FAQ | Ohio Federal Research Network

We encourage the cost share amounts be included in the LOI, but it’s not required since not specifically stated.

If you have approved provisional billing rates, you could use that in the proposal and would be considered. A fee bearing agreement could not be used.

That is correct – Agreements awarded will be Cost Reimbursable No Fee.

No, figures cannot be placed in the appendix. The appendix is reserved for resumes and SEE program information as indicated in the OFRN Round 5 Opportunity Announcement Amendment 1, section 3.2.14.

Go by what is stated is the Round 5 Opportunity Announcement Amendment 1 – Section 3.1.2. Font size should be a minimum of 10 point. Fonts used must be one of the following Arial, Helvetica, or Times New Roman and used uniformly throughout. The training mentioned no more than 6 lines to an inch and I would adhere to that.

Volume 1, Volume 1a, and Volume 1 Appendix should be submitted by February 25, 2021, 5:00 pm ET. Be sure to send your file as a pdf and adhere to the formatting guidelines. It was not stated in the opportunity announcement as to whether the submission should be in 1 file, or separate files. The preference is that you send 1 pdf file with the following order of contents: Volume 1, Volume 1a, and Appendix. You may send in separate files if needed.

The anticipated individual award of $750 - $2M each referenced in the Round 5 Opportunity Announcement would be the funding received from OFRN. Cost share would be in addition to the OFRN awarded amount.

A ROM is not acceptable. A full cost proposal detailing the buildup of each cost element (e.g. labor, travel, indirect costs, equipment, etc.) is required. A general total cost for consumable supplies, as provided in the example, can be provided but with an explanation of the buildup

Yes, a university can be a host organization for the student intern.

That is correct – the subcontractor letters of intent should be included in Volume 1 and will not count towards the 8 page limit for Volume 1.

Since the project is 18 months, we requested the breakdown by calendar year so that all proposals would be uniformed in reporting. The project will cover a period of up to 18 months from the start date of the project.

The project start date can begin June 1, 2021 but we wouldn’t want to go beyond that date.

That is correct, Amendment 1 was issued on February 5. The SOW mentioned in volume 1 section 3.2.12 has been moved to volume 2 section 3.4.1.8. See Amendment 1 and Amendment 1 summary documents on the OFRN Round 5 current solicitation website for additional information.

Yes, someone without a Ph.D. can serve as a lead PI

Yes

Yes, this can be used as cost share.

Student names are not expected in the proposal. The information to include in the proposal should be focused on your plan for a student intern. Include the following information as referenced in Appendix 1 and the Jan. 20 Bidders Conference and Proposal Training:

Student’s core curriculum should be STEM focused with student recruitment limited to Ohio Universities and Community Colleges.
Create a purpose statement defining the nature of the internship work and how it will benefit the proposed project outcome.
Describe the Innovation opportunities the Student will be exposed to and how their participation will enhance their learning and benefit their individual career path.
Describe the Project Team’s mechanisms for interacting with Students and providing an inclusive environment.

Develop a timeline, budget and oversight structure for the program along with a mechanism for the Student to provide their own assessment of the experience. Project Teams are encouraged to investigate and utilize existing academic and State programs currently in operation.

The tables referenced in the solicitation for use in proposal submissions have been placed in a Word document and posted to the OFRN Current Solicitation site. These tables can be utilized as needed.

As long as one member of your proposal team attended the Jan. 20 training session, you are good. If no member of your team attended the Jan. 20 training session, then you will want to register to view the video of the training session.

The student intern cost should be built into the proposal budget at the prime level. There is flexibility in who manages the Administration of the internship program. This could be an area of interest in possible cost share under this program.

There is no established minimum or maximum number of hours for a student intern. If you are utilizing a formal internship program through a college/university, you will need to adhere to the minimum/maximum hours prescribed in that program. The duration of the internship should be a minimum of 1 semester, and a maximum of the life of the project. In addition, please keep in mind that we are expecting the interns to be assigned meaningful work which, although it does not translate into a prescribed number of hours, does mean that a suitable level of engagement with interns is expected.”

