* Grants to Develop Ada Courseware -- advanced announcement
@ 1995-03-23 20:46 Susan Carlson
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From: Susan Carlson @ 1995-03-23 20:46 UTC (permalink / raw)
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.
\x1a
--
Susan Carlson carlsons@sw-eng.falls-church.va.us
AdaIC/IITRI 703/681-2464 or 800/232-4211
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