Grantee Research Project Results

Special Announcement

Amendment to the SBIR Phase I Solicitation - SOL-NC-13-00012
An amendment was made to

incorporate clause "Principal Investigator (PI) Substitution due to Death, Resignation or Illness",
incorporate additional language under Section IV "Method of Selection And Evaluation Criteria" part (A) page 16, "Technical Evaluation Criteria",
remove in it's entirety and replace instructions under parts 1-3 located at "Company Registry Requirements", Section IV "Method of Selection And Evaluation Criteria" and
revise Section III entitled "Proposal Preparation Instructions And Requirements", part (A) page 11, "Proposal Page Limit".

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
National Center for Environmental Research
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)

SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH
PHASE I Program Solicitation
RFP# SOL-NC-13-00012

CLOSED: FOR REFERENCE PURPOSES ONLY

Recipients List

SBIR Phase I Research Topics

ISSUE DATE: June 27, 2013
CLOSING DATE: August 13, 2013 *

* CAUTION - See Section V., Paragraph J.9(c), Instructions to Offerors, Concerning Late Proposals and Modifications.

Your proposal with an original and two (2) copies (including all appendices) and one (1) CD-ROM with a Portable Document Form (PDF) copy of your proposal shall be received at one of the following addresses by 12:00 p.m. (noon) eastern time on August 13, 2013.

Please Read this entire solicitation carefully prior to submitting your proposal.

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE MAIL ADDRESS:

NOTICE: This address should NOT be used for U.S. Postal Service Express Mail Signature Required Service.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Solicitation No. SOL-NC-13-00012 SBIR Phase I
Attention: Judy Ancharski SBIR Phase I
RTP Procurement Operations Division (E105-02)
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711

Offerors are advised that use of U.S. Postal Service Mail may result in delays in receipt of the offer at the required location. Offerors are further advised that delivery to the U.S. Post Office in Research Triangle Park, NC and the Post Office Boxes within that facility does not constitute delivery to the Procurement Operations Division of U.S. EPA in Research Triangle Park, NC.

HAND CARRIED, COURIER DELIVER, AND U.S. POSTAL EXPRESS MAIL SIGNATURE REQUIRED DELIVERY:

Notice: This address should be used for commercial delivery, including Federal Express, United Parcel Service, DHL, and similar carriers. It also includes any hand carried offer from the offeror or its agents. This address must also be used for U.S. Postal Service Express Mail Signature Required.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Solicitation No. SOL-NC-13-00012 SBIR Phase I
Attention: Judy Ancharski SBIR Phase I
RTP Procurement Operations Division (E105-02)
4930 Old Page Road
Durham, NC 27703

IMPORTANT:

Offerors should note and consider Federal Acquisition Regulation Clause 52.215(c)(3), “Instructions to Offerors – Competitive Acquisitions” concerning Late Proposals, Modification of Proposals and Withdrawal of Proposals.

It is the responsibility of Offerors to send proposals with sufficient time to allow delivery to the Procurement Operations Division by the date and time specified.

Table of Contents

Section
I.	Program Description
	A.	Overview
	B.	SBIR Program Phases
	C.	Fraud Waste and Abuse
	D.	Guidelines
	E.	Award Amounts
	F.	Contact Information
II.	Definitions
	A.	Research or Research and Development (R/R&D)
	B.	Funding Agreement
	C.	Subcontract
	D.	Small Business Concern
	E.	Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Small Business Concern
	F.	Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Individual
	G.	Women-Owned Small Business Concern
	H.	Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone)
	I.	Primary Employment
	J.	United States
	K.	Commercialization
	L.	SBIR Technical Data
	M.	SBIR Technical Data Rights
III.	Proposal Preparation Instructions and Requirements
	A.	Proposal Page Limit
	B.	Proposal Cover Sheet
	C.	Project Summary
	D.	Technical Contact
	E.	Cost Breakdown/Proposed Budget
	F.	Phase I Quality Assurance Statement (QAS)
IV.	Method of Selection and Evaluation Criteria
	A.	Technical Evaluation Criteria
	B.	Release of Proposal Review Information
	C.	Phase I to Phase II Transition Rate Benchmark
	D.	Company Registry Requirements
V.	Considerations
	A.	Awards
	B.	Reports
	C.	Payment Schedule
	D.	Innovations, Inventions, and Patents
	E.	Cost Sharing
	F.	Profit or Fee
	G.	Joint Ventures or Limited Partnerships
	H.	Research and Analytical Work
	I.	Contractor Commitments
	J.	Additional Information
VI.	Submission of Proposals
VII.	SBIR Phase I Research Topics
	A.	Water
	B.	Innovation in Manufacturing
	C.	Waste
	D.	Air Quality
	E.	Homeland Security
	F.	People Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Special Funding Opportunity
VIII.	Submission Forms and Certifications
	A.	Appendix A
	B.	Appendix B
	C.	Appendix C
	D.	Appendix D
	E.	Appendix E
	F.	Appendix F
	G.	Appendix G
	H.	Appendix H

SBIR PHASE I SOLICITATION

I. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Overview

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites small businesses to submit research proposals under this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Solicitation. Proposals must directly pertain to EPA’s mission of protecting human health and the environment. The SBIR program is a phased process across the Federal Government of soliciting proposals and awarding funding agreements for research (R) or research and development (R&D) to meet stated agency needs or missions.

EPA is interested in advanced technologies that address priority environmental issues. In this year’s solicitation, an attempt has been made to focus and limit the topics in order to have more impact in specific areas. The proposed research must be responsive to the more focused topic descriptions in this year’s solicitation. This year there are six general areas: Safe and Sustainable Water Resources (Topic A. Water), Chemical Safety for Sustainability (Topic B. Innovation in Manufacturing), Sustainable and Healthy Communities (Topic C. Waste), Air/Climate/Energy (Topic D. Air Quality), E. Homeland Security, and F. People, Prosperity, and the Planet (P3) Special Funding Opportunity.

In order to facilitate proposal reviews by external peer reviewers with specialized expertise and by EPA technical personnel with focused program needs and priorities, offerors must designate a research topic and the corresponding topic code for their proposal. The same proposal may not be submitted under more than one topic. An organization may, however, submit separate proposals on different topics, or different proposals on the same topic, as long as the proposals are not duplicative. If such duplicates are submitted, only one will be reviewed. Refer to Sections IV, V, and VI for additional requirements. Where similar research is discussed under more than one topic, the offeror shall choose the topic most relevant to the proposed research. It is the complete responsibility of offerors to select and identify the best topic for their proposals.

SBIR PHASE I RESEARCH TOPICS

The Phase I research topics and the corresponding topic codes are listed (and hyperlinked) below and described in more detail in section VII.

SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCES
- A. Water
  - A.1 Drinking Water
  - A.2 Wastewater, Stormwater, and Water Reuse
CHEMICAL SAFETY FOR SUSTAINABILITY
- B. Innovation in Manufacturing
- B.1 Green Manufacturing
- B.2 Green Materials
SUSTAINABLE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
- C. Waste
  - C.1 Monitoring
  - C.2 Waste-to-Energy Systems
AIR/CLIMATE/ENERGY
- D. Air Quality
  - D.1 Air Pollution Monitoring
  - D.2 Air Pollution Control
E. HOMELAND SECURITY
- - E.1 Decontamination and Waste Treatment Disposal
  - E.2 Drinking Water and Wastewater Systems Security
F. PEOPLE, PROSPERITY, AND THE PLANET (P3) SPECIAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
SBIR Program Phases

Offerors are responsible for submitting proposals, and any modifications or revisions, so as to reach the Government office designated in this solicitation by the time specified in this solicitation. See Section V, Paragraph J.9(c), Instructions to Offerors, concerning Late Proposals and Modifications.

THIS SOLICITATION IS FOR PHASE I PROPOSALS ONLY.

To stimulate and foster technological innovation, including increasing private sector applications of Federal research or R&D, EPA's program follows the SBIR program's uniform process:
1. PHASE I. Phase I involves a solicitation of proposals to conduct feasibility related experimental research or R&D related to described agency requirements. The objective of this phase is to determine the technical feasibility and preliminary commercialization potential of the proposed effort and the quality of performance of the small concern with a relatively small agency investment before consideration of further Federal support in Phase II. The Government is not obligated to fund any specific Phase I proposal. The maximum dollar amount of awards under this Phase I solicitation is $100,000 and the term of performance should not exceed six months.
2. PHASE II. Phase II proposals may only be submitted by small business who have received Phase I awards. Phase II is the principal research or R&D effort and Phase II projects should normally be completed in 24 months. The objective is to continue the research or R&D initiated under Phase I and work toward commercialization of the technology. Phase II awards are expected to include full scale testing of the technology, but may not necessarily complete the total research and development that may be required to satisfy commercial or federal needs beyond the SBIR program. Completion of the research and development may be through Phase III.
  
  It is anticipated that approximately six (6) Phase II awards will be made, each with a dollar amount of $300,000 and a 24 - month term of performance. For Phase II, the Agency is planning to require a Phase II Commercialization Option under which Phase II offerors shall submit a proposal for $100,000 additional funding to expand R&D efforts to accelerate commercialization. EPA federal funds must be designated strictly for advancing the research related elements of the project. The entire Phase II proposal including the option will be evaluated together. Documentation for the Phase II Commercialization Option are receipts showing that at least $100,000 was transferred to the contractor from one or more third party investors, such as a venture capital firm, an individual "angel" investor, state or local funding source, or another company under a partnership, licensing or joint venture arrangement, or any combination of third parties.
  
  For companies awarded Phase I contracts under this solicitation and who choose to submit a follow-on EPA Phase II Proposal, the follow-on Phase II Solicitation will be issued on/about September 1, 2014, and proposals will be due on/about November 19, 2014. The EPA Phase II evaluation criteria will be as follows:
  
  PHASE II CRITERIA
  
  The following Phase II peer review criteria have equal weight.
  1. Technical Merit: Adequately established proof of concept in Phase I. Demonstrated the soundness of the scientific and technical principles underlying the technology. Technology is ready to move from laboratory scale to pilot scale and prototype development.
  2. Performance Demonstration: Adequacy of staff, facilities, and resources to demonstrate and evaluate in Phase II the technical performance, environmental benefits, and cost of the technology at pilot or larger scale. Likelihood the technology will be a “game-changer” when compared with the performance, benefits, and cost of existing and likely competitor technologies in the field. Adequacy of the Phase II Quality Assurance Statement.
  3. Company/Team: Management Team demonstrated effective performance and good working relations in Phase I. PI, supporting staff, and consultants demonstrated commitment to the project and have adequate plans to continue and enhance that commitment in Phase II. In Phase I, company effectively used external advisors such as leaders in technical, entrepreneurial, financial, and other relevant areas and has adequate plans to continue and strengthen these relationships in Phase II.
  4. Commercialization Potential: Adequacy of market analysis and product marketing plans. Adequacy of business development strategy and plans for Phase II and beyond. Adequacy of current and planned facilities and resources for scaling up production to gain market penetration. Likelihood of successfully crossing the “valley of death.”
  5. Partners/Investors: Adequacy of company’s progress in Phase I in building relationships with commercial, distribution, and/or other relevant partners that would result in successful commercialization of the technology. Adequacy of plans for moving in Phase II to more formalized relationships with these and other partners. Success in obtaining investment commitments for Phase II and beyond.
3. PHASE III. Where appropriate and needed in order to complete the research and development, there may be a third phase which is funded by:
  1. Non-federal sources of capital for commercial applications of SBIR funded research or research and development.
  2. Federal government with non-SBIR federal funds for SBIR derived products and processes that will be used by the federal government.
  3. Non-SBIR federal funds for the continuation of research or research and development that has been competitively selected using peer review or scientific review criteria.
Fraud Waste and Abuse

To report fraud, waste or abuse in EPA programs, contact the OIG Hotline.

E-mail: OIG_Hotline@epa.gov

Postal Mail:
EPA Inspector General Hotline
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Mailcode 2431T

Phone: 1-888-546-8740
Fax: 1-202-566-2599
Guidelines

Each offeror submitting a proposal must qualify as a small business for research or R&D purposes at the time of award of Phase I and Phase II funding agreements. In addition, the primary employment of the principal investigator must be with the small business firm at the time of contract award and during the conduct of the proposed research. Principal investigators who appear to be employed by a university must submit a letter from the university stating that the principal investigator, if awarded a SBIR contract, will become a less-than-half-time employee of the university. Also, a principal investigator who appears to be a staff member of both the applicant and another employer must submit a letter from the second employer stating that, if awarded a SBIR contract, he/she will become a less than half-time employee of such organization. Letters demonstrating that these requirements have been fulfilled shall be submitted prior to contract award to the addressee stated in Section VI of this solicitation. Failure to do so may jeopardize award. Also, for both Phase I and Phase II, the research or R&D work must be performed in the United States. (For definition of the United States, see Section II. J.)
Award Amounts

For Phase I, the Government anticipates the award of approximately $2.0M in firm fixed price contracts at a maximum dollar amount of $100,000 each including profit, but reserves the right to change either the number of awards or the amount of the individual awards depending on the outcome of the selection process. The contractor’s period of performance is expected to be 6 months. Source selection will not be based on a comparison of cost or price. However, cost or price will be evaluated to determine whether the price, including any proposed profit, is fair and reasonable and whether the offeror understands the work and is capable of performing the contract.
Contact Information

Potential offerors are encouraged to communicate via E-mail. All inquiries concerning this solicitation shall be submitted to the following E-mail address:

Judy Ancharski (ancharski.judy@epa.gov)

If E-mail is not available to you, written or telephone inquiries may be directed to:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Attention: Judy Ancharski, SBIR Phase I
RTP Procurement Operations Division (E105-02)
Research Triangle Park, N.C. 27711
Telephone: (919) 541-5293 SBIR Hotline
Fax: (919) 541-4273

II. DEFINITIONS

For purposes of this solicitation, the following definitions apply:

Research or Research and Development (R/R&D)

