reporting heavy smoke at and near the station. A train stopped after 

encountering an accumulation of heavy smoke while traveling southbound in a 

subway tunnel. After stopping, the rear car of the train was about 386 feet from the 

south end of the subway station platform. Ten minutes later, the OUC operator 

received a call for medics at the station because people could barely breathe due to 

the smoke. OUC dispatched a Rail Station Box Alarm to the subway station.

ii. NISTIR 8181 – Incident Scenario 22, Traffic Stop –– At 18:17, while on routine traffic 

patrol, an officer observed a car that ran through a red light at an intersection. No 

wants/warrants were associated with the vehicle. The officer approached the pulledover vehicle and the officer’s on-person video camera scanned the driver’s face. The 

driver did not provide documentation, but the facial recognition results showed that 
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the driver did not match the registered owner and had a record with previous drug 

possession and assault charges. Backup officers arrived and a vehicle search was 

conducted after officers noticed marijuana remains in the ashtray. Several bags of a 

white substance that appeared to be cocaine were found and the driver was placed 

under arrest.

iii. NISTIR 8181 – Incident Scenario 24, EMS-Heart Attack - At 16:19, dispatch 

received a 9-1-1 call from the relative of a man who returned home from playing 

tennis and reported having chest pains. At 16:23, paramedics entered the home to 

find the patient barely conscious on the living room couch. Paramedics performed a 

preliminary medical assessment and transferred the patient to the ambulance. The 

cardiologist at the nearest hospital recommended transport to a different hospital for 

cardiac catheterization.

VR/AR users sometimes experience negative effects due to poor framerate, framerate 

drops, removing control of movement (e.g., cut scenes, cinematics), intense light and 

imagery, poor calibration, and non-voluntary movement (e.g., falling). The developed 

scenarios should limit these effects to minimize the potential for motion sickness, 

disorientation, and confusion by AR/VR participants. In addition to the scenario 

development described above, PSCR encourages applicants to produce additional 

capabilities that support the use of AR/VR for improved user interface testing and 

development.

b. Anticipated PSIAP-UI R&D Projects for Goal 1:

The following are possible R&D projects that the PSCR hopes to fund through this 

NOFO.

i. Develop modular capabilities for AR and/or VR platforms that offer ease of 

manipulation when creating new environments or scenarios. Examples include, but 

are not limited to, movable foam blocks with sensors that create virtual objects,

physical dummies depicting virtual humans, or environmental elements that induce 

heat that are associated with a virtual fire.

ii. Develop user interfaces for public safety tasks that are able to present data to the 

user in an intuitive and non-invasive manner. Examples of potential user interfaces 

include, but are not limited to, physical gestures, heads-up display, audio cues, 

visual cues, vocal commands, eye-tracking, or vibration. The user interface should 

inform the user of data important to their task, such as waypoint or map indicators, 

utility information, temperature readings, etc. User Interfaces should integrate with 

sensors, mobile devices, or other peripherals used by the participant.
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iii. Create public safety equipment prototypes that offer ideal interaction for use within 

an AR/VR environment. Examples of equipment include, but are not limited to, a 

handgun, fire hose, or defibrillator. Feedback should address any of these four 

human senses; touch (vibrations, texture, temperature, etc.), smell (e.g., smoke), 

sight, and hearing. Prototypes should also include objects that induce physiological 

effects such as increases in stress, adrenaline, heart rate, blood pressure, etc.

iv. Develop methods beyond traditional wands or controllers to improve interactions

within an AR/VR. Examples include, but are not limited to, the physical touch of an 

object and visualizing the participant’s hands to enhance the scenario and tasks 

being assessed. 

Research areas beyond those described above in Section I.D.1.b. may be beneficial.

Applicants may propose additional projects they believe useful in achieving Goal 1. 

2. Goal 2 - Research on the Effectiveness and Transferability of AR/VR 

Simulations 

AR/VR will enable new ways of testing and developing technology. For public safety to 

benefit from these innovations, research must be conducted around the effectiveness 

and transferability of testing user interfaces in an AR/VR environment to real world 

implementations.

The PSCR-UI anticipates funding proposals in the following R&D areas for researching 

the effectiveness and the transferability of AR/VR user interface testing. Applicants are 

encouraged to identify additional R&D areas that support testing user interfaces in an 

AR/VR environment and ensure that the impacts are transferable to real-world 

operations.

a. Anticipated PSIAP-UI R&D Projects for Goal 2:

i. Develop and test methods to induce cognitive load and physical strain in a safe and 

repeatable manner. Examples include, but are not limited to, VR treadmills, warm-up 

exercises before entering simulation, physical navigation of a room with AR, or the 

use of noise or visual elements to load sensory receptors. 

ii. Identify characteristics and tasks (e.g., duration, location) for ideal public safety 

scenarios and environments. Examples include, but are not limited to, evaluating 

whether CPR is an effective simulation that transfers to real-world tasks, testing 

whether extinguishing a fire or navigating a structure is effective for measuring 

impacts of user interfaces, or determining if a 10-minute simulation can capture 

sufficient test results or if 30 minutes is required.
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iii. Determine what public safety equipment is most applicable for testing user 

interfaces within AR/VR environments. Examples include, but are not limited to, 

testing the appropriateness of using objects, whether simulator or real, such as fire 

hoses, defibrillators, hand guns, Tasers, vehicles, axes, or oxygen tanks.

iv. Determine what attributes can be measured within an AR/VR environment, how the 

attributes are measured, and what attributes indicate a positive or negative impact of 

a user interface for a specific task or scenario. Examples include, but are not limited 

to, determining whether a participant completing a task in a shorter duration, 

avoiding hazards and risks, or completing objectives translates to a more effective 

user interface.

v. Test the ability to reuse environments for multiple tests without biasing 

measurements. Examples include, but are not limited to, determining what elements 

of an environment must be changed for the participant to complete another test of a 

user interface or test if multiple scenarios (e.g., extinguish fire in a kitchen, rescue 

victim in bedroom) can be conducted in the same environment by the same 

participant without impacting the effectiveness of the user interface because the user 

becomes more familiar with the content. 

vi. Explore methods to improve the immersive experience or the presence of 

participants and determine whether such methods translate to more effective testing.

Examples include, but are not limited to, warm-up or training exercises prior to the 

simulations uses for testing user interfaces, determining whether there is a certain 

time range as to when the participant becomes more immersed, testing if an upper 

time limit impacts the participant’s presence in an experience due to fatigue or 

discomfort, or testing for the ideal field-of-view ranges.

vii. Identify means to interact and complete tasks that are likely to transfer to real-world 

implementations. Examples include, but are not limited to, testing the use of an 

object that replicates a gun being fired or a fire hose spraying water, benefit of using 

a treadmill for navigating within a VR simulation, testing if gloves that display virtual 

hands are more efficient than controllers or wands.

viii. Determine the ideal amount and method of delivering content to user through the

user interface. Examples include, but are not limited to, measuring cognitive load 

and the participant’s response to heads-up display displaying multiple indicators, 

audio cues at various decibel levels, or tactile feedback. 

ix. Testing user interfaces to determine if a specific one is better than others for aiding 

the various public safety disciplines (e.g., EMS, fire service, and law enforcement) in 

conducting tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to, determining if heads-up 

displays are more effective then audio cues when navigating a structure fire, 
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measuring the ability of EMS to alert to a patient from a tactile indicator, or testing 

law enforcement’s ability to process input on a suspect from a AR visual display 

while conducting a traffic stop.

x. Explore techniques to measure the situational awareness of participant. Examples 

include, but are not limited to, creating content with multiple events and measuring 

participant’s response to various aspects of the scenario or research user interfaces 

that highlight areas of a simulation that may be out of the norm.

Research areas beyond those described above in Section I.D.2.a. may be beneficial.

Applicants may propose additional projects they believe useful in achieving Goal-2. 

E. PSCR Public Safety Stakeholder Yearly Meetings

PSCR hosts an annual stakeholders meeting with public safety, industry, and academia. 

