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SECTION 2 - PROPOSAL PREPARATION
A. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS -- Each of the Program's three phases must be authorized under a separate contract; however, their periods of performance may overlap. Electronic submissions of SBIR Phase II proposals are preferred by the Navy and must include a technical and cost proposal, Company Commercialization Report, and Transition Plan. Offerors should adhere to the following proposal preparation requirements:
・Phase I awardees should submit a 5-page Phase II Preliminary Plan with their draft and final Phase I Technical Report as a possible basis for solicitation of a formal proposal. The plan should be submitted earlier when requesting a signature to commit funds for a Fast Track Application (due no later than 150 days after award, but not a prerequisite for "matching" SBIR funds).
・A "basic" ONR Phase II contract award (up to $450K) with or without options and expansions for a cumulative total of up to $750K is intended to support full and/or part-time employment of key investigators over the statutory 24-month period. An award may exceed this cumulative amount on a case-by-case basis; especially if the cognizant S&T Program Officer (PO), a government Program Manager, and/or a third party from the private sector, provides a matching amount(s) from a non-SBIR source for a jointly or individually funded task(s).
・Since joint (i.e., SBIR & non-SBIR) financial support is considered to indicate greater potential for and benefits of commercialization, a large percentage of ONR SBIR funds for new Phase II awards or options are budgeted to support Phase II proposals that have a firm, third-party cash commitment to match SBIR funds (1:1, typically). Matching funds are considered to justify more expeditious handling of such a proposal. Planning for follow-on research and development, including proposals to both non-SBIR federal and private-sector Phase II co-sponsors and/or Phase III sponsors, should begin as soon as possible.
・The proposed effort should be based on further development of the technological innovation supported in Phase I, should stay within the scope of the solicitation topic, and should have high potential to provide new commercial products, processes, or services with benefits to the government and the private sector. In assessing the DoD market, offerors are encouraged to use various resources, including the free technical information services available from the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) and other information assistance organizations noted in Section 7 of the most recent DOD Solicitation. First-time awardees should register as a Phase I contractor at DTIC to increase their access to DTIC's data bases. The DTIC SBIR Services Internet link is http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/sbir.
・An SBIR proposal to the Navy must provide sufficient information to persuade evaluators that it is worthy of support under the three evaluation criteria stated in Section 4 below.
・The proposal must be for a Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) type contract. At the time of award the contractor must have a job-order-based accounting system capable of accruing costs under a government CPFF contract. A list of Defense Contract Management District East and West Associate Small Business Directors is found at http://www.dcma.mil/dcmae/index.htm & http://www.dcma.mil/dcmaw/index.htm, respectively.
・Submissions to the Navy must comply with all relevant instructions contained in the most recent DoD solicitation (including those in the Navy section, in particular); e.g., markings required for proprietary and classified information, etc. Do not include proprietary information or classified information in the coversheet project summary (on-line submission).
・A proposed expansion to resolve critical shortcomings may be negotiated to further justify and/or to facilitate a transition of follow-on R&D (Phase III) to a non-SBIR program.
・Use 1-inch margins and a type size no smaller than 12 pitch or 11 point.
・Limit your proposal to 40 pages including the option and cost proposal but excluding the Company Commercialization Report, Transition Plan, and Supporting Material (see Sections 2C, 2D, & 2E). All pages from the first through the last must be consecutively numbered.
Other guidelines in the most recent DoD SBIR Solicitation applicable to Phase I is also applicable to Phase II; e.g., On-Line (electronic) Submission of coversheets & commercialization reports, Deliverables/ Payment Schedules, Copyrights, Patents, Technical Data Rights, Cost Sharing, Joint Ventures (or Limited Partnerships), and Contractor Commitments.
B. TECHNICAL PROPOSAL -- The technical proposal should consist of the following sections:
1. Completed Cover Sheet and Project Summary Form (pp. 1 & 2). The on-line data entry forms are accessible from the Navy SBIR/STTR Internet Home Page
( http://www.onr.navy.mil/sbir - select "Submission"). The abstract should include a brief description of the objectives and proposed approach. Anticipated benefits and commercial applications of the proposed effort should be summarized in the space provided. Upon award data from these coversheets for proposals selected for support will be accessible, therefore must not contain proprietary or classified information.