Any activity that is:
1. A systematic, intensive study directed toward greater knowledge or understanding of the subject studied;
2. A systematic study directed specifically toward applying new knowledge to meet a recognized need; or
3. A systematic application of knowledge toward the production of useful materials, devices, and systems or methods, including design, development, and improvement of prototypes and new processes to meet specific requirements.
Funding Agreement

Any contract, grant, or cooperative agreement entered into between any Federal Agency and any small business concern for the performance of experimental, developmental, or research work, including products or services, funded in whole or in part by the Federal Government.
Subcontract

Any agreement, other than one involving an employer-employee relationship, entered into by an awardee of a funding agreement calling for supplies or services for the performance of the original funding agreement.
Small Business Concern

A small business concern is one that, at the time of award of Phase I and Phase II, meets all of the following criteria:
1. Is organized for profit, with a place of business in the United States (US), which operates primarily within the US or which makes a significant contribution to the US economy through payment of taxes or use of American products, materials or labor;
2. Is in the legal form of an individual proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, joint venture, association, trust, or cooperative, except that where the form is a joint venture, there can be no more than 49 percent participation by business entities in the joint venture;
3. Is at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are citizens of, or permanent resident aliens in, the United States or it must be a for-profit business concern that is at least 51% owned and controlled by another for-profit business concern that is at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are citizens of, or permanent resident aliens in, the US – (except in the case of a joint venture); and
4. Has, including its affiliates, not more than 500 employees.
Majority Ownership in Part by Multiple Venture Capital, Hedge Fund, and Private Equity Firms. For this EPA SBIR FY 2013 solicitation, the EPA’s SBIR Program will not accept proposals from or make awards to small business concerns that are owned in majority part by multiple venture capital operating companies, hedge funds, or private equity firms. Small business concerns with such ownership are ineligible to submit proposals under this solicitation.
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Small Business Concern

A socially and economically disadvantaged small business concern is one that is at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, or an Indian tribe, including Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs), a Native Hawaiian Organization (NHO), or a Community Development Corporation (CDC). Control includes both the strategic planning (as that exercised by boards of directors) and the day-to-day management and administration of business operations. See 13 CFR 124.109, 124.110, and 124.111 for special rules pertaining to concerns owned by Indian tribes (including ANCs), NHOs or CDCs, respectively.
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Individual

A member of any of the following groups:
1. Black Americans;
2. Hispanic Americans;
3. Native Americans (American Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts, or Native Hawaiians);
4. Asian-Pacific Americans (persons with origins from Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Japan, China (including Hong Kong), Taiwan, Laos, Cambodia (Kampuchea), Vietnam, Korea, The Philippines, U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Republic of Palau), Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Samoa, Macao, Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, or Nauru);
5. Subcontinent Asian Americans (persons with origins from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, the Maldives Islands, or Nepal); and
6. Other groups designated from time to time by SBA pursuant to Section 124.103 (d) of 13 CFR Ch.1(1-1-02 Edition).
Women-Owned Small Business Concern

A small business concern that is at least 51 % owned by and controlled by a woman or women. Control includes both the strategic planning (as that exercised by boards of directors) and the day-to-day management and administration of business operations.
Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone)

A small business concern meeting the following requirements:
1. Located in a HUBZone area located in one or more of the following:
  1. A qualified census tract (as defined in Section 42(d)(5)(C)(i)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
  2. A qualified "non-metropolitan county" (as defined in Section 143 (k)(2)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) with a median household income of less than 80 percent of the State median household income or with an unemployment rate of not less than 140 percent of the Statewide average, based on US Department of Labor recent data; or,
  3. Lands within the boundaries of federally recognized Indian reservations.
2. Owned and controlled by one or more US Citizens; and,
3. At least 35% of its employees must reside in a HUBZONE.
Primary Employment

More than one-half of the principal investigator's time is spent in the employ of the small business concern.
United States

The 50 States, the Territories and possessions of the Federal Government, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.
Commercialization

The process of developing marketable products or services and producing and delivering products or services for sale (whether by the originating party or by others) to Government or commercial markets.
SBIR Technical Data

All data generated during the performance of an SBIR award.
SBIR Technical Data Rights

The rights a small business concern obtains in data generated during the performance of any SBIR Phase I, Phase II, or Phase III award that an awardee delivers to the Government during or upon completion of a Federally-funded project, and to which the Government receives a license.

III. PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

Proposal Page Limit

Proposals submitted in response to this Phase I of the SBIR program shall not exceed a total of 25 pages, one side only. Exceptions being the requirements set forth in Section III.D.12, "Prior SBIR Awards" and the one page print out showing the company has registered in the SBA company registry (described in IV. D). The 25 pages shall include the cover page, budget, and all enclosures or attachments. Pages (including enclosures or attachments such as letters of recommendation) should be of standard size (8 ½" x 11"; 21.6 cm x 27.9 cm) with 2.5 cm margins and type no smaller than 10 point font size. All pages shall be consecutively numbered. Proposals in excess of the 25 page limitation shall not be considered for review or award. Any additional attachments, appendices or references beyond the 25-page limitation shall result in the proposal not being considered for review or award. A letter of transmittal is not necessary. If one is furnished, it shall not be attached to every copy of the proposal. If a letter of transmittal is attached to every copy of the proposal, it will be counted as page 1 of the proposal. No binders are necessary. If binders are provided, they will be counted as pages even if no printing or writing is thereon.
Proposal Cover Sheet

The offeror shall photocopy (or download from the Internet) and complete Appendix A of this solicitation which has the relevant solicitation number and applicable research topics and the corresponding topic codes as page 1 of each copy of each proposal. The offeror shall select one (and only one) research topic and the corresponding topic code on the cover sheet. It is the complete responsibility of offerors to select and identify the best research topic and the corresponding topic code for their proposal. No other cover shall be permitted. Do not use cover sheets from previous years’ solicitations; they include obsolete research topics and corresponding topic codes. When downloading the solicitation from the Internet, Appendix A may print on no more than two pages, but will only count as one page per Appendix. If Appendix A exceeds two pages, any additional pages will count toward the 25-page limitation. Offerors may reformat the forms to correct spacing and pagination errors, however, identical information shall be provided.

The original of the cover sheet shall contain the pen-and-ink signatures of the principal investigator and the corporate/business official authorized to sign the proposal.
Project Summary

The offeror shall complete Appendix B as page 2 of each proposal. Appendix B may be no more than two pages, but will only count as one page per Appendix. If Appendix B exceeds two pages, any additional pages will count toward the 25-page limitation. Offerors may reformat the forms to correct spacing and pagination errors, however, identical information shall be provided. The Project Summary shall include a technical abstract with a brief description of the problem or opportunity, the innovation, project objectives, and description of the effort. In summarizing anticipated results, the implications of the approach (for both Phases I and II) and the potential commercial applications of the research shall be stated. THE ABSTRACT (APPENDIX B) IS USED EXTENSIVELY DURING THE EXTERNAL PEER REVIEW AND EPA INTERNAL PROGRAMMATIC REVIEW. The project summary and proposal title (Appendix B) of successful proposals will be published by EPA and, therefore, must not contain proprietary information. No changes shall be allowed.
Technical Contact

Begin the main body of the proposal on page 3. As a minimum, the following shall be included:

The Phase I plan shall provide limited information on the subjects described below. Explain what will be done during Phase I to decide on applications, markets, production and financing. The Commercialization Plan shall address:
1. IDENTIFICATION AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROBLEM OR OPPORTUNITY. A clear statement of the specific technical problem or opportunity addressed and the environmental benefits. INFORMATION ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TECHNOLOGY IS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THE EXTERNAL PEER REVIEW AND EPA INTERNAL PROGRAMMATIC REVIEW. Where appropriate, proposals should describe the positive and negative environmental impacts based on an assessment of the full life cycle of the new product or technology. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) refers to the analysis of impacts throughout all stages of a product or process from production to use to disposal. Integration of a life cycle perspective into the environmental analysis typically considers impacts from raw materials extraction, manufacture, packaging, distribution, use, and disposal.
2. PHASE I OBJECTIVES. State the specific objectives of the Phase I research and development effort; including the technical questions it will try to answer to determine the feasibility of the proposed approach.
3. PHASE I WORK PLAN. This section provides a detailed description of the work plan. The work plan should describe what will be done, where it will be done and how the R/R&D will be carried out. The work planned to achieve each task should be discussed in detail, to enable a complete scientific and technical evaluation of the work plan. A work schedule should also be provided.
4. RELATED RESEARCH OR R&D. Describe significant research or R&D that is directly related to the proposal including any conducted by the project manager/principal investigator or by the proposing firm. Describe how it relates to the proposed effort, and any planned coordination with outside sources. Offerors must demonstrate their awareness of key recent research or R&D conducted by others in the specific topic area by providing appropriate references from the literature and other published documents.
5. KEY PERSONNEL AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF DIRECTLY RELATED WORK. Identify key personnel involved in Phase I including their directly related education, experience and bibliographic information. Where vitae are extensive, summaries that focus on the most relevant experience or publications are desired and may be necessary to meet proposal size limitations.
6. RELATIONSHIP WITH FUTURE RESEARCH OR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. State the anticipated results of the proposed approach if the project is successful (Phase I and II). A discussion of cost-effectiveness is paramount, especially comparing the state-of-the-art approaches with the proposed approach. Discuss the significance of the Phase I effort in providing a foundation for Phase II R/R&D effort.
7. FACILITIES. A detailed description, availability and location of instrumentation and physical facilities proposed for Phase I shall be provided.
8. CONSULTANTS. Involvement of consultants in the planning and research stages of the project is permitted. If such involvement is intended, it should be described in detail and vitae should be provided.
9. COMMERCIALIZATION PLAN. Provide an abbreviated 2-3 page plan related directly to producing an innovative product, process or device and getting it into commercial production and sales. Comprehensive business plans (that are company rather than project oriented) are not desired. The Phase I plan is a roadmap toward producing a detailed Phase II Commercialization Plan which shall be required as part of the Phase II Application.
  
  NOTE: In accordance with the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011, EPA is able to provide discretionary commercialization assistance to SBIR awardees. The Agency may provide up to $5,000 of SBIR funds for technical assistance per award. EPA intends to provide Phase I awardees with technical assistance through a separate EPA arrangement. For Phase I, this assistance will be in addition to the award amount. If you wish to receive commercialization assistance from the EPA vendor (Foresight), you do not need to include this in your budget.
  1. SBIR Project: Brief description of the company, its principal field(s) of interest, size and current products and sales. A concise description of the SBIR project and its key technical objectives.
  2. Commercial Applications: Potential commercial applications of the research results specifying customers and specific needs that will be satisfied. Have you or do you intend to file for one or more patents as a result of the SBIR project?
  3. Competitive Advantages: What is particularly innovative about the anticipated technology or products? (Innovation may be expressed in terms of applications, performance, efficiencies or reduced cost. To determine if your innovation is likely to result in intellectual property that may be legally protected, it helps to conduct a patent search and look for related work being funded by EPA or another Federal agency. A fact sheet on how to search for patents and related federally-funded work is provided in Appendix D.) What significant advantages in application, performance, technique, efficiency, or costs, do you anticipate your new technology will have over existing technology? (In order to assess such advantages, it is useful to compare the anticipated performance of your technology against substitutable products currently being sold or emerging out of R&D. If regulations, industry standards or certifying requirements apply to your technology or product, these provide useful criteria for comparing your anticipated performance with potentially competing technology and products. However, other expressions of end-user needs may also contain important criteria).
  4. Markets: What are the anticipated specific markets for the resulting technology, their estimated size, classes of customers, and your estimated market share 5 years after the project is completed and/or first sales? Who are the major competitors in the markets, present and/or anticipated?
  5. Commercialization: Briefly describe how you plan to produce your product. Do you intend to manufacture it yourself, subcontract the manufacturing, enter into a joint venture or manufacturing agreement, license the product, etc.? Briefly describe the approach and steps you plan to take to commercialize the research results to significant sales. Do you plan to market the product yourself, through dealers, contract sales, marketing agreements, joint venture, sales representatives, foreign companies, etc.? How do you plan to raise money to support your commercialization plan? Describe what steps you plan to take towards building relationships with commercial, distribution or financial partners aimed at furthering the commercialization of the technology.
10. SIMILAR OR CLOSELY RELATED SBIR AWARDS. If the small business concern has received ANY prior Phase I or Phase II award(s) from EPA or any Federal agency for similar or closely related research, submit name of awarding agency, date of award, funding agreement number, amount and topic or subtopic title. DESCRIBE THE TECHNICAL DIFFERENCES AND REASONS WHY THE PROPOSED NEW PHASE I RESEARCH IS DIFFERENT FROM RESEARCH CONDUCTED UNDER PRIOR SBIR AWARDS. (This required proposal information shall be counted toward proposal pages count limitation.)
11. DUPLICATE OR EQUIVALENT SBIR PROPOSALS. A firm may elect to submit essentially equivalent work under other Federal Program Solicitations. In these cases, a statement shall be included in each such proposal indicating: the name and address of the agencies to which proposals were submitted or from which awards were received; date of proposal submission or date of award; title, number, and date of solicitations under which proposals were submitted or awards received; specific applicable research topics for each proposal submitted or award received; titles of research projects; name and title of project manager or principal investigator for each proposal submitted or award received. (This information shall count toward proposal pages count limitation.)
12. PRIOR SBIR AWARDS. If the small business concern has received ANY prior Phase II award from any Federal agency in the prior 5 fiscal years, submit name of awarding agency, date of award, funding agreement number, amount, topic or subtopic title, follow-on agreement amount, source and date of commitment and current commercialization status for each Phase II. (This required proposal information shall be included as an attachment to the proposals and shall not be counted toward proposal pages count limitation.) Information provided shall be limited to what has been requested. Proposals that contain information in the attachment beyond what is requested shall count toward the 25 page limitation.
Cost Breakdown/Proposed Budget

Complete the budget form in Appendix C and include the completed form immediately after proposal Section D.11. Photocopy the form for the required copies for submission. Incorporate the copy of the budget form bearing the original signature into the copy of the proposal bearing the original signature on the cover page. The completed budget form will count as one page in the 25 page limit. If budget explanation pages are included, they will count toward the 25 page limit. Offerors are encouraged to include the travel expenses on the budget form to attend a one-day SBIR Phase I Kick-Off Meeting in Washington, DC, soon after the Phase I awards are made.
Phase I Quality Assurance Statement (QAS)

Offerors must state whether or not their proposal involves data collection or processing, environmental measurements, modeling, or the development of environmental technology (whether hardware-based or via new techniques). The QAS describes processes that will be used to assure that results of the research satisfy the intended project objectives. EPA is particularly interested in the quality controls for data generation and acquisition, and how data validation and usability will be verified. This QAS shall not exceed one page and will be included in the 25 page limitation for the proposal. The QAS shall briefly address each of the sections below. If a section does not apply, provide a brief justification of why.
1. Identify the individual who will be responsible for the quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) aspects of the research along with a brief description of this person’s functions, experience and authority within the firm. Describe the firm’s general approach for conducting quality research. (QA is a system of management activities to ensure that a process or product is of the type and quality needed for the project. QC is a system of activities that measure the attributes and performance of a process or product against the standards defined in the project to verify that they will meet those stated requirements.)
2. Discuss project objectives, including quality objectives, any hypotheses to be tested, and the quantitative and/or qualitative procedures that will be used to evaluate the success of the project. Include any plans for peer or other reviews of the study design or analytical methods.
3. Address the collection of new primary data, if applicable: (Note: In this case the word “sample” is intended to mean any finite part of a statistical population whose properties are studied to gain information about the whole. If certain attributes listed below do not apply to the type of samples to be used in the research, simply explain why those attributes are not applicable.)
  