The meeting provides the opportunity to share project updates and identify new 

endeavors. Awardees will be required to send a minimum of one team member to the 

meetings to meet with stakeholders and present key plans and findings of their work to 

date. Awardees may be given the opportunity to present materials through plenary, 

demonstration tables, or poster sessions. These meetings should be included in project 

timelines and budgets. Costs for attending this meeting and any other travel must be 

included in the budget form SF-424A (see Section IV.3.a.(2) of this NOFO) and 

described in the budget narrative (see Section IV.3.a.(9)(d) of this NOFO).

II. Federal Award Information

1. Funding Instrument

The funding instrument for these awards will be grants or cooperative agreements, as 

appropriate. Where cooperative agreements are used, the nature of NIST’s “substantial 

involvement” will generally include collaboration with the recipients in the scope of work. 

2. Multi-Year Funding Policy

When an application for a multi-year award is approved, funding will usually be provided 

for only the first year of the project. If a project is selected for funding, NIST has no 

obligation to provide any additional funding in connection with that award. Continuation 

of an award to increase funding or extend the period of performance is at the sole 

discretion of NIST. Continued funding will be contingent upon satisfactory performance, 

continued relevance to the mission and priorities of the PSIAP-UI, and the availability of 
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funds. Under this NOFO, NIST may elect to fully fund awards or to fund awards in 

accordance with the Multi-Year Funding policy.

3. Anticipated Amounts

In FY 2018, NIST anticipates funding up to $5,000,000 in new awards. For awards 

covering Goal 1 - AR/VR Technology Development and Prototyping, funds are expected 

to range from $200,000 to $500,000 per year per project. For awards covering Goal 2 –

Research on the Effectiveness and Transferability of AR/VR Simulations, funds are 

expected to range from $100,000 to $200,000 per year per project. If applicants submit 

one proposal covering both goals, the combined fund awards range is expected to be 

$200,000 to $600,000 per year. Project performance periods may be up to two (2) 

years, with the exception of proposals submitted by institutions of higher education for 

the purposes of supporting research by graduate students as part of a doctoral 

program, for which the period of performance may be up to 3 (three) years. All awards 

will be consistent with the multi-year funding policy (see Section II.2. of this NOFO).

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

All programs listed in this NOFO are open to all non-Federal entities. Eligible applicants 

include institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, for-profit organizations, 

state and local governments, Indian tribes, hospitals, foreign public entities, and foreign 

governments. 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.

NIST will consider multiple Pre-Applications and Full Applications per applicant; 

however, an individual researcher may only be listed as the principal investigator on one 

Pre-Application and Full Application. In addition, applicants should refrain from 

submitting multiple Pre-Applications with related subject matter. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

Matching funds are not required for this NOFO. 

IV. Pre-Application / Full Application and Submission Information

1. Address to Request Application Package

The Pre-Application package is available at www.grants.gov under Funding Opportunity 

Number 2018-NIST-PSIAP-UI. The Full Application package can be obtained by 

requesting it via an e-mail message to pscr@nist.gov.
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2. Content and Form of Pre-Application Submission

a. Required Forms and Documents. The Pre-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.

• SF-424, Item 8.d. Zip/Postal Code field, should reflect the Zip Code + 4 

(#####-####) format.

• SF-424, Item 12, should list the NOFO number 2018-NIST-PSIAP-UI. 

• SF-424, Item 18, should list the total Federal budget amount requested for the 

entire project.

• For SF-424, Item 21, the list of certifications and assurances is contained in 

the SF-424B. 

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

budget estimate that reflects the anticipated expenses for the entire project, 

considering all potential cost increases, including cost of living adjustments. 

(3) Executive Summary and Quad Chart. (This does not count toward the page

limit.) The executive summary must explicitly state the objectives and 

approaches to meet those objectives, anticipated challenges, and benefits and 

impacts of the proposed project. The summary must state which goal(s) the 

applicant is addressing (i.e., Goal 1, Goal 2, or both). The quad chart must 

contain a summary of the proposed project, the potential impact of the project, 

key milestones and/or deliverables, and applicant background. The executive 

summary and the quad chart must not exceed one (1) page each. Any 

materials provided beyond the one (1) page limit for the executive summary and 

the one (1) page limit for the quad chart will not be redacted and not provided to 

the reviewers.

(4) Pre-Application Narrative. A word-processed document of no more than seven

(7) pages. The Pre-Application Narrative should describe the proposed project

and degree of alignment with objectives detailed in the goals of this NOFO.

Sufficient information should be provided to address the Pre-Application

evaluation criteria (see Section V.1. of this NOFO), specifically: strategic 

alignment with the program’s objectives (see Section I. of this NOFO);

qualifications and resources availability; project execution; and public safety 

mission.

(5) Resume(s). Resumes are required for all key personnel, including the principal 

investigator. Resumes are limited to two (2) pages per individual and do not 

count toward the seven (7) page limit of the Pre-Application Narrative. 

b. Attachment of Required Documents for the Pre-Application 
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Items IV.2.a.(1) and IV.2.a.(2) above are part of the standard application package in 

Grants.gov for 2018-NIST-PSIAP-UI Pre-Applications and can be completed through 

the download application process. 

Items IV.2.a.(3) through IV.2.a.(5) must be completed and attached by clicking 

on “Add Attachments” found in item 15 of the SF-424, Application for Federal 

Assistance. This will create a zip file that allows for 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 using Grants.gov 

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.

The Grants.gov Online Users Guide available at the Grants.gov site 

(http://go.usa.gov/cjaEh) provides vital information on checking the status of 

applications. See especially the “Check My Application Status” option, found 

by clicking first on Applicants, and then by clicking on Applicant Actions.

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, however, applicants can immediately check that they properly 

submitted the application in Grants.gov by following the Grants.gov tracking 

procedures cited above. 

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

Agency Tracking Numbers.

c. Pre-Application Format

(1) Paper, E-mail 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 landscape orientation.

(3) Font. Easy to read font (12-point minimum). Smaller type may be used in figures 

and tables but must be clearly legible.
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(4) Page Limit. The Pre-Application Executive Summary is limited to one (1) page; 

the Pre-Application Quad Chart is limited to one (1) page; and the PreApplication Narrative is limited to seven (7) pages.

(5) Page Limit Excludes: SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance; SF-424A, 

Budget Information – Non-Construction Programs; and Resumes of key 

personnel (although resumes are limited to two (2) pages per individual).

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

(7) Application language. English.

d. Pre-Application Replacement Pages. Applicants may not submit replacement 

pages and/or missing documents once an application has been submitted. Revisions 

can only be made by submitting a complete new Pre-Application that is received by 

NIST before the submission deadline.

3. Content and Form of Full Application Submission (only for Applicants who 

submitted Pre-Applications and are invited to submit Full Applications)

a. Required Forms and Documents. The Full 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.

SF-424, Item 8.d. Zip/Postal Code field, should reflect the Zip Code + 4 (#####-

####) format.

• SF-424, Item 12, should list the NOFO number supplied by NIST to the 

applicants invited to submit Full Applications. 

• SF-424, Item 18, should list the total Federal budget amount requested for the 

entire project.

• For SF-424, Item 21, the list of certifications and assurances is contained in 

the SF-424B. 

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

should reflect anticipated expenses for the project, considering all potential cost 

increases, including cost of living adjustments. 

The Grant Program Function or Activity on Section A, line 1 under Column (a) 

should be entered as “Public Safety Communications Research Grant Program”. 

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number on Line 1 under Column 

(b) should be entered as “11.609”. Line 1, column (e) should reflect the 

anticipated expenses for the full term of the project.
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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. If the application includes a third year, use Section B, column 

(3) for the third year’s budget. 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, field 16, column (b). If the project includes a third year, 

the budget estimate for the third year should be entered in Section E, field 16, 

column (c).

Further details about this form can be can be found at: 

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/form-instructions/sf-424a-instructions.html.

