NOTICE OF PROGRAM INTEREST -- COMPREHENSIVE TEST BAN TREATY (CTBT) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R&D) PROGRAM The DOE CTBT R&D Program invites Unsolicited Applications/Proposals from interested Nonprofit Organizations, Institutions of Higher Education, and Commercial Organizations to pursue research that supports the CTBT R&D program mission. The CTBT R&D Program mission is: "to carry out research and development necessary to provide U.S. government agencies, that are responsible for monitoring and/or verifying CTBT compliance, with technologies, algorithms, hardware and software for integrated systems to detect, locate, identify and characterize nuclear explosions at the thresholds and confidence levels that meet U.S. requirements in a cost-effective manner." Program priorities focus on the advancement of seismic, infrasound, radionuclide, and hydroacoustic knowledge and capabilities. Responses to this Notice of Program Interest must explain how the Offeror's proposed research activities furthers the CTBT R&D Program mission and research issues. These are summarized on the Web Page: "http://www.ctbt.rnd.doe.gov/coordination/", under the heading "R&D Issues and Metrics ". Generally, successful Unsolicited Applications/Proposals will: demonstrate a knowledge of the CTBT R&D Program; offer novel or innovative approaches leading to performance improvements and cost reductions; respond to ground truth data deficiencies; and, follow the guidance provided in the "Guide for the Submission of Unsolicited Proposals" which is available on the Web Page: "http://www.pr.doe.gov/gdtoc.html". Offerors are also encouraged to review and acquaint themselves with work that has already been performed as represented in the bibliography located at the Program's web site. Unsolicited Applications/Proposals will be evaluated against many factors. Some of the criteria that are likely to apply include: technical merit; Offeror's familiarity with other ongoing work; the relevance and quality of the Offeror's prior work; the effectiveness of the proposed technical approach; timeliness; costs; and the period of performance. Offerors are, therefore, encouraged to include information in their Unsolicited Applications/Proposals that facilitate evaluation against these criteria and as a minimum should address the requirements listed below. Unsolicited Applications/Proposals are to be comprised of both technical and cost proposal elements. Unsolicited Application/Proposal requirements and format are as follow: 1) PROJECT DESCRIPTION: (Provide a comprehensive, but succinct [350 character] description of the proposed research project. It should convey the project objective, application, method, product and value to U.S. government agencies and other users). 2) OBJECTIVE(s): (State research objectives). 3) APPLICATION: (Describe the product and how it is to be used. Discuss the product's merits over the current baseline and operational risk considerations). 4) USER(s): (List potential users and indicate whether they have expressed interest in the product). 5) PRIOR WORK: (Summarize the current state-of-the-art for the stated fieldof endeavor. Provide credentials of key participants and describe their previous relevant work. Cite applicable bibliographic references). 6)COLLABORATORS: (Identify other participants and describe their role and contribution). 7) PROPOSED WORK & SCIENTIFIC BASIS: (Specify the technical approach to manage the project; describe specific tasks and subtask activities to be conducted by Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) to achieve the research objectives; and identify key decision points [milestones]. Relate these elements to how they further the stated research objectives and advance the state-of-the-art). 8) RESEARCH ISSUES: (Identify the technical issues that will be addressed by the project; list potential barriers and explain how they will be overcome). 9) TASKS: (By WBS element, list the tasks, associated subtasks, and associated costs. Differentiate the cost for fully burdened labor, equipment, materials, other (such as travel, taxes, fee (if applicable), etc.) [Once Unsolicited Applications/Proposals are selected for funding, a complete break-down by cost element will be required]. 10) MILESTONES: (List milestones and scheduled completion dates by task/subtask). 11) DELIVERABLES: (List deliverables and scheduled completion dates by task/subtask). R&D Contracts and Federal Financial Assistance Awards (Cooperative Agreements or Grants) are anticipated to be awarded for project duration's of 1-3 years and awards will generally range from $100,000 to $500,000. Total program funds for Unsolicited Applications/Proposals in Fiscal Year (FY) 1998 are not likely to exceed $1,000,000. For Financial Assistance Awards, cost sharing is not required but highly encouraged. It is anticipated that Cooperative Agreement will be favored over Grants. The resulting R&D Contract, Cooperative Agreement, or Grant will be administered by the DOE Albuquerque Operations Office, or possibly, other CTBT Program Office designees. This Notice of Program Interest expires September 30, 1998. This date does not represent a common deadline for Unsolicited Applications/Proposals but rather that Unsolicited Applications/Proposals may be submitted at any time before the notice expires. Unsolicited Applications/Proposals must state an acceptance period of 180 days; however, Unsolicited Applications/Proposals may be withdrawn by the Offeror at any time by written notification to the DOE Contracting Officer previously identified. Unsolicited Applications/Proposals received may be considered for funding at any time following receipt. Unsolicited Applications/Proposals not selected in FY1998 may be reconsidered for funding in the following year. Unsolicited Applications/Proposals not funded and not withheld for reconsideration will be destroyed and the Offeror will be notified accordingly. A Federal Financial Assistance Award (Grant and Cooperative Agreements) application package which includes a sample award, and a R&D Contract proposal package can be obtained from the DOE Contracting Officer previously identified or can be down-loaded fromthe DOE AL Web Page: "http://www.doeal.gov/cpd/" under the heading "Solicitations". This Notice of Program Interest can also be found in the May 20, 1998 Federal Register, Volume 63, Number 97, pages 27718 and 27719. Offerors seeking funding consideration by the CTBT R&D Program under this Notice of Program Interest are requested to mark and submit their Unsolicited Applications/Proposals, eight (8) total, as follows: Original and Copies # 1 -- 6: Leslie A. Casey, Treaty Monitoring Program Manager, c/o CTBT R&D Program- Notice of Program Interest -- NN-20, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence, Av., SW, Washington, DC 20585-0420 [DOE/NN-20 will initiate the objective merit review process]; and, Copy #7: John N. Augustine, Unsolicited Applications/Proposals Manager, c/o CTBT R&D Program -- Notice of Program Interest -- NN-20, U.S. Department of Energy, Federal Energy Technology Office (FETC), 626 Cochrans Mill Road, PO Box 10940, Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0940 [DOE FETC -- Pittsburgh will assign a DOE identification number and acknowledge receipt of the proposal]. It is DOE policy to exercise extreme care to ensure that the proposal information is not duplicated, used or disclosed in whole or in part for any purpose other than to evaluate the proposal, without written permission of the Offeror. Furthermore, with respect to the Unsolicited Application/Proposal evaluation, the Offeror is hereby informed that it is standard practice of the CTBT R&D program officials to include review by DOE laboratory managers and experts in the topic area of the proposal. If you are an expert and are willing to serve as a reviewer on a non-remunerative basis, the CTBT R&D Program would like to be notified of your interest. Serving as a technical reviewer could encompass these Unsolicited Applications/Proposals, subject to non-disclosure agreements, as well as other proposals related to the CTBT R&D Program. Interested individuals are requested to forward their resume and cover letter expressing their interest to: Manager, Treaty Monitoring Programs (NN-20), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC, 20585-0420. Finally, proposal evaluation may include coordination with other government agencies or their designated contractors, primarily to check for duplication of effort and end user interest. This is an important integration practice appropriate to a full-scope, ongoing and mature program such as the CTBT R&D program. WEB: Doing Business with DOE-AL, http://www.doeal.gov/cpd/default.htm. E-MAIL: NN-20 R&D Program, mloera@doeal.gov.

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