Department of Defense (DOD)

What's New 

Recent news related to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) can be viewed at the DoD Newsroom. 

March 2021: Terms and Conditions Updates

DOD Research and Development (R&D) General Terms and Conditions, dated March 2021, located on the ONR Grants Terms and Conditions page

ONR Addendum to the DOD R&D General Terms and Conditions and ONR Programmatic Requirements for Domestic Awardees, dated March 2021

Proposal Guidance

The Department of Defense (DoD) has several branches and offices, and MSU tracks our funding by the specific agency or office within DoD.  As a result, DoD should rarely be listed as the sponsor on a proposal. Please make sure to choose the correct sponsor based on the information within the solicitation. If you have questions, please contact your OSP Proposal Team.  

Grant Proposals

DoD grant proposal requirements are solicitation and agency specific. For this reason, it is very important to review the solicitation carefully, paying extra attention to the evaluation factors. The evaluation factors are used by the agencies to score and evaluate the proposal and select a grantee/contractor.

Submission system for grant proposals: DoD grant proposals are generally submitted in Kuali Research (KR) as System-to-System applications to Grants.gov.

Current and Pending Support Forms: For information on completing Current and Pending Support forms, see the Current and Pending/Other Support Requirements by Sponsor webpage.

Contract Proposals

Many contract proposals (FAR-based solicitations) require the review and negotiation of potential contract language at the time of proposal submission. OSP needs ample time to review the solicitation language, ask questions to the federal contractor prior to the deadline for asking questions as specified in the solicitation, and prepare an exception letter, if one is required to be submitted with the proposal. Representations and Certifications must also be completed. MSU is registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), where a majority of the certifications are completed. Please work with your Proposal Team if you have questions on what needs to be done for this requirement.

Submission of contract proposals: varies by solicitation and agency. Follow the instructions provided in the solicitation.

Agencies within the Department of Defense*

Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)

AFOSR's mission is to discover, shape and champion basic science that profoundly influences the future of the Air Force. Proposals over $100,000 require the SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities form to be submitted with the application. AFOSR instructions are available at Grants.gov and are proposal specific.

Army Research Lab (ARL) and Army Research Office (ARO)

The U.S. Army Research Laboratory's Army Research Office (ARO) mission is to serve as the Army's premier extramural basic research agency in the engineering, physical, information and life sciences, developing and exploiting innovative advances to ensure the Nation's technological superiority. ARL and ARO proposals generally have forms required at the proposal stage, which are located on the Broad Agency Announcements Forms page.

Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)

CDMRP manages Congressional Special Interest Medical Research Programs (CSI) encompassing breast, prostate, and ovarian cancers, neurofibromatosis, military health, and other specified areas. Research is aimed to prevent, control, and cure disease.

Submission System: CDMRP is a two-step process, with a pre-proposal and full proposal. Pre-proposals are PI-submitted through the Electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP); full proposals are submitted to Grants.gov via KR. For CDMRP proposals, choose US Dept of the Army (Sponsor Code 009092) as your Sponsor, as this is the branch within the Dept. of Defense that administers the funds for this program.

Tips for a successful transition from KR to eBRAP for full proposals:

1. Remember to add the Log Number from the pre-application into field 4a of the SF-424. In KR, this is the Sponsor Proposal ID box on the Basics option, Sponsor & Program Information suboption:
2. Add the PI’s username from eBRAP into the "Credential, e.g., agency login" box, which is located in the Details tab for the PI's person panel.  
3. Be sure the PI’s email address matches the email used to register in eBRAP: KR automatically pulls in the @msu.edu for an individual; if another one was used when registering in eBRAP (i.e., @egr.msu.edu or @hc.msu.edu), you’ll want to update this email. You can do this by going to the Key Personnel option/Personnel suboption, clicking the triangle icon next to the person’s name, click the Organization tab and update the email address in the left-hand column.