(3) SF-424B, Assurances - Non-Construction Programs

(4) CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying. Enter “2018-NIST-PSIAP-UI” in the 

Award Number field. Enter the title of the application used in field 15 of the SF424, or an abbreviation of that title, in the Project Name field.

(5) SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if applicable)

(6) Executive Summary and Quad Chart. (This does not count toward the page

limit.) The executive summary must explicitly state the objectives and 

approaches to meet those objectives, anticipated challenges, and benefits and 

impacts of the proposed project. The summary must state which goal(s) the 

applicant is addressing (i.e., Goal 1, Goal 2, or both). The quad chart must 

contain a problem statement, the concept of the proposed project, the potential 

impact of the project, and key milestones and/or deliverables. The executive 

summary and the quad chart must not exceed one (1) page each. Any 

materials provided beyond the one (1) page limit for the executive summary and 

the one (1) page limit for the quad chart will be redacted and not provided to the 

reviewers.

(7) Technical Proposal. The Technical Proposal is a document of no more than 

twenty (20) pages total that is responsive to the goal(s) in the program 

description (see Section I. of this NOFO) and the Full Application evaluation 

criteria (see Section V.2. of this NOFO). The Technical Proposal must contain 

the following information:

(a) Project Description. This is a detailed description of the proposed project 

and should include:

i. A clear problem statement and well-defined objectives;

ii. A description of how the proposed R&D aligns with and meets the relevant 

goal(s) described in Section I. of this NOFO;
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iii. A technology assessment that reflects the current state of the technology and 

the projected state of the technology as a direct result of successful 

project completion;

iv. Technology-specific key performance indicators and goals, as well as 

measurement techniques;

v. Hardware platform(s) and software engine(s) to be used to achieve 

objectives;

vi. Drawings, renderings, or diagrams and an explicit description of standardsbased vs. non-standards-based interfaces, if applicable;

vii. Identification of anticipated outputs with a discussion of how the research and 

technology developed will be disseminated or made available; and

viii. Discussion of potential impacts to first responder communications and 

operations.

This section will be evaluated in accordance with the following three 

evaluation criteria: Technical, Performance, and Price (see Sections V.2.a.-c., 

of this NOFO). 

(b) Project Execution. This section should provide clear and quantifiable 

milestones, timelines, and outputs that support the goals in the technical 

proposal. Technology transfer activities should not be included in this section, 

but rather in the Project Description, Section IV.3.a.(7)(a)vii (Identification of 

anticipated outputs with a discussion of how the research and technology 

developed will be disseminated or made available).

This section will be evaluated in accordance with the Performance evaluation 

criteria (see Section V.2.b.) of this NOFO).

(c) Qualifications and Resources Availability. This section should provide a 

detailed description of the qualifications of key personnel, both technical and 

managerial, who will be assigned to work on the proposed project. In addition, 

the applicant’s experience with technology development and production 

should be described, as well as the applicant’s access to the necessary staff, 

equipment, facilities, and overall support and resources required to 

accomplish the proposed objectives. Examples of the applicant’s 

demonstrated success on projects that are similar in scope and magnitude to 

the proposed project should be included in this section, if applicable. In 

addition, the applicant’s plans to sustain and manage work related to or in 

support of the proposed project once the project is complete should be 

included. 

This section will be evaluated in accordance with the Performance evaluation 

criteria (see Section V.2.b.) of this NOFO.
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(8) Resume(s). Resumes are required for all key personnel, including the principal 

investigator. Resumes are limited to two (2) pages per individual and do not 

count toward the twenty (20) page limit. 

This section will be evaluated in accordance with the Performance evaluation 

criterion (see Section V.2.b. of this NOFO). 

(9) Budget Narrative. (This does not count toward the page limit). The Budget 

Narrative must provide a detailed breakdown of each of the object class 

categories as reflected on the SF-424A. The budget justification should address 

all the budget categories (personnel, fringe benefits, equipment, travel, supplies, 

other direct costs and indirect costs) for which Federal funds are requested. 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. Information 

needed for each category is as follows:

(a) Personnel. At a minimum, the budget justification for all personnel should 

include the following: name, 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 direct charges 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 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) Equipment. Equipment is defined as an item of property that has an 

acquisition cost of $5,000 or more (unless the organization has established 

lower levels) and an expected service life of more than one year. Any items 

that do not meet the threshold for equipment can be included under the 

supplies line item. The budget justification should list each piece of 

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.

(d) Travel. For travel costs required by the recipient to complete the project, the 

budget justification for travel should include the following: destination; names 

and number of people traveling; dates and/or duration; mode of 
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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.

As is described in Section I.E. of this NOFO, PSIAP-UI recipients will be 

required to send a minimum of one team member to the PSCR Public Safety 

Broadband Stakeholder Meetings each June during the term of the award to 

meet with stakeholders and present key plans and findings of their work to 

date. The meetings are typically three to four days in length, but the exact 

dates and location of future meetings have not been determined yet. The 

stakeholder’s meeting will be held in the continental United States.

In addition, PSCR encourages applicants to consider other academic, 

industry, and public safety forums to present their work. Applicants that 

propose such activities should address the potential impact in the technical

proposal.

Applicants should factor in the cost for attending these events in their budget 

narrative and SF424A form. 

(e) Supplies. 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) Contracts/Subawards. Each contract or subaward should be treated as a 

separate item. 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 goods and services. Subawardees perform part of 

the project scope of work. For each subaward, applicants must provide 

budget detail justifying the cost of the work performed on the project.

(g) Other Direct Costs. For costs that do not easily fit into the other cost 

categories, e.g., publishing fees or software distribution expenses, 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.

This section will be evaluated in accordance with the Price evaluation criterion

(see Section V.2.c. 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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(10) 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 the Department of Commerce 

Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions (https://go.usa.gov/xXRxK).

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 and budget narrative 

portion of the application.

(11) Letters of Commitment. Letters of commitment must be submitted by all 

funded and unfunded entities that will have an active role in executing the 

activities outlined in the technical proposal. Letters of commitment should 

address the level of participation, qualifications of the personnel who will be 

actively involved, and the potential impact on the field. Letters of commitment 

must be signed by an individual with sufficient authority to legally bind the 

organization to its commitment.

Letters of commitment will be evaluated in accordance with the Performance

evaluation criteria (see Section V.2.b. of this NOFO). Letters of commitment do

not count against the twenty (20) page limit of the technical proposal.

(a) Public Safety Organizations. All Full Applications must include at least one 

Letter of Commitment from a PSO. Letters of commitment from PSO partners 

must address the importance of the proposed work as well as potential impact 

for first responders and public safety in general. The letters of commitment 

must also include a detailed description of how the PSO will be actively 

engaged throughout the proposed project. For purposes of this NOFO, PSOs 

include U.S. federal, state, and local EMS, fire services, law enforcement, and 

public safety communications/911 centers. Please note that Federal entities 

are not eligible to receive funding under this NOFO, though they may 

participate as unfunded collaborators.

(12) Data Management Plan. Consistent with NIST Policy 5700.004, Managing 

Public Access to Results of Federally Funded Research, and NIST Order 

 

4http://www.nist.gov/data/upload/Final-P-5700.pdf
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5701.005, Managing Public Access to Results of Federally Funded Research, 

applicants must include a Data Management Plan (DMP).

The DMP is a supplementary document of not more than two pages that must 

include, at a minimum, a summary of proposed activities that are expected to 

generate data, a summary of the types of data expected to be generated by the 

identified activities, a plan for storage and maintenance of the data expected to 

be generated by the identified activities, and a plan describing whether and how 

data generated by the identified activities will be reviewed and made available to 

the public. As long as the DMP meets these NIST requirements, it may take the 

form specified by the applicant’s institution or some other entity (e.g., the 

National Science Foundation6 or the National Institutes of Health7).

All applications for activities that will generate scientific data using NIST funding 

are required to adhere to a DMP or explain why data sharing and preservation 

are not within the scope of the project.