The company can hire any intern they need for the project as long as they meet the requirements outlined in Appendix 1. Students must be attending an institution of higher education in the State of Ohio and enrolled in degrees from Associate to the Doctoral level in all disciplines, with a focus on STEM learning.

PhD, Master, and Undergraduate students hired as research assistants for the project could be counted as part of the internship identified in the SEE program as long as the requirements outlined in Appendix 1 are met, and the student is attending an institution of higher education in the State of Ohio and enrolled in degrees from Associate to the Doctoral level in all disciplines, with a focus on STEM learning. In addition, please keep in mind that we are expecting the interns to be assigned meaningful work which, although it does not translate into a prescribed number of hours, does mean that a suitable level of engagement with interns is expected.

The total amount that can be requested from OFRN as an award is $2M.

That is correct: 3.2.7 Technical Objectives section goes in Volume 1 - Technical Volume; and 3.4.1.8 Proper Prepared Statement of Work section goes in Volume 2 - Business and Cost Proposal.

Amendment 1 was issued on February 5. The SOW mentioned in volume 1 section 3.2.12 has been moved to volume 2 section 3.4.1.8. See Amendment 1 and Amendment 1 summary documents on the OFRN Round 5 current solicitation website for additional information.

email questions to OFRN-Question@parallaxresearch.org

In place of the cover page item #12 text, put a statement such as <organization name> is not debarred, suspended or proposed for debarment as the result of performance under any federal contract, grant, or cooperative agreement.

Yes, your own statement that summarizes the engagement is appropriate.

Yes, using there labs or infrastructure can be cost share.

No mandatory TRL level at the end is stated... if it grows, that's commendable and is highly desirable.

Undergrads can participate. To be eligible for the Program, a student must be attending an institution of higher education in the State of Ohio and enrolled in degrees from Associate to the Doctoral level in all disciplines, with a focus on STEM learning.

The award period is 18 months. So, there will need to be some flexibility in when a student(s) starts or ends the internship.

Yes, they are eligible as long as they are students

Cost share for the Universities is not required. If they are willing to provide a cost share, then that university Office of Research may be a good place to start the discussion.

Highlight the main AOI, but mention the others as well.

Yes

Yes, can have multiple federal partners on each AOI, and multiple AOI's in each proposal.

They can be involved, but cannot be a recipient of funds.

You need to provide a notional project budget in volume 1. There should be minimal differences in volume 2. Minor changes can occur.

Yes

No, but make sure that it is real.

Whether you are a past awardee is not going to hurt or help you.

Use your judgment regarding use of references. You can make a statement without relying on a reference; however if it is helpful then include it. References will count in your page limit.

In the January 20 bidders conference and proposal training, it was discussed that the information on the SEE program should be no more than 2 pages and contained in an appendix. OFRN has issued Amendment 001 with this information.

Yes it does need to be Ohio based Universities and Industry partners with offices in Ohio. Work needs to be done in Ohio.

Yes, Sinclair and other associate colleges in Ohio can be a university partner in the OFRN proposal.

No they are all important.

Proposal templates posted to https://www.ohiofrn.org/ofrn-current-solicitation include: Appendix 6: Business and Cost Proposal Template and Appendix 7: Quad Chart Template.

At this point, there is no template for Technical Volume 1. Follow the general instructions in section 3.1 and be sure to include all of the elements contained in section 3.2 as outlined. A Word document containing the tables for volume 1 is available in the Resources section on the Current Solicitation Website.

Yes, you can count that as cost share. If for some reason the cost share cannot count, you can still partner with them for this proposal.

Yes, the company can be international as long as they have a presence in Ohio and the work would be done in Ohio.

Needs to be Ohio company or office, where work would be performed, if national company.

Section 3.1.1 states that OFRN projects are intended to be TRL 3 and higher, or applied research rather than basic research. This applies to all AOIs.

