Chapter 6. Submission of Proposals

6.1 The Submission Process
6.2 Electronic Technical Proposal Preparation
6.3 Internet Submission
6.4 Postal Submission
6.5 Acknowledgment of Proposal Receipt
6.6 Withdrawal of Proposals

6. Submission of Proposals

6.1 The Submission Process

6.1.1 Submission Requirements

NASA is in the process of converting to a completely electronic process for management of the STTR and SBIR programs. This management approach requires that a proposing firm have Internet access via the World Wide Web, and an E-mail address. The advantages to the firm are:

1. Faster, cheaper, simpler submission of Phase-I and Phase-I proposals.
2. Faster and better communication among awardee firms, contracting officers, and contracting officer’s technical representatives (COTRs) will expedite Phase-I and Phase-II contract negotiation, administration and close-out.
3. Faster and better communication between Phase-I and Phase-II awardee firms and NASA will facilitate success story collection, marketing surveys, intellectual property (i.e. patent) applications, and non-NASA marketing of resultant products.

A proposal submission is comprised of three parts:

1. Electronic Technical Proposal Submission. (Section 6.2) The Electronic Technical Proposal must be submitted either with the Internet Submission (Section 6.3) or on electronic media with the Postal Submission (Section 6.4).
2. Internet Form Submission of Proposal Cover Sheet (Form 9A), Project Summary Sheet (Form 9B), and Summary Budget Sheet (Form 9C) (Section 6.3.) is required
3. Postal Submission of the original signed proposal plus three copies. (Section 6.4.)

By technical proposal, we mean the part of the submission as described in section 3.4.

Word Processor. NASA converts all electronic technical proposal files to PDF format for evaluation purposes. Therefore, NASA requests that technical proposals be submitted in PDF format, and encourages companies to do so. Other acceptable formats for PC are AmiPro, ClarisWorks for Windows, MS Works, Text, MS Word, WordPerfect, Postscript, and Adobe Acrobat. Other acceptable formats for Macintosh are ClarisWorks, MS Works, MacWrite Pro, Text, MS Word, WordPerfect, Postscript, and Adobe Acrobat. If the file is self-extracting, then the offeror is limited to MS Word or WordPerfect formats. Unix and TeX users please note, due to PDF difficulties with non-standard fonts, please output technical proposal file to DVI format.

Graphics. The offeror is encouraged for reasons of space conservation and simplicity, but not required, to embed graphics within the word processed document. For graphics submitted as separate files, the acceptable file formats (and their respective extensions) are: Bit-Mapped (.bmp), Graphics Interchange Format (.gif), JPEG (.jpg), PC Paintbrush (.pcx), WordPerfect Graphic (.wpg), and Tagged-Image Format (.tif).   

Data Compression. Offerors are permitted to submit compressed data files using the Internet or Postal Submission. For PC based submissions, the Pkzip data compression application shall be used. For Macintosh-based submissions, the Stuffit data compression application shall be used.

Limitations. While only the paper copy will be screened for administrative compliance, the various files comprising the electronic version are required to exactly reflect the paper version.

Virus Check. The offeror is responsible for performing a virus check on each submitted technical proposal. As a standard part of entering the proposal into the processing system, NASA will scan each submitted electronic technical proposal for viruses. The detection, by NASA, of a virus on any submitted electronic technical proposal, may cause rejection of the proposal.

6.3 Internet Submission

An Electronic Handbook for submitting proposals via the World Wide Web is available on the NASA SBIR/STTR Home Page (http://sbir.nasa.gov). The handbook will electronically guide the submitting firm through the various steps for submitting STTR proposals, and issue secure user identification and passwords for each submission. The electronic handbook also includes: SBIR/STTR overview, schedules, previous awards history, sample proposals, other Federal SBIR/STTR Internet sites, and the 1998 STTR Solicitation. In addition, the electronic handbook supports secure electronic submission of Forms 9A, 9B and 9C, the technical proposal, award announcements, and debriefings. Communication between NASA and the firm will be via a combination of e-mail and electronic handbooks.

Important: After you have submitted Forms 9A, 9B, and 9C via the Internet, you may use the handbook for printing out the three forms on your own printer. These forms should be used as part of your Postal Submission.

Postal Submissions are comprised of:

1. One original signed paper copy of the proposal, including paper copies of the signed Cooperative Agreement and all original forms (printed from 6.3 above)
2. Three additional paper copies of the entire proposal. Each proposal copy is to be stapled separately.
3. The electronic technical proposal as defined in Section 6.2 (if Internet submission is not utilized). Do not submit Forms 9A, 9B, and 9C on electronic media. These must be submitted via the web site.

Paper Copies of Proposal. Do not use bindings or special covers. Staple the pages of each copy of the proposal in the upper left-hand corner only. Secure packaging is mandatory. NASA cannot process proposals damaged in transit. All items for any proposal must be sent in the same envelope. If more than one proposal is being submitted, each proposal must be in its own envelope, but all proposals may be sent in the same package. Do not send duplicate packages of any proposal as "insurance" that at least one will be received.

Electronic Media for Technical Proposal. If electronic technical proposals are submitted in the Postal Submission, they must be submitted in duplicate (primary and backup) on acceptable electronic media. Acceptable electronic media include 3.5-inch diskettes, Iomega ZIP disks, or CD ROMs in either PC or Macintosh formats. Electronic media can be used to submit multiple electronic technical proposals for multiple submissions as long as (1) each submission is placed in a separate folder (or directory), and (2) the folder is named using the Internet Submission provided Proposal Submission ID. Electronic media shall be clearly labeled externally with the following information: Primary or Backup, Proposal Title and Number, Offeror Name, Computer Platform and Software used, Compression Program used (if any), and a listing of all files on the media.

All proposals that are mailed through the U.S. Postal Service first class, registered, or certified mail; proposals sent by express mail or commercial delivery services; or hand-carried proposals must be to be delivered to the following address between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. EDT:

Allied Technology Group, Inc.
Mail Stop 120
4200 Forbes Blvd. Suite 106
Lanham, MD 20706-4342

The following telephone number may be used when required for reference by delivery services: (301)-918-1980. Proposals cannot be received on Saturdays, Sundays, or Federal holidays.

Deadline for receipt of Phase-I proposals is 5:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday, May 14, 1998. Any proposal received after that date and time will be considered late. Since the postmark (or other carrier’s date mark) will be the evidence on which the decision is made, offerors must assure themselves that the postmark (or other carrier’s date mark) is clear and easily legible; hand cancellation is suggested. Postage meter date stamps are not acceptable. It is not sufficient for an electronically submitted proposal to be on time, the signed original paper version must be received at NASA by the date and time stated above. Proposals may not be submitted by facsimile. Late proposals will not be eligible for award and will be rejected without review.

NASA will acknowledge receipt of proposals by email to the address on the proposal cover sheet. If a proposal acknowledgment is not received within 30 days following the closing date of this Solicitation, the offeror should call (301)-918-1980. NASA will not respond to such inquiries made prior to June 14, 1998.

Proposals may be withdrawn by written notice, fax, or telegram (including Mailgram) received at any time before award. Proposals may also be withdrawn in person by an offeror or an authorized representative, if the representative's identity is made known and the representative signs a receipt for the proposal.

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