**UPDATE 5 APRIL 2024: The proposal submission date has been updated to 24 April 2024. The FOA has been amended to reflect this submission date and include a Question and Answer document based on questions received from interested applicants. Other than the updated proposal submission date in the FOA, the actual FOA Amendment has not been changed. However, the answers provided in the Q&A document are considered part of the FOA Amendment.**

**CYCLE 2 UPDATE 20 MARCH 2024 - THE OPPORTUNITY WEBINAR FOR CYCLE 2 WILL BE HELD ONLINE VIA MS TEAMS AT 1500 EDT ON 22 MARCH 2024 AT THE FOLLOWING LINK:

https://dod.teams.microsoft.us/l/meetup-join/19%3adod%3ameeting_5fa41fe6fa874484b473d8a6ba7921c6%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22fae6d70f-954b-4811-92b6-0530d6f84c43%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e9f6fc39-8f22-44e5-8bd0-64f0cde32305%22%2c%22IsBroadcastMeeting%22%3atrue%7d

**UPDATE 14 MARCH 2024 - CYCLE 2 HAS BEEN POSTED TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT. PLEASE REVIEW THE UPDATED ANNOUNCEMENT IN FULL FOR SUBMISSION TIME, UPDATED TOPIC, AND FUNDING AMOUNT AND SCHEDULE CHANGES FROM CYCLE 1**

TACTICAL BEHAVIORS FOR AUTONOMOUS MANEUVER COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM (TBAM-CRP)

Future Army forces will be called upon to operate and maneuver in multi-domain

operations (MDO), against a modern and capable peer adversary. The battlefield of the future

may impose additional constraints on maneuver forces such as disruption in communication as

well as positioning services. To field a highly capable fighting force in this future battlefield,

novel tactics and doctrines leveraging nascent technologies in robotics and autonomous systems

(RAS) will need to be developed. Teams of RAS will serve an increasingly critical role in the

future force to deliver situational awareness, defend key locations or positions, or take point in

dynamic and hazardous situations. Resilience to disruptions, failures, or unexpected scenarios, is

a key quality for teams of RAS to operate alongside other future Army forces. The US Army

Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is

focused on developing fundamental understanding and informing the art-of-the-possible for

warfighter concepts through research to greatly improve the scope of mission capabilities of

teams of RAS, develop robust and resilient approaches to plan under extreme conditions of

uncertainty, to learn coordinated strategies for groups of agents to achieve a common objective,

all within a complex maneuver environment including adversaries. The Tactical Behaviors for

Autonomous Maneuver Collaborative Research Program (TBAM-CRP) is focused on developing

and experimentally evaluating coordinated and individual behaviors for small groups of

autonomous agents to learn doctrinal as well as novel tactics for maneuvering in military relevant

environments. The TBAM-CRP will leverage developments in other internal and extramural

programs as well as identify new research directions to find novel solutions to these maneuver

problems in analogical simulations representing complex realistic terrain.

The Tactical Behaviors for Autonomous Maneuver Collaborative Research Program (TBAM-CRP) will

consist of a series of sprint efforts executed with annual program reviews. Each topic will be focused on

addressing a different set of scientific areas which will support the research aims of an associated ARL

researcher from a related internal essential research program (ERP) or mission-funded program.

The TBAM-CRP has been developed in coordination with other related ARL-funded collaborative efforts

(see descriptions of ARL collaborative alliances at https://www.arl.army.mil/business/collaborativealliances/)

and shares a common vision of highly collaborative academia-industry-government

partnerships; however, it will be executed with a program model adapted from the Scalable, Adaptive,

and Resilient Autonomy (SARA), which established a new paradigm for collaborative research. Some

key properties of this new approach are described below:

• TBAM-CRP sprint topics will be offered on a two-year cycle. Proposals will be solicited for a

possible two-year period structured as a first-year pilot followed by a second-year option where

the option may be awarded based upon progress assessed at an annual review. The FOA will be

amended annually to identify a specific problem statement and scope for that specific cycle. The

topics for each cycle will be chosen to address the long-term program goal.

• Five new topics (Cycles 1-5) are expected in FY22, 24, 26, 28, 30. Each topic will be carefully

chosen based on the previous accomplishments in the prior cycle(s), the development of new

technologies and capabilities in the broader research and development communities, and the

Army’s evolving needs for future capabilities.

• For each topic, funding will be provided to those Recipients selected under a cooperative

agreement (CA).

• Enhanced Research Program funding from ARL or Other Government Agencies (OGAs) may

become available during a cycle which provides a mechanism for growth and enhancement within

the TBAM-CRP. A proposal should not include any discussion of the Enhanced Research

Program. Recipients receiving a CA will be notified and provided details if the opportunity for

Enhanced Research Program funding becomes available during their award period of

performance.

• There is no limitation on the place of performance, although on-site collaboration at ARL

facilities and with ARL researchers as well as with other Recipients are encouraged. Research

outcomes in this program must, at the very least, be demonstrated in sophisticated simulations of

relevant environments. Together with ARL collaborators, these results may be adapted for higher

TRL experimentation on surrogate platforms at ARL test facilities such as the Robotics Research

Collaboration Campus (R2C2) at Graces Quarters, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

• Recipients will be furnished with access to the ARL Autonomy Stack software suite as well as all

relevant simulation tools and multi-agent learning support.

• Recipients will be provided with information about the current state of the Autonomous Systems

Enterprise (ASE) with an overview of developments in the associated collaborative research

alliances including Distributed and Collaborative Intelligent Systems and Technology (DCIST),

Scalable, Adaptive, and Resilient Autonomy (SARA), as well as internal ARL essential research

programs including the AI for Maneuver and Mobility (AIMM), Emerging Overmatch

Technologies (EOT), and Versatile Tactical Power and Propulsion (VICTOR). Capabilities

demonstrated in simulation should reflect significant appropriate developments. This midpoint

review is expected to take place as a mini symposium where Recipients can share results with

one another along with the ARL community to foster further collaboration.

• At the end of the second year, a capstone demonstration will be executed by those Recipients

receiving an option to their award in a set of simulated relevant environments, either those

environment scenarios provided by the Government and other program performers, or optionally

of a specific environment developed by the Recipient to exhibit their developed capability. Any

system level capability demonstration that can be made with the internal ARL collaborator or

description of capability development and program contribution can also be made at this time.

These system demonstrations are expected to coincide to foster further integration and adoption

with related internal research programs as well as partner organizations from within the

DEVCOM, other Army and DoD service branches and agencies, in addition to other government

agencies.

Proposals that follow the requirements of the FOA will be evaluated in accordance with merit-based,

competitive procedures. These procedures will include evaluation factors and an adjectival and color

rating system. A review team, consisting of a qualified group of Government scientists and managers

will evaluate the compliant proposals and provide the results of that evaluation to the decision-maker for

the Government. Relevant internal research program materials approved for public release and contact

information will be provided to potential proposers during introductory presentations to help facilitate

identification of collaboration between proposers and individual ARL researchers or internal research

programs. Additional connections to ARL programs can be identified during the proposal review process.

Eligible applicants under this FOA include institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, and

for-profit organizations (i.e., large and small businesses) for scientific research in the knowledge domains

outlined throughout this Funding Opportunity. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers

(FFRDC) may propose as well, with effort as allowed by their sponsoring agency and in accordance with

their sponsoring agency policy.

