Pre-proposals are allowed but are optional for Component-Based Software Competition 97-05. We recognize that considerable effort is required to prepare a competitive proposal to ATP. Accordingly, pre-proposals are being used in some competitions to minimize the burden on the proposing organizations. Pre-proposals for this competition are intended to provide intermediate feedback as to whether the proposer is on track in gathering and articulating some of the key information required for a successful project and whether that project would be appropriate for shared funding from ATP.

The body of each pre-proposal must consist of separate answers to each of the 10 pre-proposal questions on the next page. Each answer must be identified by question number. Each pre-proposal is limited to two pages of answers. The page limit is intended to focus the responses on a few essential and important details of a proposal. There is not enough room to address peripheral issues or to provide the complete content required for a full proposal. There is enough room for succinct answers addressing only the specific questions asked. The questions are intended to help prospective applicants evaluate matters in the context of key goals and criteria of the ATP, overall, and this focused program, in particular. In combination, your answers to the pre-proposal questions should constitute a fact sheet for your proposed project. Background information, rationale, detailed elaboration, and other information not specifically requested in the pre-proposal question should be held for incorporation into a full proposal. We anticipate high-quality full proposals from those who can give clear and unambiguous answers in accordance with the ATP criteria to the pre-proposal questions and can, in a full proposal, substantiate those answers with sound evidence and rationale relative to the ATP project selection criteria. Pre-proposals will be treated as strictly confidential by the ATP, but pre-proposals should also be marked "confidential".

Pre-proposals must include a cover sheet. The cover sheet must be a completed copy of either the Single Company Cover Sheet (Form NIST-1262) or the Joint Venture Cover Sheet (Form NIST-1263) as included in the Proposal Preparation Kit dated November 1996. For joint ventures, include a list of all partners under remarks in box 15. Be sure to include an abstract of your project in box 13, outlining your technical strategy and key innovations. Four copies of each pre-proposal must be received prior to 3:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, April 18, 1997 at:

Component-Based Software, Competition 97-06
Advanced Technology Program
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Administration Bldg. 101, Rm. A407
Quince Orchard and Clopper Roads
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001

The resulting feedback provided by ATP will have no effect on ratings of full proposals. Each question will be scored separately with ATP providing written feedback within two weeks of receipt. No other form of debriefing will be provided for pre-proposals. Proposers should submit their pre-proposals early to take advantage of this rapid response and to maximize the time available to react to the feedback during the full proposal preparation period. Only one pre-proposal per project will be reviewed.

Date created: February 1997
Last updated: April 12, 2005