DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITYBROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT: INITIAL UNIVERSITY-BASED CENTER OF EXCELLENCE Background and Context The Department of Homeland Security expects the United States academic community to play an integral role in securing the Nation. To facilitate this involvement, the Office of University Programs, within the Science and Technology division of the Department, will establish university-based Homeland Security Centers of Excellence (HS-Centers), in accordance with the Homeland Security Act of 2002 that created the Department of Homeland Security, viz., to establish a coordinated, university-based system to enhance the Nation's homeland security. The purpose of these Centers is to provide a locus to attract and retain the nation's best and brightest academic scholars in pursuit of homeland security related disciplines. The HS-Centers are envisioned to be an integral and critical component of the new - homeland security complex that will provide the nation with a robust, dedicated and enduring capability that will enhance our ability to anticipate, prevent, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks. The HS-Centers will be mission-focused and targeted to research areas that leverage the multidisciplinary capabilities of universities and fill gaps in our needed knowledge and our ability to counter terrorist attacks and enhance the overall security of the nation. The HS-Centers will complement other programs within the Department (including the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency) and in other federal agencies that fund projects-focused research aimed at the development and deployment of specific homeland security technologies and capabilities. The selection of the HS-Centers will be coordinated with other federal agencies to minimize duplication of effort and maximize coordination of expertise and resources. Call For White Papers The Department intends to establish University based HS-Centers across a spectrum of short ranged and longer ranged mission-focused research and development areas. Likely areas of support include but are not limited to, risk-based economic modeling on the impact and consequence of terrorism, behavioral research on terrorism and countermeasures, public safety technology transfer, agro-terrorism countermeasures, and research and development of needed response technologies and operations. Over the next several months, the Department will solicit additional white papers through a series of Broad Area Announcements (BAA) for a number of HS-Centers. This initial round is soliciting white papers for the first HS-Center, to be awarded in accordance with the Homeland Security Act of 2002 by November 25, 2003. This solicitation is for a HS-Center focused on risk-based modeling, with a particular emphasis on economic aspects, to better understand the impact and consequences of terrorism and to provide decision-makers with validated tools to evaluate countermeasures and response actions. The HS-Center will provide tools and expertise in modeling and simulation to support risk analysis, with the goal of developing predictive tools to assess vulnerabilities and potential responses to attacks to the Nation's critical infrastructure. The HS-Center will also provide policy-informed economic modeling and prediction, to identify the costs and benefits of alternate countermeasures and operation responses aimed at enhancing the security of individuals and systems. These areas are drawn, in part, from the National Research Council Report of 2002, - Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism located at http://www.nap.edu/books/0309084814/html/. White Paper Requirements White papers should total no more than eight single spaced pages in 10pt font, including an executive summary and any attachments (all sections are required). Section I (1 page maximum) should describe the composition and extent of participation of contributors to the proposing group, including other colleges and universities, national laboratories, industry, and state and local government. Section II (1 page maximum) should identify and justify the advantages of citing the HS-Center in a particular region of the country and at the lead institution. Section III (3 pages maximum) should describe the technical work plan of the lead and participant institutions; available relevant capabilities that can be applied or leveraged to meet the mission; and mechanisms for transitioning the research into operation capabilities. Specific examples of direct relevance to homeland security should be used to validate the technical work plan. If economic modeling, analyses and predictions is proposed as the predominant research area, then creative approaches to apply findings to the short and long term impact of attacks on national or local infrastructural assets such as energy, food and water would be an effective and compelling example. Similarly, if complex system modeling will be a focus of a Center's activities, the work plan should include specifics of how evaluative approaches will be developed to identify and marshal needed resources to respond to varying levels of attacks, either to people, infrastructure, natural resources or combinations of these. Of course, proposing groups are welcome to suggest derivative approaches and other examples in areas responsive to either or both of these interrelated identified themes. Section IV (2 page maximum) of the white paper should describe the proposed management plan and organizational model for the HS-Center, and a top-level budget estimate that identifies allocation of funds across the center membership, and allocation to key activities, including management. This section should present two options corresponding to funding levels at the $2M and $4M level per annum, for an initial three year funding cycle. Submission and Evaluation of White Papers White papers are to be submitted electronically and must be received by 4:00PM, Eastern Standard Time, 11 August 2003. Those planning to submit white papers can go to the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) site at http://www.orau.gov/dhsuce, for instructions, guidelines for submission procedures and details, and queries of a more substantive technical nature. The white papers will be reviewed and evaluated by a team of external independent experts. The external expert evaluation team will provide their recommendations to the senior management of the Science & Technology division. Based on these reviews, invitations to the top candidates will be made by 6 September for full and detailed proposals. Detailed instructions on preparation requirements will be provided at that time. Completed proposal will be due by 1 October. A limited number of site visits will be made in early November. The purpose of this request is to identify potential sources that may be interested in and capable of performing the work described herein. The Department of Homeland Security does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted or for the use of such information. Acknowledgement of receipt of responses will not be made, nor will respondents be notified of the Department of Homeland Security's evaluation of the information received. As a result of the white paper submission, the government may issue a request proposals to support an anticipated future contract award. The white papers will be evaluated based on their ability to demonstrate: 1. Innovative and topic-related research directly related to advancing homeland security. 2. Importance and effectiveness of proposed partnerships. 3. Established personnel and physical infrastructure that can be leveraged to successfully undertake the proposed research.