For the purposes of the DMP, NIST adopted the definition of “research data” at 2 

C.F.R. § 200.315(e)(3) (available at http://go.usa.gov/3sZvQ).

Reasonable costs for data preservation and access may be included in the 

application.

The sufficiency of the DMP will be considered as part of the administrative review 

(see Section V.3.a. of this NOFO); however, the DMP will not be evaluated 

against any evaluation criteria.

b. Attachment of Required Documents for the Full Application

Items IV.3.a.(1) through IV.3.a.(5) above are part of the standard application package in 

Grants.gov and can be completed through the download application process. 

Items IV.3.a.(6) through IV.3.a.(12) must be completed and attached by clicking on 

“Add Attachments” found in item 15 of the SF-424, Application for Federal 

Assistance. This will create a zip file that allows for 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 using Grants.gov will receive a 

 

5http://www.nist.gov/data/upload/Final-O-5701_0.pdf

6http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/dmp.jsp

7http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing/data_sharing_guidance.htm
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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 the Grants.gov Download Submitted Applications 

option to check that their application’s required attachments were contained in their 

submission. 

After submitting the application, follow the directions found in the grants.gov Online 

Users Guide (http://go.usa.gov/cjaEh). Click first on Applicants; then click on Applicant 

Actions; go then to the “Check My Application Status” option, and choose Download 

Submitted Applications.

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. 

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. Full Application Format

(1) Paper, E-mail 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 landscape orientation.

(3) Font. Easy to read font (12-point minimum). Smaller type may be used in figures 

and tables but must be clearly legible.

(4) Page Limit. The Full Application Executive Summary is limited to one (1) page; 

the Full Application Quad Chart is limited to one (1) page; and the Full 

Application Technical Proposal is limited to twenty (20) pages.

(5) Page Limit Excludes: SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance; SF-424A, 

Budget Information – Non-Construction Programs; SF-424B, Assurances – NonConstruction Programs; CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying; SF-LLL, 

Disclosure of Lobbying Activities; Resumes of key personnel (although resumes 

are limited to two (2) pages per individual); Budget Narrative; Indirect Cost Rate 

Agreement, Letters of Commitment; and the Data Management Plan.

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

d. Application Replacement Pages. Applicants may not submit replacement pages 

and/or missing documents once an application has been submitted. Revisions can 

only be made by submitting a complete new application that is received by NIST 

before the submission deadline.

e. Pre-Applications. NIST is requiring Pre-Applications under this NOFO (see Section 

IV.2.) 

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.

4. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

Pursuant to 2 C.F.R. part 25, applicants and recipients (as the case may be) 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.

5. Submission Dates and Times

Required Pre-Applications must be received electronically through Grants.gov no later 

than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, Friday, December 29, 2017. Pre-Applications received 

after this date will not be reviewed or considered. NIST will consider the date and time 

recorded by www.grants.gov as the official submission time. Assessment of PreApplications, selection, and notification to applicants is expected to be complete on or 

about January 26, 2018. Selected applicants will then be invited to submit a Full 

Application. Full Applications must be received electronically through Grants.gov no 

later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, Tuesday, March 27, 2018. Applications received 

after this deadline will not be reviewed or considered. 

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

Pre- and Full Applications, that the Grants.gov system is expected to be closed for 
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routine maintenance from 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time, Saturday, November 18, 2017 

until Monday, November 20, 2017 at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time; and from 12:01 a.m. 

Eastern Time, Saturday, December 16, 2017 until Monday, December 18, 2017 at 6:00 

a.m. Eastern Time; and again from 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time, Saturday, February 17, 

2018 until Tuesday, February 20, 2018 at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time; and also from 12:01 

a.m. Eastern Time, Saturday, March 17, 2018 until Monday, March 19, 2018 at 6:00 

a.m. Eastern Time. Pre- and Full Applications cannot be submitted when 

Grants.gov is closed.

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

processing by May 2018. NIST expects the earliest start date for awards under this 

NOFO to be June 1, 2018.

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

are required to have a current registration in the electronic System for Award 

Management (SAM.gov); (2) the free annual registration process in the SAM.gov (see

Sections IV.4. and IV.8.a.(1).(b). of this NOFO) often takes between three and five 

business days and may take as long as two weeks; (3) applicants are required to have 

a current registration in Grants.gov; and (4) applicants using Grants.gov will receive email 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 http://www.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.

6. Intergovernmental Review

Applications under this Program are not subject to Executive Order 12372.

7. Funding Restrictions

Applications for product development and/or commercialization are not considered 

responsive to this NOFO. Profit or fee is not an allowable cost.

8. Other Submission Requirements

a. Pre-Applications and Full Applications must be submitted electronically.

(1) Applications must be submitted via Grants.gov at www.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 2018-NIST-PSIAP-UI
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announcement, contact Christopher Hunton by phone at 301-975-5718 or by 

e-mail at grants@nist.gov.

(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. If 

all goes well, the registration process takes three to five business days. If 

problems are encountered, the registration process can take up to 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.4. 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, with the exception of Federal holidays. Help Desk service 

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 on submitting an application on Grants.gov, Applicants 

should refer to the “Applicants” tab in the banner just below the top of the 

www.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. Closely following the detailed information in these 

subcategories will increase the likelihood of acceptance of the application by the 

Federal agency’s electronic system.

Applicants should pay close attention to the guidance under “Applicant FAQs,” as it 

contains information important to successful submission on Grants.gov, including 

essential details on the naming conventions for attachments to Grants.gov 

applications.
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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 

date.

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 know whether the application was rejected with errors and 

the reasons why, 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.5. Submission Dates and Times, to help 

ensure the application is received on time.

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 

or may request copies by e-mail from pscr@nist.gov.

V. Application Review Information

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, Federal agents and contractors, and/or by nonFederal personnel who have entered into nondisclosure agreements covering such 

information, when applicable.

1. Pre-Application Evaluation Criteria

Pre-Applications will be reviewed by an Evaluation Panel according to the criteria listed 

below. Reviewers will not use specific numerical weights, but will generally consider the 

Technical criterion as the most important factor, followed by Performance, and then 

Price. 

a. Technical 

(1) Strategic alignment: Reviewers will evaluate:

(a) The extent to which the proposed R&D meets the objectives listed in the 

Program Description (see Section I. of this NOFO). 

(b) The breadth of the responsiveness to the topic area goals.
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(c) The likelihood that successful implementation of the proposed solution will 

have a significant real-world impact. 

b. Performance

(1) Qualifications and Resources Availability: Reviewers will evaluate:

(a) The relevance of the qualifications and experience of the key staff, 

leadership, and technical experts.

(b) The extent of the applicant’s prior experience and the quality of the results 

achieved in leading programs similar in nature to the purpose, scope, and/or 

work activities as those described in Section I. of this NOFO.

(2) Public Safety Mission: Reviewers will evaluate the extent of the Applicant’s 

demonstrated knowledge of public safety requirements, missions, operations, 

and tasks.

c. Price

(1) Budget Estimate: Reviewers will evaluate the appropriateness and costeffectiveness of the proposed estimated budget with respect to carrying out the 

work and objectives, including:

(a) Whether the estimated cost is generally appropriate for the work to be 

performed, evaluated per year for the entire project period.

(b) The degree to which the estimated budget reflects a clear understanding of 

the objectives and requirements of the NOFO.

2. Full Application Evaluation Criteria

The evaluation criteria that will be used in evaluating for Full Applications are listed 

below.

a. Technical (10 points)

(1) Strategic alignment: Reviewers will evaluate:

(a) The extent to which the proposed R&D meets the objectives listed in the 

Program Description (see Section I. of this NOFO). 

(b) The breadth of the responsiveness to the topic area goals.

(c) The likelihood that successful implementation of the proposed solution will 

have a significant real-world impact.

(2) Market: Reviewers will evaluate:

(a) The extent to which the proposed solution would easily integrate with existing 

hardware and software platforms.