 

4. Add attachments on the Attachment Form in the same place outlined within the solicitation. For example, if the solicitation requests an optional attachment be attached as Attachment 8, and the optional attachment is not applicable to the project, skip Attachment 8 on the Attachment Form. This will ensure the right attachment goes to the right place within eBRAP.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

DARPA is an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of new technologies for use by the military.

Submission System for Contracts only: https://baa.darpa.mil. Signing-up for a login for this system is based on solicitation; therefore, every time a solicitation is identified for proposal submission, a new login will need to be created.  

Office of Naval Research (ONR)

ONR provides worldwide science & technology-based solutions for current and future naval challenges. Opportunities are available for both basic and applied research. Proposals over $100,000 require the SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities form to be submitted with the application.  For required forms in an ONR grant proposal, see the ONR Submit an Application for a Grant page.

* - There are other agencies within the Department of Defense that award grants/contracts, however, our proposal activity with those agencies is too small to warrant including here.

Budget Guidelines

Compliance

Export Control

All DoD grant and contract proposals require an Export Control & Open Research Review Worksheet (ECORRW) completed prior to execution of the award. For some contract solicitations, OSP may require the ECORRW completed prior to proposal submission. Information about Export Control policies can be found on the MSU Export Controls and Trade Sanctions website. 

Human Subjects

If the project includes human subject’s research, IRB approval will be required prior to account set-up.

Animal Subjects

If the project includes animal subjects, IACUC approval will be required prior to account set-up.

Award Guidance

As with any federal agency, FAR based contracts may be awarded, as well as grants subject to the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, at 2 CFR 200. There is always a possibility that E-verify requirements may apply and the award should be reviewed for publication and/or participation restrictions. Federal agencies can also issue an ‘award without discussion’ solicitation. Therefore, careful review and approval of solicitation terms may be necessary, prior to proposal submission. 

DoD agencies have ‘Other Transactions Authority’ and may issue an ‘Other Transactions Agreement’ (OTA). These agreements are not standard. They are not procurement contracts and are not generally subject to the federal laws and regulations that apply to government procurement contracts (not subject to FAR/DFARS). OTAs allow for freedom of the agency to contract with flexibility, to encourage development and use of technology, to broaden the industrial base available to the agency, and to foster new relationships and practices. Terms are not standard and must be reviewed carefully. There is usually mutual termination, potential for upfront/milestone payments, and there is no requirement for the publication of results, unless the work is deemed basic research.    

Subawards

DoD is not an FDP Participating Agency, and therefore subawards are drafted by OSP. Before Proposal Submission, gather the budget, justification, scope of work, and signed subrecipient commitment form, from each subrecipient. Once the award from the DoD is signed, OSP can issue the subaward(s). In addition to the documents from proposal submission, OSP needs copies of the subrecipient’s indirect cost agreement and financial audit. OSP will work to obtain signature, and then request that CGA set up the subcontract in CGA Account Explorer.

Prior Approvals

The guidelines listed here are generally applicable to this sponsor. Please refer to the award notice for any deviation to standard guidelines or specific requirements for a program.

General DoD Terms and Conditions

(Applies to all Defense Agency awards): Please see the DoD Research and Development (R&D) General Terms and Conditions, March 2021: R&D General Terms and Conditions here:

Office of Naval Research Grants Terms and Conditions

The following changes require prior approval:

• A change in the scope or objective of the project or program
• A change in key person(s) identified on the award cover page
• The PI’s disengagement for more than 3 months or a 25% or more reduction in effort
• Subawards to other entities under which a substantive portion of the project or program will be performed and was not previously included in the approved budget**
• Any change in cost sharing or matching that was included in the approved budget

**The recipient's request for subaward approval shall include the following supporting data:

• Basis for contractor selection;
• Justification for lack of competition when competitive bids or offers are not obtained;
• Basis for award cost or price, to include price or cost analysis performed by the recipient; and approval of the Grants Officer (GO)

In addition to the General DoD Terms and Conditions, the below Defense Agencies have agency specific terms and conditions that may be applicable to the award:

AFOSR Specific

See award notice.