Yes

Section 2.6.2 of the pre-release document states that there are no limits on the number of proposal submissions that an Applicant can submit.

On Nov. 20th, an email announcement was sent that the key dates had changed. A follow up announcement went out Nov. 23rd highlighting some of the changes in key dates and where to find information on changes, etc. The new schedule is posted to the OFRN website https://ohiofrn.org. The new date for the training is Jan. 20, 2021. The event will be virtual. All information pertaining to OFRN Round 5 Opportunity Announcement will be posted to https://www.ohiofrn.org/current-solicitation. All communications to the OFRN community will be posted to the site.

Yes, the session was recorded and is posted to the current solicitation website https://www.ohiofrn.org/current-solicitation

The PM can attend the Jan. 20 training session to represent the team.

The training session is scheduled for January 20, 2021. A registration link will be available through the OFRN website https://ohiofrn.org in the current solicitation’s tab shortly. The direct link to the current solicitation site is https://www.ohiofrn.org/current-solicitation An email notification will be distributed to the OFRN community when the information regarding the December regional sessions and the January 20th training is available. All events will be virtual.

Section 2.6 of the pre-release document lists eligibility requirements. One of the requirements is that there be at least two Ohio colleges or universities. There is no flexibility in this requirement.

As long as the company has a presence in Ohio and the work would be done through that office, then this would meet the industry requirement.

Yes, the link for partnering / matchmaking can be found off the OFRN current solicitation webpage in the Links section at https://www.ohiofrn.org/current-solicitation

Yes, the briefing is posted to the current solicitation site at https://www.ohiofrn.org/current-solicitation

The formal release of OFRN Round 5 Opportunity Announcement is scheduled for Jan. 6, 2021. All information will be posted to the current solicitation website https://www.ohiofrn.org/current-solicitation

The advanced controls area will have impact at the system and at the power electronic regulator level. An advanced power electronic unit with digital control that demonstrates the capability needed to function within the advanced power system control could be a part of this area, but may be more difficult to win against full system proposals.

TRL 3 or TRL 4 should be the objective depending on hardware maturity.

The defined approach for this task needs to develop a strategic understanding of where the advanced controls area will progress, with both near and far term products that can be realized. Both lunar surface power and turbo-electric/hybrid electric propulsion should be the focus, but spin-off for terrestrial microgrids may provide near term job increases for Ohio and collaboration potential for advanced work.

The control methods developed should be applicable for AC and DC systems, but the choice for how the work is done can be made based on preference.

Minimum expectation would be for a model based simulation that has heritage in validated models, with extension to this effort. Use of H/W emulators and/or simulators that provide hardware confidence is better, but not required.

Yes. It is not a direct fit for the AOI, but NAMRU-D has interest and active research in this problem space. Strong interest. Possibly the general AOI#12?

Applied research. TRL 3 and above.

Speaking from a NAMRU-Dpoint of view, areas of improvement for currently available devices would include:

Size/portability
Multiplicity; having devices that monitor multiple exposures
Real-time data delivery

#1 and #2 both support compliance in that you can’t “weigh down” a Warfighter with bulky or a lot of devices. They have enough to do and enough to carry; if the device(s) isn’t/aren’t feasible, then it’s useless. #3 – bringing a device back and sending it off only to receive the data a week later does not allow risk assessments to be made during a mission. Having these data is helpful in any capacity, but in real-time (with data logging/storing capability) is of most use.

The answer is “no” from a NAMRU-D perspective.

Yes

The focus of the topic is on near peer competition so this could be anything from a single aircraft to a large number of aircraft. Sensors are likely to be federated - different systems on different platforms. But approaching the problem from the point of view of a single platform is a good starting point.

We spoke to our AFRL contact lead and he thought your technology was indeed very relevant to the AOI’s you’ve referenced and could be proposed.

Only if it's part of a multi-function system. That is, if the sensor or sense making is the primary output.

Yes, very interested in hybrid systems for long duration flights.

