(a)
Scope. An NRA is used to announce research interests in support of NASA’s programs, and, after peer or scientific review using factors in the NRA, select proposals for funding. Unlike an RFP containing a statement of work or specification to which offerors are to respond, an NRA provides for the submission of competitive project ideas, conceived by the offerors, in one or more program areas of interest. An NRA shall not be used when the requirement is sufficiently defined to specify an end product or service.
(b)
Issuance.
(1) Before issuance, each field-generated NRA shall be approved by the installation director or designee, with the concurrence of the procurement officer, and each Headquarters-generated NRA shall be approved by the cognizant Program Associate Administrator or designee, with the concurrence of the Headquarters Offices of General Counsel (Code GK) and Procurement (Code HS). In addition, the issuing office shall obtain input from the cognizant offices responsible for matters of safety and mission assurance, occupational health, environmental protection, information technology, export control, and security. Input shall also be obtained from the appropriate systems safety organization for NRA's that may involve potentially hazardous operations such as those related to flight and/or mission critical ground systems. The NRA approval authority shall designate the selection official.
(2) The selection official shall assure that the NRA is synopsized prior to issuance in accordance with
FAR 5.201. The synopsis shall be brief, and the technical section describing the area of interest should not exceed 50 words.
(3) If a Headquarters-generated NRA may result in awards by a NASA field installation, the issuing office shall notify the installation procurement officer and provide a copy of the NRA.
(4) The selecting official is responsible for the preparation and distribution of the NRA.
(5) NRAs normally shall remain open for at least 90 days.
(c)
Content and format. All NRAs shall conform to NPR 5810.1, “Standard Format for NASA Research Announcements (NRAs) and other Announcements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements”.
(d)
Receipt of proposals, evaluation, and selection.
(1) Proposals shall be protected as provided in
FAR 15.608,
FAR 15.609, and
1815.609-70.
(3) The selection decision shall be made following peer or scientific review of a proposal. Peer or scientific review shall involve evaluation by an in-house specialist, a specialist outside NASA, or both. Evaluation by specialists outside NASA shall be conducted subject to the conditions in 1815.207. After receipt of a proposal and before selection, scientific or engineering personnel shall communicate with an offeror only for the purpose of clarification (as defined in FAR 15.306), or to understand the meaning of some aspect of the proposal that is not clear, or to obtain confirmation or substantiation of a proposed approach, solution, or cost estimate.
(4) Competitive range determinations shall not be made, and final proposal revisions shall not be requested.
(5) Part of a proposal may be selected unless the offeror requests otherwise. In addition, changes to a selected proposal may be sought if (i) the ideas or other aspects of the proposal on which selection is based are contained in the proposal as originally submitted, and are not introduced by the changes; and (ii) the changes sought would not involve a material alteration to the requirements stated in the NRA. Changes that would affect a proposal's selection shall not be sought. When changes are desired, the selecting official may request revisions from the offeror or request the contracting officer to implement them during negotiations with the successful offeror(s). The changes shall not transfer information from one offeror's proposal to another offeror (see FAR 15.306(e). When collaboration between offerors would improve proposed research programs, collaboration may be suggested to the offerors.
(6) The basis for selection of a proposal shall be documented in a selection statement applying the evaluation factors in the NRA. The selection statement represents the conclusions of the selecting official and must be self-contained. It shall not incorporate by reference the evaluations of the reviewers. The selection statement shall contain the following:
(i) A brief description of the solicitation, including a statement of program objectives, the evaluation and review processes that were followed, and a summary of the results of the evaluation and review of proposals;
(ii) A listing of all selected proposals including proposal number, proposing principal investigator, proposing institution, and title (indicate partial selections when known);
(iii) A brief rationale for the selection based upon the expert evaluation of proposals by a peer panel in accordance with the evaluation criteria defined in the NRA, and incorporating programmatic factors; and
(iv) A brief description of the post-panel decision making process used to arrive at the selection. In particular, the selection of proposals identified by the peer review as having a lower evaluation result than those not selected must be explained.
(7) The selecting official shall notify each offeror whose proposal was not selected for award and explain generally why the proposal was not selected. If requested, the selecting official shall arrange a debriefing under FAR 15.5, with the participation of a contracting officer.
(i) A copy of the NRA (This requirement may be waived in the case of a grant award at the discretion of the grant officer);
(ii) The results of the technical evaluation, including the total number of proposals received, the selection statement, and the listing of proposal(s) selected for funding (These requirements may be waived in the case of a grant award at the discretion of the grant officer if the purchase request specifically references the NRA number and states that the proposal forwarded for funding was selected under the NRA.);
(iii) A description of any changes desired in any offeror's statement of work, including the reasons for the changes and any effect on level of funding;
(iv) If a contract will be used to fund the proposal, a description of deliverables, including technical reports, and delivery dates, consistent with the requirements of the NRA;
(v) A procurement request;
(vi) Comments on the offeror's cost proposal (either the selecting official's comments, which may be based on the reviewers' comments, or copies of the reviewers' comments with any different conclusions of the selecting official); these comments shall address the need for and reasonableness of travel, computer time, materials, equipment, subcontracted items, publication costs, labor hours, labor mix, and other costs; and
(vii) A copy of the selected proposal as originally submitted, any revisions, and any correspondence from the successful offeror.
(9) The selecting official may provide to the contracting officer copies of the reviewers' evaluations. Reviewers' names and institutions may be omitted.
(10) The selecting official shall provide each offeror whose proposal was selected for negotiation a notification stating:
(i) The proposal has been selected for negotiation;
(ii) The offeror's business office will be contacted by a contracting officer, who is the only official authorized to obligate the Government; and
(iii) Any costs incurred by the offeror in anticipation of an award are at the offeror's risk.
(e) Award. The contracting officer shall choose the appropriate award instrument. If a contract is selected, the contracting officer shall -
(1) Advise the offeror that the Government contemplates entering into negotiations; the type of contract contemplated; and the estimated award date, anticipated effort, and delivery schedule;
(2) Send the offeror a model contract, if necessary, including modifications contemplated in the offeror's statement of work, and request agreement or identification of any exceptions (the contract statement of work may summarize the proposed research, state that the research shall be conducted in accordance with certain technical sections of the proposal (which shall be identified by incorporating them into the contract by reference), and identify any changes to the proposed research);
(3) Request the offeror to complete and return certifications and representations and Standard Form 33, Solicitation, Offer, and Award, or other appropriate forms. If FAR 52.219-9, Small Business Subcontracting Plan, is required for the resultant contract, request the offeror to provide a subcontracting plan;
(4) Conduct negotiations in accordance with FAR Subparts 15.3 and 15.4, as applicable;
(5) Award a contract; and
(6) Comply with FAR Subparts 4.6 and 5.3 on contract reporting and synopses of contract awards.
(f) Cancellation of an NRA. When program changes, program funding, or any other reasons require cancellation of an NRA, the office issuing the NRA shall notify potential offerors by using the mailing list for the NRA.
