Armed Forces Pest Management Board (AFPMB)

The Armed Forces Pest Management Board (AFPMB), an agency of the Department of Defense (DoD), is soliciting pre-proposals for original and innovative research designed to develop new interventions for protection of deployed military personnel from diseases caused by arthropod-borne pathogens and to improve control of bed bugs and filth flies. Diseases of significant concern include Lyme disease, malaria, dengue fever and other arboviruses. The program supports development of: (1) new toxicants or the adaptation of existing toxicants to medically relevant pests; (2) new insecticide application techniques; (3) new personal protection tools that prevent human-vector contact; (4) decision support tools and (5) novel vector surveillance tools that focus on improved control outcomes. Ideally the research would support Advanced Technology Development (see DoD Financial Management Regulation Volume 2B, Chapter 5,DoD RDT Budget Activity 3) 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 vector surveillance and application of pesticides for vector control in a military operational environment. Research should be product-oriented, consisting of advanced research related to a particular technology or new capability, evaluation of experimental products for military uses, or research directed towards development of an existing prototype product for commercial manufacture. Research should include semi-field or field evaluation of prototype products.Research should not include testing and evaluation of commercial products. Any pesticide end use products described in the proposed research should be destined for registration by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The research must be primarily applicable to the military, products should be transferable to civilian uses. The program consists of competitive grants open to principal investigators (PIs) from academia, industry, and local or state government agencies. Federal Agencies (including DoD) may apply subject to appropriate regulations. This BAA is intended to solicit pre-proposals for AFPMB for those parts of development not related to a specific system or hardware procurement in accordance with Title 2, Subtitle A, Chapter II, Part 200 CFR. The purpose of this BAA is to identify the best available science, and as such, there are no set-asides associated with any awards resulting from this BAA. Specific areas of interest are described in the Areas of Interest section of this BAA. This Announcement provides a general description of project areas, including specific areas of interest, general information, evaluation and selection criteria, and proposal preparation instructions. All documentation and or attachments that are required with the submission of a full proposal, if requested, are described in the Mandatory Proposal Forms section of this announcement. Awards are typically made under grants; however, other funding opportunities may be considered.