Submission Instructions and Package Requirements

1. Submission Instructions

The application packages specific to this BAA are available at www.grants.gov under Funding Opportunity Number 2025-NIST-CHIPS-CRDO-01.

Applicants must download the applicable application package by referencing the Competition ID field.

The Competition ID field will state:

• White Paper or
• Pre-negotiation Package (invite only)

Only those applicants invited to submit a Pre-negotiation Package (after the submission of a White Paper) may submit a Pre-negotiation Package.  Pre-negotiation Packages submitted in the absence of a specific invitation will not be reviewed or evaluated in any way. 

All White Papers and Pre-negotiation Packages must be submitted via www.grants.gov.

All submissions will be considered on a rolling basis as they are received. Applications will be accepted until September 30, 2029, unless the BAA is amended to add an earlier closing date.

1.1 SAM.gov

All applicants are required to have an active registration in the electronic System for Award Management (SAM.gov) prior to submission of White Papers and Pre-negotiation Packages as well as during the period of performance. This registration must enable the applicant to apply for and receive both procurement contracts and Federal financial assistance.

Applicants that do not currently have an active registration in SAM.gov are encouraged to begin the registration process as soon as possible.

1.2 Multiple Submissions

Applicant organizations may submit more than one White Paper, provided that each White Paper represents a technically distinct project. CRDO will not accept duplicate or overlapping White Papers from a single organization (normally identified by having a separate Unique Entity Identifier in SAM.gov).

Applicant organizations submitting multiple white papers or pre-negotiation packages must make separate submissions for each, and must adhere to the format and file name specified in Section 2 Formatting Requirements for each submission.

2. Formatting Requirements

The format of the White Paper and Pre-negotiation Package is as follows:

• Paper Size. Should be 8.5-inch x 11 inch.
• Margins. Shall be one (1) inch on top, bottom, left and right sides on every page.
• Font size. Shall be standard 11-point Times New Roman, Calibri, or Arial (10 point or larger). Character spacing must be "normal," not condensed in any manner. All text, including text in tables, references, and charts, must adhere to all font size and spacing requirements listed herein. Font and line spacing requirements do not have to be followed for illustrations, flowcharts, drawings, and diagrams. These exceptions shall not be used to circumvent formatting requirements and page count limitations by including lengthy narratives in such items.
• Figures, Graphs, Images, and Pictures. Should be of a size that is easily readable or viewable and may be landscape orientation.
• Page numbering. Should be sequential.
• Application Language. All documents must be in English, including but not limited to the initial submission, any additional documents submitted in response to a NIST request, all reports, and any correspondence with NIST.

• Attachments. All attachments must be attached to the Attachment Form in the document format and file name specified below.

  Attachment	File name and Format
  Example	Example_DepartmentofCommerce.pdf
  White Paper	WhitePaper_[LeadApplicant].pdf
  Subawardees and Unfunded Collaborators	Subawardees_[LeadApplicant].pdf
  Project Plan	ProjectPlan_[LeadApplicant].pdf
  Letters of Commitment (multiple letters must be combined into a single PDF and attached as one attachment)	LOC_[LeadApplicant].pdf
  Indirect Cost Rate Agreement	NICRA_[LeadApplicant].pdf
  Resume(s) and CV(s) (multiple resumes/CVs must be combined into a single PDF and attached as one attachment)	Resumes_[LeadApplicant].pdf
  Data Management Plan	DMP_[LeadApplicant].pdf
  Current and Pending Support Form(s) (multiple forms must be combined into a single PDF and attached as one attachment)	CurrentPending_[LeadApplicant].pdf
  CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying	CD511_[LeadApplicant].pdf
  Financial Model	FinancialModel_[LeadApplicant].pdf
  Budget Information	Budget_[LeadApplicant].pdf

3. White Paper Package Requirements

3.1 Content and Form of Submission of White Papers. Applicants must apply via grants.gov using the “Opportunity Package Competition ID: White Paper”. The required content and form of White Papers submitted pursuant to the 2025-NIST-CHIPS-CRDO-01 BAA are set forth below.

