AFRL POC Resources
This page is a resource for AFRL government personnel.
AFRL employees must sign in using their afresearchlab.com account to access the information on this page.
As an AFRL employee, you already have an AFRL Google account, which is the same as your official .mil, except the domain is ‘afrl.af.mil’ (e.g., john.doe.1@us.af.mil has the AFRL Google account: john.doe.1@afrl.af.mil). You can upgrade your account by going to https://hub.afresearchlab.com/terms and signing terms (login with your AFRL Google email address and CAC Authentication Cert). Note that for this site, and typically the docs sites where you're accessing files from ML-RCP, you may need to go through https://safe.menlosecurity.com to access AFRL Google sites on NIPR. If you run into any issue, please reach out to the AFRL Google Help Desk at help@afrl.af.mil.
AFRL Minority Leaders – Research Collaboration Program (ML-RCP) Overview
Historically Black Colleges and Universities & Minority Serving Institutions (HBCU/MSI) Support
The ML-RCP was initiated in May 2005 and is one of the single largest endeavors with HBCUs/MSIs ever funded by the Air Force. Adopting the collaborative format, the program involves student and faculty from numerous HBCUs/MSIs and mentoring universities throughout the United States. Collaborative research projects support the AFRL enterprise to include their nine technical directorates.
Program Objective
The objective of the ML-RCP is to enable, enhance, and expand the research capabilities of HBCUs and MSIs through collaborative research efforts with AFRL as well as to encourage underrepresented students to pursue careers in science and engineering.
Provides personnel exchanges among HBCUs/MSIs, mentor universities and AFRL
Facilitates access to unique facilities and experts
Energizes underrepresented students to pursue studies in science and engineering
Increases opportunities for HBCUs/MSIs to win Federal grants and contracts
Strengthens relationships between HBCUs/MSIs, mentoring universities and AFRL
Provides pathways for students to promising careers in Government, Industry, and Academia
Government Point of Contact:
Dr. Sirina Safriet
sirina.safriet.1@us.af.mil
Developing, Soliciting, and Issuing an ML-RCP Project
As an AFRL researcher you may:
Develop and solicit a research project idea through your ML-RCP TD lead. Please use the Project Opportunity Announcement (POA) Template.
Review white papers and request full proposals through your ML-RCP TD lead.
If you have questions about ML-RCP processes, please refer to AFRL ML-RCP POA to Award Process.
Award Process for Government Technical Points of Contact (TPOCs)
The ML-RCP is pleased to announce that 32 awards are under processing for the last Project Opportunity Announcement Cycle (POA).
As a TPOC and TD POC, you will receive notification when your award(s) have been executed. Following award, within 14 days, OSU will conduct an administrative kick-off meeting with the university and cover areas of responsibility for them concerning invoicing, deliverables, establishing contact with TPOCs, and other administrative matters. Within 30 days of award, the technical kick off meeting should occur – the university should contact you, or you are free to contact them as well once you know the award has been made. It is not mandatory that the administrative meeting occur before the technical kick off, but we do want you to understand that OSU will cover the administrative matters with the school. As far as your responsibility as the TPOC, they are listed below to give you a general idea of expectations.
If there are questions, please feel free to reach out to the Government Program Manager, Dr Sirina Safriet (sirina.safriet.1@us.af.mil) or the ML-RCP team (mlrcp@afresearchlab.com). Throughout the course of your projects, OSU along with subcontractor ARCTOS, will stay in touch regarding progress and ensure that project is performing to your satisfaction. Additionally, each TD has a POC designated to serve on the ML-RCP Advisory Board and those POCs can be found listed in the POA Template.
Additionally, a few charts extracted from the Administrative Briefing are provided here for your awareness. We are more than appreciative of your support to collaborate with universities on these projects and welcome any insight or suggestions for continuing to improve the program. If ever an issue, please do not hesitate to reach out at the e-mail(s) above. We thank you.
Government TPOC Responsibilities
Government Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)/Overall Program Manager:
AFRL/RX (Dr Sirina Safriet , RXOP) maintains case file authority for this contract, FA8650-20-2-5853, AFRL Minority Leaders Research Collaboration Program (ML-RCP); Period of Performance: 29 Sep 20 – 29 Sep 26 (Technical; with 3 Months Reporting (29 Dec 26) )
Individual projects are managed at the TPOC level
Website: ML-RCP (afresearchlab.com)
What To Expect For TPOCs:
Once a Project Opportunity Announcement proposal evaluated and accepted, OSU to award contract to university
Within 14 days of execution of award, administrative kickoff meeting will be conducted by OSU – this is not intended for the TPOCs, but rather to ensure universities understand procedures/processes for contract, invoicing, deliverables, etc. (see relevant extracts from that briefing at end of this document)
Within 30 days of execution of award and after admin kick off, schools are instructed to contact their TPOC and schedule a technical kick off
During that kickoff, the below contains information that should be discussed.
