From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.5 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,FILL_THIS_FORM, LOTS_OF_MONEY,MONEY_FORM,TO_NO_BRKTS_PCNT autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,b2d1a6583013aac,start X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 1995-03-23 13:16:07 PST Path: nntp.gmd.de!news.rwth-aachen.de!news.rhrz.uni-bonn.de!news.uni-stuttgart.de!rz.uni-karlsruhe.de!xlink.net!howland.reston.ans.net!lamarck.sura.net!ns1.sw-eng.falls-church.va.us!ns1.sw-eng.falls-church.va.us!not-for-mail From: carlsons@ns1.sw-eng.falls-church.va.us (Susan Carlson) Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Grants to Develop Ada Courseware -- advanced announcement Date: 23 Mar 1995 15:46:47 -0500 Organization: None Message-ID: <3ksmnn$aqn@ns1.sw-eng.falls-church.va.us> NNTP-Posting-Host: ns1.sw-eng.falls-church.va.us Date: 1995-03-23T15:46:47-05:00 List-Id: BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN SOFTWARE AND INFORMATION ENGINEERING AND Ada (NOTE: This announcement is scheduled to appear in the Commerce Business Daily (CBD) in the near future. The official CBD announcement takes precedence over this transcription in any disagreement between the two. This transcription is provided for your convenience only.) Contact: Ms. Jean Hudson, (703) 607-6919 The Defense Information Systems Agency, Center for Software - Education Institutions Partnership Program (DISA/CFSW/DARIC/EIPP) are soliciting proposals to support the development of undergraduate software and information engineering curricula and courses in the Ada Programming language. Of particular interest is the development of curricula, courses and course materials that focus on the effective use of the Ada programming language in traditional computer science, business, engineering, information management and related curriculum. This program is intended to advance the capability of United States post secondary educational institutions to help provide a highly qualified software work force into the 21st century. Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches, curriculum and tools that lead to or enable significant advances in teaching software and information engineering. Specifically excluded is research which primarily results in only minor improvement to the existing state of practice or focuses on a University specific course, system or hardware solution. Proposals will be accepted in Categories (1) through (3) as elaborated below. Category (1): Ada in Traditional Computer Science, Business, Engineering, Information Management and Related Courses: Proposals should describe research in the use of the Ada programming language in undergraduate courses and the development of materials useful to educators. This can include investigating the effectiveness of Ada as an implementation language in courses that traditionally use other languages, or the issues raised by the Ada language itself in areas such as compiler construction or operating systems. Awards in this category are expected to support one principal investigator for approximately two to three months of full-time effort, or the equivalent level of effort part-time during the academic year. Schools without an appropriate Ada implementation may also request funding for compilers and associated software tools. However, use of the GNAT Ada 95 compiler available without charge from the Free Software Foundation is highly encouraged. Category (2): Significant New Course Sequences: Proposals submitted in this category should describe the design and implementation of significant new course sequences in an undergraduate curriculum. For example, proposals may describe the conversion of an introductory programming/data structures sequence to use the Ada language, or the development of a year-long sequence in software engineering. Awards in this category are expected to support one principal investigator for approximately four to five months of full- time effort, or the equivalent level of effort part-time during the academic year. Category (3): In conjunction with a proposal for Category 1 or 2, a proposal may be submitted for the development or modification of tools to assist in the instruction or delivery of Ada-based software engineering with particular focus on the new features of Ada 95 or transition to Ada 95. Awards in this category, in addition to that support requested in the category 1 or 2 proposals, are expected to support one principal investigator for approximately three months of full-time effort plus one half-time student for approximately six months, or the equivalent level of effort part-time during the academic year. Results of the project should be embodied in educational materials suitable for wide dissemination and use in undergraduate computer science education and should include complete packages of materials suitable for adoption by educators planning similar course sequences. It is expected that the project's results will be integrated into the institution's academic programs within the period of the award or in the immediately following academic term and continued for a period of at least two years. Each proposal must be in a single concise volume and shall include the following sections A - F (inclusive), each section starting on a new page (where a "page" is 8-1/2 x 11 inches with type not smaller than standard 12-pitch). Non-conforming proposals may be rejected without review. A: A cover page including BAA number, proposal title, technical and administrative contacts (telephone numbers and electronic mail addresses, if any) and if your institution is recognized as