Tactical Behaviors for Autonomous Maneuver Collaborative Research Program (TBAM-CRP) Cycle 2 Funding Opportunity Announcement

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY OVERVIEW

1. Federal Awarding Agency Name

Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) U.S. Army Research Laboratory 2800 Powder Mill Road Adelphi, MD 20783-1197

Issuing Acquisition Office: U.S. Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground, Research Triangle Park (RTP) Division 800 Park Office Drive Suite #4229 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

2. Research Opportunity Title

Tactical Behaviors for Autonomous Maneuver Collaborative Research Program (TBAM-CRP)

3. Announcement Type

Cycle 2 Update to W911NF-22-S-0011

4. Funding Opportunity Number

W911NF-22-S-0011

5. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s)

12.630 - "Basic, Applied, and Advanced Research in Science and Engineering"

6. TBAM-CRP Website

https://www.arl.army.mil/business/collaborative-alliances/current-cras/tbam-crp/

7. Opportunity Webinar

Will be held online via Teams. at 1500 EDT on 22 March 2024 at the following link: https://dod.teams.microsoft.us/l/meetup-join/19%3adod%3ameeting_5fa41fe6fa874484b473d8a6ba7921c6%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22T id%22%3a%22fae6d70f-954b-4811-92b6-0530d6f84c43%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e9f6fc39-8f22-44e5-8bd0-64f0cde32305%22%2c%22IsBroadcastMeeting%22%3atrue%7d

8. Submission of Questions

usarmy.adelphi.devcom-arl.mbx.tbam-crp-questions@army.mil

9. Key Dates

The following is a summary of the events and dates associated with this Cycle under the overall TBAM-CRP Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA):

EVENT	ESTIMATED DATE/TIMEFRAME
Opportunity released	14 March 2024
Opportunity Webinar	22 March 2024, 1500, EDT
Deadline for Questions on Funding Opportunity	27 March 2024
Proposals Due for Cycle 1	24 April 2024
Notification to Recipients	June 2024
Cycle 2 program start	1 October 2024

A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Purpose

Future Army forces will be called upon to operate and maneuver in multi-domain operations (MDO), against a modern and capable peer adversary. The battlefield of the future may impose additional constraints on maneuver forces such as disruption in communication as well as positioning services. To field a highly capable fighting force in this future battlefield, novel tactics and doctrines leveraging nascent technologies in robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) will need to be developed. Teams of RAS will serve an increasingly critical role in the future force to deliver situational awareness, defend key locations or positions, or take point in dynamic and hazardous situations. Resilience to disruptions, failures, or unexpected scenarios, is a key quality for teams of RAS to operate alongside other future Army forces. The US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is focused on developing fundamental understanding and informing the art-of-the-possible for warfighter concepts through research to greatly improve the scope of mission capabilities of teams of RAS, develop robust and resilient approaches to plan under extreme conditions of uncertainty, to learn coordinated strategies for groups of agents to achieve a common objective, all within a complex maneuver environment including adversaries. The Tactical Behaviors for Autonomous Maneuver Collaborative Research Program (TBAM-CRP) is focused on developing and experimentally evaluating coordinated and individual behaviors for small groups of autonomous agents to learn doctrinal as well as novel tactics for maneuvering in military relevant environments. The TBAM-CRP will leverage developments in other internal and extramural programs as well as identify new research directions to find novel solutions to these maneuver problems in analogical simulations representing complex realistic terrain.

The Tactical Behaviors for Autonomous Maneuver Collaborative Research Program (TBAM-CRP) will consist of a series of sprint efforts executed with annual program reviews. Each topic will be focused on addressing a different set of scientific areas which will support the research aims of an associated ARL researcher from a related internal essential research program (ERP) or mission-funded program.

The TBAM-CRP has been developed in coordination with other related ARL-funded collaborative efforts¹ and shares a common vision of highly collaborative academia-industry-government partnerships; however, it will be executed with a program model adapted from the Scalable, Adaptive, and Resilient Autonomy (SARA), which established a new paradigm for collaborative research. Some key properties of this new approach are described below:

• TBAM-CRP sprint topics will be offered on a two-year cycle. Proposals will be solicited for up to a maximum of four years, including a two-year pilot effort followed by up to two one-year optional extensions, where the option(s) may be awarded based upon progress assessed during annual reviews. The FOA will be amended annually to identify a specific problem statement and scope for that specific cycle. The topics for each cycle will be chosen to address the long-term program goal.
• Five new topics (Cycles 1-5) are expected in FY22, 24, 26, 28, and 30. Each topic will be carefully chosen based on the previous accomplishments in the prior cycle(s), the development of new technologies and capabilities in the broader research and development communities, and the Army’s evolving needs for future capabilities.
• For each topic, funding will be provided to those Recipients selected under a cooperative agreement (CA).
• Enhanced Research Program funding from ARL or Other Government Agencies (OGAs) may become available during a cycle which provides a mechanism for growth and enhancement within the TBAM-CRP. A proposal should not include any discussion of the Enhanced Research Program. Recipients receiving a CA will be notified and provided details if the opportunity for Enhanced Research Program funding becomes available during their award period of performance.
• There is no limitation on the place of performance, although on-site collaboration at ARL facilities and with ARL researchers as well as with other Recipients are encouraged. Research outcomes in this program must, at the very least, be demonstrated in sophisticated simulations of relevant environments. Together with ARL collaborators, these results may be adapted for higher TRL experimentation on surrogate platforms at ARL test facilities such as the Robotics Research Collaboration Campus (R2C2) at Graces Quarters, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
• Recipients will be furnished with access to the ARL Autonomy Stack software suite as well as all relevant simulation tools and multi-agent learning support.
• Recipients will be provided with information about the current state of the Autonomous Systems Enterprise (ASE) with an overview of developments in the associated collaborative research alliances including Distributed and Collaborative Intelligent Systems and Technology (DCIST), Scalable, Adaptive, and Resilient Autonomy (SARA), as well as internal ARL essential research programs including the AI for Maneuver and Mobility (AIMM), Emerging Overmatch Technologies (EOT), and Versatile Tactical Power and Propulsion (VICTOR), and new ASE programs which may begin during the period-of-performance. Capabilities demonstrated in simulation should reflect significant appropriate developments. This midpoint review is expected to take place as a mini symposium where Recipients can share results with one another along with the ARL community to foster further collaboration.
• At the end of the second year, a capstone demonstration will take place in a set of simulated relevant environments, either those environment scenarios provided by the Government and other program performers, or optionally of a specific environment developed by the Recipient to exhibit their developed capability. Any system level capability demonstration that can be made with the internal ARL collaborator or description of capability development and program contribution can also be made at this time. These system demonstrations are expected to coincide to foster further integration and adoption with related internal research programs as well as partner organizations from within the DEVCOM, other Army and DoD service branches and agencies, in addition to other government agencies.

Proposals that follow the requirements of the FOA will be evaluated in accordance with merit-based, competitive procedures. These procedures will include evaluation factors and an adjectival and color rating system. A review team, consisting of a qualified group of Government scientists and managers will evaluate the compliant proposals and provide the results of that evaluation to the decision-maker for the Government. Relevant internal research program materials approved for public release and contact information will be provided to potential proposers during introductory presentations to help facilitate identification of collaboration between proposers and individual ARL researchers or internal research programs. Additional connections to ARL programs can be identified during the proposal review process.

Eligible applicants under this FOA include institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit organizations (i.e., large and small businesses) for scientific research in the knowledge domains outlined throughout this Funding Opportunity. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) are subject to applicable direct competition limitations and cannot propose to this solicitation in any capacity unless they meet the following conditions. (1) FFRDCs must clearly demonstrate that the proposed work is not otherwise available from the private sector. (2) FFRDCs must provide a letter, on official letterhead from their sponsoring organization, that (a) cites the specific authority establishing their eligibility to propose to Government solicitations and compete with industry, and (b) certifies the FFRDC’s compliance with the associated FFRDC sponsor agreement’s terms and conditions. These conditions are a requirement for FFRDCs proposing to be awardees or subawardees.