3.2 Required Forms and Documentation

1. SF-424 (R&R), Application for Federal Assistance. All instructions for filling in the SF-424 (R&R) must be followed, with the following additional instructions:
   1. The SF-424 (R&R) must be signed by an authorized representative of the applicant organization.
   2. Items 5, 14, and 19, use the Zip Code + 4 format (##### - ####) when addresses are called for.
   3. Item 11, enter White Paper title.
   4. Item 14, enter Technical Point of Contact.
   5. Item 16, select b. No Program is not covered by E.O. 12372.
2. Attachments Form. All attachments must be attached to the Attachment Form in the document format and name specified in Section 2 Formatting Requirements.
   1. Attachment 1: The White Paper must be completed and saved as a single PDF.
   2. Attachment 2: Please enter the information requested in the Subawardees and Unfunded Collaborators document (found under Related Documents) and save as a single PDF.
3. White Paper Content. The White Paper is a document summarizing the applicant’s proposed approach/solution. White Papers must not exceed five (5) pages; any pages beyond the 5-page maximum will not be evaluated. The page format must adhere to the requirements in Section 2.
   1. Section A (not included in page count): Cover Page including:
      1. BAA Name and Reference Number
      2. Applicant Legal Entity Name
      3. White Paper Title
      4. BAA Topic Area(s), if relevant
      5. Contracting Points of Contact (phone and email)
      6. Summary Project Objective (50 words or less)
      7. Summary of Proposed Milestones and Deliverables (50 words or less)
      8. Budget Estimate: Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) to include estimated project cost, total Federal funds being requested, and other sources of funding (if applicable)
   2. Section B: Program Objective; Purpose and technical solution
   3. Section C: Technical Summary of Proposed Tasks, Milestones, and Deliverables

3.3 If an applicant wishes to restrict access to his/her White Paper, it must be marked with the restrictive language stated in FAR 52.215-1(e). See Section 8 Confidential Information below.

4. Pre-negotiation Package Requirements

4.1 Content and Form of Submission of Pre-Negotiation Package. When an applicant is invited by CRDO to submit a Pre-negotiation Package, the invitation will include specific instructions for Pre-negotiation Package materials. Pre-negotiation Packages are expected to contain some or all of the following materials, as relevant to the specific project and applicant. Depending on the nature of the project and applicant, CRDO may also request additional information not listed here.
CRDO will engage with applicants to this BAA during the development of and after the receipt of any Pre-negotiation Package to clarify requirements and identify any additional information necessary for CRDO to adequately assess the Pre-negotiation Package. 
Applicants must submit Pre-negotiation Packages via grants.gov using the “Opportunity Package Competition ID: Pre-negotiation Package (invite only)” under BAA 2025-NIST-CHIPS-CRDO-01. The preliminary required content and form of Pre-negotiation Packages submitted pursuant to this BAA are set forth below.  As noted above, invitations to submit Pre-negotiation Packages will include specific instructions for each applicant, which will take precedence over the requirements listed in this section.

4.2 Required Forms and Documentation

1. SF-424 (R&R), Application for Federal Assistance

   All instructions for filling in the SF-424 (R&R) must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

   1. The SF-424 (R&R) must be signed by an authorized representative of the applicant organization.
   2. Items 5, 14, and 19, use the Zip Code + 4 format (##### - ####).
   3. Item 11, enter White Paper title.
   4. Item 14, enter Technical Point of Contact.
   5. Item 16, select No, Program is not covered by E.O. 12372.
   6. Item 18, upload SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, if applicable.

2. Attachments Form

   All attachments must be attached to the Attachment Form in the document format and name specified in Section 2 Formatting Requirements.

   1. Attachment 1: The Project Plan must be completed and saved as a single PDF.
   2. For all other attachments, please consult Section 4.7 Attachments for more information about each needed file.

4.3 Pre-negotiation Package Format. All materials must be in the following order and compiled into a single PDF file for submission. A clear heading should denote the start of each section. The page format must adhere to the requirements in section 2.

