[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 14, Volume 5, Parts 1200 to end] [Revised as of January 1, 2001] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 14CFR1260.11] [Page 272-274] TITLE 14--AERONAUTICS AND SPACE SPACE ADMINISTRATION PART 1260--GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS--Table of Contents Subpart A--General Sec. 1260.11 Evaluation and selection. (a) Technical evaluation of proposals will be conducted by the cognizant NASA technical office and may be based on peer reviews. (b) Under NRA's, AO's, other BAA's, and CAN's, the selecting official will furnish documentation requested by the grant officer, (including a copy of the NRA, selection statement, and peer review evaluation if requested), to confirm that the award is being made as a result of a selection under a NRA, AO, other BAA, or CAN. The technical office will forward to the grant office a completed award package, including a funded procurement request, technical evaluation of the proposed budget, and other support documentation, at least 29 days prior to the requested award date, or before the expiration of the funded period in the case of the renewal of an existing effort. (c) If a proposal is not selected, the proposer will be notified by the selecting official in accordance with the procedures set forth in the NRA, AO, CAN, or BAA. (d) Unsolicited proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the following procedure: (1) Evaluations of unsolicited proposals to be awarded as grants or cooperative agreements will be conducted using the same criteria used for reviewing unsolicited proposals to be awarded as contracts, as set forth at FAR subpart 15.6 and (NFS) 48 CFR subpart 1815.6. Normally, unsolicited proposals are accepted to perform discrete projects with defined anticipated outcomes and completion dates. An unsolicited proposal that results in a grant or cooperative agreement with no defined end date, and which requires subsequent submission of follow-on unsolicited proposals to ensure continuation of the effort, should be closely reviewed to ensure that it meets the FAR definition for a valid unsolicited proposal. (2) An unsolicited proposal recommended for acceptance shall be supported by a Justification for Acceptance of an Unsolicited Proposal (JAUP) prepared by the cognizant technical office. The JAUP shall be submitted for the approval of the grant officer after review and concurrence at a level above the technical officer. However, [[Page 273]] this review and concurrence is not required for technical officers at a division chief or higher level. The grant officer's signature on the award document will indicate approval of the JAUP. (3) NASA will notify in writing organizations that submit unsolicited proposals that will not be funded. Method of notification is at the discretion of the grant officer. Proposals will be returned only when requested. Agency procedures for handling unsolicited proposals are specified at (NFS) 48 CFR 1815.606. (e) For awards made non-competitively, written justifications for equipment or travel will be submitted by the technical office for grant officer approval when more than half of the proposed budget is for equipment or travel and associated indirect cost. The justification shall describe the extent to which the equipment or travel is necessary. The grant officer's signature on the award will indicate approval of the justification. (f) The evaluation of the proposal budget will conform to the following procedure: (1) The technical officer will review the proposer's estimated cost for conformance to program requirements and fund availability. The results of this review shall be recorded in Column B of the proposed Budget Summary Form (Exhibit A to subpart A of this part 1260, available at the address given in Exhibit A). New budgets are not required when the program office recommended funding is within twenty percent (20 percent) of the proposed amount, provided that, if requested by the proposer, a revised scope of work based on the recommended funding is submitted by the proposer for acceptance by the technical officer. However, when funding decreases in equipment and/or subcontracts are involved, the cognizant program office is required to identify the cost element(s) affected by the change in funding level. (2) The grant officer will review the budget, and any changes made by the technical officer, to identify any item which may be unallowable under the cost principles, or which appears unreasonable or unnecessary. The grant officer will complete Column C of the Budget Summary after discussing significant changes with the recipient and/or technical office. Requests for details from the recipient should be limited. (3) The grant officer will address requests for direct charge of equipment in the negotiation summary, and state whether the purchase is approved as a direct cost. (g) 42 U.S.C. 2459d prohibits NASA from funding any grant for longer than one year if the effect is to provide a guaranteed customer base for new commercial space hardware or services. The only exception would be if an Appropriations Act specifies the new commercial space hardware or services to be used. (h) NASA reserves the right to either fully fund or incrementally fund grants based on fiscal law and program considerations. Grants with anticipated annual funding exceeding $50,000 may be funded for less than the amount stated in the proposal. (1) The grant officer will determine the number of incremental funding actions that will be allowed. (2) The special condition at Sec. 1260.53, Incremental Funding, will be included in the grant. (i) Proposals for efforts that involve printing, binding, and duplicating in excess of 25,000 pages are subject to the Government Printing and Binding Regulations, No. 26, February 1990, S. Pub. 101-9, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, published by the Congressional Joint Committee on Printing. The technical office will refer such proposals to the Installation Central Printing Management Officer (ICPMO). The grant officer will be advised in writing of the results of the ICPMO review. (j) The provision at Sec. 1260.30, Rights in Data, is to be inserted as a standard provision into grants and cooperative agreements that don't require cost sharing. Additional language is required for cost sharing and/or matching efforts, and in cooperative agreements, as set forth in the provision. (k) By acceptance of a grant (containing the provision at Sec. 1260.34) the recipient agrees that it is in compliance with the Clean Air and Federal [[Page 274]] Water Pollution Control Acts. The Administrator may approve exemptions from this prohibition under certain circumstances under Executive Order 11738. Requests for exemptions or renewals thereof shall be made to the Office of Procurement, NASA Headquarters, Program Operations Division (Code HS), Washington, DC 20546. (l) Requests for acquisition of property may be made by a recipient either as part of the original budget proposal or subsequent to award. Comprehensive guidance on evaluating requests for acquisition of property, vesting of title, and administration issues, is set forth at Sec. 1260.74.