The TBAM-CRP program is designed to research and develop key capabilities for use in existing and future DEVCOM ARL internal and extramural research programs. Key aspects which differentiate this topic from existing internal and external research programs include a specific focus on:

• Exploiting terrain and cover to operate in non-permissive complex environments.
• Framing scenarios provided in sprint announcements to ground diverse research approaches to address a unique Army-relevant problem.
• Operating scenarios in the context of capable adversaries which are counter-maneuvering rather than operating without opposition.
• The need to synchronize motion and other effects across a team instead of a focus on individual platforms.
• Recognition of evolving and dynamic phases of operation and the need for transition between tactical behaviors across a team instead of static and simple scenarios.
• Changing roles within team based on phase of operation, terrain / other semantics, as well as scenario changes such as due to attrition or resource / power availability rather than well-defined and fixed relationships or capabilities.

Cycle 2 Sprint Topic: Coordinated maneuver against adversaries.

In the future, Army robots and autonomous systems (RAS) will operate in non-permissive unstructured environments. Operating in these environments requires solutions to problems that are not typically addressed in the commercial sector. These RAS will be required to maneuver through complex terrains including urban scenarios incorporating prepared surfaces as well as off-road traversal, in unstructured scenarios with natural obstacles such as forests, jungles, deserts, and undulating terrain with watershed features such as river crossing, as well as in rural settings with boundary fences, walls, and sparse structures. In each of these scenarios, contact with potential adversarial positions is a constant concern – in some situations this contact should be avoided through use of terrain features and cover; in other missions the adversary positions should be met with a posture of tactical overmatch through coordinated maneuver - the synchronized actions of a distributed system.

The operational scenario for Cycle 2 is entitled “Preparation for Contact”. In this scenario, the team of autonomous agents is maneuvering in a non-permissive environment where contact is expected. An unidentified/ unknown entity or group has just been detected by the team; this element may be unaware of our team, or it may be counter-maneuvering in preparation for contact. The goal for this cycle is to make and execute decisions for the team which achieve an operational advantage in the short time remaining before contact is engaged.

The notion of “achieving an operational advantage” is meant to be sufficiently general to admit a diverse set of interpretations. One obvious example of achieving an operational advantage would be to maneuver to a tactically superior position, such as where its agents are positioned to maximize the availability of protective cover while observing or confronting the adversary position.

Other types of advantages could include informational knowledge - the team must improve their informational state by identifying and classifying remaining unseen components of the adversary by leveraging contextual cues about the surrounding terrain. This information can be used to estimate the adversary’s capabilities, which can inform future decisions. The composition, disposition, and intent of the contacted element could also be ambiguous: in this situation controlling the flow of information is critical for the team as it may not be able to act until more is known.

Proposals to address this scenario could consider this contact to exist over different spatial and time scales as appropriate and may have been approached or reached from a position of advantage, parity, or disadvantage. The posture of the team should also be responsive to the uncertainty, risk, and operating conditions or constraints of the mission. For example, adversaries may be detected indirectly on the other side of a visibility line via another asset or electronic monitoring. This is a position of advantage, where a disparity of knowledge exists between the team and its opponents. Here, time can be taken to carefully collect information about the disposition and capability of the adversary.

In any scale, the information collected, and maneuver performed by the autonomous team will be at the cost of potentially furnishing the adversary with information. In this way, protected information about our team must be risked gathering information about the adversary. For example, to gather information via direct observation, any line-of-sight sensor which is positioned to collect this information would necessarily be observable by the adversary to some extent. In the condition of making observations across an inter-visibility line or occluding feature, such as peeking over a ridgeline, may provide the adversary with a great deal of information. Carefully controlling how the adversary can interpret this information may be the only choice in this case – how can the adversary be limited from estimating the size of our team or their planned mission?

The TBAM-CRP Cycle 2 Sprint proposals should plan to incorporate and build upon GFE software (see section on Government furnished equipment (GFE) and software, on page 7) and may optionally refer to and build upon the academically published results developed in prior sprint cycles, which included research efforts across the following topics:

• Coordinated multi-agent traversals utilizing dynamic bounding overwatch [1] [2] [3] [4] [5].
• Fast computation of viewsheds from distributional observer position estimates [3].
• Controllers which maximize the use of cover and concealment from viewshed calculations [6] [7] [8].
• Planners which reason over “non-Markovian” observation functions, considering the trade-off between being seen again from one possible observer position rather than being exposed to an additional observer position [9].
• Controllers to enable teams to move in defined formations while maneuvering around obstacles [6] [8] [10].
• Navigation in unstructured offroad terrain [11] [12]
• Game-theoretic reasoning to obscure mission details from an observer [13] [14] [15].

Metrics

Recipients will be expected to demonstrate their solutions in relevant simulations as well as to participate in the deployment of their solutions onto ARL’s systems/ programs. At these experimental events, Recipients will conduct coordinated autonomous tactical maneuvers in complex terrain with adversaries per the assumptions above and their performance will be evaluated against criteria such as:

• Detection by adversaries (duration of detection/observation or how many times were they visible from an observing position).
• Speed to complete maneuver task (i.e., reach objective under constraints) as compared to a manned or tele-operated system.
• Response to degraded operation (i.e., how many (or what proportion of) platforms can be disabled with less than x% disruption to other performance metrics).
• Difficulty of proposed scenario / number and capability of adversaries / complexity of terrain and structure.
• Diversity of simulated scenarios in unstructured environments such as jungle or sparse and dense forest as well as more structured environments such as urban and rural, as described above.

Government furnished equipment (GFE) and software

To allow for diverse and unexpected proposals, the use of the following GFE is optional, but may enable better integration with ARL research programs for systems demonstrations:

ARL Autonomy Architecture

The autonomy architecture is based on packages and components implemented with the Robotic Operating System (ROS) 2 to enable reproducibility and modularity. Reproducibility derives from package meta-data (ROS package.xml) and build system (catkin-tools). We consider modularity at two scales: both individual algorithms/nodes and clusters of nodes that provide capability. The architecture depends on the TF library and adheres to the ROS Enhancement Protocol. Central to the world model and representations of the architecture is the adoption of pose-graph-based solutions to the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) problem for GPS-denied or degraded localization. That is, representations of the world consume a list of frame correction (e.g., map to odometry) to process observations in a consistent frame (e.g., map). Finally, we assume a federated world model - the location and communication of data is in the hands of the system designer.

ARL Ground Autonomy Software Stack

The existing ARL autonomy software stack provides an implementation of the architecture described above and will be provided as GFE to Recipients. It consists of four major capabilities:

1. Perception pipeline: Take sensor data, e.g., RGB images and point clouds, and process to symbolic observations. Components include object detection, per-pixel image classification, object position/pose estimation based on LIDAR, etc.
2. Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM): Using sensor data and perception pipeline products, formulate SLAM problem as a pose-graph optimization and solve. Includes components for point cloud alignment (ICP), pose-graph optimization (GTSAM), caching/data-association/fusion of symbolic object measurements, renderers of terrain classes/occupancy grids/point clouds.
3. Metric Planning and Execution: Use metric model of the world to achieve metric goals, e.g., waypoint navigation. Includes components for global planning (e.g., lattice-based motion planning), local planning (e.g., trajectory optimization), and an executor to sequence planning and control.
4. Symbolic Planning: Use symbolic model of the world to achieve symbolic goals, e.g., going near a particular object. Underlying symbolic planning architecture is based on behavior trees. Includes components for mission planning (e.g., the Planning and Acting using Behavior Trees), mission execution, sample behaviors that interface with mission planning/execution and the metric planning/execution layer (e.g., going to an object).

ARL Simulation Testbed(s)

ARL’s simulation environment utilizes the Unity game engine using a custom interface to pass data between ROS and the simulation engine. This simulator works as a “software in the loop (SITL)” in that it simulates sensors and actuators, with the autonomy software stack interfacing in the same way as it would on a physical robot. It utilizes a rigid body physics simulation for basic dynamics and collision modeling.

ARL will provide initial simulation scenarios such as a village, a roadway crossing with complex forested terrain transitions and changing contexts, and a rural agricultural area. Performers are encouraged to contribute additional scenarios within the simulator which showcase their specific capabilities and share them with other performers where possible. ARL will also contribute additional scenarios during the period of performance and may develop or adapt scenarios which are withheld for the purpose of testing and evaluation.

