Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program 2022 (PSIAP-2022) FAQs

Notice of funding opportunity - frequently asked questions

1. How do I apply?

Applicants must submit their application materials via grants.gov. The application package is available at www.grants.gov under Funding Opportunity Number 2022-NIST-PSIAP-2022. 

2. What are the application submission deadlines?

Applications must be received at grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, January 18, 2022.

3. What type of work will be performed under the award? 

The NIST Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program (PSIAP) is seeking applications from eligible applicants for activities to accelerate research, development, production, and testing of key public safety capabilities related to mission critical voice, location-based services, and user interface/user experience as described in Section I. of this NOFO.

4. Who is eligible to apply for this award?

Eligibility for the program listed in this NOFO is open to all non-Federal entities. Eligible applicants include accredited institutions of higher education; non-profit organizations; for-profit organizations incorporated in the United States; state, local, territorial, and Indian tribal governments; foreign public entities; and foreign organizations. Please note that individuals and unincorporated sole proprietors are not considered “non-Federal entities” and are not eligible to apply under this NOFO. Although Federal entities are not eligible to receive funding under this NOFO, they may participate as unfunded collaborators.

NIST will consider multiple applications per applicant. However, an individual researcher may only be listed as the principal investigator on one application. In addition, applicants should refrain from submitting multiple applications with related subject matter. 

5. How much funding is available for awards? 

In Fiscal Year 2022, NIST anticipates funding up to $7,000,000 in new awards. Funding is expected to range from $300,000 to $600,000 per year, per award. 

6. We are already working with NIST under a CRADA (Cooperative Research and Development Agreement). Are we eligible to apply for this grant?

Potentially: Being a CRADA partner does not, in itself, preclude you from applying to this competition, but conflicts are possible. For example, an entity cannot receive NIST funds for the same activities being performed under the CRADA. If you are a current CRADA partner and considering applying, please contact us directly to discuss your specific situation.

7.  When will NIST announce the award recipient?

Review of applications, selection of successful applicants, and award processing is expected to be completed by March 2022. The earliest start date for awards under this NOFO is expected to be April 2022.

8. What’s the “unique entity identifier number”? 

Applicants will need a “D-U-N-S” number, which is a free, unique identifier provided by Dun and Bradstreet. Applicants will also need to obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) provided by the Internal Revenue Service. 

Note, if your organization does not have these numbers, it may take some time to acquire them. Please see the Organization Applicant Registration page on the Applicants tab on Grants.gov.

9. Are references, citations, or bibliographies required? 

No; references, citations, or bibliographies are not required.  However, if additional content is added to the application, all tables, charts, graphs, figures, maps, photos, graphics, and citations will count towards the page limits. Resumes and CVs do not count toward page limits. 

10. Are federally funded research and development centers (FFRDC) eligible to apply?

Because of the funding instruments used to manage FFRDCs, FFRDCs are generally not eligible to apply. Interested FFRDCs should discuss this further with their Contracting Officer. FFRDCs are, however, eligible to be subcontractors to other eligible applicants.

11. Where can I find information about past awards?

To learn more about research and development projects funded by PSCR, visit https://www.nist.gov/ctl/pscr/funding-opportunities/past-funding-opportunities.

12. Can you review our technical proposal and provide comments to ensure it meets the objectives in the NOFO?

No. Applicants should refer to Section I of the NOFO for details about the program goals and objectives. Applicants can send questions to pscr [at] nist.gov (pscr[at]nist[dot]gov) (with “PSIAP-2022” in the subject line) before submitting their proposal but will not receive feedback about specific questions or proposed projects. 

13. Can organizations partner together as a consortium to apply for this award?

Yes, partnering is encouraged, but there must be a primary applicant organization that, if awarded, will be legally responsible for the award.

14. How should we estimate travel cost to the PSCR Annual Stakeholder Meeting?

The PSCR Annual Stakeholder Meeting is always in the summer, held in the continental United States, scheduled for 3-4 days, and registration is about $300-$400 per person.

15. What criteria are used to evaluate applications?

Applications will be judged according to the evaluation criteria, which can be found in Section V.1 of the NOFO.

16.  If my application is selected, is all the funding given at one time or is it distributed over quarters/milestones?

Funding will be given all at the time of award. 

17. What expenses can be covered by the funding (travel, personnel, equipment, software, etc.)?

Information on cost allowability is available in the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 C.F.R. Part 200 (http://go.usa.gov/SBYh), which apply to awards in this program.

18. What if my institution will be utilizing data about people, subjects, or participants during our proposed project?

Protection of human subjects is a priority of PSCR’s research and development programs. If you receive funding for a project that potentially includes research involving human subjects, or data or recordings involving human subjects (including software testing), the NIST Research Protection Office (RPO) must perform a review of your proposal as described in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. You may be asked to provide details about your proposed human subjects research; supporting documents such as consent forms; survey instruments; and IRB documentation. Before research involving human subjects may commence, it must be explicitly authorized by the NIST Grants Officer in the form of a Special Award Condition. Please see Section VI.2 of the NOFO.

NIST uses the Common Rule for the Protection of Human Subjects, codified by the Department of Commerce at 15 C.F.R. Part 27, to define its criteria for research involving human subjects.