1. Page Limit. The Project Plan is limited to thirty (30) pages:
   1. Page limit includes: Description of project, applicant profile, table of funded participants and unfunded collaborator, summary of certain research partnerships or technology transfer commitments, CHIPS funding justification, national and economic security impact, commercial viability and domestic production, technology control plan, project feasibility and readiness, and project financial viability with all required information, including figures, graphs, tables, images, and pictures.
   2. Page limit excludes: Financial model, budget information, letters of commitment, SF-424 (R&R) Application for Federal Assistance; SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities; CD-511 Certification Regarding Lobbying; Resume(s) or CV(s); Budget Narrative; Indirect Cost Rate Agreement; Data Management Plan; and Current and Pending Support Form.
2. Page layout. The Project Narrative must be in portrait orientation.

4.4 Project Plan

Applicants must submit a project plan of no more than thirty (30) pages that describes the project for which CHIPS funds are being requested.

The project plan is expected to contain the following information as relevant to the specific project and applicant:

1. Description of Project: A description of the activities proposed, including a description of the project location and existing or required infrastructure necessary to accomplish the scope of the proposed project. If applicable, a brief construction plan should be included for any required retrofitting or construction. The description of the project should address the proposed approaches being pursued to support the project requirements, including critical performance specifications in comparison to the current state-of-the-art, critical path timelines to demonstrate feasibility and capability of the alternative approaches, and pathways and milestones to progress from concept feasibility to development and commercialization. The description should articulate the long-term plan to reach commercialization, including major milestones and targets, and a discussion of milestone risks and risk mitigation plans. CRDO strongly encourages that applicants include Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) milestones and targets that demonstrate both technical advancement as well as progress toward a viable business model and domestic production.

2. Applicant Profile: A brief description of the applicant, including, as applicable, identification of its headquarters, primary officers, ownership (publicly traded or privately held, and current capitalization table), main business lines, main countries of operation, and organizational structure and ownership. For applicants that are a subsidiary of another entity, this information must be provided for the ultimate corporate parent as well. Applicants should include information about past fundraising efforts, including details of past equity raises and valuation.

   Within the Applicant Profile, applications should identify, in a table, the following Identified Key Actors, including a name, position title, and address where applicable:

   1. Covered individuals of the Applicant or partner organizations
   2. Other primary officers, senior technical personnel, board members, or board observers, from the Applicant and any partner organization
   3. Primary officers at any parent company of the applicant
   4. Debt/equity investors and major commercial partners (including funded participants and unfunded collaborators) that have, or could have in the future (including through debt conversion), access to the applicant’s and/or organization’s proprietary or otherwise commercially or technically sensitive information
3. Table of Funded Participants and Unfunded Collaborators: Applicants should identify any significant members of the project team, including subrecipients and unfunded collaborators required to complete the funded work. Applicants must identify any subrecipient or unfunded collaborator that is not a domestic entity, where a domestic entity is an entity that is (a) organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States and (b) having a principal place of business in the United States. The principal place of business generally means the place where an entity’s officers direct, control, and coordinate the entity’s activities. For any funded or unfunded collaborator that is not a domestic entity, applicants should provide concise initial justifications for the proposed involvement of the foreign partners, demonstrating that (1) the foreign partner’s involvement is essential to advancing project objectives and (2) that the partnership does not jeopardize the project’s proposed pathway to benefiting domestic production or U.S. national and economic security.
4. Summary of Certain Research Partnerships or Technology Transfer Commitments: The applicant should describe any research partnerships or technology transfer commitments in areas relevant to the activities within this BAA or any other areas related to the mission and goals of CRDO between the applicant entity and (a) any entities located in a foreign country of concern or (b) with any entities that are foreign entities of concern.
5. CHIPS Funding Justification: Applicants must demonstrate that a CHIPS award would be necessary to complete the project, including a summary narrative explaining how the requested funds will enable the applicant to make investments in the United States that would not occur in the absence of the award. If relevant, include other ways that the requested funding would change the nature, scale, or speed of the other investments in the proposed project.
6. Economic and National Security: A narrative description of how the proposed project will further the economic and national security objectives of the United States. Applicants should describe how the proposed project will advance technology leadership in the United States, strengthen the supply chain for domestic semiconductor manufacturing, and accelerate the pace of innovation.
7. Commercial Viability and Domestic Production: Consistent with the CHIPS Act domestic production requirements (15 U.S.C. § 4656(g)), CRDO requires applicants to provide a Commercial Viability and Domestic Production (CVDP) Plan describing potential pathways to transition CHIPS-funded innovations to commercial viability and domestic production. This CVDP Plan, which should be consistent with the milestones identified in the Description of Project and with the forward-looking elements of the Financial Model, must include:
   1. A market analysis and competitor identification, including a description of how planned capabilities differ from those currently available or planned to be available;
   2. A customer analysis, including an identification of potential customers, end markets, and perceived barriers to market penetration and any mitigations;
   3. Identified pathways for the funded innovation to benefit national and economic security, such as through the domestic availability of the technology and successful adoption by commercial or defense partners;
   4. Current commitments from partners and future fundraising plans required to advance potential innovations to higher technology readiness levels and to achieve commercialization;
   5. The potential for domestic production and manufacturing scale-up of the funded innovation;
   6. Identified pathways and commitments to strengthen the resilience of the domestic supply chain for semiconductor manufacturing;
   7. A description of the business model, including contracts and/or pricing structure;
   8. If relevant, any known factors requiring production of the funded innovation outside of the United States;
   9. If relevant, any barriers that may impede U.S. manufacturer access or utilization of the funded innovation, and strategies to overcome these barriers; and
   10. If relevant, collaborative partnerships with government agencies, industry partners, research institutions, and standards bodies, as required to promote knowledge sharing or consensus building to support the adoption of innovations funded under this BAA.
8. Project Feasibility and Readiness: A narrative description explaining the core underlying technologies that will be used in the project and the manufacturing readiness. An explanation of the experience and qualifications of key management personnel, including experience with similar technologies as well as projects of similar size and scope; and a list of any comparable projects previously commissioned by the applicant or its parent companies. The applicant should also provide evidence of the ability to effectively manage all aspects of the project.
9. Project Financial Viability: Applicants must include a Sources and Uses table for the project, as well as a narrative explanation of the sources and uses for the project. As available, please include any information used to estimate and verify costs. In the narrative, please detail specific, credible evidence of the availability of the listed sources of funds, which could include company financials demonstrating the availability of cash, commitment letters, fundraising plans, or other approaches to secure access to sufficient funds to complete the project. The Sources and Uses table and narrative should address the following categories.
   1. Project Uses:
      1. Capital Investment/R&D: The capital investment and R&D required to complete the project (each broken down further by category of spend), and administrative expenses directly attributable to the project (e.g., legal fees).
      2. Commercialization Costs: The costs required to commercialize the product.
      3. Other Cash Outflows Until Cash Flow Breakeven
   2. Project Sources: The Department will expect total project sources to equal total project uses. Project sources should include: CHIPS funding; equity from the applicant, its parent, and any third parties, broken down by funding round; debt or other financing from the applicant corporate parent(s) or third parties; state and local government incentives (if applicable); the Investment Tax Credit (to the extent applicable); and any other sources of funds, such as customer pre-payments.
10. Fundamental Research Declaration: Applicants must indicate in the Project Plan whether, in the applicant’s understanding, the proposed work includes fundamental research conducted either by the applicant or by any subrecipient members of the project team. NIST/CHIPS R&D reserves sole discretion to determine which elements of a proposed research project shall be considered fundamental research. Fundamental research means basic and applied research in science and engineering, the results of which ordinarily are published and shared broadly within the scientific community, as distinguished from proprietary research and from industrial development, design, production, and product utilization, the results of which ordinarily are restricted for proprietary or national security reasons.