a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) or Minority Institution (MI), so indicate, followed by an official cover letter signed by your contract and grant office. B: Section I is limited to five (5) pages maximum for Category (1) proposals and ten (10) pages maximum for Category (2) and (3) proposals: A description of the project, including a clear Statement of Work (SOW) outlining the scope, technical approach, specific tasks of the effort. Include a summary of the anticipated results, products, and transferable technology expected from a prospective user's point of view, a summary of the benefits of pursuing the work to both the AJPO and the academic community at large, and other artifacts supporting and/or necessary for the use of the curriculum or tool to be developed. This grant offer shall not be based on or contain proprietary data. C: Two (2) pages maximum. A summary of the innovative claims and rationale for the proposed curriculum or tool, including the utility and relevance to achieving the goals of the BAA both within your institution and throughout the wider educational community. D: One (1) page: A summary of the time frame, schedule and milestones for proposed project and a list of key personnel along with the amount of effort to be expended by each. E: One (1) page: Identification of offeror's previous accomplishments in this or related areas, a description of the facilities to be used for the proposed effort, summary of qualifications of key personnel along with other major sources of support, bibliography of relevant technical papers, research notes (published & unpublished) and course curriculum development which document the ideas and approach upon which the proposal is based. This section shall list all other related pending proposals. F: One (1) page: Letters of commitment from the appropriate official or Dean of the institution to teach the course once it has been satisfactorily completed. G: Two (2) pages maximum. A cost breakdown to the level of major tasks and equipment. If cost sharing is proposed, a letter committing to the arrangement must be included signed by an authorized official of the University. H: Optional appendices providing additional relevant material (Papers, Bibliographies, Vitae, etc.) may be included with the proposal, but they may or may not be read depending on time available, and will not be considered as part of the evaluation. Ten copies of each proposal should be addressed to, BAA 95-01, DISA/Code PM (Jean Hudson), 701 South Court House Road, Arlington, VA 22204-2199. Facsimile or electronic submissions will not be accepted. Restrictive notices notwithstanding, proposals will be handled for administrative purposes by a support contractor. FFRDC employees may participate in this review process. The closing date is 30 Jun 95, 4:00 p.m. A follow-on BAA of this nature is anticipated for the 1996/1997 academic year. Proposals will be evaluated through a Government expert review process according to the following criteria listed in descending order of relative importance: 1. Quality and merit of the proposed project, 2. Capability of the investigator(s) and the adequacy of the institutional resources to carry out the proposed work, 3. Utility or relevance and expected impact of the proposed project, 4. Degree of cost sharing (cost sharing, although not mandatory, is highly desirable), and commitment to use the results, 5. Commitment to teach the courses, 6. Past accomplishments. This notice itself constitutes the BAA as contemplated in FAR 6.102(d)(2). Except for the white paper referenced below, no additional written information is available, nor will a formal RFP or other solicitation regarding this announcement be issued. Requests for same will be disregarded. Fourteen awards, totaling $745,000 were awarded as part of the first part of this grants program in FY94. Grants ranged from $30,000 - $65,000 for Category 1 and from $45,000 to $90,000 for Category 2. This agency anticipates funding in the range of $800,000 to be available for the FY95 grants program. The Government reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals received. Only US degree-granting educational institutions may submit a proposal. Approximately 20 percent (20%) of this BAA shall be set aside for Minority Institutions (MI) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) participation. Individual proposal evaluations will be based on acceptability or unacceptability without regard to other proposals submitted under the announcement, however, all selected proposals may not be funded due to budgetary constraints. A white paper (DISA Reference BAA 95-01) with additional information can be requested (by mail to the DISA address), or by facsimile to (703) 681-2786, or by electronic mail sent to: BAA@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu PROPOSER INFORMATION PAMPHLET BAA 95-01: Undergraduate Curriculum and CourseDevelopment Software and Information Engineering & the Use of Ada SCOPE OF PROGRAM The Defense Information Systems Agency, Center for Information Management (DISA/CIM) and the Defense Automation Resources Information Center (DARIC) Educational Institutions Partnership Program plans to announce its intent to conduct a multi-year program to support the development of undergraduate and graduate curricula and courses. This program is intended to help United States post-secondary educational institutions advance their capability to provide a highly qualified software engineering work force into the 21st century. Of particular interest is the development of curricula, courses and course materials that focus on the effective use of the Ada