DISA, Contract Management Div, Code D412, 701 S. Court House Rd, Arlington, VA 22204-2199

A -- BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN SOFTWARE AND INFORMATION ENGINEERING AND ADA POC Contact: Grant Officer: Jean Hudson (703) 607-6919 The Defense Information Systems Agency, Center for Software Education Institutions Partnership Program (DISA/CFSW/SMSD/EIPP) are soliciting proposals to support the development of undergraduate and graduate software and information engineering curricula and courses in the Ada Programming language. Of particular interest is the development of curricula, courses and course materials that focus on the effective use of the Ada programming language in traditional computer science, business, engineering, information management and related curriculum. This program is intended to advance the capability of United States post secondary educational institutions to help provide a highly qualified software work force into the 21st century. Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches, curriculum and tools that lead to or enable significant advances in teaching software and information engineering. Specifically excluded is research which primarily results in only minor improvement to the existing state of practice or focuses on a University specific course, system or hardware solution. Proposals will be accepted in Categories (1) through (3) as elaborated below. Category (1): Ada in Traditional Computer Science, Business, Engineering, Information Management and Related Courses: Proposals should describe research in the use of the Ada programming language in undergraduate and graduate courses and the development of materials useful to educators. This can include investigating the effectiveness of Ada as an implementation language in courses that traditionally use other languages, or the issues raised by the Ada language itself in areas such as compiler construction or operating systems. Awards in this category are expected to support one principal investigator for approximately two to three months of full-time effort, or the equivalent level of effort part-time during the academic year. Schools without an appropriate Ada implementation may also request funding for compilers and associated software tools. However, use of the GNAT Ada 95 compiler available without charge from the Free Software Foundation is highly encouraged. Category (2): Significant New Course Sequence Proposals submitted in this category should describe the design and implementation of significant new course sequences in an undergraduate or graduate curriculum. For example, proposals may describe the conversion of an introductory programming/data structures sequence to use the Ada language, or the development of a year-long sequence in software engineering. Awards in this category are expected to support one principal investigator for approximately four to five months of full-time effort, or the equivalent level of effort part-time during the academic year. Category (3): In conjunction with a proposal for Category 1 or 2, a proposal may be submitted for the development or modification of tools to assist in the instruction or delivery of Ada-based software engineering with particular focus on the new features of Ada 95 or transition to Ada 95. Awards in this category, in addition to that support requested in the category 1 or 2 proposals, are expected to support one principal investigator for approximately three months of full-time effort plus one half-time student for approximately six months, or the equivalent level effort part-time during the academic year. Results of the project should be embodied in educational materials suitable for wide dissemination and use in undergraduate and graduate computer science education and should include complete packages of materials suitable for adoption by educators planning similar course sequences. It is expected that the project's results will be integrated into the institution's academic programs within the period of the award or in the immediately following academic term and continued for a period of at least two years. Each proposal must be in a single concise volume and shall include the following sections A - F (inclusive), each section starting on a new page (where a ''page'' is 8-1/2 x 11 inches with type not smaller than standard 12-pitch). Non-conforming proposals may be rejected without review. A: A cover page including BAA number, proposal title, technical and administrative contacts (telephone numbers and electronic mail addresses, if any) and if your institution is recognized as a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) or Minority Institution (MI), so indicate, followed by an official cover letter signed by your contract and grant office. B: Section I is limited to five (5) pages maximum for Category (1) proposals and ten (10) pages maximum for Category (2) and (3) proposals: A description of the project, including a clear Statement of Work (SOW) outlining the scope, technical approach, specific tasks of the effort. Include a summary of the anticipated results, products, and transferable technology expected from a prospective user's point of view, a summary of the benefits of pursuing the work to both the SMSD and the academic community at large, and other artifacts supporting and/or necessary for the use of the curriculum or tool to be developed. This grant offer shall not be based on or contain proprietary data. C: Two (2) pages maximum. A summary of the innovative claims and rationale for the proposed curriculum or tool, including the utility and relevance to achieving the goals of the BAA both within your institution and throughout the wider educational community. D: One (1) page: A summary of the time frame, schedule and milestones for proposed project and a list of key personnel along with the amount of effort to be expended by each. E: One (1) page: Identification of offeror's previous accomplishments in this or related areas, a description of the facilities to be used for the proposed effort, summary of qualifications of key personnel along with other major sources of support, bibliography of relevant technical papers, research notes (published & unpublished) and course curriculum development which document the ideas and approach upon which the proposal is based. This section shall list all other related pending proposals. F: One (1) page: Letters of commitment from the appropriate official or Dean of the institution to teach the course once it has been satisfactorily completed. G: Two (2) pages maximum. A cost breakdown to the level of major tasks and equipment. If cost sharing is proposed, a letter committing to the arrangement must be included signed by an authorized official of the University. H: Optional appendices providing additional relevant material (Papers, Bibliographies, Vitae, etc.) may be included with the proposal, but they may or may not be read depending on time available, and will not be considered as part of the evaluation. Ten copies of each proposal should be addressed to, BAA 95-01, DISA/Code D412 (Jean Hudson), 701 South Court House Road, Arlington, VA 22204-2199. Facsimile or electronic submissions will not be accepted. Restrictive notices notwithstanding, proposals will be handled for administrative purposes by a support contractor. FFRDC employees may participate in this review process. The closing date is 30 Jun 95, 4:00 p.m. A follow-on BAA of this nature is anticipated for the 1996/ 1997 academic year. Proposals will be evaluated through a Government expert review process according to the following criteria listed in descending order of relative importance: 1. Quality and merit of the proposed project, 2. Capability of the investigator(s) and the adequacy of the institutional resources to carry out the proposed work, 3. Utility or relevance and expected impact of the proposed project, 4. Degree of cost sharing (cost sharing, although not mandatory, is highly desirable), and commitment to use the results, 5. Commitment to teach the courses, 6. Past accomplishments. This notice itself constitutes the BAA as contemplated in FAR 6.102(d)(2). Except for the white paper referenced below, no additional written information is available, nor will a formal RFP or other solicitation regarding this announcement be issued. Requests for same will be disregarded. Fourteen awards, totaling $745,000 were awarded as part of the first part of this grants program in FY94. Grants ranged from $30,000 - $65,000 for Category 1 and from $45,000 to $90,000 for Category 2. This agency anticipates funding in the range of $800,000 to be available for the FY95 grants program. The Government reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals received. Only US degree-granting educational institutions may submit a proposal. Approximately 20 percent (20%) of this BAA shall be set aside for Minority Institutions (MI) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) participation. Individual proposal evaluations will be based on acceptability or unacceptability without regard to other proposals submitted under the announcement, however, all selected proposals may not be funded due to budgetary constraints. A white paper (DISA Reference BAA 95-01) with additional information can be requested (by mail to the DISA address), or by facsimile to (703) 681-2786, or by electronic mail sent to: BAA@sw-eng.falls- church.va.us. (0121)

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