2. Identification and Significance of Phase I Work (Begin this text on page three of your proposal). Summarize the proposed effort and its actual and/or anticipated results.
3. Phase II Technical Objectives. Enumerate the specific objectives of the Phase II work. Clearly distinguish between the objectives of the basic Phase II and those of the Phase II option.
4. Phase II Work Plan. This section should be the major portion of the technical
proposal and propose an advancement over the Phase I results appropriate for Phase II. This section must include a proposed statement of work to delineate clearly and unambiguously what the offer or proposes to do for the basic effort and for the option(s).
[a] The proposed statement of work should describe, in chronological order, each task to be performed. Each task description should include: an explanation of the work to be performed; the product of the task (report, hardware, etc.); the roles (if any) of subcontractors and/or consultants; the use of materials, software, special equipment, special tooling, and the like in the performance of the task; the period of performance in days; the number of hours to be allocated to the task by the principal investigator and other principal personnel (by name); other personnel (by labor category); and subcontractors and/or consultants (by name).
[b] Bidders should anticipate opportunities for the government to augment the proposed level of effort. To facilitate such an expansion(s) consider proposing two six- to twelve-month second-year options up to $100K, each. Any prerequisite for a concurrent and/or preceeding task or option should be specified; e.g., Basic Task 2 and/or Options A & B must be completed before Option C and/or D is exercised (a flowchart would be helpful). Please note that the statement of work for an option may be overtaken by events during execution of the basic award, and proposed changes may be authorized by the Contracts Officer, if & when exercised, as long as the cost proposal remains valid.
[c] Submit at least one four- to six-month "bridge" option (up to $100K, each). The bridge option is intended to initiate follow-on R&D for a specific transition (e.g., an aircraft carrier or missile application) during the Phase III planning & negotiation period; such interim funding would facilitate a new start for the Phase III at the beginning of the next fiscal year.
[d] Flowcharts may be used to clarify schedules, allocations of work hours, and the like.
As a minimum, a logical technical "milestone" should be scheduled toward the end of the first year in order to allow the government an opportunity to assess progress and to consider the exercise of a negotiated option(s).
5. Related Work. This section should demonstrate the offeror's awareness of the state-of-the-art and relevant concurrent efforts. Describe significant activities, including any conducted by the principal investigator, by the proposing firm, consultants, and others. Describe how these activities relate to the proposed effort, and discuss any planned coordination with outside sources.
6. Relationship with Future Research or Research and Development. This section should describe the results and opportunities anticipated if the proposed approach is successful. Explain how the Phase II effort will provide a foundation for follow-on research and development.
7. Potential Post Research or Research and Development Applications. This section should describe potential naval, defense, government, and private sector applications of the anticipated results.
8. Key Personnel. Identify key personnel who will be involved in the Phase II effort including information on directly related education and experience. A concise resume of the principal investigator, including a list of relevant publications (if any), must be included. Clearly identify which personnel will perform on the basic effort and which will perform on the option.
9. Facilities/Equipment. Describe availability of special instrumentation and physical facilities necessary to carry out the Phase II effort. Items of equipment to be leased or purchased as detailed and priced in the Cost Proposal for the base award and option(s) must be justified under this Section. Also state whether or not the facilities where the proposed work will be performed meet federal, state (name) and local government environmental laws and regulations for, but not limited to, the following groupings: airborne emissions, waterborne effluents, external radiation levels, outdoor noise, solid and bulk waste disposal practices, and handling and storage of toxic and hazardous materials.
10. Consultants/subcontractors. Involvement of a university, consultant or other subcontractor(s) may be appropriate. Describe here any proposed use of consultants and/or subcontractors priced in the Cost Proposal. Clearly identify the nature of work and level(s) of effort to be performed by consultants and/or subcontractors for the basic effort and/or option(s). Describe their qualifications and provide resumes for key consultants and/or subcontractor personnel, as required.
11. Prior, Current and/or Pending Support. Indicate on the coversheet if the proposal is relevant to or substantially the same as that of any completed, ongoing or pending proposal by the offeror and provide the following information in this section:
・Name and address of the federal agency(s) or DOD Component to which the proposal was submitted, or will be submitted, or from which an award is expected or has been solicited.