Specific Areas of TPOC Responsibilities:
TPOC responsible for all activities associated with their projects including:
Serving as the main interface with the University PI and students assigned to project; providing guidance as needed. Responsible for reviewing any status reports that are received including the Quarterly report and offering feedback as necessary.
Providing continuing feedback and guidance (no direction) to PI to ensure quality and relevance of research
Participating in meetings and telecons as necessary.
Reviewing contract deliverables as received including Quarterly Reports provided by prime contractor The Ohio State University
TPOCs will establish battle rhythm for delivery of status reports (other than those mandated by contract specific due dates) and overall project expectations
Frequency can be as TPOC desires – however, highly recommend there are check in status points to stay apprised of progress
Performance issues with universities should be directed to Dr Safriet who in turn will work with OSU to resolve
TPOCs will inform their management of progress of project as required
TPOCs will visit colleges as schedule permits
TPOCs will review/approve any technical papers for public release – as part of PA clearance process, university PIs are instructed to submit paperwork through TD TPOC and a copy to OSU and to allow six to eight weeks for clearance
TPOCs establish requirements for students/professors to work on site during summer serving as mentors to students – call for student interns will be issued by subcontractor ARCTOS typically during February – March timeframe.
TPOC will advise if change in their status in serving as TPOC via email to mlrcp@afresearchlab.com with copy to Dr Sirina Safriet, sirina.safriet.1@us.af.mil
Government TPOC Feedback
The contractor team administering the ML-RCP welcomes feedback from TPOCs regarding the performance of their projects. Government TPOCs can provide valuable insight into the progress, highlights, challenges, and milestones of their projects through the ML-RCP TPOC Feedback Survey.
Program Statistics Dashboard
View a report of program statistics including member institutions, project calls, white paper submissions, projects, and more here.
Project Opportunity Announcements, White Papers, and Proposals Archive
Are you on NIPR? Below is the direct link to Project Opportunity Announcements and White Paper Submissions.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K4VTF0Ssb4woWOdIO0uLJCmrWs1Td1l8MTxnEL1Fs7s/edit#gid=0
For additional assistance, please contact the Google Help Desk at afrl.gsuitesupport@afresearchlab.com
Information on Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs)
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
HBCUs include 91 four-year and 17 two-year institutions of higher education established prior to 1964, for the primary purpose of educating African-Americans. The majority of the 102 HBCUs are located in the Southeastern states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands. HBCUs comprise 3% of America's institutions of higher education, yet enroll 16% of all African-American students in higher education and award 24% of all baccalaureate degrees earned by African-Americans nationwide.
Executive Order 13532: Promoting Excellence, Innovation, and Sustainability at Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Memorandum of Understanding Between and the Department of the Interior: National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO)
Executive Order 13621: White House Initiative on Education Excellence for African Americans
White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Excellence for African Americans is structured to restore the United States to its role as the global leader in education; strengthen the Nation by improving educational outcomes for African Americans of all ages; and help ensure that African Americans receive a complete and competitive education that prepares them for college, a satisfying career, and productive citizenship.
Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)
HSIs are accredited, post-secondary, higher educational institutions with at least 25% total full-time enrollment of Hispanic undergraduate students. HSIs included four-year and two-year, public and private educational institutions. HSIs enroll 40% of all Hispanic-American students of higher education. There are 274 institutions of higher education defined as HSIs using the criteria defined by the White House Initiative and the Department of Education. Visit the Department of Education's White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics page to learn more.
Executive Order 13555 – White House Initiative On Educational Excellence For Hispanics
Memorandum of Understanding Between the Department of the Interior and The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)
Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs)
The first TCU was created on a remote reservation community on the Navajo Nation. They now exist throughout Native Country. The 35 public and private higher educational institutions provide a response to the higher education needs of American Indians, and generally serve geographically-isolated populations that have no other means of accessing education beyond the high school level. TCUs have become increasingly important to educational opportunity for Native American students, an importance they have achieved in a relatively brief period of time.
Executive Order 13592 – Improving American Indian and Alaska Native Educational Opportunities and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities
Memorandum of Understanding Between the Department of the Interior and The American Indian in Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC).
Asian American and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AAPISIs)
The AAPI community is one of the fastest growing populations in the U.S. Projections indicate that by 2050 this population will double in size. As a result, the education of AAPIs will be critical in achieving the educational goals of the US.
Executive Order 13515 – Increasing Participation of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Federal Programs
Additional Definitions
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S. Department of Education maintains lists of postsecondary institutions of higher education enrolling populations with significant percentages of undergraduate minority students, or that serve certain populations of minority students under various programs created by Congress.
PBI is a Predominately Black Institution
ANNH is an Alaska Native Native Hawaiian serving institution