7.1 Questions
Offerors with questions regarding this solicitation must submit them in to the Contracting Officer point of contact identified below in Section 10 in sufficient time for receipt no later than August 21, 2015. The Government may issue an amendment to this solicitation including responses to submitted questions. The Government anticipates that responses would be published in sufficient time for interested offerors to consider them prior to submission of a proposal.
7.2 Pre-Proposal Conference
HHS will hold a pre-proposal conference, via webinar, on August 13, 2015 at 2:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time. This informational webinar will discuss this solicitation, and in particular will discuss the new electronic contract proposal submission (eCPS) website. For this solicitation, proposals will only be accepted via the eCPS website.
Offerors may register for the webinar at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1204029371162972674 . Following registration, a confirmation e-mail will be sent containing information about joining the webinar.
Presentation material from this webinar shall be posted on FedBizOpps and the NIH SBIR/STTR webpage following its completion.
7.3 Limitation on the Length of the Technical Proposal (Item 1) SBIR Phase I technical proposals (Item 1) shall not exceed 50 pages. SBIR Phase II technical proposals (Item 1) shall not exceed 150 pages.
All pages shall be single-sided, single-spaced pages for the entire proposal, all inclusive [including all pages, cover sheet(s), tables, CVs, resumes, references, pictures/graphics, and all enclosures, appendices or attachments, etc.]. Proposal pages shall be numbered “Page 1 of 50,” “Page 2 of 50,” and so on. Pages shall be of standard size (8.5” X 11”) with a font size of 11 points (or larger). Two sided pages count as two pages. There are NO exclusions to the page limit – the technical proposal shall not exceed 50 pages for Phase I, and 150 pages for Phase II. Pages in excess of the page limitation will be removed from the proposal and will not be considered or evaluated.
7.4 Submission, Modifications, Revision, and Withdrawal of Proposals
(a) Offerors are responsible for submitting proposals, including any revisions or modifications, to the electronic Contract Proposal Submission (eCPS) website at https://ecps.nih.gov/sbirsttr by the date and time specified on the first page of this solicitation.
Offerors must use this electronic transmission method. No other method of proposal submission is permitted. (b) Instructions on how to submit a proposal into eCPS are available at https://ecps.nih.gov/sbirsttr/home/howto. Offerors
may also reference Frequently Asked Questions regarding online submissions at https://ecps.nih.gov/sbirsttr/home/faq. 1. Be advised that registration is required to submit a proposal into eCPS and registration may take several
business days to process.
2. The proposal must be uploaded in 2 parts: Technical and Business.
The Technical Proposal shall consist of Item 1, as described in Sections 8.3 and 8.4. The Technical Proposal must consist of a single PDF file.
The Business Proposal shall consist of Items 2, 3, and 4, as applicable, as described in Section 8.3 and 8.4. The Business Proposal must consist of a single PDF file. Offerors may also choose to submit an optional Excel Workbook spreadsheet providing a cost breakdown, in addition to the single PDF file.
3. Proposal Naming Conventions:
(a) The ‘Proposal Name’ entered into eCPS for your proposal submission shall include, in order: (1) the Phase the proposal is for; (2) the name of the Offeror; (3) the NIH or CDC Awarding Component and the Topic being proposed under.
Examples are provided below:
•
Phase I_XYZ Company_NCIRD_Topic_031•
Phase II_XYZ Company_NIAID_Topic_038If submitting a Fast Track Proposal, include “FAST TRACK” after the Phase, as shown below:
•
Phase I FAST TRACK_XYZ Company_NIAID_Topic_038•
Phase II FAST TRACK_XYZ Company_NIAID-Topic_038(c) Files uploaded for your proposal submission shall include, in order: (1) the name of the Offeror; (2) the NIH or CDC Awarding Component and the Topic being proposed under; and, (3) the type of proposal (i.e., Technical, Business, or Excel Workbook). Use the format set forth in the examples below when naming your files, prior to uploading them into eCPS:
• Example for a proposal under National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Topic 033:
Technical Proposal: XYZ Company_NIAID_TOPIC_033_Technical.pdf Business Proposal: XYZ Company_NIAID_TOPIC_033_Business.pdf Excel Workbook (Optional): XYZ Company_NIAID_TOPIC_033_Business.xlsx
• Example for a proposal under Centers for Disease Control / National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Topic 031:
Technical Proposal: XYZ Company_NCIRD_TOPIC_031_Technical.pdf Business Proposal: XYZ Company_NCIRD_TOPIC_031_Business.pdf Excel Workbook (Optional): XYZ Company_NCIRD_TOPIC_031_Business.xlsx 4. To submit a Fast Track Proposal:
•
Upload the Phase 1 Technical Proposal and Phase 1 Business Proposal and Submit.•
After you submit the Phase 1 proposal, then click the “Submit new/alternate Proposal” button for Phase 2 submission.(d) Any proposal, modification, or revision, that is received after the exact time specified for receipt of proposals is “late” and will not be considered for award.
(e) If an emergency or unanticipated event interrupts normal Government processes so that proposals cannot be received at the eCPS website by the exact time specified in the solicitation, and urgent Government requirements preclude amendment of the solicitation closing date, 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.
(f) Proposals may be withdrawn by written notice at any time before award. A copy of withdrawn proposals will be retained in the contract file.