  Discuss the plan for sample collection and analysis. As applicable, include sample type(s), frequency, locations, sample sizes, sampling procedures, and the criteria for determining acceptable data quality (e.g., precision, accuracy, representativeness, completeness, comparability, or data quality objectives). Describe the procedures for the handling and custody of samples including sample collection, identification, preservation, transportation, storage and how the accuracy of test measurements will be verified. Describe or reference each analytical method to be used, any QA or QC checks or procedures with the associated acceptance criteria, and any procedure that will be used in the calibration and performance evaluation of the analytical instrumentation. Discuss the procedures for overall data reduction, analysis and reporting. Include a description of all statistical methods to make inferences and conclusions, acceptable error rates and any statistical software to be used.
4. Address the use of existing/secondary data (i.e., data previously collected for other purposes or from other sources), if applicable: Describe or reference each analytical method to be used, any QA or QC checks or procedures with the associated acceptance criteria, and any procedures that will be used in the calibration and performance evaluation of the analytical instrumentation. Discuss the procedures for overall data reduction, analysis and reporting. Include a description of all statistical methods to make inferences and conclusions, acceptable error rates and any statistical software to be used.
5. Address method development, if applicable: (Note: The data collected for use in method development or evaluation should be described in the QAS as per the guidance in sections 3 and/or 4 above.) Describe the scope and application of the method, any tests (and measurements) to be conducted to support the method development, the type of instrumentation that will be used and any required instrument conditions (e.g., calibration frequency), planned QC checks and associated criteria (e.g., spikes, replicates, blanks), and tests to verify the method’s performance.
6. Address development or refinement of models, if applicable: (Note: The data collected for use in the development or refinement of models should be described in the QAS as per the guidance in sections 3 and/or 4 above.)
  
  Discuss the scope and purpose of the model, key assumptions to be made during development/refinement, requirements for code development and how the model will be documented. Discuss verification techniques to ensure the source code implements the model correctly. Discuss validation techniques to determine that the model (assumption and algorithms) captures the essential phenomena with adequate fidelity. Discuss plans for long-term maintenance of the model and associated data.
7. Address development or operation of environmental technology, if applicable: (Note: The data collected for use in the development or evaluation of the technology should be described in the QAS as per the guidance in sections 3 and/or 4 above.)
  
  Describe the overall purpose and anticipated impact of the technology. Describe the technical and quality specifications of each technology component or process that is to be designed, fabricated, constructed and/or operated. Discuss the procedure to be used for documenting and controlling design changes. Discuss the procedure to be used for documenting the acceptability of processes and components, and discuss how the technology will be benchmarked and its effectiveness determined. Discuss the documentation requirements for operating instructions/guides for maintenance and use of the system(s) and/or process(s).
8. Discuss data management activities (e.g., record-keeping procedures, data-handling procedures, and the approach used for data storage and retrieval on electronic media). Include any required computer hardware and software and address any specific performance requirements for the hardware/software configuration used.
A more detailed Proposal Quality Assurance Plan will be required in Phase II. The plan will be required as part of the first monthly report under the Phase II contract.

IV. METHOD OF SELECTION AND EVALUATION CRITERIA

All Phase I proposals will be evaluated and judged on a competitive basis by peer reviewers from outside EPA. Proposals will be initially screened to determine responsiveness. As noted in Section III, proposals exceeding the 25-page limitation will not be considered for review or award. Also, as noted in Section I, any proposal addressing more than one research topic and failing to identify the research topic by topic code on the cover page will not be considered for review or award. Proposals passing this initial screening will be reviewed for technical and commercial merit by external peer reviewers, using the technical evaluation criteria described in A.1 below. Each of the criteria are equal in value. Peer reviewers will assign each proposal an adjectival rating of “excellent”, “very good”, “good”, “fair” or “poor”, using the specified criteria. Proposals rated “good”, “fair”, or “poor” will not be considered for award. The proposals assigned “excellent” and “very good” ratings, will then be subjected to the programmatic review within EPA, to further evaluate these applications in relation to program priorities and balance using the criteria specified in A.2 below. Each proposal will be judged on its own merit. The Agency is under no obligation to fund any proposal or any specific number of proposals in a given topic. It also may elect to fund several or none of the proposed approaches to the same topic or subtopic.

Technical Evaluation Criteria
1. EXTERNAL PEER REVIEW. The external peer review meetings will utilize the following evaluation criteria to rate each proposal. The criteria are of equal importance.
  
  PHASE I PEER REVIEW CRITERIA
  1. Relevance/Environmental Benefit: Relevance of the proposed technology to the selected research topic. Degree to which successful development of the technology would provide environmental and public health benefits in the topic area. Originality and potential uniqueness of the technology as a means of providing these benefits and adequacy of addressing the lifecycle impacts of the technology.
  2. Technical Merit: Soundness of the scientific and technical principles underlying the proposed technology. Robustness of the research plan and its likelihood of establishing the technical feasibility of the proposed technology. Capability of company to validate performance of the technology. Adequacy of the Quality Assurance Statement.
  3. Innovation: The uniqueness/ingenuity of the proposed concept or application as a technological innovation. Likelihood that the technology would be a “game-changer” in terms of significantly reducing costs, increasing performance, and improving environmental and public health benefits when compared with existing technologies.
  4. Company/Team: Technical and business qualifications of the principal investigator, supporting staff and consultants. A demonstrated commitment from the PI for developing and commercializing this technology. PI’s track record in creating innovative technologies and successfully bringing them to market. Quality and relevant capabilities of the supporting staff and facilities. Strength of the company’s management team. Evidence the management team has good relations and is effective in working together. Existence and use by company management of external advisors such as leaders in technical, entrepreneurial, financial and other relevant fields.
  5. Commercialization: Potential of the proposed technology to be commercially successful. Existence of a clear-cut technical need with significant market potential including knowledge of competitors. Quality of the company’s business strategy. Demonstrated progress of company towards building relationships with commercial, distribution and/or other relevant partners. Existence of patents or other considerations of intellectual property protection. Company track record of successfully developing and commercializing innovative technologies.
  Peer Review Panels exclude personnel from current Phase I contractors, Phase I offerors, and Phase II offerors from the panel. All peer reviewers will be queried on their SBIR contracts or proposals and will be required to sign an agreement to protect the confidentiality of all proposal material and to certify that no conflict of interest exists between the reviewer and the offeror. A copy of both forms is available upon request; however, the identity of the reviewers will not be released.
2. EPA PROGRAMMATIC REVIEW. The proposals that received ratings of "excellent" or "very good" by the external peer reviewer panel will be subject to the programmatic review by EPA program managers using the criteria set forth below to select which of the “excellent” and “very good” proposals will be funded. Please note that not all of the proposals rated “Excellent” or “Very Good” will receive a contract award. Projects will not be funded where EPA determines the proposed research is already being supported by EPA or another known source. The evaluation criteria, “a” through “c”, are of equal value and will be used to evaluate the applications. Final decisions will also consider overall balance of the EPA SBIR portfolio.
  
  PHASE I PROGRAMMATIC REVIEW CRITERIA
  1. How well the technology addresses the Phase I focus areas. The potential of the technology to meet Agency program priorities.
  2. The potential of the technology to advance sustainability including environmental, economic and societal benefits.
  3. The potential of the technology to be widely used, have broad application and/or to impact large segments of the population.
Release of Proposal Review Information

After final award decisions have been announced, the technical evaluations of the offeror's proposal will be provided to the offeror. The identity of the reviewers shall not be disclosed.
Phase I to Phase II Transition Rate Benchmark

To be eligible for a Phase I award under SBIR solicitations issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Phase I offerors that have received 20 or more Phase I SBIR awards over the 5 year period that ends one year prior to the date of submission of a proposal must meet a Phase I - Phase II transition rate of at least 0.25. The Phase I - Phase II transition rate reflects the minimum ratio of Phase II awards to Phase I awards received by an offeror in the target period.

If it is determined that a Phase I offeror subject to the Phase I - Phase II transition rate requirement does not meet the Phase I - Phase II transition rate, the offeror will not be eligible for a Phase I SBIR award for one year beginning on the date of the determination.

The Phase I - Phase II transition rate requirement does not apply to Phase I offerors that have received less than 20 Phase I awards during the target period. If a Phase I offeror that received 20 or more Phase I awards during the target period did not meet the Phase I – Phase II transition rate, but is able to demonstrate that at least 0.25 of their Phase I awards received either Phase II awards or research or development investments comparable in size to Phase II awards, the offeror may submit supporting documentation for consideration in lieu of meeting the Phase I - Phase II transition rate requirement.
Company Registry Requirements
1. The Small Business Administration (SBA) maintains and manages a Company Registry at SBIR/STTR to track ownership and affiliation requirements for all companies applying to the SBIR Program. The SBIR Policy Directive requires each small business concern (SBC) applying for a Phase I or Phase II award to register in the Company Registry prior to submitting a proposal.
2. The SBC will save its information from the registration in a .pdf document and will append this document to the last page of your technical proposal. This page will not count towards the 25 page limit.
3. All SBCs will report and/or update ownership information to SBA prior to each SBIR proposal submission or if any information changes prior to award. For example, if a concern that registers on the Company Registry becomes majority-owned by multiple venture capital operating companies, hedge funds, or private equity firms after the time it submitted its initial proposal (or other formal response) to a Phase I or Phase II SBIR announcement or solicitation, the SBC must update the Company Registry.

V. CONSIDERATIONS

Awards

The Government anticipates award of approximately twenty (20) firm-fixed-price contracts of up to $100,000 each including profit. It is expected that these contracts will be awarded with a contract start date of April 1, 2014. The period of performance for the contracts should not exceed six (6) months. The primary consideration in selecting proposals for award will be the technical and commercial merit of the proposal. Proposals shall be evaluated in accordance with the Technical Evaluation Criteria stated in IV.A. above. Source selection will not be based on a comparison of cost or price. However, cost or price will be evaluated to determine whether the price, including any proposed profit, is fair and reasonable and whether the offeror understands the work and is capable of performing the contract.

This current solicitation is for Phase I only, and the Government is not obligated to fund any specific Phase I proposal.

Funds are not presently available for this contract. The Government's obligation under this contract is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds from which payment for contract purposes can be made. No legal liability on the part of the Government for any payment may arise until funds are made available to the Contracting Officer for this contract and until the Contractor receives notice of such availability, to be confirmed in writing by the Contracting Officer.
Reports

All reports shall include the following information: EPA Contract Number; Company Name; Project Title; and Period covered by the report. All reports listed below shall be submitted in hardcopy to the Contract Specialist, and electronically to the Contract-level Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) and the EPA technical specialist.
1. Monthly Reports: The Contractor shall submit a Monthly Report describing progress made. The report shall be submitted within seven (7) calendar days after the end of the reporting period. Specific areas of interest shall include progress made and difficulties encountered during the reporting period, and a statement of activities anticipated during the subsequent reporting period. The report shall include any changes in personnel associated with the project. Also, the first month's report shall contain a summary and schedule of accomplishments for the subsequent months of the project. The Monthly Report shall include, as an attachment, a copy of the monthly voucher for the same period.
2. Final Report: The Contractor shall submit a comprehensive Final Report on the Phase I project. The report must be submitted by the completion date of the contract. The Contractor shall submit the Final Report Certification with the final report (see Appendix F). This Final Report shall include a single-page project summary as the first page, identifying the purpose of the research, a brief description of the research carried out, the research findings or results, and potential applications of the research in a final paragraph. The balance of the report should indicate in detail the research objectives, research work carried out, results obtained, and estimates of technical feasibility. The report should include a discussion of any commercialization activity carried out during Phase I as well as future commercialization plans.
3. Executive Summary: The Contractor shall submit a publishable (cleared for the general public) 2-3 page Executive Summary of the Final Report for Phase I by the completion date of the contract . This special report should be a true summary of the report, including the purpose of the project, work carried out and results. The summary should stress innovativeness and potential commercialization. The Executive Summary will be placed on the EPA SBIR website, and therefore, it should include the specific results the company is willing to release to the public.
Payment Schedule

Phase I payments will be made as follows:

Eighteen percent (18%) of the total contract price upon receipt and acceptance of a proper invoice with each of the first five monthly reports. The remainder shall be paid upon receipt and acceptance of the final report. Pursuant to the provisions of FAR 52.232-25, "Prompt Payment", payment will be rendered within thirty (30) days after receipt of a proper invoice.
Innovations, Inventions, and Patents
1. LIMITED RIGHTS INFORMATION AND DATA
  1. Proprietary Information
    
    Information contained in unsuccessful proposals will remain the property of the offeror. The Government may, however, retain copies of all proposals. Public release of information in any proposal submitted will be subject to existing statutory and regulatory requirements.
    