You are permitted to use a subcontractor located outside of Ohio as long as you meet the OFRN eligibility requirements that proposals must include a minimum of two Ohio public or private universities or colleges and one Ohio industry partner each with significant contribution to the proposed effort. Also, keep in mind that the OFRN Round 5 Opportunity Announcement is focused on expanding Ohio’s research and development capabilities across the state’s academic institutions and business in support of Ohio-based federal partner needs, which ultimately promotes Ohio’s economic growth. Section 4.2 of the solicitation outlines evaluation criteria additional factors. One of these factors is the project’s plan to capitalize on Ohio assets – personnel, small businesses, test capabilities, and university assets.

Student names are not expected in the proposal. Intern names can be confirmed after awards are made in early May. The information to include in the proposal should be focused on your plan for a student intern. Include the following information as referenced in Appendix 1 and the Jan. 20 Bidders Conference and Proposal Training:

Student’s core curriculum should be STEM focused with student recruitment limited to Ohio Universities and Community Colleges.
Create a purpose statement defining the nature of the internship work and how it will benefit the proposed project outcome.
Describe the Innovation opportunities the Student will be exposed to and how their participation will enhance their learning and benefit their individual career path.
Describe the Project Team’s mechanisms for interacting with Students and providing an inclusive environment.

Develop a timeline, budget and oversight structure for the program along with a mechanism for the Student to provide their own assessment of the experience. Project Teams are encouraged to investigate and utilize existing academic and State programs currently in operation.

Q. Round 5: for our subcontractor letters of intent do they also have to make their cost share commitment?

Q. Round 5: Need help understanding “B2.5 Indirect Costs” APPENDIX 6. It appears that awards do not allow for any fee and our rates haven't been finalized with DCAA, then are we limited to a 10% overhead rate?

Q. Round 5: My interpretation of the solicitation is that only Cost Reimbursement No-Fee contracts will be considered. Is it correct to assume that a for Profit company would not be able to propose a fixed fee in response to this solicitation?

Q. Round 5: Regarding Technical proposal submission: can we include figures in the Appendix, which does not count towards page limits? If so, is there a quick guideline of the number of figures?

Q. Round 5: Font size: The solicitation states 10 point minimum while the proposal training states 11 point minimum. Which is correct?

Q. Round 5: For the Feb. 25 submissions, should the different sections (8 page proposal, 2 page supplemental, appendices) be included in the same document file, or should a zipped file of separate documents be submitted?

Q. Round 5: Question Regarding budget – the Anticipated individual awards: $750k to $2M each. Does this include cost share?

Q. Round 5: For our cost proposal, is a ROM acceptable, or does OFRN want us to quantify every aspect of our project (e.g. screw, nut, resistor, capacitor)?

Q. Round 5: Regarding SEE Guidelines: Can universities be a host organization, to be the employer for the student interns?

Q. Round 5: Confirming that Section 3.2.12 of Volume 1 should include signed Letters of Intent (per RFP “Signed copies of all subcontractor letters of intent must be attached to the proposal.”) and that this section will not count towards the 8 page limit.

Q. Round 5: The cover page requests funding requested by calendar year, 2021/ 2022. Is intent for project periods to align with calendar year, so 2021 cover period 5/25/21 thru 12/31/21 and 2022 cover period 1/1/22 thru 11/25/22 for projects going for 18 mo.

Q. Round 5: Can the project start date be after May 25th or does it have to be May 25th? For example, could a project begin on June or July 1, 2021?

Q. Round 5: I wanted to make sure we understood it right. The subcontractor SOW and detailed cost is only required for Volume 2 and not for Volume 1, correct? We only need a LOI, cost estimate and personnel for subcontracts for Volume 1, is that correct?

Q. Round 5: Is it correct that someone without a PhD can serve as a lead PI?

Q. Round 5: Does the lead organization have to budget subcontractor costs, e.g., to the university teams on the high-level budget estimates in the proposal submission?

Q. Round 5: AFRL is willing to commit resources (generator, power electronics, laboratory space, technician support) for our. Is that acceptable? Can it be included as part of our cost share?