4.5 Financial Model   
As applicable, submit (a) a dynamic project-level financial model, and (b) a dynamic company-level financial model. Both models should include full income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet information. The financial models should contain historical data as well as 10-year forecasts. Please make clear all key assumptions used. The applicant should also include a summary narrative and supporting evidence for the key assumptions underlying the forward-looking projections.

4.6 Budget Information  
The budget shall contain sufficient information to allow the Government to perform an analysis of the proposed cost of the work. This information shall include the amounts of the line items of the proposed cost. The budget information may be requested using the SF-424 Research and Related Budget (Total Fed + Non-Fed) form. These elements will include the following elements by milestone event and/or proposed period as applicable.

1. Direct Labor: Individual labor category or person, with associated labor hours or effort and unburdened direct labor rates.
2. Fringe Benefits: Fringe benefits for each position should be identified separately from salaries and wages and based on rates determined by organizational policy.
3. Travel: Separate by destinations and include rationale for travel, number of trips, durations - number of days, number of travelers, per diem (hotel and meals in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulations), airfare, car rental, if additional miscellaneous expense is included, list description and estimated amount, etc.
4. Subawards: Each subaward should be treated as a separate item. Identify cost associated with each subaward.
5. Contracts: Each contract should be treated as a separate item. Identify cost associated with each contract.
6. Materials and Supplies: Must be specifically itemized with costs or estimated costs.
7. Equipment: Equipment is defined as an item of property that has an acquisition cost of $10,000 or more (unless the organization has established lower levels) and an expected service life of more than one year. The budget should list each piece of equipment, the cost, and a description of how it will be used and why it is necessary to the successful completion of the proposed project. Please note that any general use equipment charged directly to the award should be allocated to the award according to expected usage on the project. Any items that do not meet the threshold for equipment can be included under the Materials and Supplies or Other line items.
8. Other: For costs that do not easily fit into the other cost categories, please list the cost, and the breakdown of the total costs by quantity or unit of cost.
9. Indirect (F&A) Costs:  Commonly referred to as Facilities & Administrative (F&A) Costs, indirect costs are defined as costs incurred by the applicant organization that cannot otherwise be directly assigned or attributed to a specific project. Applicants with a current negotiated indirect cost rate may use up to their Federally-approved indirect rate to budget indirect costs. Alternatively, applicants that do not have a current negotiated (including provisional) indirect cost rate may elect to charge a de minimis rate of 15 percent of modified total direct costs (MTDC). If the successful applicant includes indirect costs in the budget and has not established an indirect cost rate with a cognizant agency, the applicant may be required to obtain such a rate upon award.

4.7 Attachments
All attachments must be attached to the Attachment Form in the document format and name specified in Section 2 Formatting Requirements.

1. Letters of Commitment: If the application includes subawards to or unfunded collaborations with known third parties, a letter of commitment from an authorized representative of each known proposed subrecipient and unfunded collaborator organization must be included. Each letter should indicate the submitting organization’s willingness to participate as a subrecipient or unfunded collaborator as applicable and describe the work they will do in relation to the project. Letters of commitment from subrecipients that are operators of an FFRDC or are Federal entities must include, in addition to the information above, documentation demonstrating that the proposed work does not compete with the private sector and documentation from the FFRDC’s sponsoring institution citing the FFRDC’s eligibility to participate in competitive government funding opportunities, the FFRDC’s compliance with the sponsor agreement, and confirmation from the sponsoring agency that they can receive Federal funds from NIST. 

   Multiple letters must be combined into a single PDF and attached as one attachment.

2. Indirect Cost Rate Agreement: If indirect costs are included in the proposed budget, provide a copy of the approved negotiated agreement if this rate was negotiated with a cognizant agency. If the rate was not established by a cognizant agency, provide a statement to this effect. 

   Applicants proposing a 15 percent de minimis rate should note this election as part of the budget portion of the application.

   The approved negotiated agreement must be attached as one attachment.

3. Resume(s) or CV(s): Resumes are required for all key personnel, including the principal investigator. Resumes are limited to two (2) pages per individual. 

   Multiple resumes or CVs must be combined into a single PDF and attached as one attachment.