(b) The likelihood that the technology or research outcomes could achieve 

widespread adoption in the marketplace.
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b. Performance (10 points)

(1) Qualifications and Resources Availability: Reviews will evaluate:

(a) The appropriateness of the qualifications and experience of the key staff, 

leadership, and technical experts.

(b) The extent of the applicant’s prior experience and results achieved in leading 

programs similar in nature to the purpose, scope, and/or work activities as 

those described in Section I. of this NOFO.

(c) The sufficiency, availability, and appropriateness of proposed facilities and 

resources.

(d) Letters of commitment for the appropriateness of the partnership to PSIAP-UI, 

the relevance of the organization’s expertise, and their ability to contribute to 

the project. 

(2) Project Execution: Reviewers will evaluate the feasibility and appropriateness 

of the milestones, timelines, and budgeted costs with respect to executing the 

proposed project and meeting the stated objectives.

(3) Public Safety Mission: Reviewers will evaluate:

(a) Applicant’s demonstrated knowledge of public safety requirements, missions, 

operations, and tasks.

(b) The extent of PSO engagement as expressed through letters of commitment 

from PSOs.

c. Price (10 points)

(1) Budget Narrative: Reviewers will evaluate:

(a) The appropriateness and cost-effectiveness of the budget regarding the 

proposed work to be performed, per year for the entire project.

(b) The degree to which the Budget reflects a clear understanding of the 

objectives and requirements of the NOFO.

3. Selection Factors

The Selecting Official, the Chief of the PSCR Division, will select Full Applications for 

award as described in Section V.4.b.(4) of this NOFO.

The selection factors for Full Applications are

a. The results of the merit reviewers’ evaluations.

b. Adjectival ratings.

c. The availability of funding.

d. Whether the project duplicates other projects funded by NIST or other Government 

entities.

e. Alignment with NOFO objectives and PSCR priorities.

f. Diversity within the PSCR R&D portfolio.

g. Regional diversity.
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4. 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 

nondisclosure agreements covering such information, when applicable.

a. Pre-Applications

(1) Initial Administrative Review

An initial review of timely received Pre-Applications will be conducted to 

determine eligibility, completeness, and responsiveness to this NOFO (see

Section I. of this NOFO). Any Pre-Application determined to be ineligible, 

incomplete, and/or non-responsive may be eliminated from further review. 

However, NIST, in its sole discretion, may continue the review process for a PreApplication that is missing non-substantive information which may easily be 

rectified or cured in a Full Application.

(2) Review Selection of Applicants to Submit Full Applications. 

Pre-Applications that are determined to be eligible, complete, and responsive will 

be reviewed by an Evaluation Panel composed of three (3) or more independent, 

objective Federal employees with relevant professional and technical expertise, 

who are knowledgeable in the subject matter of this NOFO. The Evaluation Panel

will use the evaluation criteria in Section V.1. for reviewing the Pre-Applications.

Reviewers will not use specific numerical weights, but will generally consider the 

Technical criterion as the most important factor, followed by Performance, and 

then Price. The Evaluation Panel will discuss their individual reviews and conduct 

a final “yes or no” vote based on the evaluation criteria and the following 

standard: “Whether the Pre-Application provides sufficient evidence that the 

proposed project and applicant have a reasonable chance of meeting the Goal(s) 

and objectives identified in this NOFO and the likelihood that the success of that 

project will make a positive impact on the public safety community.” Applicants 

whose Pre-Applications receive “yes” votes from a majority of the Evaluation 

Panel will be invited to submit a Full Application.

b. Full Applications

(1) Initial Administrative Review of Full Applications.

An initial review of timely received Full Applications will be conducted to 

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

scope of the stated program objectives. Full 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 
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for a Full Application that is missing non-substantive information, the absence of 

which may easily be rectified during the review process.

(2) Merit Review and Ranking. 

At least three (3) objective reviewers, who may be Federal employees or nonFederal personnel, with appropriate professional and technical expertise relating 

to the topics covered in this NOFO, will evaluate and score each eligible, 

complete, and responsive Full Application based on the evaluation criteria (see

Section V.2. of this NOFO). While every Full Application will have at least three 

reviews, Full Applications may have more than three (3) reviewers if specialized 

expertise is needed to evaluate a Full Application. During the review process, the 

reviewers may discuss the Full Applications with each other, but scores and 

narrative comments will be determined on an individual basis. Reviewers may 

consult as a panel with Federal or non-Federal subject-matter experts to seek 

clarification or explanation of specific issues identified during the initial review 

process. 

Once the merit reviews have concluded, each Full Application score will be 

weighted as follows: the Technical score will be multiplied by 4, the Performance 

score will be multiplied by 4, and the Price score will be multiplied by 2; therefore, 

the maximum weighted score for each application will be 100 points. The 

weighted scores for each Full Application will then be averaged to determine each 

Full Application’s average weighted score. The average weighted scores will then 

be converted into a ranked list of Full Applications, which will be sent to the 

Evaluation Panel for further review. 

(3) Evaluation Panel. Following the merit review, a Programmatic Evaluation Panel, 

consisting of at least three (3) persons comprised of any mix of NIST staff and 

other Federal employees with appropriate professional and technical expertise,

will conduct a programmatic review of the ranked applications. For the purpose of 

clarifying information in an application, the Evaluation Panel may ask questions of 

applicants in writing and/or may require teleconferences with all applicants. The 

Evaluation Panel will prepare written evaluations and provide a final adjectival 

rating of the applications to the Selecting Official (see Section V.3. of this NOFO) 

for further consideration, taking into consideration the following information:

i. All application materials; 

ii. Results of the merit reviewers’ evaluations;

iii. Any clarifying information obtained through written questions or 

teleconferences with the applicants; and

iv. Any relevant publicly available information.

The adjectival ratings are: 
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Fundable, Outstanding;

Fundable, Very Good; 

Fundable; or

Unfundable. 

For decision-making purposes, applications receiving the same adjectival rating 

will be considered to have an equivalent ranking, although their review scores 

may not necessarily be the same. 

(4) Recommendation and Selection. 

The Selecting Official, Chief of the PSCR Division, will make final award 

recommendations to the NIST Grants Officer. The Selecting Official will generally 

select and recommend the most meritorious applications for award based on the 

final adjectival ratings prepared by the Evaluation Panel and one or more of the 

seven (7) selection factors described in Section V.3. of this NOFO. The Selecting 

Official retains the discretion to select and recommend an application out of rating

order (i.e., from a lower adjectival category) based on one or more of the selection 

factors.

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, 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 particular application. NIST may request that applicants rated fundable or 

higher work together in a combined project if this approach might effectively 

advance the program mission. The final approval of selected applications and 

issuance of awards 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 $150,000), NIST GMD will 

review and consider the publicly available information about that applicant in the 
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Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS). An 

applicant may, at its option, 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 special conditions that correspond to the 

degree of risk posed by the applicant should be applied to an award.

5. Anticipated Announcement and Award Date

Review of Full Applications, selection of successful applicants, and award processing is 

expected to be completed by May 2018. The earliest start date for awards under this 

NOFO is expected to be June 1, 2018.

6. 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 safety-conscious, to attend 

NIST safety training, and to comply with all NIST 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.

c. Retention of Unsuccessful Applications. All electronic applications, whether 

successful or unsuccessful, are retained in the NIST Grants Management and 

Information System for at least three years.

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.
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b. Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and 

Conditions. The Department of Commerce will apply the Financial Assistance 

Standard Terms and Conditions dated March 31, 2017, accessible at

https://go.usa.gov/xXRxK, to this award. 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, if you need more information.

d. Funding Availability and Limitation of Liability. NIST is funding the program 

listed in this NOFO from the proceeds of the Public Safety Communications and 

Electromagnetic Spectrum Auction conducted pursuant to Title VI of the Middle 

Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Pub. L. 112-96 (Feb. 22, 2012). 