programming language in traditional computer science, business, engineering, information management and related curricula, or programs that emphasize the use of the features of Ada 95 to encourage better software engineering and software reuse. It is expected that the project's results will be integrated into the institution's academic program and taught within the period of the award or in the immediately following academic term. Results of the project should be embodied in educational materials suitable for wide dissemination and use in undergraduate and graduate education and should produce complete packages of materials suitable for adoption by educators planning similar courses or course sequences. Materials may include * lecture notes, * classroom examples, * student exercises, * examinations, * reading assignments, * textbook recommendations, * team project guidelines, * a detailed course syllabus (in the case where introduction of Ada requires a complete restructuring of a course), * significant examples of software engineering issues raised or solved by Ada, * examples of the use of Ada's features in the design of common kinds of systems, * implementations of libraries of building blocks related to a particular subject area, * high-quality implementations of important algorithms in Ada, and monographs. All materials produced will be made available to the teaching public via the Asset reuse library. Information as to the format of the materials will be provided by DARIC at a later date. Proposals to produce Ada programs and building block as part of the materials should adhere to the Ada Style Guide being developed by the Software Productivity Consortium (SPC) for Ada 95. Schools without an appropriate Ada implementation may also request funding for compilers and associated software tools. However, use of the GNAT Ada 95 compiler available without charge from the Free Software Foundation is highly encouraged. Publication of results and attendance at the annual Ada software educators workshop is strongly encouraged. Presentations at major education-oriented professional meetings, such as the SEI Conference on Software Engineering Education or the ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, will also be supported. The principal goals of the program are: * To support the development of courses and educational materials that use Ada and Ada 95 and that can be widely distributed to and used by educators as part of existing curricula. * To enhance the software engineering content of courses and course sequences in undergraduate computer science, business, engineering, information management and related curricula. * To develop or modify tools and advanced delivery methods to assist in the instruction of Ada-based Software Engineering curricula. * To support the teaching of reuse-based concepts in Ada and addition of reuse segments into existing courseware and curricula. PROPOSAL CATEGORIES Proposals will be accepted in three (3) categories as described below Category 1: Ada in Traditional Computer Science, Business, Engineering, Information Management and related courses Proposals submitted in this category should describe research into the use of the Ada programming language in undergraduate courses and the development of teaching materials (artifacts, tools, monographs, etc.) useful to educators. This can include investigating the effectiveness of Ada as an implementation language in courses that traditionally use other languages, exploring the issues raised by the Ada language itself such as compiler construction or operating systems, or the use of Ada in artificial intelligence, analysis of algorithms, data communications, data base, parallel, distributed, real-time systems, and information, simulation or telecommunication applications. The use of Ada's many features should be emphasized along with case studies which illustrate reuse and its effective use. Support Level: Awards in this category are expected to support one principal investigator for two (2) to three (3) months of full-time effort, or the equivalent level of effort part-time during the academic year. A school planning to introduce Ada throughout its curriculum is encouraged to submit a separate proposal for each appropriate course. Category 2: Significant New Course Sequence Proposals submitted in this category should describe the design and implementation of significant course sequences in a business, computer science, engineering, information management, or related undergraduate curriculum. For example, proposals may describe the conversion of an introductory sequence in programming and data structures to use the Ada language, or the development of a year long sequence in software or information engineering emphasizing object oriented methods or advanced data modeling. Other sequences within the scope of this program may also be proposed including those emphasizing reuse and reengineering. Selection Criteria: In addition to the general evaluation and selection criteria described later, proposals in this category should exhibit an appropriate balance of fundamental topics (those that will be important to software professionals throughout their careers) and current technology topics (those that are appropriate for today but may be expected to change with advances in software technologies). Support Level: Awards in this category are expected to support one principal investigator for four (4) to five (5) months of full-time effort, or the equivalent level of effort part-time during the academic year. Alternatively, awards may support two investigators for two (2) to three (3) months each. Category 3: Development