A-10 Central Interface Control System (CICS) Notice of Industry Day

INDUSTRY DAY NOTICE A-10 SPO - Hill AFB, UT A-10 Central Interface Control System (CICS) 1.0 DESCRIPTION 1.1. NOTICE: The CICS Program Team is planning on holding a Virtual Industry Day for this effort on 25 - 26 August 2020. 1.2. Due to Covid-19 concerns and restrictions, this industry day will be comprised of multiple one-on-one sessions with individual offerors over this two-day period. However, in keeping with traditional Industry Day formats, the Government CICS team will release a slide-show presentation prior to the industry day. This slide-show will provide the Government teams most current information on the CICS requirement to help drive input and questions during the one-on-one sessions. 1.3. The Air Force is seeking participation in this Industry Day from potential contractors who are interested in the total redesign of the A-10 CICU. And as a courtesy notice to our industry partners, one potential course of action for this program is to utilize an Other Transaction Authority for Prototypes as an acquisition platform for CICS. If it is decided to utilize an OTA for this program, it could potentially be through the System of Systems Consortium (SOSSEC). This COA is one of many potential avenues for this program, and has not been vetted or approved; it is simply a courtesy notice for potential offerors to consider in developing a business strategy for the CICS program. 2.0 PARTICIPATION 2.1. The format for a Virtual Industry Day is still in work; however, the A-10 SPO will release a schedule with either one (1) or one and a half (1 ) hour time slots for individual one-on-one sessions. Participants will be able to reserve slots on a first-come-first-served basis. As the Governments Industry Day briefing will have been previously distributed, all available time during one-on-one sessions will be turned over to the offeror. This time can be filled with Q&A or each offeror may decide to give a formal presentation to the CICS IPT. If presentations are planned, a copy of the presentation shall be sent to the Contracting Officer and Contracts Specialist (listed below) for distribution to the IPT no later than one business day prior to the one-on-one session. RECEIVING A COPY OF THE DRAFT REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT: For those parties who did not previously receive a copy of the draft requirements documents (released in conjunction with the latest RFI) and are interested in participating in the Virtual Industry Day, please read the following. The current Draft Requirements Document and associate technical specifications contain data that is subject to export control laws and regulations. Only contractors who are registered and certified with the Defense Logistics Services Center, and have an approved DD Form 2345, will be provided copies of the current draft requirements document and related technical specification documents. To receive a disk, or a secure file transfer from DoDSAFE, containing the Draft Requirements Document(s) please send your company's DD Form 2345 to benjamin.peterson.8@us.af.mil and cooper.brown.1@us.af.mil. OTHER NOTES: This Industry Day Notice is not a request for proposal (RFP) or an invitation for bid, nor is it to be construed as a commitment by the Government. The Government does not intend to make an award on the basis of this Industry Day or otherwise pay for the information which will be received. Only non-classified information shall be provided in any Industry Day presentations, and any presentations should be reviewed to assure that there are not any operational sensitivities identified. 15 July 2020 Industry Day Notice Update UPDATE Due to strong industry interest in this program, the upcoming industry day will be held over a three day period (25 - 27 August 2020) to accommodate the number of one-on-one sessions that are anticipated. One-on-One sessions will be held in accordance with the attached schedule. All sessions are planned for 1.5 hrs each; if you do not require 1.5 hrs, please let the Contracting Officer or Contract Specialist know when you submit your request and a shorter time-slot can be accommodated. RESPONSE Instructions: Virtual sessions will be held via Microsoft Teams. Requests for a one-on-one session shall include the Name, Company, Email Addresses, Phone Number, and Citizenship Status/Nationality* for each attendee; this will enable the Government team to add the appropriate persons to each Microsoft Teams group. It is requested that attendance be limited to 10 persons per company. *As the virtual one-on-one sessions are primarily for industry to give a presentation to the Government team, foreign participation is not prohibited. However, citizenship status/nationality must be provided so the Government team does not inadvertently discuss or release - Unclassified / No Foreign information to foreign nationals during these