・Date of award or date of proposal submission.
・Title of proposal.
・Name and title of principal investigator.
・Issuing agency, title, number and date of solicitation(s) under which the proposal was submitted.
・If an award was received, state the contract or grant number.
・Identify the topic number and title for each SBIR proposal submitted and award received.
・Attach available documentation of strong third-party interest (including specific funding commitments)--these attachments will be treated as proprietary if so marked.
Note: The proposal must indicate awardee's agreement to provide Phase III Transition Plan Status Reports as discussed below in Section 5.B. If there is no such effort, include the following statement in this section, "No prior, current or pending support for proposed work."
12. Cost Proposal -- Standard form SF 1411 is no longer required as a cost proposal cover sheet, whether or not the total price exceeds $500,000; however a summary of the basic award and option costs may be helpful. A thoroughly itemized Cost Proposal can significantly reduce the amount of time required for contract negotiation. Separate Cost Proposals must be submitted for the Phase II basic effort and for each Phase II option. An data entry file is available at the Navy SBIR/STTR Internet Home Page Submission site -- this file may only allow details for a single option. If submitting your proposal electronically, follow the format shown in Reference A of the most recent DOD Solicitation and add a column for each option in the text of your technical proposal. If an item does not apply to the proposed effort, state, "Not Applicable." Sufficient information should be provided to allow the DON to understand how the offeror plans to use the requested funds if the contract is awarded. A monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly payment schedule may be proposed. The following paragraphs illustrate the level of cost detail that a Contracting Officer requires before beginning negotiations with an offeror. For proprietary reasons, subcontractors, consultants, or vendors may want to give you only bottom line quotes. In such cases, ask them to send detailed quotes to the government contracting officer, who will hold them in confidence. If the Phase I option has expired before the Phase II proposal was solicited, a stand-alone proposal for interim funding (up to $30K) may be submitted to the requesting official - it must contain a simple technical proposal (subtask descriptions, personnel qualifications, & facility/equipment plans) with cost details.
・Offeror's direct labor. List all key personnel by name and other personnel by labor category; e.g., senior scientist. Specify the number of hours to be dedicated to the project and hourly costs for each.
・Consultants/Subcontractors. List consultants by name and specify, for each, the number of hours and hourly costs. Detailed quotes from subcontractors should be provided in the same format. Note that a subcontract entered into for performance of research or research and development differs from an arrangement with a vendor to provide a service such as machining, analysis with test equipment, use of computer time, and the like. The costs of such arrangements with vendors should be covered under Special Tooling, Testing, Test Equipment, and Material or under Other Direct Costs. The subcontractor's cost proposals may be sealed or mailed directly for Government eyes only.
・Special tooling, testing, test equipments, and material. The need for these items, if proposed, will be carefully reviewed. The offeror should provide competitive quotes to support the proposed costs or should justify why only one source is available. Competitive quotes may be signed quotes from vendors or copies of catalogue pages. Normally the costs of any equipment should be quoted on a purchase basis, unless the offeror can demonstrate that lease or rent of the equipment is clearly advantageous to the Government. The Contracting Officer will make the final determination.
・Travel costs. Travel (i.e., airfares, car rental and per diem) must be justifiable in terms of the proposed effort. Specify how many people will travel to what places for how many days.
・General & Administrative (G&A). If applicable, include your G&A rate and its application base consistent with your approved accounting system.
・Facility Capital Cost of Money (FCCM). If applicable, include your FCCM rate(s) and its application base consistent with your approved accounting system.
・Fixed Fee/Profit. If applicable, include the proposed fixed fee/profit.
・In order to facilitate the Government's evaluation of your cost proposal, you should provide the following information:
(a) If you have an approved accounting system, and your indirect costs have been reviewed by a Government auditor, provide the name, address, and telephone number, of that auditor.
(b) If your accounting system has not been approved by the Government auditor, please provide:
- a description of your accounting system, and
- the method you used to compute your indirect costs. (Include the details of indirect cost pools and the base against which they are applied as summarized above.)
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