Q. Round 5: What information about the students do we need to include in the proposal?

Q. Round 5: Are there any templates (in Word format) available for the cover page and Volume 1A? There are few tables in the document.

Q. Round 5: Our second, required University collaborator, however, did likely not participate in the virtual events help by OFRN. Does this preclude them or can we include them in our proposal?

Q. Round 5: Who will pay these interns? Is it us or will the University pay them?

Q. Round 5: Number of hours for student interns. Is there a minimum or maximum number of hours that student interns can work with us?

Q. Round 5: Does the company have to hire the intern from the university of the project? or the company can hire any intern they need for the project?

Q. Round 5: Does the PhD, Master, and Undergraduate students hired as research assistant for the project counted as part of the internship identified in SEE program?

Q. Round 5: The total costs is $2M. Is this the amount that can be requested from OFRN, or is the amount requested from OFRN + the cost share limited to $2M?

Q. Round 5: Is the following correct: 3.2.7 Technical Objectives section goes in Volume 1 - Technical Volume; and 3.4.1.8 Proper Prepared Statement of Work section goes in Volume 2 - Business and Cost Proposal?

Q. Round 5: the subcontractor section in Volume 1. Do we need to included SOW, detailed cost proposal, unique qualifications, citizenship,...? Seems like the SOW and detailed cost proposal would be more appropriate for Volume 2

Q. Round 5: Where do I send questions regarding OFRN Round 5 solicitation?

Q. R5 What do I include on the cover page? Do I put a statement like <organization name> is not debarred, suspended or proposed for debarment as the result of performance under any federal contract, grant, or cooperative agreement in place of current text?

Q. Round 5: We have a Federal Partner identified, instructions say no formal LoS required...should we include an informal statement of support or interest from the TPOC?

Q. Round 5: Can we claim cost share from resources of our federal partners? For example, if we partner with AFRL and they let us use equipment or labs for testing, can the cost of that equipment use be considered cost share for the team?

Q. Round 5: Is TRL 3 the minimum at the start or at the end of the project? If at the start, is there a higher TRL that should be targeted by the end of the project?

Q. Round 5: Is the SEE program for graduate students only or can undergrads participate?

Q. Round 5: Are the interns expected to start on/around May 24th? Nearly all of my good students have lined up opportunities for the summer, and I cannot ask the others to commit to an opportunity that may or may not occur.

Q. Round 5: Can Graduate Student and Post Doc be considered as the SEE internship?

Q. Round 5: What are the steps to sign up for Cost Share? Is there a link for the information on Cost Share?

Q. Round 5: If your project is relevant to multiple AOIs, should you list all of them, or just pick the one it is most relevant towards to get the correct technical review committee?

Q. Round 5: Can the Ohio industry partner be a subcontractor of the university?

Q. Round 5: Can we work with AFRL, NAMRU, and NASA for a single AOI?

Q. Round 5: Can a federal partner be a sub-awardee for any work they will execute? Is there a funding limit for the federal awardee?

Q. Round 5: Does volume 1 cost estimate and cost share documentation have to be exactly the same as in volume 2? i.e. can we add new cost share sources that weren't known for vol 1, or can we make slight changes to the cost budget?

Q. Round 5: Can we build on prior DoD STTR/SBIR efforts that have federal partners? Could we use OFRN as follow-on funding for these projects?

Q. Round 5: Is there a ballpark for cost share that makes a proposal more competitive?

Q. Round 5: Companies those have been already funded in the past by OFRN, do they have less chances to get funded in other projects?

Q. Round 5: We need some clarification on the page count regarding reference. The technical volume page count is 8 pages. Do references count towards the page count?