However, NIST issues this notice subject to the appropriations made available under 

the current continuing resolution funding the Department of Commerce, Division D of 

Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 and Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster 

Relief Requirements Act, 2017, Public Law 115-56, September 8, 2017. NIST 

anticipates making awards for the program listed in this notice provided that funding 

for Fiscal Year 2018 is continued beyond December 8, 2017, the expiration of the 

current continuing resolution. 

In no event will NIST or the Department of Commerce be responsible for proposal 

preparation costs if these programs fail to receive funding or are cancelled because 

of agency priorities. Publication of this announcement 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 NIST Intellectual Property. If the applicant anticipates using any NISTowned intellectual property to carry out the work proposed, the applicant should 
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identify such intellectual property. This information will be used to ensure that no 

NIST 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 NIST-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 of the Department of Commerce Financial 

Assistance Terms and Conditions dated March 31, 2017, accessible at 

https://go.usa.gov/xXRxK.

Any use of NIST-owned intellectual property by a recipient of an award under this 

announcement is at the sole discretion of NIST and will be negotiated on a case-bycase 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 NIST 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 NIST's 

rights in such inventions will be determined solely by NIST, and include the 

possibility of NIST putting the intellectual property into the public domain.

g. Research Activities Involving Human Subjects, Human Tissue, Data or 

Recordings Involving Human Subjects Including Software Testing. Any 

application that includes research activities involving human subjects, human 

tissue/cells, or data or recordings from or about human subjects, must satisfy the 

requirements of the Common Rule for the Protection of Human Subjects (“Common 

Rule”), codified for the Department of Commerce at 15 C.F.R. Part 27. Research 

activities involving human subjects that fall within one or more of the classes of 

vulnerable subjects found in 45 C.F.R. Part 46, Subparts B, C and D must satisfy the 

requirements of the applicable subpart(s). In addition, any such application that 

includes research activities on these subjects must be in compliance with all 

applicable statutory requirements imposed upon the Department of Health and 

Human Services (DHHS) and other Federal agencies, all regulations, policies and 

guidance adopted by DHHS, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and other 

Federal agencies on these topics, and all Executive Orders and Presidential 

statements of policy on applicable topics. (Regulatory Resources: 

http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/index.html which includes links to FDA 

regulations, but may not include all applicable regulations and policies).

NIST uses the following Common Rule definitions for research and human subjects 

research:

Research: A systematic investigation, including research development, testing and 

evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. Activities 
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which meet this definition constitute research for purposes of this policy, whether or 

not they are conducted or supported under a program which is considered research 

for other purposes. For example, some demonstration and service programs may 

include research activities.

Human Subject: A living individual about whom an investigator (whether professional 

or student) conducting research obtains data through intervention or interaction with 

the individual or identifiable private information. 

(1) Intervention includes both physical procedures by which data are gathered 

and manipulations of the subject or the subject's environment that are 

performed for research purposes. 

(2) Interaction includes communication or interpersonal contact between 

investigator and subject. 

(3) Private information includes information about behavior that occurs in a 

context in which an individual can reasonably expect that no observation or 

recording is taking place, and information which has been provided for 

specific purposes by an individual and which the individual can reasonably 

expect will not be made public (for example, a medical record). Private 

information must be individually identifiable (i.e., the identity of the subject is 

or may readily be ascertained by the investigator associated with the 

information) in order for obtaining the information to constitute research 

involving human subjects. 

See 15 C.F.R. § 27.102 (Definitions). 

1. Requirement for Federalwide Assurance. If the application is accepted for [or 

awarded] funding, organizations that have an Institutional Review Board (IRB) 

are required to follow the procedures of their organization for approval of exempt 

and non-exempt research activities that involve human subjects. Both domestic 

and foreign organizations performing non-exempt research activities involving 

human subjects will be required to have protocols approved by a cognizant, 

active IRB currently registered with the Office for Human Research Protections 

(OHRP) within the DHHS that is linked to the engaged organizations. All 

engaged organizations must possess a currently valid Federalwide Assurance 

(FWA) on file from OHRP. Information regarding how to apply for an FWA and 

register an IRB with OHRP can be found at 

http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/assurances/index.html. NIST relies only on OHRPissued FWAs and IRB Registrations for both domestic and foreign organizations 

for NIST supported research involving human subjects. NIST will not issue its 

own FWAs or IRB Registrations for domestic or foreign organizations. 
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2. Administrative Review. The NIST Human Subjects Protection Office (HSPO) 

reserves the right to conduct an administrative review8 of all applications that 

potentially include research involving human subjects and were approved by an 

authorized non-NIST institutional entity (an IRB or entity analogous to the NIST 

HSPO) under 15 C.F.R. § 27.112 (Review by Institution). If the NIST HSPO 

determines that an application includes research activities that potentially involve 

human subjects, the applicant will be required to provide additional information to 

NIST for review and approval. The documents required for funded proposals are 

listed in each section below. Most documents will need to be produced during the 

proposal review process; however, the Grants Officer may allow final versions of 

certain required documents to be produced at an appropriate designated time 

post-award. Research involving human subjects may not start until the NIST 

Grants Officer issues an award explicitly authorizing such research. In addition, 

all amendments, modifications, or changes to approved research and requests 

for continuing review and closure will be reviewed by the NIST HSPO. 

3. Required documents for proposal review. All applications involving human 

subject research must clearly indicate, by separable task, all research 

activities believed to be exempt or non-exempt research involving human 

subjects, the expected institution(s) where the research activities involving 

human subjects may be conducted, and the institution(s) expected to be 

engaged in the research activities.

a. Not research determination. If an activity/task involves human subjects as 

defined in the Common Rule, but the applicant participant(s) indicates to 

NIST that the activity/task is not research as defined in the Common Rule, the 

following information may be requested for that activity/task:

(1) Justification, including the rationale for the determination and such 

additional documentation as may be deemed necessary by NIST to review 

and/or support a determination that the activity/task in the application is 

not research as defined in the Common Rule. 

(2) If the applicant participant(s) used a cognizant IRB that provided a 

determination that the activity/task is not research, a copy of that 

determination documentation must be provided to NIST. The applicant 

 

8 Conducting an “administrative review” means that the NIST HSPO will review and verify the performing 

institution’s determination for research not involving human subjects or exempt human subjects research. 

In addition, for non-exempt human subjects research, the NIST HSPO will review and confirm that the 

research and performing institution(s) are in compliance with 15 C.F.R. Part 27, which means HSPO will 

1) confirm the engaged institution(s) possess, or are covered under a Federalwide Assurance, 2) review 

the research study documentation submitted to the IRB and verify the IRB’s determination of level of risk 

and approval of the study for compliance with 15 C.F.R. Part 27, 3) review and verify IRB-approved 

substantive changes to an approved research study before the changes are implemented, and 4) review 

and verify that the IRB conducts an appropriate continuing review at least annually.
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participant(s) is not required to establish a relationship with a cognizant 

IRB if they do not have one.

NIST will review the information submitted and may coordinate further with the 

applicant before determining whether the activity/task will be defined as research 

under the Common Rule in the applicable NIST financial assistance program or 

project.

b. Research not involving human subjects. If an activity/task is determined to 

be research and involves human subjects, but is determined to be not human 

subjects research (or research not involving human subjects) under the 

Common Rule, the following information may be requested for that 

activity/task:

(1) Justification, including the rationale for the determination and such 

additional documentation as may be deemed necessary by NIST to review 

and/or support a determination that the activity/task in the application is 

not research as defined in the Common Rule. 

(2) If the applicant participant(s) used a cognizant IRB that provided a 

determination that the activity/task is research not involving human 

subjects, a copy of that determination documentation must be provided to 

NIST. The applicant participant(s) is not required to establish a 

relationship with a cognizant IRB if they do not have one.

c. Exempt research determination with no IRB. If the application appears to 

NIST to include exempt research activities, and the performer of the activity or 

the supplier and/or the receiver of the biological materials or data from human 

subjects does not have a cognizant IRB to provide an exemption 

determination, the following information may be requested during the review 

process so that NIST can evaluate whether an exemption under the Common 

Rule applies (see 15 C.F.R. § 27.101(b), (c) and (d)):

(1) The name(s) of the institution(s) where the exempt research will be 

conducted.

