SOLICITATION NOTICE
B -- PART II BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE BASIC RESEARCH OFFICE (BRO) OF THE U.S. ARMY RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR THE BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
- Notice Date
- 1/28/2003
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- Defense Contracting Command-Washington(DCC-W), ATTN: Policy and Compliance, 5200 Army Pentagon, Room 1D245, Washington, DC 20310-5200
- ZIP Code
- 20310-5200
- Solicitation Number
- DASW01-04-K-0001A
- Archive Date
- 6/30/2003
- Point of Contact
- Carolyn Baltimore, 703-614-6823
- E-Mail Address
-
Email your questions to Defense Contracting Command-Washington(DCC-W)
(baltice@hqda.army.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- NA SEE PART I under DASW01-04-K-0001 3.Identifying factors that affect enlistment decision making to include demographics and motivation and modeling how they develop. Identifying factors that influence retention decision making, productive behavior, and go od citizenship and modeling how they develop. This research should consider the nature of mediators such as values and ethics, personal motivation, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment in this process. D. Basic Research? Social Structures The Army does not exist in a vacuum. It is a component of the overall societal system and is affected by changes in that system. We wish to support research leading to a more valid understanding of military environment, including how major societal conditi ons and trends, changing Army missions, and Army culture influence recruitment, personnel retention, morale, cohesion, discipline, and military performance. We need to know how to achieve organizational change without severe adverse personnel effects as a pplied to the process of the Army transformation. This research should result in models that consider the role of personal involvement by members at all organizational levels in successfully implementing change. E. Basic Research? Cognition The Army is interested in basic research on cognitive functioning, particularly as it affects the requirements of the Objective Force, as follows: 1. What are the individual differences in cognition that affect the saturation point of information from unmanned systems and how many robots/semi-autonomous vehicles one operator can manage? 2. Cognitive Functioning, including the individual processes that characterize more effective team performance; a better understanding of the growth of expertise in performance of complex tasks. 3. What are the input-output cues that lead to effective collective skill development? What are the cognitive factors that facilitate or impair team formation and contribute to a sense of trust? What are principles for developing shared mental models th at influence understanding the commander?s intent and team performance? What are the effects of a technologically rich, digital environment on a leader?s ability to make decisions, convey intent, adapt quickly, build teams, and resist stress? 4. What are the relationships, if any, between pattern recognition and fluid intelligence, flexibility, and/or adaptivity? If applicable, what practical, measures of pattern recognition can be shown to be predictive of fluid intelligence, flexibility, and /or adaptivity? III. Time, Personnel, and Other Features of the Research. Historically, basic research contracts have ranged between one and four years, with a median of three years. The median three-year basic research contract cost has been $490,000 in recent years. Proposals may be for a complete research effort or formulat ed as one or more options that will be exercised by ARI if early results are promising. Short-term, small-scale efforts in high-risk/high-gain areas are also welcome. Finally, investigators are encouraged to conduct their basic research in realistic contex ts, where appropriate. Both single-investigator and collaborative research efforts are acceptable, as are multidisciplinary approaches to a central problem. Collaborative efforts may involve researchers at a single institution or in cooperating institutions. Offerors with questions about the suitability of their planned research may send e-mail or call (less preferred method) the relevant in-house research unit chief(s). However, use of e-mail is optional and not a secure method of communication. For help in l ocating the appropriate research unit chief(s), contact either of the BRO program managers listed at the end of this BAA. Again, e-mail is the preferred contact medium. The government is not responsible for technical difficulties or disclosures resulting from e-mail communications. IV. Application Procedures. Proposals shou ld include an abstract and be sufficiently detailed to be responsive to the criteria, described below, for evaluation. Please include an e-mail address and telephone number where technical questions can be addressed. The formal proposal must include instit utional endorsement, signature of the proposed principal investigator, time frames for all phases of the project, and detailed accounts of proposed work and budget. The background and technical sections of the formal proposal must be no greater than 25 pag es in length, single-spaced. Additional materials may include budget, vitae, references, and institutional information. Five copies must be submitted. Scientific peers will review the proposals according to the following dimensions in order of importance: (1) Importance of the research to ARI's mission and Army concerns. (2) Technical merit, appropriateness, and feasibility of the proposed approach. (3) Scientific significance of the issue and originality. (4) The qualifications, capabilities, and experien ce of the proposed principal investigator and key personnel, and institutional resources and facilities. Each dimension will be given a letter grade between A and F. A-Outstanding, of the highest quality; B-Good, but could be improved; C-Average; D-Below average and not adequate; E-Totally inadequate and without merit. Those proposals with very low importance to ARI and the Army will be unable to recover even with high grades on other dimensions. Technical merit is significantly more important than dimens