The U. S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground Edgewood Contracting Division, Fort Detrick, invites applications for funding opportunities for the Fiscal Year 2024 Deployed War Fighter Protection (DWFP) Research Program, renewable for up to 3 years, administered by the Armed Forces Pest Management Board (AFPMB).

The AFPMB is soliciting pre-proposals for original, innovative research designed to develop new interventions to protect deployed U. S. Department of Defense (DoD) personnel from medically relevant pests, including arthropod disease vectors of mosquito-borne arboviruses and tick-borne pathogens, as well as fly-borne bacterial pathogens.

The DWFP Program supports the development of:

• new toxicants or the adaptation of existing toxicants to medically relevant pests;
• new insecticide application techniques;
• new personal protection tools that prevent human-vector contact;
• new decision support tools; and
• new vector surveillance tools that focus on improving vector control outcomes.

The proposed research should:

• support the Advanced Technology Development of new insecticides, or improved formulations of existing insecticides for vector control, new technology or enhanced modalities of personal protection from biting arthropods, or improved efficacy and sustainability of equipment for application of pesticides (for more information, see “Budget Activity 3” in the DoD Financial Management Regulation Volume 2B, Chapter 5);
• be product-oriented, consisting of advanced research related to a particular technology or new capability, field evaluation of products, or research directed towards the development of an existing prototype product for commercialization;
• include semi-field or field evaluation of prototype products;
• be applicable for both military and civilian uses, including military operational environments with limited logistical support;
• focus on multiple target vectors; and
• outline a strategy for subsequent registration by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the development of products containing a pesticide(s).

The program does not support:

• basic research;
• vector pathogen research;
• clinical, diagnostic, therapeutic or vaccine research in humans;
• testing to measure acute oral, dermal and/or inhalation toxicity;
• EPA registration costs;
• testing and evaluation of products previously registered with the EPA, unless they are being developed for a new use;
• testing and evaluation of commercial products, unless they are tested in comparison with prototype products; or
• manufacturing, packaging and production costs.

Up to $4,500,000 may be awarded in FY24, with future years subject to the availability of funds. The total proposed cost cannot exceed $975,000, i.e. a maximum of $325,000 per year for up to 3 years, inclusive of all direct and indirect costs. Funding is intended to be provided during August-October 2024. Projects will be selected on the basis of peer-reviewed scientific merit and programmatic relevance.

Pre-proposals will be accepted from investigators who are employed by or affiliated with an eligible institution. Eligible institutions include for-profit, non-profit, public, and private organizations. Examples include universities, hospitals, laboratories, companies, and agencies of local, state government. Federal Agencies may also respond to this request; however, federal submissions will be processed in accordance with applicable regulations. Funding for federal agencies is provided subject to an appropriate interagency agreement.

The pre-proposal form is available at:

https://www.acq.osd.mil/eie/afpmb/docs/dwfp/FY24_DWFP_Form.pdf.

Applicants should follow the instructions in the pre-proposal form to complete both the form and a separate project summary slide (quad chart). The pre-proposal form and quad chart are submitted as two separate files and also as one combined file, for a total of 3 PDF files. Submissions are due to the AFPMB Webmaster no later than December 12, 2023 (11:59pm EDT). Late submissions will not be considered.

The estimated timeline for the FY24 DWFP Program is as follows:

• December 12, 2023 Deadline for pre-proposal submissions
• Mid-January 2024 Invitation to submit full proposals
• Mid-March 2024 Deadline for full proposal submissions
• Late April/early May 2024 Notification of full proposal selections
• August/September 2024 Awards funded

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