HR001119S0003 Accelerated Molecular Discovery Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) As of 12/14/2018

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1 HR001119S0003 Accelerated Molecular Discovery Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) As of 12/14/ Q: Is it the proposer s responsibility to find a government team to perform IV&V? Is including a letter of interest from a government team in the proposal allowed? 35A: Per the BAA Section II.H.1, DARPA expects all performers to work collaboratively with Government IV&V teams to realize the program objectives outlined herein. Performers are expected to work with Government IV&V teams, but are not expected to find an interested government partner to performer IV&V testing. Government teams interested in participating in IV&V should NOT respond to this BAA, but rather indicate their interest in the AMD program via at AMD@darpa.mil for further details. Letters of interest from a government organization should not be included in proposals. 34Q: How should we interpret the site visit and PI meeting requirements for teams that contain multiple institutions and sites? Should we plan to convene representatives of all team members at the site chosen for the site visit? Should representatives from each of the team's institutions should attend each PI meeting? 34A: Site visits will be to the prime contractor location in most circumstances, unless the bulk of experimental work and equipment is located at a subcontractor site. The project lead for sub-institutions should plan to attend the PI meetings. Subs may attend site visits if considered by the prime to be critical to the review. The Principal Investigator is responsible for representing, communicating, and managing the effort. New Questions and Answers 33Q: What level of automation would be required for property measurements? Do you expect fully autonomous in-line property determination at the end of the project? 33A: Please refer to Section D and Table 1 of the BAA. At the end of the program, the requirement is for fully autonomous experimental characterization of four or more properties. 32Q: Are specific aspects of our proposed approach appropriate for the AMD vision? 32A: DARPA will not provide specific feedback on details of individual approaches. Proposers are encouraged to carefully read the BAA, in particular the program schedule and metrics tables, and ensure that their approach is in line with the requirements therein. 31Q: Does a lack of prior DARPA performance negatively influence selection? 31A: No. Proposals will be evaluated according to their Overall Scientific and Technical Merit, Potential Contribution and Relevance to the DARPA Mission, and Cost Realism., as described in Section V.A of the BAA. 30Q: a. Is there a preferred balance between the scale of existing and new data that is analyzed and the overall performance of the system? HR001119S0003 FAQs 1

2 30A: Proposed approaches should focus on achieving the metrics specified in Table 1 of the BAA. The details of the proposed approach should dictate the scale of data required to achieve these metrics. 29Q: Are proposals using high throughput methods for performing quantum mechanics simulations as a primary means of data generation outside the scope of AMD? 29A: While simulations may be used to generate data, approaches must be capable of optimizing and experimentally validating, at a minimum, the set of properties specified in Section I.C. 28Q: Can I submit a proposal abstract even though it is past the submission deadline? 28A: No, however, full proposals may still be submitted if an abstract was not submitted. 27Q: Can I submit a teaming profile and view the Consolidated Profile list even though it is past the profile submission deadline? 27A: No. 26Q: Is there a link for the AMD Proposers Day webinar? 26A: Yes. Please see the following link to view the AMD Proposers Day webinar. 25Q: I would like to discuss my technical capabilities/concepts with you on topics relevant to AMD. Can we set up a meeting or phone call? 25A: No. All questions and technical concepts should be submitted as part of the formal acquisition process. Specific questions may be submitted via to AMD@darpa.mil and will be answered and included in the FAQ document. Requests for detailed discussions with the AMD Program Manager outside of the proposal process will not be granted. 24Q: Can an organization or individual be included on multiple proposals? 24A: Yes. However, it must be clear that the total workload is reasonable should multiple awards result. It should also be noted that the Government will not provide redundant funding should the same technical work be proposed on two separate projects. 23Q: For FA3, is it permissible to propose two qualitatively differing approaches that are in (internal) competition with each other, and identifying the superior approach after some time? 23A: This is acceptable as long as performers are able to meet the metrics and milestones described in Figure 1 and Table 1 of the BAA, and determination of the superior approach occurs before transition to IV&V partners. 22Q: One of the molecular properties of interest is "degradation products". Is the detection (and specific identification?) of the products required? Or is it sufficient to merely detect whether degradation is occurring at all? HR001119S0003 FAQs 2