ions 3 or 4. Scientific significance is somewhat more important than qualifications. Moreover, successful proposals must propose costs that are both affordable and realistic for the proposed effort. The evaluation of proposed cost is subordinate to the t echnical evaluation. Also, past performance, prior research, and research and development contracts to include timely completion and cost effectiveness will be considered. A research proposal should contain the following sections: Proposal Cover Page, Abstract, Background, Technical Approach, References, Resumes of proposed researchers, and Budget. Proposal Cover Page: The cover page should include the following: Data Uni versal Numbering System (DUNS) #, Standard Industrial Classifications (SIC) #, Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) #, Taxpayer Identification (TIN) #, and Name and Type of Organization (Educational, Commercial or Non-Profit). Abstract. The abstract sh ould be one page or less. It should describe the problem underlying the research, the hypothesis being tested, explain the objective of the proposal, and provide a condensed, but meaningful description of the technical approach. It is very important that in the abstract and in the body of the proposal, the author makes quite clear how this basic research, if successful, could lead to applied research in areas dealt with by ARI. Background. The background should include a description of the problem, as the proposal author understands it. It is helpful if the author shows an understanding of the Army and ARI contexts that apply to the proposed research. The description of the probl em should be tied to an account of significant previous and current research that is applicable. Clearly, there will not be enough space to write a critical, annotated bibliography, but the author should demonstrate meaningful knowledge of the background o f the research that is being proposed. Technical Approach. This is a critical part of the proposal and it should be responsive to the listed criteria. It should include a description of the hypothesis upon which the research is to be based, the goal of that research, and a detailed account of h ow the research is to be done. This account should be much like the methods section of a research paper. It should include a description of the data to be collected, the methods for collecting the data, the number and source of subjects and how they will b e acquired, and the pr oposed research design and likely analysis methods. It is possible that an intermediate or final product of research might include training packages, simulation models, or other software-based devices. In this case, the author should show how such a produc t relates to the hypothesis being tested and should provide sufficient detail to permit understanding and evaluation. The technical approach should include a statement that includes the major tasks to be performed and products to be produced. In the case of a one-year proposal, the statement should be divided by quarters of the year. In the case of multi-year proposals, it should be divided by year. References. This should be a list of all the references called out in the body of the proposal. It should not include publications that are not referred to in the body. It should be in American Psychological Association format. Resum?s. Resum?s or vitae should be included for all proposed researchers with special emphasis on the Principal Investigator(s). It is particularly important that the resumes include those publications that bear on the research being proposed. Budget. This should be a typical budget section as is required by other federal agencies. However, it should also include a description of total dollars required overall, per government fiscal year (the government fiscal years run from October 1 through th e following September 30), and the number of person hours/months per government fiscal year broken out by personnel type (senior scientist, graduate student, research associate, clerk, etc.). Proposers who are not in the Washington, DC area should budget at least one trip per year to ARI in Alexandria, VA to present the progress of their research. Proposers who are in the Washington, DC area should budget this trip to Kansas City, Missouri. In addition to the paper version of the proposal, an electronic version must be sent as an e-mail attachment. This must include the complete technical and financial sections of the proposal. Different sections of the proposal may be attached in separate f iles. Electronic versions must either be in Microsoft Office formats, or in a format that can be decoded by Microsoft Office applications. V. Concept papers. ARI invites potential offerors who are unsure of the relevance of their topics to submit concept papers, preferably by e-mail. Concept papers are optional, but if submitted must be less than 5 pages, concisely address the proposed research, and should cont ain only an approximate total budget projection. Please enclose an e-mail address and a telephone number where you can be reached. Please submit concept papers at least 6 weeks before the deadline for proposals. Concept papers submitted late may not receiv e a timely response. VI. Deadlines. To be considered for funding, formal proposals (both signed paper and e-mail attachment versions) must be received no later than 3:30 P.M. (EST) 1 May 2003. Submit e-mail copies to Dr. Gade and Dr. Kaplan!Awards will be made between October 1, 2003 and September 30, 2004. Where to Mail? Inquiries, concept papers, and formal proposals should be sent to: U.S. ARI, ATTN: TAPC-ARI-BR (6.1)5001 Eisenhower Ave., Rm. 6N12, Alexandria, VA 22333-5600. For hand deliveries between 8:30 A.M. and 3:30 P.M., call 703-617-8721, 703-617-8866 or 703- 617-8828 from the lobby. Faxed proposals will not be accepted. If you send your proposals in a manner that requires a signature at the receiving end, and no one is at the phone when it arrives, it will not be delivered that day. VII. Program Managers: Chief, BRO: Dr. Paul Gade, (703) 617-8866; Dr. Jonathan Kaplan (703) 617-8828; E-mail addresses: gade@ari.army.mil; kaplan@ari.army.mil
- Record
- SN00247942-W 20030130/030128213316 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |