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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Small Business Technology Transfer 1998 Program Solicitation

Chapter 4. Method of Selection and Evaluation Criteria 

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4.1 Phase-I
4.2 Phase-II
4.3 Debriefing of Unsuccessful Offerors

4.1.1 Phase-I Evaluation Process. Proposals judged to be responsive to this solicitation will be evaluated on a competitive basis. Proposals will be first screened for compliance with the administrative requirements of the solicitation. Those that are accepted will then be reviewed to determine whether they respond to the topic chosen by the offeror. All evaluations will be based upon the criteria specified in Section 4.1.2.

Evaluators rely only on information contained in the proposals. Offerors should not assume that evaluators are acquainted with the firm, the research institution, key individuals, or with any experiments or other information. Any pertinent references or publications should be noted in Part 5 of the technical proposal.

4.1.2 Phase-I Evaluation Criteria. Each proposal will be judged and scored on its own merits using the factors described below.

Factor 1. Scientific/technical merit and feasibility of the proposed cooperative R/R&D effort; the relevance of the intellectual property to meeting a NASA need described in a technical topic contained in this solicitation; and the specific objectives, approaches, and plans for converting the intellectual property into useful products or services.

Factor 2. Experience and qualifications of the SBC offeror, research institution, principal investigator or project manager, key personnel, staff, consultants and subcontractors, if any, and the adequacy of available or obtainable instrumentation and facilities for the project. Experience and qualifications will be judged in terms their relevance to the stated objectives of the offeror's proposed cooperative R/R&D effort.

Factor 3. Effectiveness of the proposed organization and plans for accomplishing the goals of the cooperative R/R&D effort, including definition of responsibilities for joint work plans; effective use of assets by the offeror and research institution; the budget; and schedules for meeting the Phase-I objectives. Of special importance is the demonstration of the offeror’s ability to organize efforts for effective conversion of intellectual property provided by the research institution into products or services of value to NASA and the commercial marketplace.

Factor 4. Commercial merit and feasibility of potential commercial applications in the private sector or for use by the Federal Government.

Scoring of Factors and Weighting: The sum of the scores for factors 1, 2 and 3 constitutes the numerical value for the Technical Merit of a proposal. Factor 1 is about twice the weight of factors 2 and 3. Only proposals of high technical merit will be evaluated for their commercial merit and feasibility. The score for Commercial Merit will be in the form of an adjectival rating (Excellent, Very Good, Average, Below Average, Poor, Insufficient Data).

4.1.3 Selection After a proposal is evaluated, it will be ranked relative to all others evaluated under the same topic. Those considered suitable for selection will be recommended for further consideration by the NASA Center STTR Committee. The committee will prepare final recommendations for selection based on proposal merit, program priorities, and mission needs. These recommendations will then be forwarded to the selection official at NASA Headquarters. Selection decisions will consider the recommendations from all Centers, overall NASA priorities, and program balance.

Firms selected for negotiations that may lead to an award will be notified by mail. The list of selections will also be available electronically via the Internet and by public announcement. The notification letters will identify the Contracting Officer at the NASA Center responsible for negotiating a Phase-I contract.

4.1.4 Contracting Fixed-price contracts will be issued for Phase-I. Simplified contract documentation is employed. SBCs selected for negotiation of contract awards can reduce processing time by examining the procurement documents, furnishing the contracting officer with signed representations and certifications, and indicating any contract terms to be negotiated or agreement with the contract terms. NASA will make the Phase-I model contract and other documents available to the public on the NASA SBIR/STTR home page (http://sbir.nasa.gov) at the time of selection announcement. From the time of proposal selection until the award of a contract, only the contracting officer is authorized to commit the Government, and all communications must be through the Contracting Officer or the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative as indicated in writing.

4.1.5 Allocation of Rights Agreement. After being selected for Phase-I contract negotiations, but before the contract starts, the offeror shall, if requested, provide to the Contracting Officer at the managing NASA Center, a completed Allocation of Rights Agreement (ARA), which has been signed by authorized representatives of the SBC, RI and subcontractors and consultants, as applicable. The ARA shall state the allocation of intellectual property rights with respect to the proposed STTR activity and planned follow-on research, development and/or commercialization.

Selection of Phase-II proposals will be based on evaluation factors listed in Section 4.2.3 and other considerations as discussed in Section 4.2.4.

4.2.1 Phase-II Proposals. The STTR Phase-I contract will serve as the request for proposal (RFP) for an STTR Phase-II follow-on contract except (1) when NASA notifies the contractor that the area or topic of R/R&D no longer has high priority in the agency, or (2) when NASA notifies the contractor that the Phase-I R/R&D results are not worthy of continuation. Submission of a Phase-II proposal is strictly voluntary, and NASA assumes no responsibility for proposal preparation cost. NASA is not obligated to fund any specific Phase-II proposals (Section 1.1).

Phase-II proposals are more comprehensive than those required for Phase-I. They shall be submitted no later than the end of the Phase-I contract performance term; however, contractors are encouraged to submit their proposals and the Phase-I final reports as early as possible. Final selections will be based upon the evaluation of the Phase-I final report and the Phase-II proposal.

4.2.2 Phase-II Proposal Contents. Phase-II proposals shall be addressed in the following "Part" order listed. Failure to include any requested information in the proposal may make it non-responsive to the RFP.

Part 1: Cover Page. (Form provided by NASA)

Part 2: Project Summary. (Form provided by NASA)

Part 3: Table of Contents.

Part 4: Results of the Phase-I Project. Briefly describe how Phase-I has proven the feasibility of the innovation, provided a rationale for both NASA and commercial applications, and demonstrated the ability of the offeror to conduct the R/R&D.

Part 5: Phase-II Technical Objectives, Approach, and Work Plan. Define the specific technical objectives of the Phase-II research and technical approach to meet these objectives; and provide a work plan defining specific tasks, performance schedules, milestones, and deliverables.

Part 6: Company Information. Describe the capability of the firm to carry out Phase-II and Phase-III activities including its organization, operations, number of employees, R/R&D capabilities, and experience relevant to the work proposed.

Part 7: Facilities and Equipment. Discuss requirements for and the availability of equipment, instrumentation, and facilities required for Phase-II.

Part 8: Key Personnel. Identify the key personnel for the project, confirm their specific availability for Phase-II, and discuss their qualifications in terms of education, work experience, and accomplishments that are relevant to the project.

Part 9: Consultants and Subcontracts. Describe in detail any subcontracting, consultant, or other business arrangements and provide written evidence of their availability for the project. For Phase-II, a minimum of 40% of the work must be performed by the proposing small business concern unless approved in writing by the contracting officer.

Part 10: Commercialization and Phase-III Plans. Describe plans for commercialization (Phase-III) in terms of each of the following areas:

1. Product or Service Commercial Feasibility
2. Market Feasibility and Competition
3. Strategic Relevance to the Offeror
4. Current and Proposed Personnel and Organizational Structure relevant to bringing innovative technology to commercial application.
5. Production and Operations, Plans and Dates, and
6. Financial Resources and Planning

Part 11: Capital Commitments Supporting Phases II and III. Describe and document capital commitments from non-STTR sources or from internal funds for pursuit of Phase-II and Phase-III. Potential Phase-II contractors are strongly urged to obtain valid non-STTR funding support commitments for (1) follow-on Phase-III activities and (2) additional support of Phase-II from parties other than the proposing firm. Valid funding support commitments must provide that a specific, substantial amount will be made available to the firm to pursue the stated Phase-II and/or -III objectives. They must indicate the source, date, and conditions or contingencies under which the funds will be made available. Alternatively, self-commitments of the same type and magnitude that are required from outside sources can be considered. If Phase-III will be funded internally, offerors should describe their financial position.

Evidence of funding support commitments from outside parties must be provided in writing to the proposing entity, and should accompany the Phase-II proposal. Letters of commitment should specify funding commitments, availability, other resources to be provided, and any contingent conditions. Expressions of technical interest by such parties in the Phase-II research or of potential future financial support are insufficient and will not be accepted as support commitments by NASA.