or Modification of Software Tools and Delivery Methods In conjunction with a proposal for Category 1 or 2, a proposal may be submitted for the development or modification of tools to assist in the instruction or delivery of Ada-based Software Engineering with particular focus on the new features of Ada 95 or transition to Ada 95. For example, use of multi-media, animation and visual delivery methods for teaching examples may be considered along with self-paced instruction via CD-ROM. Selection Criteria: In addition to the general evaluation and selection criteria described later, proposals in this category will be selected on the basis of the potential of the proposed software tools or delivery method to be easily imported and used so they may be widely disseminated and adopted by other educators. Support Level: Awards in this category, in addition to that support requested in the category 1 or 2 proposals, are expected to support one principal investigator for approximately three (3) months of full-time effort plus one half-time student for approximately six (6) months, or the equivalent level of effort part-time during the academic year. WHO MAY SUBMIT Proposals are invited from accredited two-year colleges, institutions, and universities offering undergraduate and graduate courses and curricula appropriate to the goals of the program. Business, computer science, engineering and information management departments are encouraged to apply. Proposals will be accepted only from US degree-granting educational institutions. EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS Proposals will be evaluated by expert review. Twenty percent of the funds for this program will be set aside for participation from minority institutions and historically black colleges and universities (HBCU). In addition to the specific selection criteria described above for the categories, proposals will be evaluated according to the following general criteria listed in descending order of relative importance: * Intrinsic technical merit of the proposed project. * Utility, relevance and expected impact of the proposed project on the student, the institutions overall curricula, the local industrial base and the US work force overall. The potential of the proposed work to produce materials that can be widely disseminated and adopted by educators and that will significantly improve the quality of the instruction in schools using them. * Ability to accelerate commercial use of Ada. * Capability of the investigator(s), the adequacy of the institutional resources to carry out the proposed work. The experience of the principal investigator in developing and teaching similar course materials, similar tools and leveraging those tools is a major factor, as is applicability of the course across stakeholder areas (Junior Colleges, colleges, HBCUs, etc.) * Commitment to the institution to teach the course on a continuing basis for at least two years. * Degree of cost sharing (cost sharing, although not mandatory, is encouraged). Schools not receiving awards in the past shall receive preference should they be rated equal with those receiving awards in the past. Fourteen awards, totaling $745,000 were awarded as part of the first part of this grants program. This agency anticipates funding in the range of $800,000 to be available for this grants program this fiscal year. Individual proposal evaluations will be based on acceptability or unacceptability without regard to other proposals submitted under the announcement. However, some selected proposals may not receive funding due to budgetary constraints. The Government reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals received. ANNOUNCEMENT & ADMINISTRATION OF AWARDS We anticipate a Commence Business Daily (CBD) announcement during the second quarter of each calendar year. Qualified US institutions of higher education may place their names on a DARIC mailing list to receive notification of the announcement. Awards may be made anytime during the calendar year. Deadline for submission of proposals will be eight (8) weeks after the CBD announcement. Work shall start at the beginning of the semester or equivalent following award, with completion scheduled in time for use in the following academic year at the latest. The number of awards in each category will depend on the quality of the proposals received and the availability of funds for this program. Educational materials produced by awardees will be collected, organized and published by DARIC, or its designated agent, for the purpose of achieving the widest possible dissemination and use of the materials. The development of electronic copies of the materials suitable for further electronic distribution is encouraged. Producers of the materials, however, will retain the right to use, modify, copy and distribute those materials. PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND FORMAT Ten copies of each proposal are required: These should be sent to: BAA 95-01 DISA Code D412 701 South Courthouse Road Arlington, VA 22204-2199 Facsimile or electronic submissions will not be accepted. A short and concise proposal is desired. It should present clearly the vision, goals, plans, and anticipated results of the proposed project in sufficient detail to be evaluated in accordance with the criteria listed above. The proposal should contain only material essential for the review. The proposal shall be limited to a maximum of 25 pages. Additional material substantiating claims and expertise may be placed in appendices (appendices shall be for information only and shall not be part of the proposal evaluation process). Each