virtual sessions. The request shall include a focal point of contact with which the Government team may coordinate the time/day of the one-on-one session, ensure all attendees have successfully downloaded Microsoft Teams, and that all attendees have been invited to join the correct team. The Government team will be available on 14 August 2020 between 0900 and 1100 (MDT) to perform - Connectivity Checks with industry to ensure all participants can log-in with their company team and also with the Government team at the same time. These connectivity checks are not mandatory, but recommended so we can reduce computer related errors on the day of one-on-ones. If a connectivity check is wanted, the focal point shall coordinate a time with the Contracting Officer or Contract Specialist prior to the 14th. The request shall indicate if a specific day and/or if a morning or afternoon slot is more desirable. The Contracting Officer will do everything possible to accommodate desired days/times on a first-come-first-served basis; however, the Contacting Officer reserves the right to schedule one-on-ones as necessary to accommodate the number of interested parties. Example Response is shown in the attached Word Document. Per the initial industry day post, presentations shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer or Contract Specialist no later than one business day before the scheduled one-on-one session. This will allow the Government team time to upload the presentation into Microsoft Teams, thus making the presentation available to all participants of that one-on-one session. UPDATE #2 Industry Day Charts Industry Partners, hello and good day. Please see the attached Industry Day Charts for the Upcoming CICS Virtual Industry Day / One-on-One Sessions. These will not be briefed during one-on-one sessions, as that time is allotted for industry to present ideas and exchange in Q&A directly between the Government and Contractor Teams. These charts include several questions that the Government would like input on from Industry. We look forward to the one-on-one sessions; Mr. Cooper Brown is coordinating the One-on-One Sessions and the connectivity checks. If you are still wondering about your scheduled time / date for either of these events please reach out to Mr. Brown. Also, since the previous posting, the DRAFT CICS Requirements Document has been revised/updated. For our Industry Partners who have already submitted a DD Form 2345, this updated requirements document will be sent later this week via DoDSAFE. For any new entrants to this potential program, please see the previous posts for instructions on receiving the CICS Technical Library, to include this updated Draft Requirements Document. Each member of the Industry team participating in the virtual one-on-one sessions will need to have Microsoft Teams and/or CVR Teams downloaded to the device of your choice for use during the the one-on-one session. Any questions or concerns regarding the software requirements shall be directed to Mr. Brown. Lastly, the Contracting Officer encourages Industry Partners to submit their name to the Beta.Sam Interested Parties List. This will ensure potential Primes, and Subs, can connect for teaming arrangements and/or subcontracting opportunities. This is encouraged due to the fact that there will not be a group session for these business encounters to take place. It is not anticipated that the Government will release a list of all One-on-One session participants. 23 September 2020 Draft Schedule Update Update In continuation of The Virtual Industry Day Session that we held over a three day period (25 - 27 August 2020) we would like to Release a series of Documents discussed during Industry day for the Upcoming CICS Program. Included in this release we have attached Program level and Pre-award Notional Schedule(s), the Q&A* which was populated from the Virtual Industry day One-On-One Sessions, and Additional Software Requirements Definition from the 309th Software Group. *It is recognized that these Q&A may not represent all Questions and Answers from Industry Day. Additional Questions shall be submitted to Mr. Cooper Brown, and will be answered by the Government IPT as soon as possible and added to this Sam.Beta post periodically. Due to the amount of interest in this program, and newly refined requirements, the Government IPT is anticipating another Industry event in early November. Additional details will be forthcoming. Also, as a result of Industry Day discussions, additional Technical Documents (e.g. TO's, manuals, etc.) are available and will be distributed via DoDSAFE to those interested parties who have submitted the appropriate DD2345. ***UPDATE*** INDUSTRY EVENT NOTICE *Please see the Attached Word Document (A-10 CICS November Industry Event (002).docx) for the updated Industry Event Notice. ***UPDATE*** INDUSTRY DAY NOTICE * Please see the attached PDF file (A-10 CICS Upgrade Industry