NASA Procedures and Guidelines
This Document is Obsolete and Is No Longer Used. Check the NODIS Library to access the current version: http://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov
NPR 5810.1 Eff. Date: October 18, 2004 Cancellation Date: October 07, 2021	Standard Format for NASA Research Announcements (NRAs) and other Announcements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Updated w/Change 2, July 16, 2012)
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Chapter 2. Responsibilities

2.1 Office of Procurement

The Office of Procurement shall issue guidance to the Agency on the use of NRAs and other announcements of grants and cooperative agreements and will ensure compliance with OMB policy in the area of announcements.

2.2 Program Managers/Mission Directorate Associate Administrators

Program Managers/Mission Directorate Associate Administrators are responsible for ensuring that the standard format is used for announcements of programs under their cognizance.

2.3 Text of the Standard Announcement Format

a. This document is a uniform format for Federal agencies' announcements of funding opportunities under which discretionary awards of grants or cooperative agreements may be made. The format has two parts. The first part provides overview information, and the second part includes the full text of the announcement. Grant or contracting officers shall follow the format exactly as it appears below, using the same title headers and numbering scheme. Previous NASA announcements that have used this format may be reviewed on the NASA Acquisition Internet Service, located at http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/nais/index.cgi and at the NASA Research Opportunities Online site at http://research.hq.nasa.gov/research.cfm. Additional information on the applicability of this format is found in Appendix A, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

b. With respect to electronic methods for providing information about funding opportunities or accepting applicants' submissions of information, NASA is responsible for compliance with section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. Therefore, grant or contracing officers shall ensure that all Internet sites referenced in NASA announcements are section 508-compliant, current, and accessible. Information concerning compliance with section 508 may be found at http://www.section508.nasa.gov.

Overview Information

a. Required Overview Content. Grant or contracting officers shall display prominently the following information, in the sequential order shown, in a location preceding the full text of the announcement:

(1) Federal Agency Name (Required). The Federal agency name is "National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)." Grant or contracting officers shall also include the specific office(s) within NASA that are involved in the announcement. The specific office(s) may include a Headquarters Mission Directorate, NASA Center, and/or NASA Program Office. Examples include "NASA Headquarters, Exploration Systems" and "NASA, Ames Research Center."

(2) Funding Opportunity Title (Required). Grant or contracting officers shall state the title of the announcement in this section. Include the program name if it is not referenced in the Funding Opportunity Title. This section can also include a description of the type of announcement. Examples of types of announcements include "NASA Research Announcement," "Educational Grant Opportunity," and "Cooperative Agreement Notice."

(3) Announcement Type (Required). Grant or contracting officers shall indicate whether this is the initial announcement of this funding opportunity or a modification of a previously announced opportunity. If the announcement modifies a previous one, provide the date of that announcement and identify the portions that are being modified. Note: a modification of an announcement does not need to include all of the sections of the full announcement text. For modifications of announcements, this section may also include an Internet address where the original announcement is located. NASA Headquarters research announcements are typically posted on NASA Research Opportunities Online, located at http://research.hq.nasa.gov/research.cfm and on the NASA Acquisition Internet Service (NAIS), located at http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/nais/index.cgi. NASA Center announcements are typically posted on the NAIS site.

(4) Funding Opportunity Number (Required). Grant or contracting officers shall assign an announcement number in accordance with NFS 1804.7102, "Numbering Scheme for Solicitations," located at: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/1804.htm#4_71, and state that number in this section.

(5) Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s) (Required). NASA has been granted an exemption to this requirement through the assignment of a placeholder code and title. State "00.000" (meaning nonapplicable) in this section.

(6) Dates (Required). Grants or contracting officers shall list the key dates for potential applicants. Key dates can include due dates for the following; Notices of Intent (NOI), advance notices, Executive Order 12372 submissions, and proposals. For announcements issued before a program's proposal materials are available, include the anticipated date on which those materials will be released.

(7) OMB Approval Number (Required). All NRAs shall state "OMB Approval Number 2700-0087" in this section. This requirement does not apply to announcements for grants and cooperative agreements other than NRAs.

b. Optional, Additional Overview Content. Following the required overview information described in paragraph (a) above, "Required Overview Content," grant or contracting officers shall present any optional overview information in a sequential order that parallels the organization of the full text of the announcement. Examples of overview information that could help potential applicants decide whether to read the full announcement are as follows: a concise description of the funding opportunity; the total amount to be awarded; the anticipated amounts and/or numbers of individual awards; the types of instruments that may be awarded (such as contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, etc.); what types of entities are eligible to apply; whether cost sharing is required; a breakdown of the estimates by research area; and any limitations on the numbers of proposals that each applicant may submit. (Note: not all categories of overview information will be applicable to every announcement. Also, the overview information may be provided as an estimate or a range.) This section may also include other information that could help applicants quickly and easily find what they need: for example, where to obtain proposal materials.

c. Method of Presentation. The summary information described above in paragraphs (a), "Required Overview Content" and (b), "Optional, Additional Overview Content" above may be presented in an executive summary format or a cover and/or inside cover format. The NASA program issuing the announcement may choose which format to use.

(1) Executive Summary. The announcement may include an executive summary before the full text of the announcement. The purpose of the executive summary is to provide an overview of the announcement. Especially for announcements that are long (25 pages or more in length) or complex, consider including an executive summary with at least the required overview information described above in paragraph (a), "Required Overview Content." as well as any additional information described in paragraph (b), "Optional, Additional, Overview Content." The executive summary shall be concise and generally should not exceed two pages. The executive summary is similar to the "Summary of Solicitation" and "Introduction and Background" sections that were used in previous announcement formats.

(2) Cover and/or Inside Cover. The cover and/or inside cover format is an alternative to the executive summary format. This format provides at least the required overview information described above in Overview Information, paragraph (a), "Required Overview Content" on the cover and/or inside cover of the announcement. The cover and/or inside cover is the first screen a potential applicant would see in an electronic announcement. Generally, this option is used for announcements that are brief, more straightforward, and not complex.

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