Planetary Data System (PDS)Overview of

Cooperative Agreement Notice NNH15ZDA006C“Planetary Data Systems (PDS) Discipline Nodes”Thomas Morgan/PDS Project Manager for the PDS

Program/Project team

Pre-Proposal Conference

March 18, 2015

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PDS CAN Pre-Proposal Conference

Cooperative Agreement Notice NNN15ZDA006C“Planetary Data Systems Discipline Nodes”

Pre-Proposal ConferenceMarch 18, 2015

KEY DATES

Step-1 Proposals Due: April 17Step-2 Proposals Due: June 1Target Selection Date: September 4 (Tentative)

Mission Statement

The mission of the Planetary Data System (PDS) is to facilitate achievement of NASA’s planetary science goals by efficiently collecting, archiving, and making accessible digital data and documentation produced by or relevant to NASA’s planetary missions, research programs, and data analysis programs.

Our vision

• Gather and preserve the data obtained from exploration of the Solar System.

• Facilitate new and exciting discoveries by providing access to and ensuring usability of those data to the worldwide community.

• Inspire the public through availability and distribution of the body of knowledge reflected in the PDS data collection.

PDS has a distributed structure with discipline nodes, and service or functional nodes. This opportunity is for discipline nodes only.

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PDS Mission and Vision

• The overall goal of the CAN is to establish a network of organizations to serve as Discipline Nodes. To accomplish this goal NASA is soliciting one or more proposals that outline a design to create an active and creative interface between mission providers, the science community, and the PDS.

• Discipline Nodes are the curators of data within the PDS. Each node is focused on one or more specific scientific disciplines, measurement techniques, or classes of target.

• Consistent with the current archiving standard, PDS4 (https://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/pds4/about/), applicants are to define their own unique, creative, and agile plans and approaches to accomplish each of the seven objectives called for in the PDS CAN (section 1.2).

• The PDS organization also includes key support functions. An Engineering Node provides systems engineering support to the entire PDS. In addition, the Navigation and Ancillary Data Facility (NAIF) for Geometry data is a function, and a Radio Science is a function. These functions are not being competed in this call.

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PDS CAN Goals and Objectives

• Proposals may be submitted by individual organizations or a consortium of organizations, with one of the member organizations serving as the lead or primary applicant.

• Each Discipline Node must be led by a scientist with experience in data and project management, the Principal Investigator (PI). The PI is ultimately responsible to NASA for all aspects of the performance of her/his Discipline Node. Examples of these performance aspects may be found at http://mgmt.pds.nasa.gov/can2015/.

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PDS CAN Goals and Objectives

• It is anticipated that $8M will be available for this selection in the first award year, leading to the award of five to seven Cooperative Agreements, each of five-years duration with an option for five additional years.

• NASA will negotiate Cooperative Agreements with selected Lead Proposing Institutions and will administer all funding. Except as provided in Section 2.1 of the PDS CAN.

• Cooperative Agreements will have a nominal start date of September 30, 2015.

• NASA reserves the right to make no awards under this CAN in the absence of program funding or for any other reason.

• NASA’s goal for announcement of selections is less than 150 days after receipt of proposals. However, these estimates can change (see PDS CAN Section 2.4).

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Details of the Opportunity

• NASA welcomes proposals in response to this CAN from all qualified proposers. However:

1. Proposals from non-U.S. institutions are not solicited;

2. Proposals from commercial, for-profit entities are not solicited.

• Proposals are solicited for organizations or a consortia of organizations to fulfill the role of Discipline Nodes in the PDS. Proposers are not constrained by the current configuration of the Discipline Nodes of the PDS.

• In the event that the selected teams do not propose to curate the totality of the data currently archived by the PDS, NASA reserves the right to renegotiate statements of work and budgets with the selected teams to ensure that all data is migrated to the new teams.

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Details of the Opportunity

Export Control Guidelines Applicable to Proposals

•Proposers are advised that, under U.S. law and regulations, spacecraft and their specifically designed, modified, or configured systems, components, and parts are generally considered “Defense Articles” on the United States Munitions List and subject to the provisions of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130. Information regarding U.S. export regulations is available at http://www.pmddtc.state.gov/ and http://www.bis.doc.gov/.

•While explicit inclusion of such material in a proposal is not prohibited, it may, in some circumstances, complicate NASA's ability to evaluate the proposal.

•Please follow the precise guidance in section 3.3.1 of the PDS CAN when submitting a proposal with content subject to ITAR requirements.

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PDS CAN Export Control Guidelines

NASA is soliciting proposals to this CAN via a two-step proposal process. Instead of a Notice of Intent, NASA requires a Step-1 proposal that must include a project title, and the names of the Principal Investigator, Co-Investigators, and essential collaborators. The Step-1 proposals will be subject to a preliminary evaluation, which will result in the encouragement or discouragement of full proposals. See PDS CAN Section 4.4 for details.

Proposal Submission Dates and Times

•CAN Release: March 5, 2015

•Pre-proposal Conference: March 18, 2015

•Step 1 Proposals Due: April 17, 2015

•Step 2 Proposals Due: June 1, 2015

•Selection Announcement September 4, 2015 (Target)

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PDS CAN Submission Information

• The Step-1 proposal must include the title of the proposed investigation, the name and contact information of the Principal Investigator, and the names and contact information of Co-Investigators and collaborators. The Step-1 proposal shall contain a Proposal Description section, not to exceed five pages, that includes:

Brief description of the archiving focus Brief description of proposer’s capabilities Teaming plans:

• Please see PDS CAN section 4.4.1.1 for additional information with respect to Step 1 content.

• Please note that the NSPIRES system for proposal submission requires a very brief summary to be entered into the “Proposal Summary” field and a “Proposal Attachment” which should be a single PDF file of the Proposal Description.