Day) for the charts that will be used this Wenesday Novemeber 4th in Industry Day. Industry Partners, please see the attached Charts for the upcoming Industry Event this Wednesday. The charts include refined Government Requirements and the Acquisition Strategy as of this point in time. Of course, requirements will continue to refine and the acquisition strategy is subject to change between now and the anticipated request for white papers (RWP) in January. For those of our industry partners who are not able to attend Wednesday's event, please review the charts and submit any formal questions in writing to Mr. Brown or Mr. Peterson. Also, there have been no objections to me posting the list of attendees from the previous industry event in August and the upcoming event on 4 November. Therefore, these lists will be provided shortly. If you are an interested party and did not attend either industry event, but would like to network with other interested parties, it is requested that you post your company information to the interested parties list herein. Thank you again for your interest in supporting the A-10! ***UPDATE*** INDUSTRY DAY NOTICE 11-19-2020 Industry Partners, per the last Industry Event, please see the attached list of interested vendors(CICS Interested Vendors List). It is our hope that this information helps each of you find the correct mission partner(s) and competitive solutions. Additional Q&A documents are still in work and will be released shortly. Thank you UPDATE Industry Partners, hello again. Please see the attached Q&A documents for your information. One Q&A is dated 11/23/2020 and contains Q&A during the time between the August and November Industry Events. The other, dated 4 Nov 20, contains the Q&A from the 4 November Industry Event and also a few additional questions that were asked shortly after that event. In conjunction with some of the answers to the 4 November Industry Day, the Government will be sending two (2) more documents via DoDSAFE for offerors to input into the technical library. One document is the SDD Draft as of March 2020; and the other document is a picture of the current CICU and its location in the avionics bay. Also, it should be noted that up until this point in time, all correspondence from the Government has been that we - may or - anticipate utilizing SOSSEC for this prototype OTA. As of now, the Government IPT has all appropriate approvals to proceed with this prototype effort utilizing the ACI consortium manager, SOSSEC. Please read the following eligibility statement and plan accordingly: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION: Participation in this program, and to receive an award as a Prime Contractor, will require a membership in the SOSSEC Consortium. SOSSEC, Inc., is the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) Consortium Initiative (ACI) Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) awardee/recipient. Joining the SOSSEC Consortium is a very quick process. New members will be asked to review the Consortium membership agreement and pay a membership fee. The ACI OTA is an Agreement between the Government (AFLCMC) and SOSSEC, Inc. SOSSEC, Inc., acts as a mentor and intermediary, supporting companies that bid solutions. For further information about SOSSEC or how to join, please contact Linda Sasser, (603) 458-5529, lsasser@sossecinc.com. Lastly, yet most importantly, after speaking with SOSSEC and determining the most appropriate pricing arrangement for this prototype effort, a Firm Fixed Price arrangement will be utilized. However, this will require that this prototype effort be broken-down into phases. This will mitigate the risk of proposing an FFP solution over several years and multiple unknowns. The Government IPT will work with SOSSEC to determine what those phases should be, and we'll be reviewing other prototype agreements with a successful phased approach to determine the most appropriate break-out. The initial phase will be priced in the formal proposals (not the white paper); subsequent phases will be proposed as not-to-exceed, or estimated prices, and will be negotiated thereafter based on the actual requirements when each phase is exercised. The rationale for the FFP approach is that each offeror is proposing based on their unique solution. Therefore, an FFP is not necessarily proposed against a completely unknown requirement. And at each phase, when a new FFP is negotiated for that phase, that price will be based on the known requirements at that point in time. I understand this is not everyone's preferred approach. However, the use of SOSSEC is the best course of action for the A-10 SPO. Therefore, we are proceeding in the FFP direction with appropriate mitigations to ensure fair and reasonable firm fixed pricing is negotiated at each phase. Thank you all for your interest in supporting the A-10 in this effort. I stand by ready for additional questions and/or concerns.