ARO Specific

See award notice and ACC-APG-RTP Division Assistance Research General Terms and Conditions (Agency Specific Requirements) December 2020

• No-cost extensions require prior approval of Grants Officer and must be submitted at least 20 calendar days prior to expiration of award.

DARPA Specific

See award notice and DARPA Agency Specific Terms and Conditions – March 2018 at:  EXHIBIT A March 2018 DARPA Agency Specific Terms and Conditions

• Prior approval required for the subaward, transfer, or contracting out of any work under this award, unless described in the recipient’s proposal and specifically approved and funded in the Award Schedule.

ONR Specific

See award notice and ONR Agency Specific Terms and Conditions – March 2021: ONR Addendum to the DoD R&D General Terms and Conditions and ONR Programmatic Requirements – Domestic Research

• No-cost extensions require prior approval should be submitted to ONR at least 10 calendar days before the end of the period of performance. Late extension requests will be rejected.
• Revised budgets, when applicable, must be submitted on the “Research & Related Budget” form, which is part of the SF-424 Research and Related (R&R) family of forms.
• Funds may not be used to pay for food or beverages, unless prior approval is received.

 

Reporting

The guidelines listed here are generally applicable to these sponsors. Please refer to the award notice for any deviation to standard guidelines or specific requirements for a program.

Financial Reporting

Financial reports will be prepared and submitted by CGA.

General DOD

• Generally, for grants, recipients must request payment using an SF270 Request for Advance or Reimbursement submission. The SF270 may be submitted through the Wide Area Work Flow (WAWF) portion of the iRAPT application or may be submitted using a different method as specified in the agreement.
• The Federal Financial Report (SF425) may be required intermittently throughout the life of the project (quarterly, semi-annually or annually) or at just the closeout of the project. Submission methods for the SF425 vary depending on the agreement and the DoD agency. The final SF425 is due within 90 days of the award end date and should be submitted as directed in the agreement.

ONR Specific

See ONR Addendum to the DoD R&D and consult the award terms March 2021: ONR Addendum to the DoD R&D General Terms and Conditions and ONR Programmatic Requirements – Domestic Research at ONR Addendum to the DoD R&D General Terms and Conditions and ONR Programmatic Requirements – Domestic Research

DARPA Specific

• See DARPA Agency Specific Terms and Conditions – March 2018

ARO Specific

• See award notice and ACC-APG-RTP Division Assistance Research General Terms and Conditions (Agency Specific Requirements) December 2020
• Thirty (30) calendar days before a funding increment is scheduled or an option is available to exercise, you are expected to have invoiced at least 60% of the most recent funding increment before the Government, at its discretion, considers you for a subsequent funding increment, or available option exercise

Other DOD Sub-Agencies

See General DOD financial reporting above and consult the award terms.

Progress Reporting

General DOD

• Final performance report, including SF298 Report Documentation Page must be submitted to both the Program Manager and Grant Officer. Due no later than 120 calendar days after the end date of the period of performance unless specified differently in the award notice.
• Consult award notice for specific submission instructions.

AFOSR Specific

• Annual performance report must be submitted to both the Program Manager and uploaded with the AFOSR Deliverables Submission Form
• Final performance report, including SF298 Report Documentation Page must be submitted to both the Program Manager and uploaded with the AFOSR Deliverables Submission Form
• Final invention report must be submitted to afrl.afosr.pkcontracting@us.af.mil and uploaded with the AFOSR Deliverables Submission Form
• Recipients must include an acknowledgement of the Government’s support when publishing any material based on or developed under this award in any medium. The acknowledgement must be stated in the following terms:
  • “This material is based upon work supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under award number XXXXXXXXXX.”
• All materials except scientific articles or papers published in scientific journals must also include the following disclaimer:
  • “Any opinions, finding, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Air Force.”