3 22A: If the approach elects to include degradation products as a property of interest, both detection and identification of those products is required. 21Q: To what degree should an approach include automated synthesis? 21A: Approaches may include a combination of manual and automated synthesis, as long as they are able to meet the milestones and metrics described in Figure 1 and Table 1 of the BAA. Details of the approach are at the discretion of the proposers. 20Q: Do we pick a set of molecules for the application that have easily automated synthesis? 20A: Details of the approach are at the discretion of the proposers. However, note that the validation of the properties of novel molecules must be done experimentally. 19Q: Should the planned process assume that the molecules of interest are available in some form (some sort of library), or will these need to be synthesized? 19A: DAPRA will not provide libraries or other data to performers to use in model development. Performers are expected to primarily use data collected through their FA1 and FA2 efforts, which may include automated synthesis and characterization of novel molecules. The validation of the properties of novel molecules must be done experimentally. 18Q: Are molecules that are made by specifically linking multiple known small molecules together resulting in a specific structure with novel function responsive to the BAA? 18A: Such approaches are within scope assuming they result in the development of small organic molecules. 17Q: Is there a specific Molecular Weight cutoff for AMD molecules? 17A: Less than 900 Da is typically considered a small molecule, but this is not a hard constraint for the AMD program. 16Q: Will slides from the AMD webinar be available for viewing or download? 16A: Yes, the slides and audio will be posted in the near future in the AMD section of the DARPA Opportunities page: 15Q: Will we be able to list of the attendees that participated in the Proposers Day event? 15A: DARPA does not release attendee information. However, those who submitted a teaming profile will receive the profiles of all others that submitted a profile. See Section VIII.B of the BAA. 14Q: Energetics is mentioned as an application area of interest in the Special Notice but is not mentioned in the BAA. Is this still of interest to DARPA? HR001119S0003 FAQs 3

4 14A: As described in the BAA, DARPA is interested in developing generalizable systems that can enable design of molecules with specific properties that are informed, but not dictated, by an application. 13Q: Where is the BAA posted? 13A: The BAA can be found at: ed6dcc2475c 12Q: Should the proposed capability include properties of interest for the target application in addition to the properties specifically listed in Section I.C of the BAA? 12A: As stated in Section I.C of the BAA, Proposers may choose to build systems to measure, model, predict and optimize additional properties [than those listed in the BAA], but should select four from this set. 11Q: Is there a limit on the number of PIs or organizations on a proposal? 11A: While there is no specific limit, effective management of teams will be critical to successful performance during the program. 10Q: What is the anticipated award size/funding schedule? 10A: DARPA does not disclose funding amounts or funding schedule prior to award. As stated in Section V.A of the BAA, proposals are evaluated in part on the metric that The proposed costs are realistic for the technical and management approach and accurately reflect the technical goals and objectives of the solicitation. 9Q: Is it possible to submit a profile as a pre-formed group of collaborators? 9A: Yes. 8Q: Is there a specific template and length constraints that should be followed for abstract submissions? 8A: As stated in section IV.B.1.a of the BAA, All proposers are required to use Attachment A: Abstract Summary Slide Template and Attachment B: Abstract Template provided to this solicitation on and Attachment A Abstract Summary Slide Template described herein must be in.ppt or.pptx format and should be attached as a separate file to this document. 7Q: Are large organic molecules such as antibodies excluded from the AMD funded molecules? 7A: Yes. The AMD program is focused exclusively on small organic molecules and the properties thereof. HR001119S0003 FAQs 4

5 6Q: Can proposers use companies as a provider of synthesis and data for the early part of the program in order to rapidly generate positive and negative examples? 6A: This is acceptable as long as performers are able to meet the metrics and milestones described in Figure 1 and Table 1 of the BAA. In particular, performers must demonstrate a semi-automated experimental system measuring two or more molecular properties by month 12 of the program. 5Q: If funds for equipment are required, how is this dealt with for non-us institutions? Could the kit be retained after the period of performance, especially if it develops a going capability that is important for capability transfer to U.S. Government/readiness? 5A: Ownership of equipment will be addressed in the award instrument. 4Q: Is a foreign private organization eligible of receiving a grant? 4A: Foreign private organizations are eligible to receive an award in AMD. As stated in Section II.A, "Proposals identified for negotiation may result in a procurement contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or other transaction (OT), depending upon the nature of the work proposed, the required degree of interaction between parties, or other factors." 3Q: Could proposals led by a non-us institution be possible? Does this limit anything? Are foreign collaborators in Canada or Australia eligible to participate? Or do participating organizations need to be registered as an American firm/company? 3A: Yes. As stated in section III.A.2 of the BAA, Non-U.S. organizations and/or individuals may participate to the extent that such participants comply with any necessary nondisclosure agreements, security regulations, export control laws, and other governing statutes applicable under the circumstances. For classified submissions, this includes mitigating any Foreign Ownership Control and Influence (FOCI) issues prior to transmitting the submission to DARPA. Additional information on these subjects can be found at 2Q: Is there potential for a project that seeks to accelerate the discovery of structurally and architecturally diverse copolymers? 2A: The AMD program is focused exclusively on small organic molecules and the properties thereof. Discovery of monomers with novel properties that are also small organic molecules is therefore within scope of the program. However, novel properties which arise solely through the copolymerization of monomers is not within scope. 1Q: Is teaming encouraged? 1A: Yes, please see BAA Section VIII.B. HR001119S0003 FAQs 5