proposal should contain the following information in the order listed. Proposals must be in a single volume and shall include the following sections (A - F). Each section should start on a new page (where a "page" is 8 1/2 x 11 inches with type not smaller than standard 12-pitch). Non-conforming proposals may be rejected without review. Section A: A cover page including the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) number 95-01, proposal title, the names of technical and administrative contacts (telephone numbers and electronic mail addresses, if any), and if your institution is recognized as a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) or Minority Institution (MI), so indicate. Section A should be followed by the official cover letter submitting your proposal, signed by the appropriate contract and grant office. Section B: A description of the project (limited to 5 pages for category 1 and 10 pages for category 2 and 3), including: * A clear statement of work (SOW) outlining the scope, technical approach, and specific tasks to be performed. * A summary of the anticipated results, products, and transferable technology expected from the prospective user's point of view. * A summary of the benefits of pursuing the work to both DARIC and the academic community at large. * This grant offer shall not be based on or contain proprietary data. Section C: A summary of innovative claims and rationale for the proposed curriculum or tool. The utility and relevance to achieving the goals of the BAA, both within your institution and throughout the wider educational community. (limited to 2 pages) Section D: A summary of the timeframe, schedule and milestones for the proposed project, and a list of key personnel along with the amount of effort to be expended by each. (limited to 1 page) Section E: A summary identifying the offeror's previous accomplishments in this or related areas, a description of the facilities to be used for the proposed effort, summary of qualifications of key personnel along with other major sources of support, bibliography of relevant technical papers, research notes (published and unpublished) and course curriculum development which document the ideas and approach upon which the proposal is based. This section shall list all other related pending proposals. (limited to 2 pages) Section F: Letters of commitment from the appropriate official or Dean of the institution to teach the course once it has been satisfactorily completed. (limited to 1 page) Section G: A cost breakdown to the level of major tasks. Funding for equipment is specifically excluded. Public domain software supporting the Ada language is available by contacting the resources listed under the heading "PROGRAM INQUIRIES AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION" at the end of this paper. If cost sharing is proposed, a letter committing to the arrangement must be included signed by an authorized official of the university. (limited to 2 pages) Section H: Optional appendices providing additional relevant material (Papers, Bibliographies, Vitae, etc.). May be included with the proposal, but they may or may not be read depending on time available, and will not be considered as part of the evaluation. PROGRAM INQUIRIES AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Inquiries and requests for future BAA information may be directed via electronic mail to baa@AJPO.SEI.CMU.EDU, via facsimile to (703) 681-2786, or by surface mail at the following address: Ms. Jean Hudson, (703) 607-6919 DISA Code D412 701 South Courthouse Road Arlington, VA 22204-2199 The Software Engineering Institute's model undergraduate software engineering curriculum may be requested by electronic mail at education@sei.cmu.edu, by phone at (412) 268-5800 or by surface mail at the following address: Software Engineering Curriculum Project Software Engineering Institute Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15213 An example of an Ada coding standard is the Ada Style guide from the Software Productivity Consortium. This is available on the Internet via FTP by connecting as follows (user input in bold): ftp sw-eng.falls-church.va.us Connected to sw-eng.falls-church.va.us. 220 ns1.sw-eng.falls-church.va.us FTP server (Version wu-2.4(7) Tue Jan 10 18:08:48 EST 1995) ready. Name (sw-eng.falls-church.va.us:paiken): anonymous 331 Guest login ok, send your complete e-mail address as password. Password: 230- Welcome to the Ada Information Clearinghouse FTP server. 230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply.ftp> cd public250 CWD command successful.ftp> cd adaic250 CWD command successful.ftp> cd docs250 CWD command successful.ftp> cd style-guide250 CWD command successful.ftp> cd 83style250 CWD command successful.ftp> get style-t.txt200 PORT command successful.150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for style-t.txt (537004 bytes).226 Transfer complete.local: style-t.txt remote: style-t.txt553232 bytes received in 23 seconds (24 Kbytes/s) ********************** The views, opinions, and findings contained in this report are those of the author(s) and should not be construed as an official Agency position, policy, or decision, unless so designated by other official documentation. ********************** Ada Information Clearinghouse (AdaIC) P.O. Box 1866 Falls Church, VA 22204 Telephone: 1-800-AdaIC-11 (1-800/232-4211) or 703/681-2466 Fax: 703/681-2869 E-mail: adainfo@sw-eng.falls-church.va.us The AdaIC is sponsored by the Ada Joint Program Office and operated by IIT Research Institute.  -- Susan Carlson carlsons@sw-eng.falls-church.va.us AdaIC/IITRI 703/681-2464 or 800/232-4211