    If proprietary information is provided by an offeror in a proposal, which constitutes a trade secret, proprietary commercial or financial information, confidential personal information or data affecting the national security, it will be treated in confidence, to the extent permitted by law. This information must be clearly marked by the offeror with the term “confidential proprietary information" and the following legend must appear on the cover page of the proposal:
    
    "These data shall not be not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed in whole or in part for any other purpose other than evaluation of this proposal. If a funding agreement is awarded to this offeror as a result of or in connection with the submission of these data, the Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the funding agreement and pursuant to applicable law. This restriction does not limit the Government's right to use information contained in the data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained in pages ________ of this proposal."
    
    Any other legend may be unacceptable to the Government and may constitute grounds for removing the proposal from further consideration, without assuming any liability for inadvertent disclosure. The Government will limit dissemination of such information to within official channels.
  2. Alternative to Minimize Proprietary Information: Offerors shall limit proprietary information to only that absolutely essential to their proposal.
  3. Rights in Data Developed Under SBIR Funding Agreements: The Contract will contain a data clause which will provide the following:
    
    SBIR RIGHTS NOTICE (MAR 1994)
    
    These SBIR data are furnished with SBIR rights under Contract No.___________ (and subcontract _________ if appropriate). For a period of four (4) years after acceptance of all items to be delivered under this contract, the Government agrees to use these data for Government purposes only, and they shall not be disclosed outside the Government (including disclosure for procurement purposes) during such period without permission of the Contractor, except that, subject to the foregoing use and disclosure prohibitions, such data may be disclosed for use by support Contractors. After the aforesaid 4-year period the Government has a royalty-free license to use, and to authorize others to use on its behalf, these data for Government purposes, but is relieved of all disclosure prohibitions and assumes no liability for unauthorized use of these data by third parties. This Notice shall be affixed to any reproductions of these data, in whole or in part.
  4. Copyrights
    
    With prior written permission of the Contracting Officer, the Awardee normally may copyright and publish (consistent with appropriate national security considerations, if any) material developed with EPA support. EPA receives a royalty-free license for the Federal Government and requires that each publication contain an appropriate acknowledgment and disclaimer statement.
  5. Patents
    
    Small business concerns normally may retain the principal worldwide patent rights to any invention developed with Governmental support. The Government receives a royalty-free license for Federal Government use, reserves the right to require the patent holder to license others in certain circumstances, and requires that anyone exclusively licensed to sell the invention in the United States must normally manufacture it domestically. To the extent authorized by 35 U.S.C. 205, the Government will not make public any information disclosing a Government-supported invention for a 4-year period to allow the Awardee a reasonable time to pursue a patent.
Cost Sharing

Cost sharing is permitted for proposals under this Program Solicitation; however, cost sharing is not required nor will it be an evaluation factor in consideration of your proposal.
Profit or Fee

Reasonable fee (estimated profit) will be considered under this solicitation. For guidance purposes, the amount of profit shall not exceed 10% of total project costs.
Joint Ventures or Limited Partnerships

Joint ventures and limited partnerships are eligible provided the entity created qualifies as a small business as defined in this Program Solicitation.
Research and Analytical Work
1. For a SBIR Phase I proposal, a minimum of two-thirds of the research and/or analytical effort, as measured by the budget, must be performed by the proposing small business concern and the balance of one third may be outsourced to a consultant or subcontract or a combination of the two.
2. For a SBIR Phase II proposal, a minimum of one-half of the research and/or analytical effort, as measured by the budget, must be performed by the proposing small business concern and the balance of one-half may be outsourced to a consultant or subcontract or a combination of the two.
Contractor Commitments

Upon award of a funding agreement, the Awardee will be required to make certain legal commitments through acceptance of numerous clauses in Phase I funding agreements. The outline that follows is illustrative of the types of clauses to which the Contractor would be committed. This list should not be understood to represent a complete list of clauses to be included in Phase I funding agreements, nor to be specific wording of such clauses. Copies of complete terms and conditions are available upon request.
1. INSPECTION. Work performed under the contract is subject to Government inspection and evaluation at all times.
2. EXAMINATION OF RECORDS. The Comptroller General (or a duly authorized representative) shall have the right to examine any directly pertinent records of the awardee involving transactions related to this contract.
3. DEFAULT. The Government may terminate the contract if the Contractor fails to perform the work contracted.
4. TERMINATION FOR CONVENIENCE. The contract may be terminated at any time by the Government if it deems termination to be in its best interest, in which case the Contractor will be compensated for work performed and for reasonable termination costs.
5. DISPUTES. Any dispute concerning the funding agreement that cannot be resolved by agreement shall be decided by the Contracting Officer with right of appeal.
6. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY. The awardee will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
7. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION FOR VETERANS. The awardee will not discriminate against any employee or application for employment because he or she is a disabled veteran or veteran of the Vietnam era.
8. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION FOR HANDICAPPED. The awardee will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because he or she is physically or mentally handicapped.
9. OFFICIALS NOT TO BENEFIT. No Government official shall benefit personally from the contract.
10. COVENANT AGAINST CONTINGENT FEES. No person or agency has been employed to solicit or secure the contract upon an understanding for compensation except bonafide employees or commercial agencies maintained by the Contractor for the purpose of securing business.
11. GRATUITIES. The contract may be terminated by the Government if any gratuities have been offered to any representative of the Government to secure the contract.
12. PATENT INFRINGEMENT. The Contractor shall report each notice or claim of patent infringement based on the performance of the contract.
13. AMERICAN MADE EQUIPMENT AND PRODUCTS. When purchasing equipment or a product under the SBIR funding agreement, purchase only American-made items whenever possible.
Additional Information
1. The Program Solicitation is intended for informational purposes and reflects current planning. If there is any inconsistency between the information contained herein and the terms of any resulting SBIR funding agreement, the terms of the funding agreement are controlling.
2. Before award of an SBIR funding agreement, the Government may request the offeror to submit certain organizational, management, personnel, and financial information to assure responsibility of the offeror.
3. The Government is not responsible for any monies expended by the offeror before award of any funding agreement.
4. This Program Solicitation is not an offer by the Government and does not obligate the Government to make any specific number of awards. Also, awards under the SBIR program are contingent upon the availability of funds.
5. The EPA SBIR program is not a substitute for existing unsolicited proposal mechanisms. Unsolicited proposals shall not be accepted under the EPA SBIR program in either Phase I or Phase II.
6. If an award is made pursuant to a proposal submitted under this Program Solicitation, the Contractor will be required to certify that he or she has not previously been, nor is currently being, paid for essentially equivalent work by any agency of the Federal Government.
7. Notwithstanding the relatively broad definition of R/R&D in Section II, Definitions, hereof, awards under this solicitation are limited to APPLIED forms of research. Proposals that are surveys, including market, state-of the-art and/or literature surveys, which should have been performed by the offeror prior to the preparation of the proposal, or the preparation of allied questionnaires and instruction manuals, shall not be accepted. If such proposals are submitted, they shall be considered as not in compliance with the solicitation intent, and therefore, technically unacceptable.
8. The requirement that the offeror designate a topic, and only one topic, (see page 1, Section I above) is also necessary. EPA receives hundreds of proposals each year and has special panels of reviewers for review of each research topic. In order to assure that proposals are evaluated by the correct panel, it is the complete responsibility of the offeror to select and identify the best topic.
9. Instructions to Offerors - Competitive Acquisition (Jan 2004) FAR 52.215-1
  1. Definitions. As used in this provision- Discussions are negotiations that occur after establishment of the competitive range that may, at the Contracting Officer’s discretion, result in the offeror being allowed to revise its proposal.
    
    “In writing,” “writing,” or “written” means any worded or numbered expression that can be read, reproduced, and later communicated, and includes electronically transmitted and stored information.
    
    “Proposal modification” is a change made to a proposal before the solicitation’s closing date and time, or made in response to an amendment, or made to correct a mistake at any time before award.
    
    “Proposal revision” is a change to a proposal made after the solicitation closing date, at the request of or as allowed by a Contracting Officer as the result of negotiations.
    
    “Time,” if stated as a number of days, is calculated using calendar days, unless otherwise specified, and will include Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. However, if the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, then the period shall include the next working day.
  2. Amendments to solicitations. If this solicitation is amended, all terms and conditions that are not amended remain unchanged. Offerors shall acknowledge receipt of any amendment to this solicitation by the date and time specified in the amendment(s).
  3. Submission, modification, revision, and withdrawal of proposals.
    1. Unless other methods (e.g., electronic commerce or facsimile) are permitted in the solicitation, proposals and modifications to proposals shall be submitted in paper media in sealed envelopes or packages (I) addressed to the office specified in the solicitation, and (ii) showing the time and date specified for receipt, the solicitation number, and the name and address of the offeror. Offerors using commercial carriers should ensure that the proposal is marked on the outermost wrapper with the information in paragraphs (c)(1)(i) and (c)(1)(ii) of this provision.
    2. The first page of the proposal must show-
      1. The solicitation number;
      2. The name, address, and telephone and facsimile numbers of the offeror (and electronic address if available);
      3. A statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation and agreement to furnish any or all items upon which prices are offered at the price set opposite each item;
      4. Names, titles, and telephone and facsimile numbers (and electronic addresses if available) of persons authorized to negotiate on the offeror’s behalf with the Government in connection with this solicitation; and
      5. Name, title, and signature of person authorized to sign the proposal. Proposals signed by an agent shall be accompanied by evidence of that agent's authority, unless that evidence has been previously furnished to the issuing office.
    3. Submission, modification, revision, and withdrawal of proposals.
      1. Offerors are responsible for submitting proposals, and any modifications or revisions so as to reach the Government office designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the solicitation. If no time is specified in the solicitation, the time for receipt is 4:30 p.m., local time, for the designated Government office on the date that proposal or revision is due.
      2. Any proposal, modification or revision received at the Government office designated in the solicitation after the exact time specified for receipt of offers is “late” and will not be considered unless it is received before award is made, the Contracting Officer determines that accepting the late offer would not unduly delay the acquisition; and--
        
        If it was transmitted through an electronic commerce method authorized by the solicitation, it was received at the initial point of entry to the Government infrastructure not later than 5:00 p.m. one working day prior to the date specified for receipt of proposals; or
        
        There is acceptable evidence to establish that it was received at the Government installation designated for receipt of offers and was under the Government's control prior to the time set for receipt of offers; or
        
        It is the only proposal received.
        
