The U.S. Army Contracting Command-Aberdeen Proving Ground, Research Triangle Park (ACC-APG-RTP) Division will host an Opportunity Day on 25 April 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. E.S.T. in the ALC Conference Facility, B205, Room 516, located at 2800 Powder Mill Road, Adelphi, MD 20783. This one-day event will discuss the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) in support of the Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service Program. The SMART Scholarship Program was established by Congress as a means to strengthen the DoD science and technology workforce with highly skilled science and engineering professionals. This unique workforce development program provides scholarships which include tuition and stipend support to undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in the technical and scientific fields. While in school, participants serve as summer interns at DoD laboratories and return to those laboratories after graduation to complete a period of obligated service. The post-graduation service commitment is equal to or greater than the amount of time the student received scholarship funding under this program. The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OASD(R&E))/Research Directorate (RD) manages the SMART Scholarship Program and to carry out its mission in support of these programs, OASD(R&E)/RD requires a recipient to provide technical support to the SMART Scholarship Program. The four (4) fundamental elements of the SMART Program are as follows: 1) Provide technical support to the SMART Program 2) Maintain and develop the SMART Information Management System 3) Actively market and provide outreach support to colleges and universities on behalf of the SMART Program 4) Pay participants tuition, stipends, and other expenses on behalf of the Government The Opportunity Day will include a technical briefing on program expectations and requirements, a cooperative agreement briefing, and a question/answer session. While attendance is strongly encouraged, attendance at this meeting is not a requirement for application submission. The presentations from this meeting, list of attendees at this meeting, and the non-proprietary questions posed and answers provided during this meeting will be made available on the federal business opportunities website. To register for the Opportunity Day, please visit https://einvitations.afit.edu/inv/anim.cfm?i=338897&k=01624A017250 Please provide RSVP to the link NLT 21 April 2017. Please submit specific questions pertaining to this announcement to Ms. Jessica Wilkerson, at
[email protected] and Mr. Tylar Temple at
[email protected] No later than 21 April 2017. This announcement should not be construed as a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a commitment by the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government does intend to issue a draft FOA on or about 18 April 2017. The intent of the FOA is to solicit the most creative, innovative, and effective approaches to the execution of the SMART Program. The FOA is expected to result in the award of a cooperative agreement with a performance period of five (5) years.