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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): ONR "Assessing Total Ownership Cost"

1) What is the title of this grant opportunity?

The opportunity is titled "Assessing Total Ownership Cost" and is issued by the Office of Naval Research (ONR).

2) What is the main goal of the program?

The program seeks proposals to design and push into real use a solution architecture that can significantly reduce the Navy's total ownership cost (TOC) for both today’s Fleet and future platforms.

3) What does ONR mean by "Total Ownership Cost (TOC)" in this announcement?

TOC is framed broadly as the full set of financial resources required to organize, equip, train, sustain, and operate military forces to meet national objectives, while staying compliant with laws, Department of Defense policies, readiness and safety standards, quality-of-life requirements, and other formal performance measures.

4) What problem or capability gap is ONR trying to address?

ONR indicates that the Navy lacks practical tools that can measure and explain how costs interact in the real world across a naval weapons platform’s entire lifecycle. Existing approaches reportedly do not capture enough quantitative and qualitative TOC data at a detailed level, which makes it harder to generate objective, defensible forecasts and to make tradeoffs that reduce long-term spending without undermining readiness.

5) Is ONR looking for purely research outputs, or solutions that are deployed?

Based on the announcement language, ONR is signaling interest in work that goes beyond standalone research products. Proposals should be able to design and push into real use an architecture, and should fit into an integrated program environment with sharing and coordination among performers and ONR-selected system integrators.

6) What type of funding opportunity is this?

This is a discretionary grant opportunity issued under a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA).

7) What program area or category does this opportunity fall under?

The opportunity falls under science and technology and other research and development.

8) What is the CFDA listing for this opportunity?

The CFDA listing is 12.300 (Basic and Applied Scientific Research).

9) How many awards does ONR anticipate making?

ONR anticipates making around three awards.

10) What is the estimated total funding level?

The estimated total funding level is approximately $700,000.

11) Is there a cost sharing or matching requirement?

No cost sharing or matching requirement is stated in the provided synopsis information.

12) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is described as broadly open to responsible sources in academia and industry.

13) Are Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) encouraged to apply?

Yes. ONR explicitly encourages proposals from HBCUs and Minority Institutions (MIs). However, the announcement also states that no portion of the funding is set aside exclusively for those groups.

14) Are there organizations that cannot receive awards directly under this BAA?

Yes. Certain federal entities are stated as not eligible to receive awards directly under this BAA, including:

• Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), such as Department of Energy national laboratories
• Navy laboratories and warfare centers
• Other DoD or civilian government laboratories

15) Can ineligible organizations still participate in the project?

Yes. The announcement indicates that ineligible organizations may participate through teaming arrangements with an eligible lead applicant, as long as such participation is permitted under the relevant sponsoring agreements.

16) If a government lab is interested, how should it engage?

Interested government labs are directed to coordinate with ONR points of contact rather than submitting directly.

17) Are teaming and collaboration encouraged?

Yes. Teams are encouraged, and offerors must be willing to cooperate in an integrated program environment.

18) What does "integrated program environment" imply for performers?

The announcement states that offerors must be willing to exchange software, data, and other information with other contractors and with system integrators selected by ONR. This implies the work should be compatible with a shared architecture and implemented in coordination with other efforts.

19) Are there any export control restrictions mentioned?

Yes. The announcement notes that some topics may involve export-controlled technologies. In such cases, participation is restricted to U.S. persons as defined under ITAR (22 CFR 120.1 et seq.).

20) When was this opportunity posted?

The opportunity was posted on July 13, 2011.

21) What was the original closing date, and was it extended?

The original closing date was October 13, 2011, and it was later extended to October 31, 2011.

22) When was the opportunity archived?

The archive date listed is November 30, 2011.

23) Where can applicants find the full technical and submission details?

The full technical and submission details are contained in the full announcement on Grants.gov, accessible by opening the synopsis and selecting the "FULL ANNOUNCEMENT" box.

24) Who is the contracting contact for access issues related to the full announcement?

For access issues related to the full announcement, the listed contracting contact is Emily McLaughlin, Senior Contracting Officer, at 703-588-2440.

25) Who should be contacted for Grants.gov technical questions?

The synopsis references separate support for Grants.gov questions (without providing additional specifics in the provided information).

26) What kinds of outcomes is ONR implicitly emphasizing for TOC reduction?

Based on the synopsis, ONR is emphasizing outcomes that improve the Navy's ability to measure TOC in detail, explain lifecycle cost interactions, produce defensible forecasts, and support tradeoffs that reduce long-term spending without degrading readiness.