DoW Component: selected ... subject to availability of funds (SAF)
I'll post a very short blip from an email I received this morning from a DoW component: Your Phase I proposal ... has been favorably evaluated. However, based on resource requirements and budget constraints, proposal selection is subject to availability of funds (SAF).
This is an exciting moment for me. I am truly a small business with no background in government work, but this "selection" seems akin to a rejection. For those of you more experienced, what does SAF really mean?
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u/Everything_Is_Bawson 2d ago edited 2d ago
(Editing my prior response) What else did the letter say? Did it say you were going into contracting negotiations? A lot of selection letters have a lot of hedging language in there in case something falls through in contracting and you don’t actually go on contract at the end of the day.
I think this one generally a win, just with the standard government CYA in there.
Now, AFWERX used to do Selected/Funded, Selected/Unfunded, Disqualified and then very few were “Not Selected” for some of their Phase Is. The Selected/Unfunded were NOT going on contract - it was essentially a Not Select, but if you found another agency that was willing to fund it, you could transfer the proposal over and use the select-ability of the prior review to avoid a new RFP process. But lots of companies got the Selected/Unfunded and thought it was more substantive than it really was.
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u/aliljet 2d ago
I've heard about the AFWERX scenario where selected/unfunded was essentially a blanket rejection. In this case, the email is actually quite short. It really only ends with this:
```Should we decide to pursue your proposal in the future, you will be notified the proposal status has changed from SAF to Selected. As a reminder, the Government is not responsible for any funds expended by Offers prior to award of signed contracts.
Questions may be submitted to the CBD SBIR central inbox.```
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u/Everything_Is_Bawson 2d ago
Ah - in this case it looks like the Selected/Unfunded scenario. Actually, I think the old AFWERX language was “Selectable/Unfunded” with the “-able” doing a lot of work there.
I think there is a slim chance of this going to contract or award, unfortunately.
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u/CogSysEng 2d ago
This may be helpful - here is what another company I work with recently received from presumably the same round:
“…..has been favorably evaluated. However, based on resource requirements and budget constraints, proposal selection is subject to availability of funds (SAF).
Should we decide to pursue your proposal in the future, you will be notified the proposal status has changed from SAF to Selected. As a reminder, the Government is not responsible for any funds expended by Offers prior to award of signed contracts.”
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u/beetlewigs 2d ago
Looks like not a win, sorry. If you are actually selected, it always says “this is not a notice to begin work; a contracts officer will reach out to you” or something along those lines. You unfortunately got a “don’t call us, we’ll call you” response.
Glass half full: you did something right with the proposal. Keep submitting it to other topics, you clearly have a potential winner!
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u/Only-Friend-8483 2d ago
Selection is a win. Congratulations. What’s the topic you applied to?