(2) The name(s) of the institution(s) providing the biological materials or data 

from human subjects.

(3) A copy of the protocol for the research to be conducted; and/or the 

biological materials or data from human subjects to be collected/provided, 

not pre-existing samples (i.e., will proposed research collect only 

information without personal identifiable information, will biological 

materials or data be de-identified and when and by whom was the deidentification performed, how were the materials or data originally 

collected).
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(4) For pre-existing biological materials or data from human subjects, provide 

copies of the consent forms used for collection and a description of how 

the materials or data were originally collected and stripped of personal 

identifiers. If copies of consent forms are not available, explain.

(5) Any additional clarifying documentation that NIST may deem necessary in 

order to make a determination whether the activity/task or use of biological 

materials or data from human subjects is exempt under the Common 

Rule.

d. Research review with an IRB. If the application appears to NIST to include 

research activities (exempt or non-exempt) involving human subjects, and the 

proposed performer of the activity has a cognizant IRB registered with OHRP, 

and linked to their Federalwide Assurance, the following information may be 

requested during the review process:

(1) The name(s) of the institution(s) where the research will be conducted.

(2) The name(s) and institution(s) of the cognizant IRB(s), and the IRB 

registration number(s).

(3) The FWA number of the applicant linked to the cognizant IRB(s);

(4) The FWAs associated with all organizations engaged in the planned 

research activity/task, linked to the cognizant IRB.

(5) If the IRB review(s) is pending, the estimated start date for research 

involving human subjects.

(6) The IRB approval date (if currently approved for exempt or non-exempt 

research).

(7) If any of the engaged organizations has applied for or will apply for an 

FWA or IRB registration, those details should be clearly provided for each 

engaged organization.

If the application includes research activities involving human subjects to be 

performed in the first year of an award, additional documentation may be 

requested by NIST during pre-award review for those performers, and may 

include the following for those research activities: 

(1) A signed (by the study principal investigator) copy of each applicable final 

IRB-approved protocol.

(2) A signed and dated approval letter from the cognizant IRB(s) that includes 

the name of the institution housing each applicable IRB, provides the start 

and end dates for the approval of the research activities, and any IRBrequired interim reporting or continuing review requirements.

(3) A copy of any IRB-required application information, such as 

documentation of approval of special clearances (i.e., biohazard, HIPAA, 

etc.) conflict-of-interest letters, or special training requirements.
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(4) A brief description of what portions of the IRB submitted protocol are 

specifically included in the application submitted to NIST, if the protocol 

includes tasks not included in the application, or if the protocol is 

supported by multiple funding sources. For protocols with multiple funding 

sources, NIST will not approve the study without a non-duplication-offunding letter indicating that no other federal funds will be used to support 

the tasks proposed under the proposed research or ongoing project

(5) If a new protocol will only be submitted to an IRB if an award from NIST is 

issued, a draft of the proposed protocol.

(6) Any additional clarifying documentation that NIST may request during the 

review process to perform the NIST administrative review of research 

involving human subjects. (See 15 C.F.R. § 27.112 (Review by 

Institution)).

This clause reflects the existing NIST policy and requirements for Research Involving 

Human Subjects. Should the policy be revised prior to award, a clause reflecting the 

policy current at time of award may be incorporated into the award.

If the policy is revised after award, a clause reflecting the updated policy may be 

incorporated into the award.

For more information regarding research projects involving human subjects, contact 

Anne Andrews, Director, NIST Human Subjects Protection Office (e-mail: 

anne.andrews@nist.gov; phone: (301) 975-5445).

h. Research Activities Involving Live Vertebrate Animals or Pre-Existing Cell 

Lines/Tissues From Vertebrate Animals. Any application that proposes research 

activities involving live vertebrate animals that are to be cared for, euthanized, or 

used by award recipients to accomplish research goals, teaching, or testing must 

meet the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) (7 U.S.C. § 2131 et seq.), 

and the AWA final rules (9 C.F.R. Parts 1, 2, and 3), and if appropriate, the Good 

Laboratory Practice for Nonclinical Laboratory Studies (21 C.F.R. Part 58). In 

addition, such research activities should be in compliance with the “U.S. 

Government Principles for Utilization and Care of Vertebrate Animals Used in 

Testing, Research, and Training” (Principles). The Principles and guidance on these 

Principles are available in the National Research Council's “Guide for the Care and 

Use of Laboratory Animals,'' which can be obtained from National Academy Press, 

500 5th Street, N.W., Department 285, Washington, DC 20055, or as a free PDF 

online at http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12910/guide-for-the-care-and-use-oflaboratory-animals-eighth. 
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1. Administrative Review. NIST reserves the right to conduct an administrative 

review9 of all applications that potentially include research activities that 

involve live vertebrate animals, or custom samples from, or field studies with 

live vertebrate animals. If the application includes research activities, field 

studies, or custom samples involving live vertebrate animals, the applicant will 

be required to provide additional information for review and approval. In 

addition, NIST will verify the applicant’s determination(s) of excluded samples 

from vertebrate animals. The documents required for funded proposals are 

listed in each section below. Some may be requested for a pre-review during 

the proposal review process; however, the Grants Officer may allow final 

versions of certain required documents to be produced at an appropriate 

designated time post-award. If an award is issued, no research activities 

involving live vertebrate animals shall be initiated or costs incurred for those 

activities under the award until the NIST Grants Officer issues written 

approval. In addition, all re-approvals, amendments, modifications, changes, 

annual reports and closure will be reviewed by NIST. 

2. Required documents for NIST proposal review. The applicant should 

clearly indicate in the application, by separable task, all research 

activities believed to include research involving live vertebrate animals 

and the institution(s) where the research activities involving live 

vertebrate animals may be conducted. In addition, the applicant should 

indicate any activity/task that involves an excluded or custom collection 

from vertebrate animals, or a field study with animals.

a. Excluded Collections from Vertebrate Animals: The requirements for 

review and approval by an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee 

(IACUC) do not apply to proposed research using preexisting images of 

animals or to research plans that do not include live animals. These 

regulations also do not apply to obtaining stock or pre-existing items from 

animal material suppliers (e.g., tissue banks), such as pre-existing cell 

lines and tissue samples, or from commercial food processors, where the 

vertebrate animal was euthanized for food purposes and not for the 

purpose of sample collection.

 

9 Conducting an “administrative review” means that the NIST HSPO will review and verify the performing 

institution’s IACUC’s approval of research with live vertebrate animals, and confirm that the research and 

performing institution(s) have an appropriate assurance and are in compliance with applicable 

regulations. HSPO will 1) confirm the engaged institution(s) possess, or are covered under an applicable 

assurance, 2) review the research study documentation submitted to the IACUC and verify the IACUC’s 

determination of level of risk and approval of the study for compliance with applicable regulations, 3) 

review and verify IACUC-approved substantive changes to an approved research study before the 

changes are implemented, and 4) review and verify that the IACUC receives an annual report for the 

study and conducts an appropriate continuing review at least every three years.
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For pre-existing cell lines and tissue samples originating from vertebrate 

animals, NIST requires that the proposer provide documentation or the 

rationale for the determination that the cell line or tissue is pre-existing and 

not a custom collection from live vertebrate animals for an activity/task 

within the proposal. NIST may require additional documentation to review 

and/or support the determination that the cells and/or tissues from 

vertebrate animals are excluded from IACUC review.

b. Custom Collections Harvested from Live Vertebrate Animals: NIST 

requires documentation for obtaining custom samples from live vertebrate 

animals from animal material suppliers and other organizations (i.e.,

universities, companies, and government laboratories, etc.). A custom 

sample includes samples from animal material suppliers, such as when a 

catalog item indicates that the researcher is to specify the characteristics of 

the live vertebrate animal to be used, or how a sample is to be collected 

from the live vertebrate animal. 