Q. Round 5: Where do we include the SEE program in the volume 1 submission?

Q. Round 5: Do the University partners have to be Ohio based Universities?

Q. Round 5: Can Sinclair, or other associate colleges, be a university partner in the OFRN proposal?

Q. Round 5: Are there funding priorities on these AOIs?

Q. Round 5: My company is hoping to submit a proposal for OFRN. Is there a template that you suggest using?

Q. Round 5: We are working with a company who we would like partner with. They cannot provide monetary support, and want to work in an advisory capacity and provide a letter of support. Can they count employee time as cost share?

Q. Round 5: My understanding is that the team has to form to include two Ohio universities and one industrial partner. My question is regarding the eligibility of the industrial partner: Can it be an international company (Canadian company)?

Q. The Round 5 FOA only says an industry partner is required but doesn’t say it should be an Ohio based industry company. We want to double check if the industry company needs to be Ohio based.

Q. Round 5: Will we accept/award a proposal with a TRL level below 3 if the SME mentioned in an infosession that TRL below 3 is acceptable, but the RFP document states otherwise?

Q. Round 5: Can a company put in more than 1 proposal in a given area, such as situational awareness?

Q. Round5: During this round will there be any cap to the number of submissions an organization can submit as a prime?

Q. Round 5: I did see there were mandatory proposal development training sessions. Do you know the times and modality for those (online?) and when and how we can register for it? I believe one was 2 December.

Q. Round 5: Did you record the November Info session?

Q. Round 5: Does the PI have to participate in the Jan. 20 training session for the team to qualify, or is it enough that the Proposal Manager is in the session?

Q. Round 5: Where can I find the schedule and registration link for the Regional Workshops offered Dec. 2 – 9?

Q. Round 5: Can a single university apply along with industry and federal lab partners? The requirement states two university collaborations but I wanted to see if there is flexibility in the partnerships.

Q. Round 5: I am in charge of an office located in Fairborn and we are looking for ways to grow. However, my company’s headquarters are in Connecticut. If I assembled an appropriate team of Ohio-based labs and universities, are we eligible to participate?

Q. Round 5: Will there be a partnering portal?

Q. Round 5: Can participants get a copy of the pre-release information session slide deck?

Q. Round 5: Please advise if the OFRN Round 5 formal solicitation is announced. If so, could you provide the pointer to it.

Q. Round 5: AOI#7 - Would new power conversion topologies for aviation applications, specifically active rectification, be consider responsive to this AOI? The project would focus more on hardware and less on digital control.

Q. Round 5: AOI#7 - What TRL for AOI #7? Is a prototype system going to be built?

Q. Round 5: AOI#7 - Is the target here more future looking for, say Lunar operations, or more for commercialization?

Q. Round 5: AOI#7 - Is there a preference for either AC or DC Microgrids?

Q. Round 5: AOI#7 - Is hardware prototype based demonstration required/needed for the control, protection, and stability etc?

Q. Round 5: AOI #4 - Wearable motion systems tracking real-time occupational jobs relative to injury risks fit this need

Q. Round 5: AOI #4 -What technology readiness level is a good fit for this program?

Q. Round 5: AOI #4 There are a lot of commercial products for personal exposure monitoring devices. Can you discuss where you see the largest gaps being with these? Specifically chemical/particulate devices?

Q. Round 5: AOI#4 - Would research on decision making or cognitive effects fall under this AOI?

Q. Round 5: Would there be interest in technologies that can remotely determine heath, such as heart rate, prior to landing for care or evac, be of interest?

Q. Round 5: What scale of scenario would best suit AOI#2?

Q. Round 5: The FOA doesn’t clearly say if OFRN is interested in electric motor technology. Does electric motor technology fall under one of the following AOIs?

Q. Round 5: Is communications in a mesh network part of situational awareness?

Q. Round 5: AOI#1 - Second wave long duration type vehicles were mentioned. Is this topic interested in developing and demonstrating high energy systems for long duration operations?

Q. Round 5: Are we permitted to use a subcontractor / consultant that is located outside of Ohio without any presence in the state?

Q. Round 5: Do we need to have interns selected before the Feb 25th deadline, or do we simply need to show the mechanisms for our SEE program are in place and confirm interns before next deadlines, perhaps April or May?