        However, a late modification of an otherwise successful proposal that makes its terms more favorable to the Government, will be considered at any time it is received and may be accepted.
      3. Acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt at the Government installation includes the time/date stamp of that installation on the proposal wrapper, other documentary evidence of receipt maintained by the installation, or oral testimony or statements of Government personnel.
      4. If an emergency or unanticipated event interrupts normal Government processes so that proposals cannot be received at the office designated for receipt of proposals by the exact time specified in the solicitation, and urgent Government requirements preclude amendment of the solicitation, the time specified for receipt of proposals will be deemed to be extended to the same time of day specified in the solicitation on the first work day on which normal Government processes resume.
      5. Proposals may be withdrawn by written notice received at any time before award. Oral proposals in response to oral solicitations may be withdrawn orally. If the solicitation authorizes facsimile proposals, proposals may be withdrawn via facsimile received at any time before award, subject to the conditions specified in the provision at 52.215-5, Facsimile Proposals. Proposals may be withdrawn in person by an offeror or an authorized representative, if the identity of the person requesting withdrawal is established and the person signs a receipt for the proposal before award.
    4. Unless otherwise specified in the solicitation, the offeror may propose to provide any item or combination of items.
    5. Offerors shall submit proposals in response to this solicitation in English, unless otherwise permitted by the solicitation, and in U.S. dollars, unless the provision at FAR 52.225-17, Evaluation of Foreign Currency Offers, is included in the solicitation.
    6. Offerors may submit modifications to their proposals at any time before the solicitation closing date and time, and may submit modifications in response to an amendment, or to correct a mistake at any time before award.
    7. Offerors may submit revised proposals only if requested or allowed by the Contracting Officer.
    8. Proposals may be withdrawn at any time before award. Withdrawals are effective upon receipt of notice by the Contracting Officer.
  4. Offer expiration date. Proposals in response to this solicitation will be valid for the number of days specified on the solicitation cover sheet (unless a different period is proposed by the offeror).
  5. Restriction on disclosure and use of data. Offerors that include in their proposals data that they do not want disclosed to the public for any purpose, or used by the Government except for evaluation purposes, shall-
    1. Mark the title page with the following legend: This proposal includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed-in whole or in part-for any purpose other than to evaluate this proposal. If, however, a contract is awarded to this offeror as a result of-or in connection with-the submission of this data, the Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the resulting contract. This restriction does not limit the Government's right to use information contained in this data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained in sheets [insert numbers or other identification of sheets]; and
    2. Mark each sheet of data it wishes to restrict with the following legend: Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject to the restriction on the title page of this proposal.
  6. Contract award.
    1. The Government intends to award a contract or contracts resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror(s) whose proposal(s) represents the best value after evaluation in accordance with the factors and subfactors in the solicitation.
    2. The Government may reject any or all proposals if such action is in the Government’s interest.
    3. The Government may waive informalities and minor irregularities in proposals received.
    4. The Government intends to evaluate proposals and award a contract without discussions with offerors (except clarifications as described in FAR 15.306(a)). Therefore, the offeror’s initial proposal should contain the offeror’s best terms from a cost or price and technical standpoint. The Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if the Contracting Officer later determines them to be necessary. If the Contracting Officer determines that the number of proposals that would otherwise be in the competitive range exceeds the number at which an efficient competition can be conducted, the Contracting Officer may limit the number of proposals in the competitive range to the greatest number that will permit an efficient competition among the most highly rated proposals.
    5. The Government reserves the right to make an award on any item for a quantity less than the quantity offered, at the unit cost or prices offered, unless the offeror specifies otherwise in the proposal.
    6. The Government reserves the right to make multiple awards if, after considering the additional administrative costs, it is in the Government’s best interest to do so.
    7. Exchanges with offerors after receipt of a proposal do not constitute a rejection or counteroffer by the Government.
    8. The Government may determine that a proposal is unacceptable if the prices proposed are materially unbalanced between line items or subline items. Unbalanced pricing exists when, despite an acceptable total evaluated price, the price of one or more contract line items is significantly overstated or understated as indicated by the application of cost or price analysis techniques. A proposal may be rejected if the Contracting Officer determines that the lack of balance poses an unacceptable risk to the Government.
    9. If a cost realism analysis is performed, cost realism may be considered by the source selection authority in evaluating performance or schedule risk.
    10. A written award or acceptance of proposal mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time specified in the proposal shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party.
    11. If a post-award debriefing is given to requesting offerors, the Government shall disclose the following information, if applicable:
      1. The agency's evaluation of the significant weak or deficient factors in the debriefed offeror's offer.
      2. The overall evaluated cost or price and technical rating of the successful and the debriefed offeror and past performance information on the debriefed offeror.
      3. The overall ranking of all offerors, when any ranking was developed by the agency during source selection.
      4. A summary of the rationale for award.
      5. For acquisitions of commercial items, the make and model of the item to be delivered by the successful offeror.
      6. Reasonable responses to relevant questions posed by the debriefed offeror as to whether source-selection procedures set forth in the solicitation, applicable regulations, and other applicable authorities were followed by the agency.
10. Organizational Conflicts of Interest (EPAAR 1552.209-71) (May 1994) Alternate I (May 1994)
  1. The Contractor warrants that, to the best of the Contractor's knowledge and belief, there are no relevant facts or circumstances which could give rise to an organizational conflict of interest, as defined in FAR Subpart 9.5, or that the Contractor has disclosed all such relevant information.
  2. Prior to commencement of any work, the Contractor agrees to notify the Contracting Officer immediately that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, no actual or potential conflict of interest exists or to identify to the Contracting Officer any actual or potential conflict of interest the firm may have. In emergency situations, however, work may begin but notification shall be made within five (5) working days.
  3. The Contractor agrees that if an actual or potential organizational conflict of interest is identified during performance, the Contractor will immediately make a full disclosure in writing to the Contracting Officer. This disclosure shall include a description of actions which the Contractor has taken or proposes to take, after consultation with the Contracting Officer, to avoid, mitigate, or neutralize the actual or potential conflict of interest. The Contractor shall continue performance until notified by the Contracting Officer of any contrary action to be taken.
  4. Remedies - The EPA may terminate this contract for convenience, in whole or in part, if it deems such termination necessary to avoid an organizational conflict of interest. If the Contractor was aware of a potential organizational conflict of interest prior to award or discovered an actual or potential conflict after award and did not disclose it or misrepresented relevant information to the Contracting Officer, the Government may terminate the contract for default, debar the Contractor from Government contracting, or pursue such other remedies as may be permitted by law or this contract.
  5. The Contractor agrees to insert in each subcontract or consultant agreement placed hereunder provisions which shall conform substantially to the language of this clause, including this paragraph, unless otherwise authorized by the Contracting Officer.
11. Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number, (DEC 2012) FAR 52.204-6
  1. Definition. Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, as used in this provision, means the 9-digit number assigned by Dun and Bradstreet, Inc. (D&B) to identify unique business entities, which is used as the identification number for Federal Contractors.
  2. The offeror shall enter, in the block with its name and address on the cover page of its offer, the annotation “DUNS” or “DUNS+4” followed by the DUNS number or “DUNS+4” that identifies the offeror’s name and address exactly as stated in the offer. The DUNS number is a nine-digit number assigned by Dun and Bradstreet, Inc. The DUNS+4 is the DUNS number plus a 4-character suffix that may be assigned at the discretion of the offeror to establish additional CCR records for identifying alternative Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) accounts (see Subpart 32.11) for the same concern.
  3. If the offeror does not have a DUNS number, it should contact Dun and Bradstreet directly to obtain one.
    1. An offeror may obtain a DUNS number—
      1. Via the internet at Dun & Bradstreet CCR Webform or if the offeror does not have internet access, it may call Dun and Bradstreet at 1-866-705-5711 if located within the United States; or
      2. If located outside the United States, by contacting the local Dun and Bradstreet office. The offeror should indicate that it is an offeror for a U.S. Government contract when contacting the local Dun and Bradstreet office.
    2. The offeror should be prepared to provide the following information:
      (End of Provision)
      1. Company legal business name.
      2. Tradestyle, doing business, or other name by which your entity is commonly recognized.
      3. Company physical street address, city, state and Zip Code.
      4. Company mailing address, city, state and Zip Code (if separate from physical).
      5. Company telephone number.
      6. Date the company was started.
      7. Number of employees at your location.
      8. Chief executive officer/key manager.
      9. Line of business (industry).
      10. Company Headquarters name and address (reporting relationship within your entity).
12. Annual Representations and Certifications (JUN 2013), FAR 52.204-8
  1. 1. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 541712.
    2. The small business size standard is 500 employees.
    3. The small business size standard for a concern which submits an offer in its own name, other than on a construction or service contract, but which proposes to furnish a product which it did not itself manufacture, is 500 employees.
  2. 1. If the provision at 52.204-7, Central Contractor Registration, is included in this solicitation, paragraph (d) of this provision applies.
    2. If the provision at 52.204-7 is not included in this solicitation, and the offeror is currently registered in CCR, and has completed the ORCA electronically, the offeror may choose to use paragraph (d) of this provision instead of completing the corresponding individual representations and certifications in the solicitation. The offeror shall indicate which option applies by checking one of the following boxes:
      1. [ ] Paragraph (d) applies.
      2. [ ] Paragraph (d) does not apply and the offeror has completed the individual representations and certifications in the solicitation.
  3. 1. The following representations or certifications in ORCA are applicable to this solicitation as indicated:
      1. 52.203-2, Certificate of Independent Price Determination. This provision applies to solicitations when a firm-fixed-price contract or fixed-price contract with economic price adjustment is contemplated, unless—
        
        The acquisition is to be made under the simplified acquisition procedures in Part 13;
        
        The solicitation is a request for technical proposals under two-step sealed bidding procedures; or
        
        The solicitation is for utility services for which rates are set by law or regulation.
      2. 52.203-11, Certification and Disclosure Regarding Payments to Influence Certain Federal Transactions. This provision applies to solicitations expected to exceed $150,000.
      3. 52.204-3, Taxpayer Identification. This provision applies to solicitations that do not include the provision at 52.204-7, Central Contractor Registration.
      4. 52.204-5, Women-Owned Business (Other Than Small Business). This provision applies to solicitations that—
        
        Are not set aside for small business concerns;
        
        Exceed the simplified acquisition threshold; and
        
        Are for contracts that will be performed in the United States or its outlying areas.
      5. 52.209-2, Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations—Representation. This provision applies to solicitations using funds appropriated in fiscal years 2008, 2009, 2010, or 2012.
      6. 52.209-5, Certification Regarding Responsibility Matters. This provision applies to solicitations where the contract value is expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold.
      7. 52.214-14, Place of Performance—Sealed Bidding. This provision applies to invitations for bids except those in which the place of performance is specified by the Government.
      8. 52.215-6, Place of Performance. This provision applies to solicitations unless the place of performance is specified by the Government.
      9. 52.219-1, Small Business Program Representations (Basic & Alternate I). This provision applies to solicitations when the contract will be performed in the United States or its outlying areas.
        
        The basic provision applies when the solicitations are issued by other than DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard.
        
        The provision with its Alternate I applies to solicitations issued by DoD, NASA, or the Coast Guard.
      10. 52.219-2, Equal Low Bids. This provision applies to solicitations when contracting by sealed bidding and the contract will be performed in the United States or its outlying areas.
      11. 52.222-22, Previous Contracts and Compliance Reports. This provision applies to solicitations that include the clause at 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity.
      12. 52.222-25, Affirmative Action Compliance. This provision applies to solicitations, other than those for construction, when the solicitation includes the clause at 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity.
      13. 52.222-38, Compliance with Veterans’ Employment Reporting Requirements. This provision applies to solicitations when it is anticipated the contract award will exceed the simplified acquisition threshold and the contract is not for acquisition of commercial items.
      14. 52.223-1, Biobased Product Certification. This provision applies to solicitations that require the delivery or specify the use of USDA–designated items; or include the clause at 52.223-2, Affirmative Procurement of Biobased Products Under Service and Construction Contracts.
      15. 52.223-4, Recovered Material Certification. This provision applies to solicitations that are for, or specify the use of, EPA–designated items.
      16. 52.225-2, Buy American Act Certificate. This provision applies to solicitations containing the clause at 52.225-1.
      17. 52.225-4, Buy American Act—Free Trade Agreements—Israeli Trade Act Certificate. (Basic, Alternates I, II, and III.) This provision applies to solicitations containing the clause at 52.225-3.
        
        If the acquisition value is less than $25,000, the basic provision applies.
        
        If the acquisition value is $25,000 or more but is less than $50,000, the provision with its Alternate I applies.
        
        If the acquisition value is $50,000 or more but is less than $77,494, the provision with its Alternate II applies.
        
        If the acquisition value is $77,494 or more but is less than $100,000, the provision with its Alternate III applies.
      18. 52.225-6, Trade Agreements Certificate. This provision applies to solicitations containing the clause at 52.225-5.
      19. 52.225-20, Prohibition on Conducting Restricted Business Operations in Sudan—Certification. This provision applies to all solicitations.
      20. 52.225-25, Prohibition on Contracting with Entities Engaging in Certain Activities or Transactions Relating to Iran-Representation and Certifications. This provision applies to all solicitations.
      21. 52.226-2, Historically Black College or University and Minority Institution Representation. This provision applies to—
        
        Solicitations for research, studies, supplies, or services of the type normally acquired from higher educational institutions; and
        
        For DoD, NASA, and Coast Guard acquisitions, solicitations that contain the clause at 52.219-23, Notice of Price Evaluation Adjustment for Small Disadvantaged Business Concerns.
    2. The following certifications are applicable as indicated by the Contracting Officer:
      
      [Contracting Officer check as appropriate.]
      1. __ 52.219-22, Small Disadvantaged Business Status.
        
        __ Basic.
        
        __ Alternate I.
      2. __ 52.222-18, Certification Regarding Knowledge of Child Labor for Listed End Products.
      3. __ 52.222-48, Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Maintenance, Calibration, or Repair of Certain Equipment Certification.
      4. __ 52.222-52, Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Certain Services–Certification.
      5. __ 52.223-9, with its Alternate I, Estimate of Percentage of Recovered Material Content for EPA–Designated Products (Alternate I only).
      6. __ 52.227-6, Royalty Information.
        
        __ Basic.
        
        __ Alternate I.
      7. __ 52.227-15, Representation of Limited Rights Data and Restricted Computer Software.
  4. The offeror has completed the annual representations and certifications electronically via the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) website accessed through Acquisition Central. After reviewing the ORCA database information, the offeror verifies by submission of the offer that the representations and certifications currently posted electronically that apply to this solicitation as indicated in paragraph (c) of this provision have been entered or updated within the last 12 months, are current, accurate, complete, and applicable to this solicitation (including the business size standard applicable to the NAICS code referenced for this solicitation), as of the date of this offer and are incorporated in this offer by reference (see FAR 4.1201); except for the changes identified below [offeror to insert changes, identifying change by clause number, title, date]. These amended representation(s) and/or certification(s) are also incorporated in this offer and are current, accurate, and complete as of the date of this offer.
    
    FAR Clause # Title Date Change
    
    ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________
  Any changes provided by the offeror are applicable to this solicitation only, and do not result in an update to the representations and certifications posted on ORCA.
  
  (End of provision)
13. 52.219-1 Small Business Program Representations (APR 2012) FAR 52.219-1.
  1. 1. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 541712.
    2. The small business size standard is 500.
    3. The small business size standard for a concern which submits an offer in its own name, other than on a construction or service contract, but which proposes to furnish a product which it did not itself manufacture, is 500 employees.
  2. Representations.
    1. The offeror represents as part of its offer that it o is, o is not a small business concern.
    2. [Complete only if the offeror represented itself as a small business concern in paragraph (b)(1) of this provision.] The offeror represents, for general statistical purposes, that it o is, o is not, a small disadvantaged business concern as defined in 13 CFR 124.1002.
    3. [Complete only if the offeror represented itself as a small business concern in paragraph (b)(1) of this provision.] The offeror represents as part of its offer that it o is, o is not a women-owned small business concern.
    4. Women-owned small business (WOSB) concern eligible under the WOSB Program. [Complete only if the offeror represented itself as a women-owned small business concern in paragraph (b)(3) of this provision.] The offeror represents as part of its offer that—
      1. It o is, o is not a WOSB concern eligible under the WOSB Program, has provided all the required documents to the WOSB Repository, and no change in circumstances or adverse decisions have been issued that affects its eligibility; and
      2. It o is, o not a joint venture that complies with the requirements of 13 CFR part 127, and the representation in paragraph (b)(4)(i) of this provision is accurate for each WOSB concern eligible under the WOSB Program participating in the joint venture.[The offeror shall enter the name or names of the WOSB concern eligible under the WOSB Program and other small businesses that are participating in the joint venture: __________.]Each WOSB concern eligible under the WOSB Program participating in the joint venture shall submit a separate signed copy of the WOSB representation.
    5. Economically disadvantaged women-owned small business (EDWOSB) concern. [Complete only if the offeror represented itself as a women-owned small business concern eligible under the WOSB Program in (b)(4) of this provision.]The offeror represents as part of its offer that—
      1. It o is, o is not an EDWOSB concern eligible under the WOSB Program, has provided all the required documents to the WOSB Repository, and no change in circumstances or adverse decisions have been issued that affects its eligibility; and
      2. It o is, o is not a joint venture that complies with the requirements of 13 CFR part 127, and the representation in paragraph (b)(5)(i) of this provision is accurate for each EDWOSB concern participating in the joint venture. [The offeror shall enter the name or names of the EDWOSB concern and other small businesses that are participating in the joint venture: __________.] Each EDWOSB concern participating in the joint venture shall submit a separate signed copy of the EDWOSB representation.
    6. [Complete only if the offeror represented itself as a small business concern in paragraph (b)(1) of this provision.] The offeror represents as part of its offer that it o is, o is not a veteran-owned small business concern.
    7. [Complete only if the offeror represented itself as a veteran-owned small business concern in paragraph (b)(6) of this provision.] The offeror represents as part of its offer that it o is, o is not a service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern.
    8. [Complete only if the offeror represented itself as a small business concern in paragraph (b)(1) of this provision.] The offeror represents, as part of its offer, that—
      1. It o is, o is not a HUBZone small business concern listed, on the date of this representation, on the List of Qualified HUBZone Small Business Concerns maintained by the Small Business Administration, and no material changes in ownership and control, principal office, or HUBZone employee percentage have occurred since it was certified in accordance with 13 CFR Part 126; and
      2. It o is, o is not a HUBZone joint venture that complies with the requirements of 13 CFR Part 126, and the representation in paragraph (b)(8)(i) of this provision is accurate for each HUBZone small business concern participating in the HUBZone joint venture. [The offeror shall enter the names of each of the HUBZone small business concerns participating in the HUBZone joint venture: __________.] Each HUBZone small business concern participating in the HUBZone joint venture shall submit a separate signed copy of the HUBZone representation.
  3. Definitions. As used in this provision—
    
    “Economically disadvantaged women-owned small business (EDWOSB) concern” means a small business concern that is at least 51 percent directly and unconditionally owned by, and the management and daily business operations of which are controlled by, one or more women who are citizens of the United States and who are economically disadvantaged in accordance with 13 CFR part 127. It automatically qualifies as a women-owned small business concern eligible under the WOSB Program.
    