4. Data Management Plan: Consistent with NIST Policy 5700.00¹, Managing Public Access to Results of Federally Funded Research, and NIST Order 5701.00², MManaging Public Access to Results of Federally Funded Research, applicants proposing projects that include the conduct of research must include a Data Management Plan (DMP).

   All applications for activities that will generate scientific data using NIST funding are required to adhere to a DMP or explain why data sharing and/or preservation are not within the scope of the project. For the purposes of the DMP, NIST adopted the definition of “research data” at 2 C.F.R. § 200.315(e)(3).

   The DMP must include, at a minimum, a summary of proposed activities that generate data; a summary of the types of data generated by the identified activities; a plan for storage and maintenance of the data generated by the identified activities, and a plan describing whether and how data generated by the identified activities will be reviewed and made available to the public.

   A template for the DMP, an example DMP, and the rubric against which the DMP will be evaluated for sufficiency is available at: Information for Applicants and Awardees. An applicant is not required to use the template as long as the DMP contains the required information.

   If an application stands a reasonable chance of being funded and the DMP is determined during the review process to be insufficient, the program office may reach out to the applicant to resolve deficiencies in the DMP. If an award is issued prior to the deficiencies being fully rectified, the award will include a Specific Award Condition (SAC) stating that no research activities shall be initiated, or costs incurred for those activities under the award until the NIST Grants Officer amends the award to indicate the SAC has been satisfied.

   Reasonable costs for data preservation and access may be included in the application.

   The DMP must be attached as one attachment.

5. Current and Pending Support form: All Covered Individuals³ must identify all sources of current and potential funding, including this proposal. Any current project support (e.g., Federal, state, local, public, or private foundations, etc.) must be listed on this form. The proposed project and all other projects or activities requiring a portion of time of the Principal Investigator (PI), co-PI, and key personnel must be included, even if no salary support is received. The total award amount for the entire award period covered, including indirect costs, must be shown as well as the number of person-months per year to be devoted to the project, regardless of the source of support. Similar information must be provided for all proposals already submitted or that are being submitted concurrently to other potential funders.

   Applicants must complete the Current and Pending Support Form, using multiple forms as necessary to account for all activity for each individual identified in the PI, co-PI, and key personnel roles. A separate form should be used for each identified individual.

   Applicants must download the Current and Pending Support Form from the NIST website and reference the guidance provided as it contains information to assist with accurately completing the form.

   Multiple current and pending support forms must be combined into a single PDF and attached as one attachment.

6. CD-511, Certification Regarding Lobbying: Enter “2025-NIST-CHIPS-CRDO-01” in the Award Number field. Enter the title of the application, or an abbreviation of that title, in the Project Name field.

   The CD-511 must be attached as one attachment.

7. Financial Model: When required, the Financial Model must be uploaded as a single PDF and attached as one attachment.
8. Budget Information: When required as an attachment, the Budget Information must be uploaded as a single PDF and attached as one attachment.  

4.8 Grants.gov
Applicants should carefully follow specific Grants.gov instructions to ensure the attachments will be accepted by the Grants.gov system. A receipt from Grants.gov indicates only that an application was transferred to a system. It does not provide details concerning whether all attachments (or how many attachments) were transferred successfully. Applicants using Grants.gov will receive a series of e-mail messages over a period of up to two business days before learning whether a Federal agency’s electronic system has received its application.

Applicants are strongly advised to use Grants.gov “Download Submitted Forms and Applications” option found at Download Submitted Forms and Applications to check that their application’s required attachments were contained in their submission.

After submitting the application, check the status of your application here: CHECK APPLICATION STATUS. If any, or all, of the required attachments are absent from the submission, follow the attachment directions found above, resubmit the application, and check again for the presence of the required attachments.

If the directions found on the Grants.gov Online Help page are not effective, please contact the Grants.gov Help Desk immediately. If calling from within the United States or from a U.S. territory, please call 800-518-4726. If calling from a place outside the United States or a U.S. territory, please call 606-545 5035. E-mails should be addressed to support [at] grants.gov (support[at]grants[dot]gov).