Implemented sensors include cameras, LiDARs, IMUs and wheel encoders. Actuators include wheels and motors. The Clearpath Jackal, Husky, and Warthog platforms are integrated with ARL sensor payloads and autonomy stacks into the simulation environment. Performers are allowed to contribute additional platforms, configurations, or other networked sensors as needed to support their development and exhibit their capabilities. Any performer contributed component should be reasonably expected to be realizable in hardware at the current or near future level of technology.

Proposal Intent

It is the intent of this FOA to solicit the most creative, innovative, and flexible approaches to the ultimate goal of generating and exploiting research to solve pressing research gaps and issues impacting both the military and commercial sectors. This FOA seeks Proposals which will result in the award of multiple CAs. Proposals will be solicited for innovative solutions that will advance the state-of-art and enable new novel tactical behaviors for teams of autonomous systems. Research from these proposals should result in experiments demonstrating the art-of-the-possible to inform future warfighter concepts and augment the Army RAS code and technology base.

• For each cycle, funding will be provided to selected Recipients under a cooperative agreement (CA). The current cycle period of performance will be a 24-month pilot effort and up to two 12-month optional extensions. The period of performance is expected to begin in August 2024 but may be shifted as late as 1Q25 based upon funding availability.
• Total number of Recipients and funding per Recipient will vary from year to year at the discretion of the Government and based on available funding. ARL reserves the right to negotiate with an Applicant to re-scope their proposal technical focus, period of performance, and associated costs to maximize the available program funding, balance of research topics across the program, and overall impact to the program.
• The success of this multidisciplinary effort will require meaningful collaborative partnerships between government, academia, and industry to advance the science. Proposals must address the intellectual property (IP) approach, how the approach will foster collaboration with ARL and other TBAM-CRP Recipients, and how the proposed solution will further advance the state-of-art of open source or ARL/government owned autonomy solutions.
• The research proposed and performed must comply with the definition for Budget Activity 1 research as outlined in the DoD Financial Management Regulation (FMR), Volume 2B, Chapter 5. Budget Activity 1 is for basic research. See DoD 7000.14-R for additional details.
• All funding is expected to be expended within the cycle period of performance. Available funding will vary from cycle to cycle; for Cycle #2, a total of $2.1M per year is expected. Additional Enhanced Research Program funding from ARL or Other Government Agencies (OGAs) may become available during a cycle. Multiple awards are expected to be funded out of the Cycle #2. Proposals are expected to be bid at a cost commensurate with the level of effort. Awards will be made based on the impact to advancing the state-of-the-art. ARL reserves the right to adjust the balance of research based on merit of proposals received and potential impact to the overall program and advancing the state-of-the-art. ARL also reserves the right to negotiate with an Applicant to re-scope their proposal and associated costs to maximize available program funding.

Collaboration

The Tactical Behaviors CRP addresses a critical objective within a broader Army goal to advance the state-of-art in autonomous vehicle multi-agent tactical maneuver in complex and realistic contested environments with adversaries. This program has been developed in coordination with other related ARL-funded collaborative efforts (see descriptions of ARL collaborative alliances at https://www.arl.army.mil/business/collaborative-alliances/) and shares a common vision of highly collaborative academia-industry-government partnerships. However, with the rapid pace of technology development TBAM-CRP will implement a novel, synergistic approach/structure. Cycles will be explicitly structured to foster the greatest degree of collaboration and knowledge sharing to optimally leverage or combine findings from each effort awarded under each cycle and directly tie with internal ARL research programs. This will happen through mandatory biweekly collaboration meetings with ARL internal researchers/ technical POC, as well as joint research presentations across all Recipients at kick-off and on an annual basis, in annual simulation evaluations, in addition to demonstration of derived higher TRL experimentation in conjunction with ARL research programs facilitated through ARL internal researchers. This structure is intended to achieve the overall goals of the TBAM-CRP program more effectively and efficiently by preventing unnecessary duplication or silos of information, findings, technology or other relevant outcomes from ARL investment (internal and external). In other words, the success of TBAM-CRP requires a multidisciplinary, collaborative effort that synergistically views every new funded effort as a network of research or “building block” to grow and support an ecosystem of high-quality, innovative researchers actively sharing knowledge and collaboratively addressing scientific gaps critical to the Department of Defense. Given this novel approach, Government researchers and program managers will be taking a more active role to support rapid integration of findings and cohesion within the research ecosystem. Research results of each Awardee and that of ARL staff under the TBAM-CRP are expected to build on in a coordinated, collaborative, and cumulative manner to significantly advance the state-of-art and in tactical maneuver technologies.

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

Multiple CAs may be awarded from this FOA. The Applicants selected for award will be notified by the Grants Officer or his/her designee telephonically or via email. The CA award is not official until the Applicant has received the award signed by the Grants Officer.

CAs for Institutions of Higher Education and nonprofit organizations are primarily governed by the following:

• Federal statutes
• Federal regulations
• 2 CFR Part 200, as modified and supplemented by DoD's interim implementation found at 2 CFR Part 1103

CAs for For-Profit Recipients are primarily governed by the following:

• Federal statutes
• Federal regulations
• 32 CFR Part 34

The following websites may be accessed to obtain an electronic copy of the governing regulations and guidance:

• FAR, DFARS, and AFARS: https://www.acquisition.gov/content/regulations Code of Federal Regulations: http://www.ecfr.gov
• DoD Research and Development General Terms and Conditions September 2021
• ACC-APG-RTP Division Assistance, Research General Terms and Conditions dated DECEMBER 2020: https://www.arl.army.mil/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/RTP-Agency-Specific-Requirement-DEC-2020.pdf

Anticipated Core Funding Cycles

Proposal FY	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Cycle 1	x	x
Cycle 2		x	x	*	*
Cycle 3			x	x	*	*
Cycle 4				x	x	*	*
Cycle 5					X	x
*if option period(s) are exercised

All funding is expected to be expended within the cycle period of performance. Available funding will vary from cycle to cycle; for Cycle #2 seedlings, a total of $2.1M is expected per year. Additional Enhanced Research Program funding from ARL or Other Government Agencies (OGAs) may become available during a cycle. Multiple awards are expected to be funded out of the Cycle #2 total amount of $2.1M per year. Proposals are expected to be bid at a cost commensurate with the level of effort to include potential option periods. Proposals should include technical approach and cost for the initial pilot/base period of 2 years as well as potential option periods.

Award Instrument

This Funding Opportunity is expected to result in the award of multiple cooperative agreements (CA) during each Cycle as defined at 31 U.S.C. 6305 for the execution of the program. The CA is used to enter into a relationship: a. The principal purpose of which is to transfer a thing of value to the Recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law or the United States, rather than to acquire property or services for the Federal Government’s direct benefit or use. b. Substantial involvement is expected between the Federal Government and the Recipient when carrying out the activity contemplated by the CA. c. No fee or profit is allowed.

Structure of Award

The CAs will consist of a proposal structured as a 24-month pilot base period of performance and up to two possible 12-month optional extensions which may be exercised based upon demonstrated progress at an annual review.

Proposal Submission

The application process consists of proposal submissions from applicants for each Cycle under this FOA. Applicants should note there are page limitations and other requirements associated with the submission process. Submissions in connection with this FOA are due by the date and time specified below. FOA amendments for future topics will include the submission requirements for those submissions. The Government’s decision to award a CA will be based upon the proposal evaluation results.

Period of Performance

The CA Awards made as a result of this FOA will provide for a base period of performance of 24 months with up to two options continuing for an additional 12 months each for a maximum of a four year period of performance. ARL reserves the right to negotiate with an Applicant to re-scope their proposal or optional proposal technical focus, period of performance, and associated costs to maximize the available program funding, balance of research topics across the program, and overall impact to the program.

