U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command Broad Agency Announcement for Extramural Medical Research | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is this funding opportunity?

This is the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Extramural Medical Research. It is a continuously open solicitation intended to bring in external (extramural) medical research and development ideas that can help address health and medical problems affecting U.S. service members.

2) What is the main goal of the USAMRMC Extramural Medical Research BAA?

The core purpose is to support scientific work that improves readiness and medical capability for the American Warfighter, both in deployed environments and at home. The emphasis is on advancing medical knowledge and capability in ways that matter to military operations and service member health.

3) Is this a grant program, a contract program, or both?

This BAA supports multiple award instruments, including grants, cooperative agreements, and procurement contracts. Which instrument is used depends on the nature of the proposed work and the role the Government expects to have in the project.

4) What does it mean that this is a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)?

A BAA is a flexible competitive mechanism used by the Government to solicit and evaluate scientific and technical research ideas rather than to purchase a specific commercial product. This opportunity is tied to federal contracting authorities for BAAs, including the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 and FAR provisions (including FAR 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016).

5) What types of work are appropriate under this BAA?

Projects must fit within basic research, applied research, and certain early development efforts. The focus is on experimentation, advancing knowledge, and moving the state of the art forward rather than delivering a pre-defined end item.

6) What types of work are not a fit for this BAA?

This BAA is not intended for development work tied to producing a specific system for procurement or a specific hardware acquisition. In other words, it is not a mechanism to build a particular acquisition-bound end item for purchase by the Army.

7) What is meant by "extramural" medical research?

"Extramural" means the research ideas and work come from outside the Government (outside USAMRMC), such as universities, companies, nonprofits, or other external organizations.

8) Are the research priorities fixed, or can they change?

The specific research priorities and areas of interest can change over time because military needs shift with emerging threats, operational realities, and advances in medical science. Applicants are expected to align their concept with the current stated research areas in the BAA.

9) Is the solicitation open year-round?

Yes. It is described as continuously open during the listed performance period, meaning pre-proposals (and, if invited, full proposals) can be submitted at any time until the closing date.

10) What is the application process?

The BAA uses a two-step process. First, an organization submits a required pre-proposal (pre-application). Only if the Government invites the applicant to proceed may a full proposal (full application) be submitted.

11) Is a pre-proposal required?

Yes. Submission of a pre-proposal/pre-application is required as the first step so the Government can gauge interest and relevance before asking for a full proposal.

12) Can I submit a full proposal without being invited?

No. A full proposal/application may be submitted only if the Army invites the applicant to proceed after reviewing the pre-proposal.

13) Why does the BAA use a two-step process?

The two-step approach helps applicants avoid investing substantial time and resources into a full application before the Government confirms the topic is a good fit for current priorities and areas of interest.

14) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to many types of entities, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications that may appear in the full text of the BAA.

15) Is SAM registration required to apply?

Yes. A notable update in this fiscal year version is that applicants are required to be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), which is a standard federal requirement for entities seeking to receive federal awards.

16) What are some key updates mentioned for this fiscal year version?

The summary notes several updates: (1) research areas of interest have been updated, (2) instructions for pre-proposals/pre-applications have been clarified, (3) full proposal/application instructions have been expanded to address device or technology research and development, (4) evaluation and selection criteria now explicitly include considerations relevant to device/technology R&D, and (5) new regulatory requirements are referenced for research involving human cadavers.

17) Does this BAA support device or technology research and development?

Yes. The BAA includes expanded full proposal/application instructions for R&D involving devices or technology, and it adds evaluation and selection considerations tailored to device/technology development realities and regulatory constraints.

18) If my project involves human cadavers, are there special requirements?

Yes. The announcement references new regulatory requirements for research involving human cadavers. Proposals in this area are expected to account for additional compliance obligations and ethical/regulatory review expectations.

19) How will submissions be evaluated?

While detailed scoring factors are in the full announcement, the summary indicates that relevance to USAMRMC priorities and the scientific merit of the proposed work are central. For device/technology projects, evaluation also includes considerations tailored to development realities and regulatory constraints.

20) Is cost sharing or matching required?

No cost sharing or matching requirement is stated for this opportunity.

21) What is the funding opportunity number?

The funding opportunity number listed is W81XWH BAA 13 1.

22) What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?

The CFDA number provided is 12.420 (Military Medical Research and Development).

23) What are the key dates for this opportunity?

The posting date is October 1, 2012. The original and current closing date is September 30, 2013. The archive date is October 30, 2013.

24) Who is the sponsoring agency?

The sponsoring agency is the Department of the Army. USAMRAA is noted as supporting administration in the source listing.

25) Where can applicants get help or request the full announcement?

For help accessing the full announcement, the contact listed is the BAA Help Desk at USAMRAA@AIBS.org.