c. Field Studies of Animals: Some field studies of animals may be exempt 

under the Animal Welfare Act from full review and approval by an animal 

care and use committee, as determined by each institution. Field study is 

defined as “... a study conducted on free-living wild animals in their natural 

habitat...”. 9 C.F.R. § 1.1. However, this term excludes any study that 

involves an invasive procedure or that harms or materially alters the 

behavior of an animal under study. Field studies, with or without invasive 

procedures, may also require obtaining appropriate federal or local 

government permits (marine mammals, endangered species, etc.). If the 

applicant’s institution requires review and approval by an animal care and 

use committee, NIST will require that documentation to be provided as 

described below.

d. For custom collections or studies with live vertebrate animals that 

require review and approval by an animal care and use committee the 

following documentation is required:

(1) Requirement for Assurance. An applicable assurance for the care 

and use of the live vertebrate animal(s) to be used in the proposed 

research is required. NIST may request documentation to confirm an 

assurance, if adequate confirmation is not available through an 

assuring organization’s website. The cognizant IACUC where the 

research activity is located may hold one or more assurances 

applicable to the research activity that are acceptable to NIST. These 

three assurances are:
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i. Animal Welfare Assurance from the Office of Laboratory Animal 

Welfare (OLAW) indicated by the OLAW assurance number,

i.e., A-1234; 

ii. USDA Animal Welfare Act certification indicated by the 

certification number, i.e., 12-R-3456; 

iii. Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory 

Animal Care (AAALAC) indicated by providing the organization 

name accredited by AAALAC as listed in the AAALAC Directory 

of Accredited Organizations. 

(2) Documentation of Research Review by an IACUC: If the applicant’s 

application appears to include research activities, field studies, or 

custom sample collections involving live vertebrate animals the 

following information regarding review by an applicable IACUC may be 

requested during the application review process:

1. The name(s) of the institution(s) where the research involving live 

vertebrate animals will be conducted and/or custom samples 

collected.

2. The assurance type and number, as applicable, for the cognizant 

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) where the 

research activity is located. [For example: Animal Welfare 

Assurance from the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) 

should be indicated by the OLAW assurance number, i.e. A-1234; 

an USDA Animal Welfare Act certification should be indicated by the 

certification number i.e. 12-R-3456; and an Association for the 

Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) 

should be indicated by AAALAC.]

3. The IACUC approval date for the Animal Study Protocol (ASP) (if 

currently approved).

4. If the review by the cognizant IACUC is pending, the estimated start 

date for research involving vertebrate animals.

5. If any assurances or IACUCs need to be obtained or established, 

that should be clearly stated.

6. If any special permits are required for field studies, those details 

should be clearly provided for each instance, or indicated as 

pending.

If the application includes research activities involving vertebrate animals to 

be performed in the first year of an award, additional documentation may be 

requested by NIST during pre-award review for those performers, and may 

include the following for those research activities, which may also include field 

studies, custom sample collections involving live vertebrate animals:
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1. A signed (by the Principal Investigator) copy of the IACUC approved 

ASP.

2. Documentation of the IACUC approval indicating the approval and 

expiration dates of the ASP.

3. If applicable, a non-duplication-of-funding letter if the ASP is funded 

from several sources.

4. If a new ASP will only be submitted to an IACUC if an award from 

NIST is issued, a draft of the proposed ASP may be requested.

5. Any additional clarifying documentation that NIST may request 

during review of applications to perform the NIST administrative 

review of research involving live vertebrate animals.

This clause reflects the existing NIST policy for Research Involving Live 

Vertebrate Animals. Should the policy be revised prior to award, a clause 

reflecting the policy current at time of award may be incorporated into the award.

If the policy is revised after award, a clause reflecting the updated policy may be 

incorporated into the award.

For more information regarding research projects involving live vertebrate 

animals, contact Linda Beth Schilling, Senior Analyst (e-mail: 

linda.schilling@nist.gov; phone: (301) 975-2887).

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 March 31, 2017

(http://go.usa.gov/xXRxK) 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 quarterly basis for the periods ending March 31, 

June 30, September 30, and December 31 of each year. Reports will be due 

within 30 days after the end of the reporting period to the NIST 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) Performance (Technical) Reports. Each award recipient will be required to 

submit a technical progress report to the NIST Grants Officer and the NIST 

Federal Program Officer on a quarterly basis for the periods ending March 31, 

June 30, September 30, and December 31 of each year. Technical progress 

reports shall contain information as prescribed in 2 C.F.R. § 200.328 

(http://go.usa.gov/xkVgP) and Department of Commerce Standard Terms and 

Conditions, Section A.01 (https://go.usa.gov/xXRxK). Reports will be due within 

30 days after the end of the reporting period. A final technical report shall be 
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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. If a recipient’s Data Management Plan (DMP) 

has changed since their last submission of a technical progress report, the 

recipient must include their revised DMP in the next technical progress report 

following the revision to the DMP. The revised DMP must include all the 

requirements described in Section IV.3.a.(12) of this NOFO.

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

Administrative and National Policy 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 

certain civil, criminal, or administrative proceedings involving the recipient.

b. Audit Requirements. 2 C.F.R. Subpart F, adopted by the Department of Commerce 

through 2 C.F.R. § 1327.101 requires any non-Federal entity (i.e., including nonprofit institutions of higher education and other 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. 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 (Pub. L. 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.
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4. Award Management and Public Engagement

Publication and Technology Transfer. Each award recipient is expected to present the 

results of their work in appropriate professional literature and conferences in order to 

make the findings broadly available. Data supporting any findings or conclusions shall 

be made available in a manner consistent with the Data Management Plan. 

VII. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts

Questions should be directed to the following:

Subject Area Point of Contact

Programmatic and Technical Questions E-mail: pscr@nist.gov

Technical Assistance with Grants.gov 

Submissions

Christopher Hunton

Phone: 301-975-5718

Fax: 301-975-6368

E-mail: grants@nist.gov

Or

www.grants.gov

Phone: 800-518-4726

E-mail: support@grants.gov

Grant Rules and Regulations Scott McNichol

Phone: 303-497-3444

Fax: 303-497-5470

E-mail: scott.mcnichol@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, Federal agents and contractors, and/or by non-Federal personnel, 
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all of whom enter into appropriate conflicts of interest and nondisclosure 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. In the event that 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.

2. Public Website, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS) and Webinar

NIST PSCR has a public website (https://www.nist.gov/ctl/pscr) that provides 

information pertaining to this Funding Opportunity10. NIST anticipates that a “Frequently 

Asked Questions” section or other resource materials will be maintained and updated 

on the website as needed to provide additional guidance and clarifying information that 

may arise related to this Funding Opportunity. Any amendments to this NOFO will be 

announced through Grants.gov.

Applicants must submit all questions pertaining to this funding opportunity in writing to

pscr@nist.gov. Questions submitted to NIST may be posted on 

https://www.nist.gov/ctl/pscr. Alternatively, applicants may ask questions during the 

informational public webinar as described in the next paragraph.

NIST will host a webinar to provide general information regarding this NOFO, offer 

general guidance on preparing applications, and answer questions. Scheduling details 

about the webinar will be available at www.nist.gov/ctl/pscr. Proprietary technical 

discussions about specific project ideas will not be permitted and NIST staff will not 

 

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

Questions, if this link is no longer working or more information is needed.
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critique or provide feedback on specific project ideas while the competition is in 

progress. However, questions about the PSIAP-UI, eligibility requirements, evaluation 

and award criteria, selection process, and the general characteristics of a competitive 

application can be addressed at the webinar and by e-mail to pscr@nist.gov as 

described in the previous paragraph. There is no cost to attend the webinar, but 

participants must register in advance. Participation in the webinar is not required, and 

will not be considered in the application review and selection process. Additional 

information on the PSIAP-UI and webinar is available at https://www.nist.gov/ctl/pscr.