Place of Performance

There is no limitation on the place of performance although on-site collaboration at ARL facilities and with ARL researchers as well as with other Recipients is encouraged. It is mandatory that all Recipients present research progress at annual program review events.

Funding

This FOA is issued subject to the availability of funds. ARL has submitted the requisite documents to request funding for the period covered by the program. However, Applicants are reminded this request is subject to Presidential, Congressional and Departmental approval. Funding levels specified in this FOA are estimated funding levels and are for proposal preparation purposes only; actual funding levels of the CAs will be updated annually as part of the federal appropriation process.

Profit/Fee

Profit/fee is not permitted under the CA.

Cost Sharing

Cost sharing is not required under this FOA.

Opportunity Webinar

ARL will host an opportunity webinar on (see Event timeline above). A link to the webinar will be posted on the TBAM-CRP website at: https://www.arl.army.mil/business/collaborative-alliances/current-cras/tbam-crp/

Contact Information

Outside of questions posed at the Opportunity Webinar, all questions or comments concerning this FOA must be submitted to the Government to usarmy.adelphi.devcom-arl.mbx.tbam-crp-questions@army.mil. Comments or questions submitted should be concise and to the point. In addition, the relevant part and paragraph of the FOA to which a comment or question pertains must be referenced. Responses to non-proprietary questions received will be posted to the announcement in grants.gov and on the TBAM-CRP website under the “General Information/Questions & Answers" section for the benefit of all interested parties. All clearly identified and marked proprietary questions submitted will be responded to via an individual email response, not posted to the TBAM-CRP website. Applicants are encouraged to submit questions as early as possible. The deadline for submission of questions which will be answered under this FOA is listed in Event timeline above. Any answers provided to questions do not change the requirements of this FOA. Future amendments to this FOA, including new cycle topics, will be issued via an amended FOA posted in grants.gov.

Important National Security Statement

This announcement requires that all current and pending research support, as defined by Section 223 of the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act must be disclosed annually, for all covered individuals identified in the proposal. Such disclosure will be updated annually during the performance of any research project selected for funding, and whenever covered individuals are added or identified as performing under the project.

Any decision to accept a proposal for funding under this announcement will include full reliance on the applicant's statements. Failure to report fully and completely all sources of project support and outside positions and affiliations may be considered a material statement within the meaning of the federal False Claims Act and constitute a violation of law.

The funding agency will conduct a pre-award security review of any proposal selected for funding and may impose additional security requirements on a resulting award, based on that review. Additional award requirements, where applicable, may include requirements for personnel or facility security clearances, additional background reporting on participants, including students and postgraduate researchers, and/or imposition of citizenship requirements on participants. Applicants are advised that any significant national security risk identified may be a basis for the rejection of an otherwise awardable proposal.

C. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants

It is our goal for the program to include a diverse group of Applicants with varied long-term interests. Applicants may be institutions of higher education, for-profit, or non-profit organizations. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC) may propose in accordance with the instructions provided in this FOA. Proposals may consist of teams from any combination of organizations (e.g., prime and sub-awardees), but this is not a requirement for award and award will only be made to a single entity.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

Cost sharing is not required under this FOA.

D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

The application process consists of a single Proposal stage. Applicants will receive feedback regarding their proposal ONLY IF IT IS SELECTED FOR AWARD, in order to improve the proposal and ensure alignment of the proposed research with Government goals. Applicants with non-selected proposals will be notified of their non-selection but will not receive feedback.

1. Address to Request Application Package

This FOA may be accessed from the following: Grants.gov (www.grants.gov). Amendments, if any, to this FOA will be posted to these websites when they occur. Interested parties are encouraged to periodically check these websites for updates and amendments.

2. Content and Format of Application Submission

The following information is for those wishing to respond to the FOA:

Grants.gov Application Submission and Receipt Procedures

This section provides the application submission and receipt instructions for DoD program applications. Please read the following instructions carefully and completely.

DoD is participating in the Grants.gov initiative to provide the grant community with a single site to find and apply for grant funding opportunities. For this funding opportunity, DoD requires applicants to submit their applications online through Grants.gov. This funding opportunity may be found on Grants.gov by going to the Grants.gov Search Grants screen and entering the funding opportunity number for this FOA, W911NF-22-S-0011, in the Funding Opportunity search box. You can also search for the CFDA Number 12.630.

How to Register to Apply through Grants.gov

Instructions: Read the instructions below about registering to apply for DoD funds. Applicants should read the registration instructions carefully and prepare the information requested before beginning the registration process. Reviewing and assembling the required information before beginning the registration process will alleviate last-minute searches for required information.

Organizations must have an active System for Award Management (SAM) registration and Grants.gov account to apply for grants. Creating a Grants.gov account can be completed online in minutes, but SAM registrations may take additional time. Therefore, an organization's registration should be done in sufficient time to ensure it does not impact the entity's ability to meet required application submission deadlines.

• Register with SAM: All organizations applying online through Grants.gov must register with the System for Award Management (SAM). Failure to register with SAM will prevent your organization from applying through Grants.gov. SAM registration must be renewed annually. For more detailed instructions for registering with SAM, refer to: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration/step-2-register-with-sam.html
• Create a Grants.gov Account: The next step is to register an account with Grants.gov. Follow the on-screen instructions or refer to the detailed instructions here: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration.html
• Add a Profile to a Grants.gov Account: A profile in Grants.gov corresponds to a single applicant organization the user represents (i.e., an applicant) or an individual applicant. If you work for or consult with multiple organizations and have a profile for each, you may log in to one Grants.gov account to access all of your grant applications. To add an organizational profile to your Grants.gov account, enter the UEI Number for the organization in the UEI field while adding a profile. For more detailed instructions about creating a profile on Grants.gov, refer to: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/add-profile.htm
• EBiz POC Authorized Profile Roles: After you register with Grants.gov and create an Organization Applicant Profile, the organization applicant's request for Grants.gov roles and access is sent to the EBiz POC. The EBiz POC will then log in to Grants.gov and authorize the appropriate roles, which may include the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) role, thereby giving you permission to complete and submit applications on behalf of the organization. You will be able to submit your application online any time after you have been assigned the AOR role. For more detailed instructions about creating a profile on Grants.gov, refer to: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/authorize-roles.html
• Track Role Status: To track your role request, refer to: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration/track-role-status.html
• Electronic Signature: When applications are submitted through Grants.gov, the name of the organization applicant with the AOR role that submitted the application is inserted into the signature line of the application, serving as the electronic signature. The EBiz POC must authorize people who are able to make legally binding commitments on behalf of the organization as a user with the AOR role; this step is often missed, and it is crucial for valid and timely submissions.

How to Submit an Application to DoD via Grants.gov

Grants.gov applicants can apply online using Workspace. Workspace is a shared, online environment where members of a grant team may simultaneously access and edit different webforms within an application. For each funding opportunity announcement (FOA), you can create individual instances of a workspace. Below is an overview of applying on Grants.gov. For access to complete instructions on how to apply for opportunities, refer to: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html

• Create a Workspace: Creating a workspace allows you to complete it online and route it through your organization for review before submitting.
• Complete a Workspace: Add participants to the workspace to work on the application together, complete all the required forms online or by downloading PDF versions, and check for errors before submission. The Workspace progress bar will display the state of your application process as you apply. As you apply using Workspace, you may click the blue question mark icon near the upper-right corner of each page to access context-sensitive help.
• Adobe Reader: If you decide not to apply by filling out webforms you can download individual PDF forms in Workspace. The individual PDF forms can be downloaded and saved to your local device storage, network drive(s), or external drives, then accessed through Adobe Reader. NOTE: Visit the Adobe Software Compatibility page on Grants.gov to download the appropriate version of the software at: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-softwarecompatibility.html
• Mandatory Fields in Forms: In the forms, you will note fields marked with an asterisk and a different background color. These fields are mandatory fields that must be completed to successfully submit your application.
• Complete SF-424 Fields First: The forms are designed to fill in common required fields across other forms, such as the applicant's name, address, and UEI Number. Once it is completed, the information will transfer to the other forms.
• Submit a Workspace: An application may be submitted through workspace by clicking the Sign and Submit button on the Manage Workspace page, under the Forms tab. Grants.gov recommends submitting your application package at least 24-48 hours prior to the close date to provide you with time to correct any potential technical issues that may disrupt the application submission.
• Track a Workspace Submission: After successfully submitting a workspace application, a Grants.gov Tracking Number (GRANTXXXXXXXX) is automatically assigned to the application. The number will be listed on the Confirmation page that is generated after submission. Using the tracking number, access the Track My Application page under the Applicants tab or the Details tab in the submitted workspace.