    “Service-disabled veteran-owned small business concern”—
    1. Means a small business concern—
      1. Not less than 51 percent of which is owned by one or more service-disabled veterans or, in the case of any publicly owned business, not less than 51 percent of the stock of which is owned by one or more service-disabled veterans; and
      2. The management and daily business operations of which are controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans or, in the case of a service-disabled veteran with permanent and severe disability, the spouse or permanent caregiver of such veteran.
    2. “Service-disabled veteran” means a veteran, as defined in 38 U.S.C. 101(2), with a disability that is service-connected, as defined in 38 U.S.C. 101(16).
    “Small business concern” means a concern, including its affiliates, that is independently owned and operated, not dominant in the field of operation in which it is bidding on Government contracts, and qualified as a small business under the criteria in 13 CFR Part 121 and the size standard in paragraph (a) of this provision.
    
    “Veteran-owned small business concern” means a small business concern—
    1. Not less than 51 percent of which is owned by one or more veterans (as defined at 38 U.S.C. 101(2)) or, in the case of any publicly owned business, not less than 51 percent of the stock of which is owned by one or more veterans; and
    2. The management and daily business operations of which are controlled by one or more veterans.
    “Women-owned small business concern” means a small business concern—
    1. That is at least 51 percent owned by one or more women; or, in the case of any publicly owned business, at least 51 percent of the stock of which is owned by one or more women; and
    2. Whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more women.
    “Women-owned small business (WOSB) concern eligible under the WOSB Program” (in accordance with 13 CFR part 127), means a small business concern that is at least 51 percent directly and unconditionally owned by, and the management and daily business operations of which are controlled by, one or more women who are citizens of the United States.
  4. Notice.
    1. If this solicitation is for supplies and has been set aside, in whole or in part, for small business concerns, then the clause in this solicitation providing notice of the set-aside contains restrictions on the source of the end items to be furnished.
    2. Under 15 U.S.C. 645(d), any person who misrepresents a firm’s status as a business concern that is small, HUBZone small, small disadvantaged, service-disabled veteran-owned small, economically disadvantaged women-owned small, or women-owned small eligible under the WOSB Program in order to obtain a contract to be awarded under the preference programs established pursuant to section 8, 9, 15, 31, and 36 of the Small Business Act or any other provision of Federal law that specifically references section 8(d) for a definition of program eligibility, shall—
      1. Be punished by imposition of fine, imprisonment, or both;
      2. Be subject to administrative remedies, including suspension and debarment; and
      3. Be ineligible for participation in programs conducted under the authority of the Act.

VI. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Your proposal with an original and two (2) copies (including all appendices) and one (1) CD-ROM with Portable Document Form (PDF) copy of your proposal shall be received at one of the following addresses by 12:00 p.m. (Noon), eastern time, on August 13, 2013. Three copies of the application must be submitted: 1) an original, signed copy; 2) a single-sided copy on plain white paper; and 3) another copy for administrative purposes.

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE MAIL ADDRESS:

NOTICE: This address should NOT be used for U.S. Postal Service Express Mail Signature Required Service.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Solicitation Number: SOL-NC-13-00012   SBIR Phase I
Attention: Judy Ancharski   SBIR Phase I
RTP Procurement Operations Division (E105-02)
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711

Offerors are advised that use of U.S. Postal Service Mail may result in delays in receipt of the offer at the required location. Offerors are further advised that delivery to the U.S. Post Office in Research Triangle Park, NC and the Post Office Boxes within that facility does not constitute delivery to the Procurement Operations Division of U.S. EPA in Research Triangle Park, NC.

HAND CARRIED, COURIER DELIVER, AND U.S. POSTAL EXPRESS MAIL SIGNATURE REQUIRED DELIVERY:

Notice: This address should be used for commercial delivery, including Federal Express, United Parcel Service, DHL, and similar carriers. It also includes any hand carried offer from the offeror or its agents. This address must also be used for U.S. Postal Service Express Mail Signature Required.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Solicitation Number: SOL-NC-13-00012   SBIR Phase I
Attention: Judy Ancharski SBIR Phase I
RTP Procurement Operations Division (E105-02)
4930 Old Page Road
Durham, NC 27703

IMPORTANT!!! Please note Section V, Paragraph J.9(c) concerning Late Proposals, Modifications of Proposals and Withdrawal of Proposals.

Telegraphic, telecopied or facsimile proposals will NOT be considered for award.
Please do not use special bindings or covers. The original can be stapled in the upper left corner of the proposal. Do not permanently bind or staple the copies; please use either binder or paper clips to secure them.
All copies of a proposal shall be sent in the same package.
The proposal should be self-contained and written with the care and thoughtfulness accorded papers for publication.

VII. SBIR PHASE I RESEARCH TOPICS

BACKGROUND:
The objective of this program is to increase the incentive and opportunity for small businesses to undertake cutting edge, high-risk, research that has a high potential payoff if the research is successful. Federal support of the front-end research on new ideas, often the highest risk part of the innovation process, may provide small businesses sufficient incentive to pursue such research.

EPA's SBIR Program does not fund basic research or literature searches. It is recognized that any research and development project starts out as a concept of the inventor. Basic theoretic research studies and preliminary laboratory testing of the concept are often needed to develop an idea. Literature and other surveys and questionnaires are also needed to rule out duplication and inappropriate research study and process detail, finally leading to the design of a prototype apparatus or process that could be tested to show the feasibility of the innovation. Such basic research activities and preliminary studies should be completed before preparing an SBIR proposal.

SBIR proposals should directly pertain to EPA's mission of protecting human health and the environment and should consider the lifecycle environmental impacts of the technology itself including (if applicable) minimizing resource use, minimizing toxicity of materials, efficient use of water and energy, minimizing pollution and minimizing impacts of disposal. The proposed research must be responsive to the focus areas included in this solicitation. The research should be the basis for technological innovation resulting in new commercial products, processes, or services that benefit the public and promote the growth of the small business.

This year there are six (6) general areas: Safe and Sustainable Water Resources (Topic A. Water), Chemical Safety for Sustainability (Topic B. Innovation in Manufacturing), Sustainable and Healthy Communities (Topic C. Waste), Air/Climate/Energy (Topic D. Air Quality), E. Homeland Security, and F. People, Prosperity, and the Planet (P3) Special Funding Opportunity. This solicitation is open from June 27, 2013 until August 13, 2013 and is available on the EPA SBIR website.

SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCES

EPA recognizes the need to develop and bring to market innovative water technologies that address the removal of contaminants from drinking water and wastewater, decrease energy demands and costs of treatment, and provide solutions to infrastructure challenges.

CHEMICAL SAFETY FOR SUSTAINABILITY

SUSTAINABLE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

AIR/CLIMATE/ENERGY

Water

A multitude of water challenges may be addressed by technology solutions. Priority considerations for new technologies include cost, ease of use, and environmental impacts including resource and energy use. This year’s focus areas include:

A.1 DRINKING WATER
- Drinking water treatment technologies to address health risks posed by mixtures of a broad array of contaminants, and groups of like contaminants, including emerging contaminants (currently unregulated). Preferably, technologies will be low-cost, easy to operate, not cause distribution issues, minimize production of undesirable residuals, gain public acceptance, minimize energy use, and comply with regulations.
- Technologies to perform remote monitoring to help facilitate the measuring of the state of the environment. Technologies should use less human interaction, distributed systems, be robust, remote, and focus on chemicals that the EPA measures/regulates (Drinking Water Contaminants).
A.2 WASTEWATER, STORMWATER, AND WATER REUSE
- Novel methods of recovering resources, rather than “treating wastes” (e.g., rather than consume energy to oxidize organics to CO2, convert to energy in useable forms like methane, heat or electricity). Especially, new or improved technologies/processes for significantly less expensive nutrient removal and recovery from wastewater. The technology, its installation, and its use should be effective, efficient, and significantly less expensive than current technologies on the market that are often prohibitive to most municipalities and small systems.
Innovation in Manufacturing

B.1 GREEN MANUFACTURING

Improvements in manufacturing efficiency typically result in environmental improvements, making manufacturing greener and more cost-effective. In addition, Executive Order 13329 directs EPA to properly and effectively assist the private sector in its manufacturing innovation in order to sustain a strong manufacturing sector in the US economy. Manufacturing-related research and development (R&D) encompasses improvements in existing methods or processes, or wholly new processes, machines or systems. Technologies should improve manufacturing competitiveness. This year’s focus area is:
- Manufacturing process changes that utilize green technology to improve process efficiency and reduce pollution. These technologies may include non-traditional reactors, novel processing methods, new feedstocks, bio-mimicry approaches, solvents or chemical systems that improve production efficiency and performance while eliminating or minimizing the use or generation of harmful substances. Of special interest are processes and methods to reduce the use of/replace EPA action plan chemicals as listed in Existing Chemicals Action Plans (For example, technologies to reduce/replace the use of Bisphenol A (BPA) in thermal paper).
B.2 GREEN MATERIALS

Research is needed to develop new materials and products with minimal environmental and public health impacts over their life cycles. This year’s focus area is:
- New materials, chemicals, processes, and systems with minimal environmental and public health impacts and reduced carbon footprints over their full lifecycles. Alternatives are needed to reduce emissions of air toxics (e.g. formaldehyde) and biological contaminants (e.g. mold).
Waste

EPA’s waste management programs are seeking better monitoring technologies to improve groundwater quality, to increase hazardous waste site cleanup, to improve operation and maintenance of landfills and to regulate waste process activities. More information on these needs is available at CLU-IN: OSWER Needs Areas In addition, there is need for technologies that convert waste to energy. This year’s focus areas include:

C.1 MONITORING
- Cost-effective sensor technologies for long-term monitoring of groundwater. Chemical specific, in-situ sensors are needed that can be queried remotely multiple times without biofouling or needing maintenance re-calibration. Sensors should meet required pollutant detection levels and be small enough, yet robust and at a reasonable cost to deploy with flux meters and piezometers to characterize change over small vertical and horizontal scales.
C.2 WASTE-TO-ENERGY SYSTEMS
- Innovative technologies that produce energy from waste materials, including manure and farm wastes, forest wood biomass, grassland biomass, organic non-recyclable components of municipal solid waste, biosolids from wastewater treatment plants, meat rendering, greases and food wastes or other waste material. Special interest will be given to waste-to-energy systems that could be utilized in small communities. The topic includes scaling down of anaerobic digesters to smaller, easier to operate, lower operation and maintenance systems that are cost effective for small farms and the development of manure-to-energy technologies in semi-arid or arid climates with high solid content feedstock.
Air Quality

EPA is interested in low-cost air pollution monitoring technologies and control technologies for specific applications.