Assistance from the Grants.gov Help Desk will be available around the clock every day, with the exception of Federal holidays. Help Desk service will resume at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time the day after Federal holidays.

Applicants can track their submission in the Grants.gov system by following the procedures at the Grants.gov Track My Application page. It can take up to two business days for an application to fully move through the Grants.gov system to NIST.

NIST uses the Tracking Numbers assigned by Grants.gov and does not issue Agency Tracking Numbers.

5. Evaluation

5.1 Submission Evaluation Criteria. The evaluation criteria that will be used in evaluating White Papers and Pre-negotiation Packages submitted under this BAA are as follows:

1. National and Economic Security. The extent to which an application furthers economic and national security by advancing technology leadership in the United States, strengthening the supply chain for domestic semiconductor manufacturing, accelerating the pace of innovation, and growing the semiconductor workforce.
2. Scientific and Technical Merit. The extent to which the proposed technical approach is innovative, feasible, achievable, and complete. This includes the extent to which the task descriptions and associated technical elements are comprehensive and presented in a logical sequence with all proposed deliverables clearly defined, resulting in a clear picture of how an award will achieve the desired goal(s).
3. Project Feasibility. The degree to which the project plan is feasible to execute, including: the extent to which the applicant and key partners have the necessary experience and plans to complete and operate the project; the extent to which the proposed costs are realistic for the technical and management approach, and the likelihood and extent to which the project could mitigate any technical and operational risk.
4. Commercial Viability. The completeness, coherence, and viability of the plan to transition project technology from research and development to commercialization, including evidence of a market environment, demand for the project’s output, and a suitable return on investment.
5. Financial Viability. The extent of the applicant and project’s financial viability, including the comprehensiveness and reasonableness of the projected capital expenditures, the applicant’s overall financial health, and the specificity, credibility, and viability of the applicant’s capital raising plan (as applicable).

5.2 Review and Process

1. White Papers. Submissions to the BAA require a White Paper. Once submitted, CRDO will conduct an initial review for eligibility, completeness, and responsiveness. White Papers that pass the initial review will undergo a merit review using two factors: scientific and technical merit and the potential contributions to national and economic security.

   1. Scientific and Technical Merit. The review for scientific and technical merit will consist of an objective assessment of the proposed technical approach, including the scientific merits, feasibility, and the potential contributions of the effort to the scientific/technical community.
   2. Contributions to National and Economic Security. The review for contributions to national and economic security will assess whether the proposal in the White Paper demonstrably advances technology leadership in the United States, strengthens the supply chain for domestic semiconductor manufacturing, accelerates the pace of innovation, and grows the semiconductor workforce.

   White papers with insufficient scientific and technical merit and/or relevance to national and economic security will not receive further review and will not be invited to submit a Pre-negotiation Package. However, CRDO may also provide technical feedback and request resubmission of White Papers.

2. Pre-negotiation Package. Applicants whose White Papers are determined to have sufficient scientific and technical merit and potential contributions to national and economic security will be invited to submit a Pre-negotiation Package, which will include a detailed technical and cost proposal, and other required documents. Pre-negotiation Packages will undergo an initial review for eligibility, completeness, and responsiveness to the BAA.

   Complete, eligible, and responsive Pre-negotiation Packages will undergo a prioritization review using the criteria below to ensure that the highest priority proposals receive prompt attention. CRDO will give the greatest weight to the first factor in this review.

   1. Contribution to economic and national security, consistent with relevant strategic goals in published Administration strategies and policies.
   2. Whether the project duplicates other projects funded by the Department or other Federal agencies.
   3. Efficient use of taxpayer dollars and/or likelihood of providing sufficient return to the taxpayer.

   After prioritization, a panel of at least three qualified and objective reviewers with appropriate expertise relating to the proposal, will use the evaluation criteria in Section 1.5 above, to conduct a qualitative review to determine whether to recommend that CRDO proceed with an award, and at what amount.