For additional training resources, including video tutorials, refer to: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicanttraining.html

Applicant Support: Grants.gov provides applicants 24/7 support via the toll-free number 1-800-518-4726 and email at support@grants.gov. For questions related to the specific grant opportunity, contact the number listed in the application package of the grant you are applying for.

If you are experiencing difficulties with your submission, it is best to call the Grants.gov Support Center and get a ticket number. The Support Center ticket number will assist the DoD with tracking your issue and understanding background information on the issue. Application forms and instructions will be available at Grants.gov. To access these materials, go to http://www.grants.gov, select "Apply for Grants", and then select "Download an Application Package." Enter the FOA number, W911NF-20-S-0005. Applicants must complete the mandatory forms and any optional forms (e.g., SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities) in accordance with the instructions on the forms and the additional instructions below. The required fields should be completed in accordance with the “pop-up” instructions on the forms. To activate the instructions, turn on the “Help Mode” (icon with the pointer and question mark at the top of the form). Files that are attached to the forms must be in Adobe Portable Document Form (PDF) unless otherwise specified in this announcement. The following formatting rules apply for the file attachments:

• Paper size when printed – 8.5 x 11-inch paper

• Margins – 1 inch

• Spacing – Single

• Font – No Smaller than Times New Roman, 12 point.

• Form: SF 424 (R&R) (Mandatory) – Complete this form first to populate data in other forms. Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) usernames and passwords serve as “electronic signatures” when your organization submits applications through Grants.gov. By using the SF 424 (R&R), applicants are providing the certification required by 32 CFR Part 28 regarding lobbying.

• Form: Research & Related Other Project Information - Complete questions 1 through 6 and attach files.

  • Project Summary/Abstract (Field 7 on the form) - The Project Summary should be a brief summary of the content of the application. It shall include a title, the research team (include roles, expertise, affiliations), designation of Junior Investigator or Senior Investigator derivation, and a brief abstract articulating the project objectives. The project summary/abstract must not exceed 1 page and will not be evaluated as it is primarily for documentation purposes.
  • Project Narrative (Field 8 on the form) - Chapters and Numbers of pages – Field 7 is to contain the chapters set forth below and may not exceed the stipulated page counts for those chapters. Pages in excess of the page limits may be removed for the evaluation of the application. All chapters set forth below should be in a single PDF file. For those chapters with specified page limitations, any pages submitted beyond the specified amount for a chapter will not be reviewed or evaluation.
    • Chapter 1: Technical Component. The pages included in Chapter 1 are to be numbered. Applicants are advised that Chapter 1 will not exceed 10 pages, utilizing one side of the page. Tables that extend beyond one page (fold out tables) will only count as one page.
      • Proposed Effort (approximately 4-5 pages): This section of Chapter 1 should include an overview of the research strategy to be employed to advance the state-of-the-art in enhancing performance in off-road autonomous maneuver; a short description and justification for annual research goals of the proposed effort; and a short technical discussion stating the background and objectives of the proposed research, and the overall technical approaches to be pursued. This technical discussion should include a proposed breakdown of research tasks and short description of the technical approaches for each task. The proposed effort should include the specific hypotheses to be tested, and what specific tasks will be performed by the research team to test them, as well as justification for why these are the appropriate measures.
      • Proposed Experimentation Event Participation and Collaboration Development (approximately 1-2 pages): Include here the plan for scale and scope of proposed simulation experiments as well as a notional or developed plan for involving DEVCOM Army Research Lab research personnel and programs. Proposals should address any Intellectual Property and how their approach will foster collaboration with ARL and other Recipient’s, and how their approaches can be used to develop novel multi-agent tactical behaviors and operate in complex environments with military-relevant scenarios, and how these solutions will further advance the state-of-art of open source or ARL/government owned tactical systems.
      • Participant(s) roles, qualifications and bio-sketches (approximately 2 pages): Must include the names, primary role/availability, and brief biographies. Include plans for junior investigator development and mentorship of less experienced personnel (mentoring plan).
      • Proposed timeline (approximately 0.5-1 page): An estimated timeline of tasks to be completed during the 24-month period, including research timelines and planned experimental milestones.
    • Chapter 2: Cost Component. The pages included in Chapter 2 will be numbered and Chapter 2 does not have a page limitation. Cost Application must include a budget for the period of performance. The cost portion of the application will contain cost estimates sufficiently detailed for meaningful evaluation, to include potential travel funding for participation in annual reviews as well as in-person interaction with ARL researchers. Budget justification may also be attached in this chapter. Before award it must be established that an approved accounting system and financial management system exist. Proposals should include itemized budgets per the instructions below and must be commensurate with the technical level of effort proposed. For all applications, the budget details should include:
      • Direct Labor: Show the current and projected salary amounts in terms of manhours, man-months, or annual salary to be charged by the personnel performing under this agreement either by personnel or position. State the number of man-hours used to calculate a man-month or man-year. For each person or position, provide the following information:
        • The basis for the direct labor hours or percentage of effort (e.g., historical hours or estimates).
        • The basis for the direct labor rates or salaries. Labor costs should be predicted upon current labor rates or salaries. These rates may be adjusted upward for forecast salary or wage cost-of-living increases that will occur during the agreement period. The cost application should separately identify the rationale applied to base salary/wage for cost-of-living adjustments and merit increases. Each must be fully explained.
        • I. The portion of time to be devoted to the requirements of the agreement.
        • II. The total annual salary charged to the agreement; and
        • III. Any details that may affect the salary during the project, such as plans for leave and/or remuneration while on leave.
      • Fringe Benefits and Indirect Costs (Overhead, G&A, and Other): The most recent rates, dates of negotiation, the base(s) and periods to which the rates apply must be disclosed and a statement included identifying whether the proposed rates are provisional or fixed. If the rates have been negotiated by a Government agency, state when and by which agency. A copy of the negotiation memorandum should be provided. If negotiated forecast rates do not exist, applicants must provide sufficient detail to enable a determination to be made that the costs included in the forecast rate are allocable according to applicable cost provisions. Applicants' disclosure should be sufficient to permit a full understanding of the content of the rate(s) and how it was established. At a minimum, the submission should identify:
        • I. All individual cost elements included in the forecast rate(s);
        • II. Basis used to prorate indirect expenses to cost pools, if any;
        • III. How the rate(s) was calculated;
        • IV. Distribution basis of the developed rate(s);
        • V. Basis on which the overhead rate is calculated, such as "salaries and wages" or "total costs;" and
        • VI. The period of the applicant's FY.
      • Permanent Equipment: If facilities or equipment are required, a justification why this property should be purchased with Government funds must be submitted. State the organization's inability or unwillingness to furnish the facilities or equipment. Applicants must provide an itemized list of permanent equipment showing the cost for each item. Permanent equipment is any article or tangible nonexpendable property having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit. The basis for the cost of each item of permanent equipment included in the budget must be disclosed, such as: Vendor Quote: Show name of vendor, number of quotes received and justification, if intended award is to other than lowest bidder.
        • I. Historical Cost: Identify vendor, date of purchase, and whether or not cost represents lowest bid. Include reason(s) for not soliciting current quotes.
        • II. Engineering Estimate: Include rationale for quote and reason for not soliciting current quotes.
        • III. If applicable, the following additional information must be disclosed in the applicant’s cost application:
          • a. Special test equipment to be fabricated by the Recipient for specific requirements in the agreement.
          • b. Standard equipment to be acquired and modified to meet specific requirements, including acquisition and modification costs, listed separately.
          • c. Existing equipment to be modified to meet specific research requirements, including modification costs. Do not include equipment the organization will purchase with its funds if the equipment will be capitalized for Federal income tax purposes. Proposed permanent equipment purchases during the final year of an award must be limited and fully justified.
        • IV. Grants and cooperative agreements may convey title to an eligible institution for permanent equipment purchased with project funds. At the discretion of the Contracting/Grants Officer, the agreement may provide for retention of the title by the Government or may impose conditions governing the equipment conveyed to the organization per the governing laws and regulations.
      • Travel: Forecasts of travel expenditures (domestic and foreign) that identify the destination (if known) and the various cost elements (airfare, mileage, per diem rates, etc.) must be submitted. The costs should be in sufficient detail to determine the reasonableness of such costs. Allowance for air travel normally will not exceed the cost of round-trip, economy air accommodations. Specify the type of travel and its relationship to the requirements of the agreement.
      • Participant Support Costs: This budget category refers to costs of transportation, per diem, stipends, and other related costs for participants or trainees (but not employees) in connection with DoD-sponsored conferences, meetings, symposia, training activities, and workshops. Generally, indirect costs are not allowed on participant support costs. The number of participants to be supported should be entered in the parentheses on the budget form. These costs should also be justified in the budget justification page(s) attached to the cost application.
      • Materials, Supplies, and Consumables: A general description and total estimated cost of expendable equipment and supplies are required. The basis for developing the cost estimate (vendor quotes, invoice prices, engineering estimate, purchase order history, etc.) must be included. If possible, provide a material list.
      • Publication, Documentation, and Dissemination: The budget may request funds for the costs of preparing, publishing, or otherwise making available to others the findings and products of the work conducted under an agreement, including costs of reports, reprints, page charges, or other journal costs (except costs for prior or early publication); necessary illustrations, cleanup, documentation, storage, and indexing of data and databases; and development, documentation, and debugging of software.
      • Consultant Costs: Applicants normally are expected to utilize the services of their own staff to the maximum extent possible in managing and performing the project's effort. If the need for consultant services is anticipated, the nature of proposed consultant services should be justified and included in the technical application narrative. The cost application should include the names of consultant(s), primary organizational affiliation, each individual's expertise, daily compensation rate, number of days of expected service, and estimated travel and per diem costs.
      • Computer Services: The cost of computer services, including computer-based retrieval of scientific, technical, and educational information, may be requested. A justification/explanation based on the established computer service rates at the proposing organization should be included. The budget also may request costs, which must be shown to be reasonable, for leasing automatic data processing equipment. The purchase of computers or associated hardware and software should be requested as items of equipment.
      • Subawards (Subcontracts or Subgrants): A precise description of services or materials that are to be awarded by a subaward must be provided. For subawards totaling $10,000 or more, provide the following specific information:
        • I. A clear description of the work to be performed.
        • II. If known, the identification of the proposed sub-awardee and an explanation of why and how the sub-awardee was selected or will be selected; The identification of the type of award to be used (cost reimbursement, fixed price, etc.);
        • III. Whether or not the award will be competitive and, if noncompetitive, rationale to justify the absence of competition; and
        • IV. A detailed cost summary.
      • ODCs: Itemize and provide the basis for proposed costs for other anticipated direct costs such as communications, transportation, insurance, and rental of equipment other than computer related items. Unusual or expensive items must be fully explained and justified.
      • Profit/ Fee: Profit/fee is not allowed for the Recipient of or subaward to an assistance instrument, where the principal purpose of the activity to be carried out is to stimulate or support a public purpose (i.e., to provide assistance), rather than acquisition (i.e., to acquire goods and services for the direct benefit of the Government). A subaward is an award of financial assistance in the form of money, or property in lieu of money, made under a DoD grant or cooperative agreement by a Recipient to an eligible subrecipient. The term includes financial assistance for substantive program performance by the Subrecipient of a portion of the program for which the DoD grant or cooperative agreement was made. It does not include the Recipient's procurement of goods and services needed to carry out the program.

