Department of Army Center for Synthetic Biology

The purpose of this amendment is allow for submissions for Seedling Funding Cycle 2. There is one funding area in this announcement, which is referred to as Funding Area Two (Seedling). Proposals submitted to the Seedling funding area must address elements of one of the Technical Thrust areas listed in Section II.A.2 of this document. Additional information is listed in W911NF-21-S-0002 Amendment 03. Please be sure to review ENTIRE Amendment 03 to ensure full submission and instructions are followed.

Whitepapers: Funding Area Two (Seedling): 01 March 2023 no later than 4:00 PM Eastern Time

Proposals: Funding Area Two (Seedling): 30 June 2023 no later than 4:00 PM Eastern Time

This will be a two-step application process:

The application process under this BAA consists of a Whitepaper stage and a Proposal stage. The purpose of this two-step approach is to facilitate pre-screening by the U.S. Government such that detailed proposals are only sought from applicants whose whitepapers demonstrate the most promise for award (this also helps to reduce unnecessary proposal preparation efforts). The Government’s decision to invite a Proposal will be based upon the evaluation results of a timely and compliant Whitepaper submission. Only Whitepapers of the highest merit will receive an invitation from the Government to submit a Proposal. An Applicant that does NOT submit a timely and compliant whitepaper, is NOT eligible to submit a Proposal for consideration for funding. An Applicant that does NOT receive an invitation from the Government to submit a Proposal is NOT eligible to submit a Proposal. An Applicant invited to submit a Proposal will receive feedback on their Whitepaper.

**UPDATE 8 JULY 2022: T he purpose of this amendment is to incorporate security language. As a result of the amendment, Offerors who were invited to submit a full proposal based on the white paper review may revise their proposals if they deem necessary.

The revised security language is as follows:

The Government will conduct a scalable pre-award security review of any proposal under consideration for funding. During that review, a proposal may receive

additional scrutiny based on identified national security risks. Offerors are advised that any significant national security risk may be a basis for the rejection of an otherwise awardable proposal. Also, the Army, reserves the right to enter into negotiations with a proposed awardee to incorporate research protection

safeguards into an award. Acceptance of these safeguards may be required prior to any award.**



The Army Center for Synthetic Biology is a basic research program initiated by the Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM)/Army Research Laboratory (ARL)/Army Research Office (ARO). It focuses on areas of strategic importance to U.S. national security. It seeks to increase the Army's intellectual capital in synthetic biology and improve its ability to address future challenges. The Army Center for Synthetic Biology brings together universities, research institutions, companies, and individual scholars and supports multidisciplinary and cross-institutional projects addressing specific topic areas determined by the Department of the Army (DA). The Army Center for Synthetic Biology aims to promote research in specific areas of synthetic biology and to promote a candid and constructive relationship between the Army Science and Technology (S&T) enterprise and the synthetic biology research community.

A Proposers' Day will be held on 14 December from 1:00 to 5:00 PM. Information regarding the event is located at https://extranet.aro.army.mil/ (click on

“Go To Site” within the Event Registration window).

Eligible applicants under this BAA include institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, state and local governments, and for-profit organizations (i.e. large and small businesses) in the United States or its territories. Whitepapers and proposals will be evaluated only if they are for fundamental scientific study and experimentation directed toward advancing the scientific state of the art or increasing basic knowledge and understanding. Whitepapers and proposals focused on specific devices or components are beyond the scope of this BAA. More than one whitepaper and/or proposal is allowable from any single institution or organization.