Part 12: Related R/R&D. Describe R/R&D related to the proposed work and affirm that the proposed objectives have not already been achieved and that the same development is not presently being pursued elsewhere under contract to the government.

Part 13: Proposal Pricing. Special instructions for pricing the Phase-II proposal will be provided in the Phase-I contract and may be provided in writing by the contracting officer.

4.2.3 Phase-II Evaluation Factors. The evaluation of Phase-II proposals that may result from Phase-I contracts awarded under this solicitation will apply the following factors:

Factor 1. Scientific/technical merit and feasibility of the proposed R/R&D, with special emphasis on its innovativeness, originality, and technical payoff potential if successful, including the degree to which Phase-I objectives were met, the feasibility of the innovation, and whether the Phase-I results indicate a Phase-II project is appropriate.

Factor 2. Future importance and eventual value of the product, process, or technology results to the NASA mission.

Factor 3. Capability of the Small Business Concern. NASA will assess the capability of the concern to conduct Phase-II based on (a) the validity of the project plans for achieving the stated goals, (b) the qualifications and ability of the project team (Principal Investigator/Project Manager, company staff, consultants and subcontractors) relative to the proposed research, and (c) the availability of any required equipment and facilities.

Factor 4. Commercial Potential. Consideration will be given to the commercial potential of the technology; demonstrated commercial intent of the offeror; and capability of the offeror to bring successfully developed technology to commercial application

In applying these commercial criteria, NASA will assess proposal information in terms of credibility, objectivity, reasonableness of key assumptions, independent corroborating evidence, internal consistency, demonstrated awareness of key risk areas and critical business, and other indicators of sound business analysis and judgment.

4.2.4 Evaluation and Selection. Factors 1, 2, and 3 will be scored numerically. Factors 2 and 3 are of equal importance, while Factor 1 is more important than either 2 or 3. The sum of the scores for Factors 1, 2, and 3 will comprise the Total Technical Merit score for a Phase-II proposal. Proposals receiving high numerical scores will be evaluated and rated for their commercial potential using the criteria listed in Factor 4 and by applying the same adjectival ratings as set forth for Phase-I proposals (Section 4.1.2).

Each NASA Installation managing Phase-I projects will use these factors to evaluate the Phase-II proposals it receives that are responsive to the Phase-II RFP. Those found to be responsive will be evaluated in greater depth by a peer review process that may include reviewers from government, academia, and private industry. The Center's STTR Committee will recommend proposals for award to the STTR Source Selection Official. Final selections by the STTR Source Selection Official will be based on recommendations from all Centers; NASA Headquarters Program Offices’ assessments of project value to NASA programs and plans; and any other evaluations or assessments (particularly of commercial potential) that may become available to the Source Selection Official.

After Phase-I and Phase-II selection decisions have been announced, a proposal critique (debriefing) for an unsuccessful offeror will be available to the offeror's corporate official or designee. Only written requests will be honored; telephone requests for debriefings will not be accepted. Debriefings are not opportunities to reopen selection decisions. They are intended to acquaint the offeror with perceived strengths and weaknesses of the proposal and perhaps identify constructive future action by the offeror. Debriefings may also be available electronically through Internet access (Section 6.3).

Debriefings will not disclose the identity of the proposal evaluators nor provide proposal scores, proposal rankings in the competition, or the content of, and comparisons with other proposals with which they were in competition.

4.3.1 Phase-I Debriefings. For Phase-I proposals, all requests for debriefing must be in writing to the STTR Program Manager at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and be post-marked within 60 days after notification has been mailed to the offeror. Late requests will not be honored.

4.3.2 Phase-II Debriefings. To request debriefings on Phase-II proposals, offerors must write to the Contracting Officer at the appropriate NASA Center (not the STTR Program Manager) within 60 days after notification was mailed to the offeror that their proposal was not selected. Late requests will not be honored.

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