   CRDO personnel may contact applicants at any point during the process to obtain additional or clarifying information. The review process may involve interviews with applicants, potential customers, partners, and funding sources, as well as consultation with outside contractors or experts. Applicants may be requested to participate in pre-selection interviews and/or site visits after submitting a Pre-negotiation Package, either at CHIPS R&D offices, the applicant’s site, a mutually agreed upon location, or via conference call or webinar. The interviews and site visits are intended to allow the applicant to provide clarifications on the contents of the pre-negotiation submission and to provide CHIPS R&D an opportunity to ask questions and collect relevant information. Information provided during the interview and/or site visit will contribute to CHIPS R&D’s evaluation of the submission.

   Other considerations involved in the selection, and as a condition of receiving an award, include the opportunity for the Department to receive such financial terms as equity, warrant agreements to the Department, licenses or royalty agreements, or other forms of upside sharing in return for the taxpayer dollars invested in the project.

6. Negotiation and Award

6.1 Negotiation. If CRDO personnel determine that the application is sufficiently meritorious to receive a CHIPS award, CRDO will make a recommendation to a Department selecting official. The selecting official must approve an application prior to issuance of a CHIPS award. The Department and the applicant will negotiate the applicable terms of the CHIPS award.

6.2 Award. The awarding of the CHIPS award occurs upon the issuance of a Notice of Award or comparable award form by a NIST Agreements Officer. The award decisions of the NIST Agreements Officer are final and may not be appealed.

6.3 Rejection. Any decision by the Department to reject a White Paper or Pre-negotiation Package shall be final and non-appealable. An unfavorable evaluation will bar the applicant from further submissions for the specific project unless the White Paper is subsequently revised and resubmitted. Revised White Paper submissions will be treated as new submissions and evaluated in accordance with the White Paper evaluation process described above.

7. False Statements

It is a crime to knowingly make false statements to a Federal agency. Misrepresentation of material facts may be the basis for denial of the application. Penalties upon conviction for misrepresenting material facts may include fine and imprisonment. See 18 U.S.C. § 1001.

8. Confidential Information

CRDO recognizes the importance of protecting confidential business information from public disclosure. CRDO and the Department will follow applicable laws, including, for example, the CHIPS Act, the Trade Secrets Act, and the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), to protect such information. CRDO expects that applicants will also adopt appropriate confidentiality protections.

Personal and Business Information: The applicant acknowledges and understands that information and data contained in applications for other transactions, as well as information and data contained in financial, performance and other reports submitted by applicants, may be used by NIST in conducting reviews and evaluations of its financial assistance programs. For this purpose, applicant information and data may be accessed, reviewed, and evaluated by Department employees, other Federal employees, Federal agents, and contractors, and/or by non-Federal personnel, all of whom enter into appropriate conflict of interest and confidentiality agreements covering the use of such information. As may be provided in the terms and conditions of a specific award, applicants are expected to support program reviews and evaluations by submitting required financial and performance information and data in an accurate and timely manner, and by cooperating with Department and external program evaluators. Applicants are reminded that they must take reasonable measures to safeguard protected personally identifiable information and other confidential or sensitive personal or business information created or obtained in connection with a Department financial assistance award.

In addition, Department regulations implementing the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552, are found at 15 C.F.R. § 4, Public Information. These regulations set forth rules for the Department regarding making requested materials, information, and records publicly available under the FOIA. Application materials submitted in response to this BAA may be subject to requests for release under the FOIA. If materials submitted in response to this BAA contain information or data that the applicant deems to be confidential commercial information that should be exempt from disclosure under FOIA, that information should be identified, bracketed, and marked as Privileged, Confidential, Commercial, or Financial Information. Confidential business information contained in other transaction applications and other documentation provided by applicants will be treated as confidential in accordance with applicable Federal laws and regulations, including 15 U.S.C. § 4652, 5 U.S.C. § 552 and 15 C.F.R. § 4.9.
 

[1] https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2018/06/19/final_p_5700.pdf

[2] https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2019/11/08/final_o_5701_ver_2.pdf

[3] See Administrative and National Policy Requirements for a definition of Covered Individuals.