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U.S. Department of Transportation
Office of the Secretary
of Transportation

DOT Program Solicitation for
Small Business Innovation Research

III. Proposal Preparation Instructions and Requirements

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1. Limitation on Length of Proposal

   In Program Year 2005, proposals may be submitted either electronically or in hard copy format. (See Section VI for hard copy requirements)

   Please note that:

   1. SBIR Phase I proposals shall not exceed a total of 25 pages (regular size type no smaller than 10 point font size single or double spaced, standard 8 1/2" X 11" pages) including proposal cover sheet, contract pricing proposal and all enclosures or attachments.

   2. Attachments, appendices and references are included in the 25 page limitation. Proposals in excess of 25 pages will not be considered for review or award.

   Electronic Submission Requirements:

   • Each proposal shall not exceed 25 pages.
   • Proposals must be a PDF file attached to e-mail.
   • No duplicate proposals shall be sent by any other means.
   • Proposals must be sent via e-mail to: henebury@volpe.dot.gov.
   • Proposals must be received by 5:00 p.m. EST on May 16, 2005.
   • You must submit a completed and signed hardcopy of Appendices A, B, and C postmarked no later than May 16, 2005 to: Joseph Henebury, DOT SBIR Program Director, DTS-22, U.S. DOT/RITA/VNTSC, 55 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02142-1093.
   • The proposal file name shall contain eight (8) characters-the first three shall be the topic number you are proposing to (i.e., FH3,) and the remaining five characters shall be a unique abbreviation of your company's name.

   Your proposal will have the same protection/security as DOT e-mail. It will be available to only the team of DOT engineers and/or scientists responsible for evaluating your proposal.

   If you intend to submit your proposal electronically, you must register at our website: http://www.volpe.dot.gov/sbir by April 15, 2005.

2. Proposal Cover Sheet

   Complete the proposal cover sheet in Appendix A as Page 1 of your proposal. All pages shall be numbered consecutively, beginning with the proposal cover sheet.

3. Project Summary

   Complete the form in Appendix B as Page 2 of your proposal. The Project Summary shall include a technical abstract with a brief statement of the problem or opportunity, project objectives, and description of the effort. Anticipated results and potential applications of the proposed research shall also be summarized in the space provided. The Project Summary of successful proposals may be published by the DOT and, therefore, shall not contain classified or proprietary information. The technical abstract must be limited to two hundred words in the space provided on the Project Summary form.

4. Technical Content

   Submitted proposals must include the following:

   1. Identification and Significance of the Problem or Opportunity. The specific technical problem or innovative research opportunity addressed and its potential benefit to the national transportation system shall be clearly stated.

   2. Phase I Technical Objectives. State the specific objectives of the Phase I research or R&D effort, including the technical questions it will try to answer to determine the feasibility of the proposed approach.

   3. Phase I Work Plan. Describe the Phase I research or R&D plan. The plan shall indicate what will be done, where it will be done, and how the research or R&D will be managed or directed and carried out. Phase I research or R&D shall address the objectives and the questions cited in (2) above. The methods planned to achieve each objective or task shall be discussed in detail, including the level of effort associated with each task.

   4. Related Research or R&D. Describe significant research or R&D that is directly related to the proposal including any conducted by the project manager/principal investigator or by the proposing firm. Describe how it relates to the proposed effort, and any planned coordination with outside sources. The proposer must persuade reviewers of his or her awareness of key recent research or R&D conducted by others in the specific topic area.

   5. Key Personnel and Bibliography of Directly Related Work. Identify key personnel involved in Phase I including their directly related education, experience, and bibliographic information. Where vitae are extensive, summaries that focus on the most relevant experience or publications are desired and may be necessary to meet proposal page limitation.

   6. Relationship with Future Research and Development.

      1. State the anticipated results of the proposed approach if the project is successful (Phase I and Phase II).

      2. Discuss the significance of the Phase I effort in providing a foundation for Phase II research or R&D effort.

   7. Facilities. Provide a detailed description, availability and location of instrumentation and physical facilities proposed for Phase I.

   8. Consultants. Involvement of consultants in the planning and research stages of the project is permitted. If such involvement is intended, it shall be described in detail.

   9. Potential Applications. Briefly describe:

      1. Whether and by what means the proposed project appears to have potential commercial application.

      2. Whether and by what means the proposed project appears to have potential use by the Federal government.

   10. Similar Proposals or Awards. Warning - while it is permissible, with proposal notification, to submit identical proposals or proposals containing a significant amount of essentially equivalent work for consideration under numerous Federal program solicitations, it is unlawful to enter into contracts or grants requiring essentially equivalent effort. If there is any question concerning this, it must be disclosed to the soliciting agency or agencies before award.

       If a firm elects to submit identical proposals or proposals containing a significant amount of essentially equivalent work under other Federal program solicitations, a statement must be included in each such proposal indicating:

       1. The name and address of the agencies to which proposals were submitted or from which awards were received;

       2. Date of proposal submission or date of award;

       3. Title, number, and date of SBIR Program solicitations under which proposals were submitted or awards received;

       4. The applicable research topics for each SBIR proposal submitted or award received;

       5. Titles of research projects; and

       6. Name and title of Project Manager or Principal Investigator for each proposal submitted or award received.

    

5. Contract Pricing Proposal

   A firm fixed price Phase I Contract Pricing Proposal (Schedule 1) must be submitted in detail as shown in Appendix C. Note: Firm Fixed Price is the type of contract to be used for Phase I SBIR awards. Some cost breakdown items of Appendix C may not apply to the proposed project. If such is the case, there is no need to provide information for each and every item. It is important, however, to provide enough information to allow the DOT to understand how the proposer plans to use the requested funds if the contract is awarded. Phase I contract awards may include profit.

6. Central Contracting Registration (CCR) and DUNS Identification Number

   Since October 1, 2003, it is federally mandated that any business wishing to do business with the Federal government under a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)-based contract must be registered in CCR before being awarded a contract. You can find more information on CCR and the registration process in their handbook, http://www.ccr.gov/handbook.asp. You can register online at http://www.ccr.gov by clicking on "Start New Registration" if you already have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number. If you need a DUNS number you can find instructions at http://www.ccr.gov/vendor.asp#5a. A firm must note its DUNS identification number on Appendix C, Contract Pricing Proposal, Schedule 1. This number is assigned by Dun & Bradstreet, Inc.

7. Acknowledgement of Proposal Receipt

   Proposers shall fill out the proposal acknowledgement form and include it with the proposal to DOT.

8. Prior SBIR Phase II Awards

   If the small business concern has received more than 15 Phase II awards in the prior 5 fiscal years, submit name of awarding agency, date of award, funding agreement number, amount, topic or subtopic title, follow-on agreement amount, source and date of commitment and current commercialization status for each Phase II. (This required proposal information shall not be counted toward the proposal 25-page count limitation.)