• Bibliography and Reference Cited (Field 9 on the form) – Attach a listing of applicable publications cited in above sections.

• Facilities and Other Resources (Field 10 on the form) - The applicant is to provide a description of any facilities planned to be used for the project, whether at the home institution, a partner facility, or during the Innovation Summit Series. A note of support guaranteeing access to these facilities on behalf of their primary management should also be included. Attach this information at Field 10.

• Equipment (Field 11 on the form) - The applicant is to include a listing of equipment available to support the application. Any Government equipment necessary for performance is to be clearly identified. Attach this information at Field 11.

• Other Attachments (Field 12 on the form) are as follows:

  1. Attached the completed certifications.
  2. FORM: SF-424 Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) (Mandatory) – The Degree Type and Degree Year fields on the Research and Related Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) form will be used by DoD as the source for career information. In addition to the required fields on the form, applicants must complete these two fields for all individuals that are identified as having the project role of PD/PI or Co- PD/PI on the form. Additional senior/key persons can be added by selecting the “Next Person” button.
  3. FORM: SF-424 (R&R) Personal Data (Mandatory) - This form will be used by DoD as the source of demographic information, such as gender, race, ethnicity, and disability information for the Project Director/Principal Investigator and all other persons identified as Co-Project Director(s)/Co-Principal Investigator(s). Each application must include this form with the name fields of the Project Director/Principal Investigator and any Co-Project Director(s)/Co-Principal Investigator(s) completed; however, provision of the demographic information in the form is voluntary. If completing the form for multiple individuals, each Co-Project Director/Co-Principal Investigator can be added by selecting the “Next Person” button. The demographic information, if provided, will be used for statistical purposes only and will not be made available to merit reviewers. Applicants who do not wish to provide some or all of the information should check or select the “Do not wish to provide” option.
  4. SF-LLL – Disclosure of Lobbying Activities. If applicable, attach a complete SF-LLL at Field 11 of the R&R Other Project Information form. Applicability: If any funds other than Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an officer or employee of a Member of Congress in connection with the cooperative agreement, you must complete and submit Standard Form - LLL, "Disclosure Form to Report Lobbying.”
  5. Complete the Representations under DoD Assistance Agreements: Appropriations Provisions on Tax Delinquency and Felony Convictions (this can be found under National Policy Requirements)
  6. With the application, the Applicant must provide the following “Privacy Act Statement” consent form for each Covered Individual in the proposal. This form must also signed by the Applicant as that Individual’s Sponsor.