D.1 AIR POLLUTION MONITORING

Better and lower cost ambient air and stationary source pollution monitors are needed. Devices that operate continuously (suitable for fixed installation), small highly portable hand held devices (for easy transport), and community based measurement devices are desired. Instruments capable of measuring particulate matter (PM), ammonia, toxic metals, and toxic organic compounds are of particular interest. This year’s focus areas include:
- Monitoring technologies that are significantly lower in cost (<$10,000) and provide greater ease of use (no specialized skills) than current monitor designs, all while maintaining functionality. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, monitoring technologies for a rapid, quantitative, interference-free field-based measurements of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), including benzene and 1,3 butadiene in both ambient and near source air. Monitors should incorporate some or all of the following requirements: low detection limits (5 ppb for near source and working toward less than 1ppb for ambient sources), high operating range, increased accuracy, near real–time detection, portability, ease of calibration, simplified field calibration checks, extremely rugged, operable in a range of conditions, battery powered, and able to remotely log electronic data.
- New technologies for community based monitoring. These devices could include low cost sensors, backpack size instruments, and cell phone based devices.
D.2 AIR POLLUTION CONTROL

Innovative and sustainable control technologies are needed for small sources, fugitive emissions and sources with low-concentration high-volume air streams. This year’s focus area is:
Filters (including those using nanomaterials) for removing gaseous pollutants and particulates from contaminated air streams.
Homeland Security

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, EPA was designated as the lead federal agency for the remediation of areas contaminated by terrorist events involving the release of biological threat agents, biotoxins, chemical warfare agents, toxic industrial chemicals, toxic industrial materials, and radiological materials. EPA’s role in such emergency response activities typically is in leading and participating in cleanup activities after the initial response has been completed. This year’s focus areas include:

E.1 DECONTAMINATION AND WASTE TREATMENT/DISPOSAL

One of EPA’s goals is to evaluate, characterize, and develop tools/techniques that can be used to decontaminate buildings and outdoor spaces that have been intentionally contaminated with biological, chemical, and/or radiological threat agents. A specific area of interest is:
- Innovative technologies for decontamination of cesium (resulting from a Radiological Dispersal Device or a Nuclear Power Plant Accident) from porous surfaces typically found in the urban environment. Ideally, this technology would be:
  - Effective - greater than 90 % effective for removal of Cs on aged concrete after 1 application is desirable (estimate at least 2 weeks before decontamination would occur after an RDD or NPP accident)
  - Scalable - able to be implemented over a wide area at a rapid rate with a minimum application rate of 20 m2/hour
  - Easy to implement - requires minimal skills to operate the technology
  - Non hazardous - additional personal protective equipment (PPE) not required beyond what is used for a radiological hazard
  - Resulting waste volume can be minimized
  - Ideally non-damaging to infrastructure (have near neutral pH, be non-staining, no residual odor, etc.).
  - Potentially applicable to other metal contaminants (to increase the market for the product).
E.2 DRINKING WATER AND WASTEWATER SYSTEMS SECURITY
EPA has also been designated as the lead sector-specific agency for water and is responsible for protecting water systems and detecting and recovering from terrorist attacks affecting them. A specific area of interest is:

Innovative technologies that can remove contaminants that become trapped on or adhere to the inside of pipe walls or other such surfaces in the event that a drinking water system becomes contaminated. Technologies should be reliable and easy for water utilities to implement are of interest. Ideally the technology would be non-hazardous—additional PPE not required beyond that normally used in water utility maintenance; scalable—able to be implemented over a wide water distribution network; and non-damaging to water infrastructure. Specifically technologies that are able to remove contaminants from common drinking water infrastructure material are of interest. The following infrastructure materials are of most interest: cement mortar lined iron and unlined cast and/or ductile iron that is heavily corroded. In addition, household plumbing materials such as PVC and copper are of interest. Decontamination technologies that are able to destroy, or otherwise remove, the following contaminants are of interest: chlorine resistant pathogens such Bacillus anthracis (or surrogate) in spore form, persistent, soluble radionuclides (including stable surrogates), common chemicals such as hydrocarbons, pesticides and inorganic compounds that adhere strongly to plumbing surfaces and that are not easily removed by conventional flushing.
People Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Special Funding Opportunity

In order to achieve environmental sustainability and expand on the successes of previously funded P3 research projects (2004-2012), EPA plans to leverage the sustainable solutions developed by P3 awardees with the commercial focus of SBIR. Specifically, a special funding opportunity (SFO) (which is in addition to the funding opportunity above) has been created to support P3 teams that have formed small businesses. It is anticipated that EPA’s SBIR program will award $500,000 in firm fixed-price contracts at a maximum dollar amount of $100,000 each. Notice that this special funding opportunity is available only to P3 awardees that have formed small businesses. To be considered for this SFO, in addition to being a former or current P3 Phase I or Phase II awardee, applicants must meet all applicable guidelines for SBIR companies as described above. In order to be eligible, companies submitting proposals to this P3 SFO must identify their specific P3 reference the P3 grant number(s), name the current employee(s) that were on the original P3 team, and demonstrate direct links among original P3 project, their current business and the project being submitted under this SBIR solicitation. At least one employee of the company applying must have been on the original P3 team. Companies cannot have concurrent P3 and SBIR awards .

P3 Background

Increased awareness and understanding of sustainability are critical components for promoting a systematic shift towards more environmentally benign and sustainable products, processes, and systems. It is essential that all involved in the design, discovery, demonstration, and implementation of sustainable innovations understand the fundamental techniques and principles that underlie sustainability.

P3 focuses on scientific projects and engineering designs that address the three components of sustainability: people, prosperity and the planet. The P3 Program is intended to support science-based projects and designs developed by interdisciplinary student teams that benefit people by improving their quality of life, promote prosperity by developing local economies, and protect the planet by conserving resources and minimizing pollution.

EPA’s P3 Program has identified the following four strategic program goals.

Goal 1: Engage and educate the next generation of scientists, engineers, and the greater academic and external communities in the principles of sustainability.

Goal 2: Spark innovation and sustainable technologies through research and development conducted by the P3 projects.

Goal 3: Support the demonstration of sustainable technologies around the world.

Goal 4: Foster the development of small businesses rooted in sustainability.
More about information about the P3 program is available at P3: People, Prosperity and the Planet Student Design Competition for Sustainability

VIII. SUBMISSION FORMS AND CERTIFICATIONS

The attached forms, Appendix A - Proposal Cover Sheet, Appendix B - Project Summary, Appendix C - SBIR Proposal Summary Budget, should be downloaded and printed from the Internet or photocopied, and completed as indicated under Section III, Proposal Preparation Instructions and Requirements. The purpose of these forms is to meet the mandate of law or regulation and simplify the submission of proposals.

Appendix A

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH PROGRAM
SBIR PHASE I SOLICITATION NO. SOL-NC-13-00012

PROPOSAL COVER SHEET

PROPOSAL TITLE:	_________________________________________________________________________________
FIRM NAME:	_________________________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS:	_________________________________________________________________________________
CITY:	____________________________________________ STATE:___________ ZIP:_______________

AMOUNT REQUESTED:$ ____________	PROPOSED DURATION (PHASE I): 6 MOS
(Not to Exceed $100,000)
****Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation will be valid for 300 days*****

RESEARCH TOPIC (check one)
____ A.1.Water: Drinking Water
____ A.2.Water: Wastewater, Stormwater, and Water Reuse
____ B.1 Innovation in Manufacturing: Green Manufacturing
____ B.2 Innovation in Manufacturing: Green Materials
____ C.1 Waste: Monitoring
____ C.2 Waste: Waste-to-Energy Systems
____ D.1 Air Quality: Air Pollution Monitoring
____ D.2 Air Quality: Air Pollution Control
____ E.1 Homeland Security: Decontamination and Waste Treatment/Disposal
____ E.2 Homeland Security: Drinking Water and Wastewater Systems Security
____ F. People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Special Funding Opportunity

CERTIFICATIONS AND AUTHORIZATIONS: Answer Y (Yes) or N (No)

____1. The above concern certifies that it is a small business concern and meets the definition as stated in the program solicitation.
____2. The above concern certifies that a minimum of 2/3 of the research and/or analytical effort will be performed by the proposing firm.
____3. If the proposal does not result in an award, is the Government permitted to disclose the title and technical abstract page of your proposed project, and the name, address, and telephone number of the official of the proposing firm to any inquiring parties?
____4. The above concern certifies that it is a woman owned small business concern and meets the definition as stated in the program solicitation.*
____5. The above concern certifies that it is a socially and economically disadvantaged small business concern and meets the definition as stated in the program solicitation.*
____6. The above concern certifies it is a HUBZone small business concern and meets the definition as stated in the program solicitation.*
____7. Do you plan to send, or have you sent, this proposal or a similar one to any other federal agency? If yes, which? Use acronym(s) for each agency, (e.g., DOD, NIH, DOE, NASA, etc.)_______________
8. Choose one of the following to describe your Organization Type:
_____Individual _____Partnership _____Corporation_____LLC
9. Provide the following information: Tax Identification No:____________________
Dun & Bradstreet Number:__________________ Common Parent Name:_______________________
* For statistical purposes only.

ENDORSEMENTS

Principal Investigator:	Corporate/Business Official:
Print Name:_________________________	Print Name:_________________________
Title:______________________________	Title:______________________________
Telephone:__________________________	Telephone:__________________________
Email:______________________________	Email:______________________________
Signature:__________________________	Signature:__________________________
Date:_______________________________	Date:_______________________________

PROPRIETARY NOTICE: These data shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated, used or disclosed in whole or in part for any purpose other than evaluation of this proposal. If a funding agreement is awarded to this offeror as a result of or in connection with the submission of these data, the Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the funding agreement and pursuant to applicable law. This restriction does not limit the Government's right to use information contained in the data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained on pages________of this proposal.

Appendix B

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH PROGRAM
SBIR PHASE I SOLICITATION NUMBER SOL-NC-13-00012
PROJECT SUMMARY (Limit to Two Pages)

FIRM NAME, ADDRESS, TELEPHONE AND FAX NUMBER, AND E-MAIL ADDRESS:
FIRM NAME:	_________________________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS:	_________________________________________________________________________________
CITY:	____________________________________________ STATE:___________ ZIP:_______________
Telephone:	__________________________ Fax:__________________________
Email:	_________________________________________________________________________________

TITLE OF PROPOSAL:	_________________________________________________________________________________

RESEARCH TOPIC LETTER AND TOPIC TITLE:
NAME, TITLE AND E-MAIL ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT, RESULTS, AND POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATION
(Limit to 400 Words; Must be Publishable):

Appendix C

SBIR PROPOSAL SUMMARY BUDGET

(See Instructions Below)

Organization and Address:
NAME:	_________________________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS:	_________________________________________________________________________________
CITY:	____________________________________________ STATE:___________ ZIP:_______________

____________________________________________________________________

A. DIRECT LABOR (PI and other staff, list separately) Hours/Est. Rate: ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------	$_________
____________________________________________________________________
B. OVERHEAD: -------------------------------------------------------	$_________
____________________________________________________________________
C. OTHER DIRECT COSTS: (list separately) ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------	$_________
____________________________________________________________________
D. TRAVEL: List purpose and individuals and or title ------------------------------------------------------- Attend one-day SBIR Kick-Off Meeting in Washington, DC	$_________
____________________________________________________________________
E. CONSULTANTS: (List Est. Rate and Hours) ------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------	$_________
________________________________________________________
F. GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE: -------------------------------------------------------	$_________
________________________________________________________
TOTAL COSTS (Total of A thru F above)	$_________
________________________________________________________
G. PROFIT ( ____%) Not to exceed 10% of total project costs	$_________
==============================================================
TOTAL PROJECT PRICE (Total costs + Profit)	$_________

PRINT NAME:	TITLE:
___________________________________	__________________
SIGNATURE:	DATE SUBMITTED:
___________________________________	__________________

This proposal is submitted in response to EPA SBIR Program Solicitation No. SOL-NC-13-00012 and reflects our best estimate as of this date.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR APPENDIX C

The purpose of this form is to provide a vehicle whereby the offeror submits to the Government a pricing proposal of estimated costs with detailed information for each cost element, consistent with the offeror's cost accounting system.

If the completed summary is not self-explanatory and/or does not fully document and justify the amounts requested in each category, such documentation should be contained, as appropriate, on a budget explanation page immediately following the budget in the proposal. The form Appendix C will count as one page in the 25 page limit, and any budget explanation pages included will count separately toward the 25 page limit. (See below for discussion on various categories.)

Direct Labor - List individually all personnel included, the estimated hours to be expended and the rates of pay (salary, wages, and fringe benefits).
Overhead - Specify current rate(s) and base(s). Use current rate(s) negotiated with the cognizant federal negotiating agency, if available. If no rate(s) has (have) been negotiated, a reasonable rate(s) may be requested for Phase I which will be subject to approval by EPA. Offerors may use whatever number and types of overhead rates that are in accordance with their accounting systems and approved by the cognizant federal negotiating agency, if available.
Other Direct Costs - List all other direct costs which are not otherwise included in the categories described above, i.e., computer services, publication costs, subcontracts, etc. List each item of permanent equipment to be purchased, its price, and explain its relation to the project.
Travel - Address the type and extent of travel and its relation to the project. Include travel expenses for a one-day SBIR Phase I Kick-Off Meeting in Washington, DC.
Consultants - Indicate name, daily compensation, and estimated days of service.
General and Administrative (G&A) - Same as B. above.
Profit - Reasonable fee (estimated profit) will be considered under this solicitation. For guidance purposes, the amount of profit should not exceed 10% of total project costs.

If the proposed budget exceeds the maximum amount, or the amount requested in Appendix A, a detailed explanation of funding source(s) for the additional proposed costs must be provided. Additionally, a proposal that submits a budget that exceeds the maximum amount or the amount requested must affirmatively state they the offeror understands that no award will exceed the maximum amount or the amount requested. Offerors are further advised that if the proposed budget is less than the maximum award or the amount requested, an award would provide only the budgeted amount. The failure to explain additional cost proposed and/or acknowledgment that the offeror understands no award will exceed the maximum will result in the rejection of the offer.

Appendix D

COMMERCIALIZATION FACT SHEET
(Finding Commercial Products; Conducting a Patent Search; Searching for Federal Research;
Standards/Certifying Bodies)

FINDING COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS

The technology you are proposing may already be being sold in the market.

Web Search using General Search Engines

There are around 50 billion indexed web pages and the web continues to grow exponentially. One problem with this rate of growth is that no single web search engine is capable of indexing the whole of cyberspace. We recommend using at least one meta-engine and two search engines.

A meta-engine is a search engine which searches other engines that actually catalog or index sites. Examples are Metacrawler and Dogpile. We use that search to identify which search engines seem to be producing the best results and then use those engines for more complicated queries which cannot be supported by metacrawler and other meta-engines.

Three engines for more detailed searches are Yahoo, Bing, and Google.

When searching, expand or narrow your keywords over time. For example, when searching for "sapphire liquid crystal displays," you may want to broaden to liquid crystal displays or just displays. Also remember to use abbreviations such as LCD. Another good idea is to use Booleans rather than strings. By this we mean using liquid AND crystal AND display rather than “liquid crystal display” as a single term. That way, if you are using jargon, you are less likely to miss items based on a different jargon.

Some search sites useful for looking for specific information about products are:

ThomasNet® (Thomas Register of American Manufacturers): Long a staple of corporate buyers and market researchers, you can access Thomas Register on-line for free at ThomasNet. Once you obtain your free membership, you can search the 155,000 companies by product. You may have to try a few different keywords to get hits.

GlobalSpec: A search engine focuses on the needs of the engineering community. Again it is free but you must register. It is found at IHS GlobalSpec.

Press Releases: PR Newswire, Businesswire, and Marketwire redistribute corporate press releases. These provide coverage of newly released products that might not otherwise be found on the web as well as information on companies.