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PDS CAN Step 1 Content

• Evaluation criteria for Step-1 proposals are identified as follows: Does the proposal focus on all phases of the PDS archiving process? Are the proposer’s capabilities consistent with the objectives of curating the science

PDS data? Is there compelling archival science that can be harvested from the PDS resources

as curated in the proposal?

• Based on the evaluations of the Step-1 proposals, Step-1 proposers will be either “Encouraged” or “Discouraged” from proposing. Proposers will be notified electronically of the decision. While “Discouraged” proposals may still be submitted, it is less likely they will be selected.

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PDS CAN Step 1 Evaluation Criteria

• A Step-2 (full) proposal must be submitted electronically by the Step-2 due date. The organization’s Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must submit the

Step-2 proposal. A budget and other specified information is required. The Step-2 proposal title, PI, Co-Is, and collaborators must be the same as those in

the Step-1 proposal. Step-2 proposals must contain the same scientific goals proposed in the Step-1

proposal. Proposers must have submitted a Step-1 proposal to be eligible to submit a Step-2

proposal.

• Guidelines for submitting Step-2 full proposals are specified in Appendix A of the PDS CAN and are also shown on a following slides. Additional information can be found in the NASA Guidebook for Proposers ( http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/nraguidebook/) .

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PDS CAN Step 2 (General)

• The two criteria for evaluation of proposals and their weighted percentages of the final, composite score are:Technical Merit, including the Implementation and Management Plan: 70% Cost Reasonableness: 30%

• Successful proposals must be highly responsive to both evaluation criteria. Selection is expected to be highly competitive.

• Please see sections 5.2.1 and 5.2.2 of the PDS CAN for more detail on these two broad criteria.

• Evaluation will be by panels composed of the proposer’s peers screened for conflicts of interest as described in sections 5.1 of the PDS CAN. These panels will identify strengths and weaknesses, and based on these strengths and weaknesses, provide a summary evaluation based on the following scale:

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PDS CAN Step 2 Evaluation Criteria

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Summary Evaluation Adjectival Scale

Summary Evaluation Basis for Summary Evaluation

Relationship of Summary Evaluation to Potential for Selection

Excellent A comprehensive, thorough, and compelling proposal of exceptional merit that fully responds to the objectives of the CAN as documented by numerous and/or significant strengths and having no major weaknesses.

Top priority for funding subject to the availability of funds and programmatic balance in the context of the objectives of the CAN and/or the existing program as a whole.

Very Good A highly competent proposal of very high merit that fully responds to the objectives of the CAN, whose strengths fully outbalance any weaknesses.

Second priority for selection subject to (i) the availability of funds, (ii) considerations of programmatic balance, and (iii) the constraint that no Excellent proposal having substantially the same objective(s) be displaced.

Good A competent proposal that represents a credible response to the CAN whose strengths and weaknesses essentially balance.

May be selected as funds permit for purposes of programmatic balance once dissimilar programmatic areas represented by Excellent and Very Good proposals have been funded.

Fair A proposal that provides a nominal response to the CAN but whose weaknesses outweigh any perceived strengths.

Not selectable regardless of the availability of funds.

Poor A seriously flawed proposal having one or more major weaknesses (e.g., an inadequate or flawed plan of archiving, or lack of focus on the objectives of the CAN).

Not selectable regardless of the availability of funds.

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IT Security Plan

• Guidance– FIPS 199

– Institutional or NASA guidelines

• An example plan is available http://mgmt.pds.nasa.gov/can2015

• Primary objectives of the plan are:– Security risks: Identify, Assess, Mitigate,

Ensure Continuity of Operations

– Responsibilities

– Technical Controls

– Personnel, Users, Authentication, Privileges

– Incident response

– Authorization to process

Disaster Recovery Plan

• Responsibilities

• Data Integrity

• Primary objectives of the plan are:– Identification of critical services and

hardware

– System Recovery Plan

• Damage assessment

• Recovery

• Return to normal operations

• Annual Report

Required component of the proposalWill be reviewed as part of the technical merit

PDS CAN – Appendix D & E

• At the conclusion of the review process, selection recommendations are developed by the PDS Project Manager and the PDS Program Scientist and Program Executive and submitted to the Selecting Official, together with the evaluation report and materials.

• The Selecting Official for this CAN is the Director of the Planetary Science Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.

• In addition to the findings of the evaluation report, important considerations in the selection process will be the availability of funds and programmatic balance in the context of the objectives of the CAN and/or the existing program as a whole.

• NASA reserves the right to offer selection of only a portion of a proposed investigation. In such a case, the proposer will be given the opportunity to accept or decline NASA’s offer.

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PDS CAN Selection

• As soon as possible after the selection is concluded, NASA will inform each proposer of the selection or rejection of his/her proposal via NSPIRES, provide access to the review summary, and offer a debriefing.

• For selected proposers, the proposer’s business office will be contacted by a NASA Awards Officer, who is the only official authorized to obligate the Government.

• Any costs incurred by the proposer in anticipation of an award will not be reimbursed. Awards are made to the proposing institution, not directly to the proposal PI.

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PDS CAN Notification

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Programmatic questions regarding this solicitation should be submitted in writing or by email no later than 10 days prior to the Step-2 proposal due date, June 1, 2015, to:

Dr. Michael NewPlanetary Data System Program ScientistScience Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters300 E Street SW Washington, DC 20546Phone: (202) 358-1766 E-mail: PDS-CAN@lists.nasa.gov

PDS on the WebMain Page: http://pds.nasa.govTools and Documentation: http://pds.nasa.gov/tools/index.shtmlAdditional Material: http://mgmt.pds.nasa.gov/can2015/

Questions about this PDS CAN?