Privacy Act Statement

Army Futures Command or Department of the Army Application for Federal Assistance Authority: Government Paperwork Elimination Act (Pub. L. 105-277, 44 U.S.C. 3504); Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental review of Federal Programs (47 FR 30959); 42 U.S. Code § 6605 – Disclosure of funding sources in applications for Federal research and development awards; Public Law 117-167, CHIPS and Science Act; Public Law 116-92, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020; 5 U.S.C. 9101, Access to Criminal History for National Security and Other Purposes 5 CFR §1320.8, Agency collection of information Responsibility; 18 U.S.C. § 1001, False Statements, Concealment; E.O. 13478, Amendments to Executive Order 9397 Related to Federal Use of Social Security Numbers; NSPM-33, National Security Presidential Memorandum 33 on National Security for United States Research and Development; DoD-D 5240.01, DoD Intelligence Activities; DoD-I 5200.02, Department of Defense Personnel Security Program; Army Regulation 381-10, U.S. Army Intelligence Activities Purpose: The information collected may be used in processing, investigating, and maintaining records relevant to Federal Assistance awarded by the Department of the Army. Records in these systems will be used to ensure Army sponsored and/or awarded federal grants, assistance, contracts, and/or benefits are awarded to responsible parties, entities, and individuals. Routine Uses: To contractors, grantees, experts, consultants, students, and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant, cooperative agreement, or other assignment for the Federal Government when necessary to accomplish an agency function. To the appropriate Federal, State, local, territorial, tribal, foreign, or international law enforcement authority or other appropriate entity where a record, either alone or in conjunction with other information, indicates a violation or potential violation of law, whether criminal, civil, or regulatory in nature. DoD Blanket Routine Use (http://dpcld.defense.gov/privacy) Effect of not providing information: Providing information to the Department of the Army is voluntary. However, 42 U.S. Code § 6605, which imposes certain disclosure requirements in connection with Federal research and development awards, provides various enforcement mechanisms for non-compliance. One such mechanism, which the Department of the Army intends to pursue here, is rejection of such applications.

Proposal Title (or grants.gov number): Covered individual (Signature): Date: Covered individual (Name print): Institution’s Authorized Representative (Signature): Date: Institution’s Authorized Representative (Name print): Institution Name:

Application Receipt Notices

Grants.gov: After an application is submitted to Grants.gov, the AOR will receive a series of three emails from Grants.gov. The first two emails will be received within 24 to 48 hours after submission. The first email will confirm time of receipt of the application by the Grants.gov system and the second will indicate that the application has either been successfully validated by the system prior to transmission to the grantor agency or has been rejected due to errors. A third email will be received once the grantor agency has confirmed receipt of the application.

Reference https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/GetStarted/Get_Started.htm from the Grants.gov User Guide for information on how to track your application package. For the purposes of this FOA, an applicant’s application is not considered received by the Government until the AOR receives email #3.

E. APPLICATION REVIEW / EVALUATION INFORMATION

The following represents the evaluation criteria for this FOA:

• Factor 1: Scientific Merit and Relevance: Evaluation of this factor will concentrate on the overall scientific and technical merit, creativity, innovation, and flexibility of the proposed research considering the current state-of-the-art of tactical behaviors for multiagent systems-relevant scientific topics, and the expected outcomes based on the timeline of execution. The scientific merit will be evaluated regarding the specific research area to be addressed in this annual Funding Opportunity. Evaluation of this factor will also concentrate on the long-term relevance of the proposed research and the likelihood that the proposed research will address scientific challenges and research barriers facing the Army and commercial sectors.
• Factor 2: Research Plan and Plan for Collaboration: Evaluation of this factor will concentrate on the Applicant’s strategies, plans and experience in fostering collaborative research and managing collaborative research programs as set forth in this FOA. Evaluation of this factor will include evidence of previous successful collaborative efforts, plans for collaboration and synergy with ARL component research programs and at their experimental events, as well as approaches to data/coding/model sharing and transition of products that create collaborative potential amongst government, academic, and industry partners.
• Factor 3: Experience and Qualifications of Scientific Staff and Junior Investigator Development: Evaluation of this factor will concentrate on the qualifications, capabilities, availability, proposed level of effort, and experience of both the Applicant's key research personnel (individually and as a whole), their relevant past accomplishments, and their ability to achieve the proposed technical objectives. Key personnel are expected to be substantially and meaningfully engaged in the research and the proposed level of effort for key personnel reflected in the proposal should be commensurate with and demonstrate such engagement. The extent to which the Applicant's proposed facilities and equipment will contribute to the accomplishment of the proposed research will be evaluated, including the nature, quality, relevance, availability, and access to state-of-the-art research facilities and equipment.
• Factor 4: Cost. While this area will not be weighted, evaluation of this area will consider cost realism, cost reasonableness, and affordability within funding constraints. The Government may adjust the cost of the total proposed effort as deemed necessary to reflect what the effort should cost. These adjustments will consider the task undertaken and approach proposed. These adjustments may include upward or downward adjustments to proposed labor hours, labor rates, quantity of materials, price of materials, overhead rates, and G&A, etc.

Proposal Review and Selection Process

All timely and compliant Proposal submissions will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria set forth in this FOA. Proposals are expected to be evaluated by a group of qualified scientists and managers from the Government. No other material outside of a Proposal will be provided to those evaluating proposals. An initial review of the proposals will be conducted to ensure compliance with the requirements of this FOA. Failure to comply with the requirements of the FOA may result in a proposal not being evaluated and receiving no further consideration for award. Proposals that are timely and in compliance with the requirements of the FOA will be evaluated in accordance with merit based, competitive procedures. These procedures will include evaluation factors that will be evaluated using an adjectival and color rating system as follows:

• OUTSTANDING (blue): The proposal is evaluated as outstanding for this factor. The proposal includes one or more significant strengths that are not offset by weaknesses.
• GOOD (purple): The proposal is evaluated as good for this factor. The proposal includes some strengths that are not offset by weaknesses.
• ACCEPTABLE (green): The proposal is evaluated as acceptable for this factor. Any strengths and weaknesses in the proposal balance out.
• MARGINAL (yellow): The proposal is evaluated as marginal for this factor. While the proposal may or may not contain some strengths, and strengths are more than offset by any weakness or weaknesses.
• UNACCEPTABLE (red): The proposal is evaluated as unacceptable for this factor. While the proposal may or may not contain some strengths, and strengths are offset by any significant weakness or weaknesses.

A Review Team, consisting of a qualified group of Government scientists and managers, will evaluate the Proposals and provide the results of that evaluation to the decision maker for the Government. The decision maker will make decisions concerning award selection. The Government will make award to the Applicant(s), whose proposal conforms to this FOA and offers the most-favorably rated proposal(s) based on the evaluation criteria noted above. The Government reserves the right not to make an award should no acceptable Proposal be submitted. The Government also reserves the right to negotiate with an Applicant to re-scope their proposal or optional proposal technical focus, period of performance, and associated costs in order to maximize the available program funding, balance of research topics across the program, and overall impact to the program resulting in the development of an annual program plan to cover the optional research to be performed and the period of performance of that research.

Army Research Risk Assessment

Each proposal with a recommendation to “select” in accordance with II.E.2.c above, whose costs have been determined to be reasonable and realistic in accordance with II.E.2.d above, for which funds are available, and where a grant or cooperative agreement will be the award instrument type, will be subject to an Army Research Risk Assessment prior to award.

i. The Army Research Risk Assessment Program. The Army Research Risk Assessment Program (ARRP) is an adaptive risk management security program applied to Army-funded research designed to help protect Army Science and Technology (S&T) by identifying possible vectors of undue foreign influence. In order to identify and mitigate undue foreign influence as required by federal law and policy, the Army will perform a research risk assessment of each proposal selected based on the criteria above for consideration of a fundamental research grant or cooperative agreement award. ARRP risk assessments for these subject proposals will be developed for all proposed Senior/Key personnel, (also referred to as “Covered Individuals”). These risk assessments will be based on information disclosed in the Standard Form (SF) 424, “Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded),” any of its accompanying or referenced documents, publicly available information, and information contained in internal Army databases. Nationality or citizenship is not a factor in the risk assessment.

ARRP has a risk matrix which identifies risk factors and resulting risk ratings. The matrix generally looks at four factors, or risk areas: participation in foreign talent programs; denied entity list affiliation or association (see https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/the-denied-persons-list and https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/policy-guidance/lists-of-parties-of-concern/entity-list); funding sources to include conflict of interest or conflict of commitment, or funding from a strategic competitor; and foreign influence showing a pattern or history of affiliation, association, or collaboration with a foreign institution, person or entity from a U.S. strategic competitor. The matrix is set forth below:

| Rating | Identified Specific Actions of the Senior/ Key Personnel