Hoovers : Hoovers on-line provides access to profiles on 65 million corporations and other entities and 85 million people. These are the major firms in America, including subsidiaries of foreign operations. By using the keyword search, you can look for companies making products in areas related to your technology. Hoovers provides hypertext links to go to the company's web page. Phone, fax, and street address are also provided. If you cannot find the information on the web, ask for relevant product literature from their marketing departments.

Patents: We discuss patent searches in the next section of this FactSheet. Look for patents related to your technology, and then examine the assignee field. Companies licensing or patenting technology in areas related to your technology are competitors that may be introducing products similar to the one you are considering proposing. Search for their web pages using one of the resources above.

CONDUCTING A PATENT SEARCH

What is a patent? A patent is a right to an invention that is granted by the U.S. Government or a foreign government. It gives the holder an exclusive right to use an invention during a period of time. In the United States, before a patent can be issued, the inventor must demonstrate his or her invention is new and non-obvious. To be new, an invention must not have been known nor made by others in the U.S. The invention also cannot have been previously patented or presented in a publication prior to the claimed date on which the invention was made. Patents are handled by the U.S. Patent Office.

Non-obvious is established with reference to what would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the relevant technology (or technologies) at the time of the invention. A general rule is that the more complicated the technology and the greater the rate at which it is developing, the higher the skill-level of that hypothetical ordinary person. Non-obvious is determined by examining prior patents, technical publications, and non-secret work being conducted. Usually some aspect of an invention will be non-obvious and thus capable of being patented.

It is important to recognize that different rules apply in different countries. In the U.S., you have one year from the time of first disclosure, use, publication, or sale of an invention to patent the invention. Where more than one person or group makes a claim to be the inventor, the patent goes to the person or group that can demonstrate priority in time (this provision has since changed due to HR 1249 and the changes are due to take effect some time in the next year. See next paragraph). Overseas, the rules are different. Usually the invention must be patented before any public disclosure, use, publication, or sale. In case of a dispute, priority goes to the first person or group to apply for a patent, regardless of who may actually be the inventor. You can, however, get the same overseas priority rights you would get from simultaneously filing overseas and in the U.S. if you file in each relevant country within 12 months of a U.S. patent application.

Recent U.S. patent reform embodied in the Smith Leahy America Invents Act (H.R. 1249) has significantly changed the requirements for a patent in the U.S. The main change is the advent of the first inventor to file priority. This change, which will take effect in the next 12 to 18 months, will award a patent to the first inventor to file for a patent as opposed to the inventor that can prove that they in fact invented it first. This change makes filing for patents quickly after invention disclosure all the more important, and brings the USPTO into line regarding the protection of intellectual property standards and procedures with much of the rest of the world. Other provisions included in the patent reform law detail changes in patent filing/ processing fees as well as patent review and litigation procedure. For more information about the provisions and implementation schedule please visit the following web site:
Leahy-Smith America Invents Act Implementation

How to search for U.S. patents: To search the Patent Office go to United States Patent and Trademark Office.

The Boolean search capability of the Patent Office enables constructing complicated searches to narrow in on patents of interest. It allows two terms Booleans in the first search, with more complicated queries when refining a search. You can search specific sets of years or the entire database. The advanced search gives you the ability to look in any or all of the fields in the patent -- a very nice feature. Coverage includes all patents issued no later than one week earlier. It includes all utility, design, and plant patents since 1976. Claims and pictures are not included. (See below, Reading Patents.)

The IBM Patent server contains over 2 million patents. Where drawings are part of the patent, they have been scanned in and can be viewed. Off the home page, you have the option of searching from 1995 to present or 1971 to present. Hypertext links on the home page let you search by patent number, use Boolean Logic, or do a text search in various sections of the patent. Try to be as targeted as possible in your search terms. For example, "environmental monitor" will return 42 patents issued in 1995 or later on IBM's server. "Mercury monitor," by comparison, returns only three.

In today’s global economy, it is not sufficient to only search domestically. For international patent applications go to the World Intellectual Property Organization and conduct a search. We also recommend searching the European Patent Office.

Reading Patents: Once you have found a patent that looks relevant for your interests, examine the abstract and the claims. The abstract provides an overview of what is covered. The claims give you the specific scope of the patent.

There are three paths for finding other patents of interest, once you have found the first one. The first method is to look at the class (or classes) of the patent. You can find patents addressing similar problems by looking in those classes. To fine tune the classes to use, look at a number of relevant patents. Examine the classes that are listed on the patent. Select those classes that most frequently appear across your sample of patents for further examination.

The second method is to look at the patents cited as references. The final method is to look at patents that reference the one you are examining. By searching text, relevant classes, and patents referred to or referencing relevant patents you can quickly determine if a U.S. patent has issued on a technology of interest. CAUTION: Examining U.S. patents does not assure you the technology has not been patented elsewhere. Further, if the patent is only applied for and has not yet been issued, you will not find it.

SEARCHING FOR FEDERAL RESEARCH

There are two sets of publicly available data on Federal Research. FEDRIP, or Federal Research in Progress, provides access to current civilian agency research. FEDRIP includes:
- Department of Agriculture
- Department of Energy
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Federal Highway Administration
- National Institutes of Health
- NASA
- National Science Foundation
- US Geological Survey
- National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Small Business Innovation Research
Go to Federal Research In Progress and request a free trial.

In addition, by going to an agency's web site, you can find information on their current and/or past awards. The National Technical Information Service (NTIS) is the designated repository of research reports. It contains technical reports and other government-produced information products. The free access parts may be searched at NTIS - National Technical Information Service.

STANDARDS AND CERTIFYING BODIES

If you are going to introduce a commercial product, it most likely will have to meet certain standards and be certified as meeting those standards. For example, we all are familiar with the Underwriter Laboratories seal found on household electrical products -- a certification of safety under normal use.

A wide range of bodies creates standards or certifies products. To find relevant standards, we recommend beginning at the American National Standards Institute’s search engine for global standards at Search Engine for Standards - NSSN.

In the U.S., private sector laboratories, like UL commonly do certification. These organizations rely on standards developed by consensus bodies such as the American Society for Testing and Materials or federal agencies such as EPA. ASTM also maintains an International Directory of Testing Laboratories. The Directory can be searched by geographic location, lab name, subject area, or keywords.

THE EPA SBIR COMMERCIALIZATION SUPPORT WEBSITE

Our Commercialization Assistance Program (CAP) support contractor maintains a website to enable Phase I applicants to better understand the commercialization process and the commercial potential of their technologies. To log into the site, please go to Foresight Science & Technology and register. There is no fee.

On the site you will you will find a tutorial on commercialization and how to conduct market research. A variety of tools for doing your market research are also present, include searchable databases of standards bodies and industry and government technology needs roadmaps.
Appendix E

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

Q. Where can I find information about the current SBIR Solicitation?
A. The Solicitation requirements are posted on the https://www.epa.gov/sbir website and also the RTP Procurement website. A SBIR Fact Sheet is posted on these sites which provides additional information about the program.

Q. Is our company eligible for a SBIR contract?
A. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is a phased process across the Federal Government of soliciting proposals and awarding funding agreements for research (R) or research and development (R&D) to meet stated agency needs or missions. Only small business concern businesses are eligible to participate. A small business concern is described in full in the solicitation. For more information on eligibility and the SBIR Program in general, see www.SBIR.gov.

Q. After submitting a proposal, what is the next step?
A. Once a proposal has been issued and considered to be responsive, it will be forwarded for External Peer Review. You may expect to receive written feedback in early March 2014. Proposals evaluated “Very Good” and “Excellent” will also undergo an EPA Programmatic Review, as described in the solicitation. It is anticipated that approximately 20 contracts will be made in April 2014.

Q. If a brief description/summary is provided about an offeror’s technology, could a representative from EPA recommend the topic that best fits our technology?
A. It is the complete responsibility of the offeror to select and identify the best topic for their proposals as stated in Section I of the Solicitation.

Q.   Can more than one proposal be submitted?
A. The same proposal cannot be submitted under more than one topic. An organization may, however, submit separate proposals on different topics, or different proposals on the same topic, as long as the proposals are not duplicates of the same research principle modified to fit the topic. If such duplicates are submitted, only one will be reviewed. Refer to Sections IV, V and VI for additional requirements.

Q. Can we request a copy of the Solicitation or supporting Appendices?
A. This office does not mail copies of the solicitation. However, the solicitation and appendices are available for download on the following website: EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program

Q. Do we need a DUNS number in order to submit a proposal?
A. Firms do not need a DUNs number at time of proposal submission. Firms should be working on obtaining one in order to do business with a Federal Agency and be considered for any awards. All responsive firms must obtain a DUNs number and be registered with System for Award Management (SAM) previously known as Central Contract Registration (CCR) at System for Award Management

If you have any problems registering in SAM, contact the Federal service desk at 1-866-606-8220. Tell the representative that you need to register your company name and information (which is your name and address). Once you register, it may take 3-5 business days to become active in our system. Please notify me when you have completed registration.

Q.   “What is” and “Who should be” the “Endorser” in regards to the proposal?
A. The Endorser is usually the Principal Investigator or President of the Company.

Q. What is the best way to protect proprietary information contained in our proposal?
A. A Proprietary Notice is located on the bottom of Appendix A, “Proposal Cover Sheet”.

Q. Do we have to have a Tax Identification number before submitting a proposal?
A. No. BUT a Tax Identification is required at time of award.

Q. Can we use a consultant or subcontractor?
A.   As stated in the Solicitation, for a SBIR Phase I proposal, a minimum of two-thirds of the research and/or analytical effort, as measured by the budget, must be performed by the proposing small business concern and the balance of one third may be outsourced to a consultant or subcontractor or a combination of the two.

Q. Can a modification or update to a proposal be issued?
A.   An Offeror can submit changes, updates prior to the closing date. After the closing date, there is NO opportunity to modify or update a proposal unless the change is requested by the Contracting Officer.

Appendix F

Certification (At Time of Award)

Submission of this certification is required prior to contract award:

The contractor certifies that:
(1) the principal investigator and the small business firm have not accepted funding for the same or overlapping work except as stated in the underlying proposal;
(2) all proposals describing the same or overlapping work have been withdrawn from other agencies;
(3) the primary employment of the principal investigator is with this firm at the time of the award and will continue during the conduct of the research;
(4) the grantee is a small business as defined in the EPA SBIR Solicitation under which the grantee submitted its proposal, and the principal investigator is an employee of the firm and is currently available to perform the proposed work; and
(5) the undersigned understands that willfully making a false statement to or concealing a material fact from EPA is a criminal offense (U.S. Code, title 18, Section 1001).

Authorized Company Officer:
Signature: ______________________________________________	Date: _______________________
Principal Investigator:
Signature: ______________________________________________	Date: _______________________
Company Name: ______________________________________________
Contract No: ______________________________________________

Appendix G

Certification (with Final Report)

Submission of this certification is required with the final report:

I certify that the Principal Investigator currently is___, is not___ “primarily employed” by the firm as defined in the SBIR solicitation.

I certify that the work under this project has___, has not___, been submitted for funding to another Federal agency and that it has___, has not____ been funded under any other Federal grant, contract, or subcontract.

I certify that to the best of my knowledge the work for which payment is hereby requested was performed in accordance with the award terms and conditions and that payment is due and has not been previously requested.

I certify that to the best of my knowledge, (1) the statements herein (excluding scientific hypotheses and scientific opinions) are true and complete; and (2) the text and graphics in this report as well as any accompanying publications or other documents, unless otherwise indicated, are the original work of the signatories or individuals working under their supervision.

I understand that the willful provision of false information or concealing a material fact in this report or any other communication submitted to EPA is a criminal offense (U.S. Code, title 18, Section 1001).

Authorized Company Officer:
Signature: ______________________________________________	Date: _______________________
Principal Investigator:
Signature: ______________________________________________	Date: _______________________
Company Name: ______________________________________________
Contract No: ______________________________________________

Appendix H

Proposal Receipt Acknowledgement

IMPORTANT!

IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT CARD TO CONFIRM RECEIPT OF YOUR PROPOSAL, PLEASE COMPLETE A STANDARD SELF-ADDRESSED STAMPED POSTCARD CONTAINING THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION AND ATTACH TO THE ORIGINAL OF EACH PROPOSAL:

Please type the following and fill in the blanks as appropriate:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This will acknowledge the receipt of your proposal titled:
________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Topic Letter _____. The evaluation of proposals and the award of SBIR Contracts will require approximately 10 months, and no information on proposal status will be available until final selection(s) is made. Your proposal has been assigned EPA No. _________(to be filled in by EPA).

Date:______________

-----------------------------------------------------------------
REVERSE SIDE: Please type the following in the upper left-hand corner (return address) and self-address the card to your corporate official: (Post cards that do not meet postal service standards will not be returned).

        ________________________________________________
U.S. EPA
RTP/POD (E105-02)
RTP, NC 27711
___________


Your Firm Name
Address
City, State Zip Code

        ________________________________________________

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The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.

Grantee Research Project Results

Special Announcement

SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH
PHASE I Program Solicitation
RFP# SOL-NC-13-00012

CLOSED: FOR REFERENCE PURPOSES ONLY

SBIR PHASE I SOLICITATION

I. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

II. DEFINITIONS

III. PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

IV. METHOD OF SELECTION AND EVALUATION CRITERIA

V. CONSIDERATIONS

VI. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

VII. SBIR PHASE I RESEARCH TOPICS

VIII. SUBMISSION FORMS AND CERTIFICATIONS

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Related Information

Grantee Research Project Results

Special Announcement

SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH PHASE I Program Solicitation RFP# SOL-NC-13-00012

CLOSED: FOR REFERENCE PURPOSES ONLY

SBIR PHASE I SOLICITATION

I. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

II. DEFINITIONS

III. PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

IV. METHOD OF SELECTION AND EVALUATION CRITERIA

V. CONSIDERATIONS

VI. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

VII. SBIR PHASE I RESEARCH TOPICS

VIII. SUBMISSION FORMS AND CERTIFICATIONS

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SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH
PHASE I Program Solicitation
RFP# SOL-NC-13-00012