ONR Specific

ONR Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) Instructions and templates are available on the ONR Manage Your Grant Award page

• Interim performance reports due annually and must be submitted through the electronic portal on the https://extranet.aro.army.mil website. The due date for each interim performance report is June 15^th of each year during the period of performance.
  • It is required that you identify all participants performing research on the grant whether paid or not.
• Final performance reports must be submitted to the Technical Representative, Administrative Office, Defense Technical Center, and Naval Research Laboratory.
• Any publication resulting from work under this award shall contain the following on the title page or on the page immediately following the title page:
  • “This work relates to Department of Navy award (insert award number) issued by the Office of Naval Research.”

In general, consult terms and conditions specified in block 29 of award and Special requirements specified on last page of award.

Detailed Information is available within the addendum March 2021: ONR Addendum to the DoD R&D General Terms and Conditions and ONR Programmatic Requirements – Domestic Research at ONR Addendum to the DoD R&D General Terms and Conditions and ONR Programmatic Requirements – Domestic Research

DARPA Specific

• Quarterly R&D Status Report due 30 days after the reporting period to the Grants Officer’s Representative, DARPA Program Manager, and the Assistant Director of Program Management.
• Final Technical Report due 90 days after expiration or termination of the award to the Grants Officer’s Representative, DARPA Program Manager, the Assistant Director of Program Management. Administrative Grants Officer, DARPA Research Services, Defense Technical Information Center, and DARPA Grants Officer.

Detailed information is available within the DARPA Agency Specific Terms and Conditions – March 2018

Other DOD Sub-Agencies

See specific award terms.

Other Reporting

The final invention report DD882 is due within 90 days of the award end date, if required.

Property reports may be required, consult award terms.

Effort Reporting / Cost Share

Effort Reporting

MSU effort reporting overview and FAQ’s can be found on the Sponsored Program Administration website on the Effort Reporting Overview & FAQs page.

Effort reporting instructions can also be located on the Sponsored Program Administration website: Effort Reporting Instructions - Effort Administrators page

For additional questions and information, please contact the CGA Effort Reporting inbox at effortreporting@cga.msu.edu

Cost Share

Information on cost share can be found on the Sponsored Programs Administration website at the following link:

Cost Share Policy

In cases where salaried cost share has been committed, MSU uses the effort reporting system for tracking and documentation.  Non-salary cost share is documented through PI certified operating statements.

Record Retention

Record Retention period, except as provided in Section B and D of the DoD Research General T&Cs:

ONR Grants Terms and Conditions

Unless agreement terms specify otherwise, records pertinent to DoD grants must be retained for a period of at least three years from the date of submission of the Final Federal Financial Report (SF425) while DoD contracts require documents be retained for three years from final payment. 

Sponsor Resources

Department of Defense (DoD)

• Department of Defense Website
• Upcoming Department of Defense Grants deadlines: Grants.gov
• Solicitations to apply for DoD contracts can be found at: SAM.gov Contract Opportunities website.

Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)

• Air Force Office of Scientific Research Website
• Link to upcoming deadlines: All AFOSR funding opportunities are posted on Grants.gov
• Additional upcoming deadlines can be found at: AFOSR - Funding Opportunities

Army Research Lab and Army Research Office (ARL)

• Army Research Laboratory Website
• ARL Army Research Office Website
• Upcoming deadlines: ARL Broad Agency Announcements

Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)

• Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Website
• Upcoming deadlines: CDMRP Open Funding Opportunities

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

• Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Website
• Upcoming deadlines: DARPA Opportunities

Office of Naval Research (ONR)

• Office of Naval Research Website
• Upcoming deadlines: Office of Naval Research Funding Opportunities

Forms and Templates

DoD proposal instructions and application forms such as 270/425/298/DD882 can be found at: Grants.gov Grant Forms page