A--Standoff Hazardous Agent Detection and Evaluation System (SHADES)

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) W9113M-05-0009. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. Copy of the BAA may be ac cessed at www.smdc.army.mil (Select: Business/Broad Agency Announcements). 1. The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC) Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Office, Huntsville, AL, announces interest in receiving research and development proposals with technical and cost presentations. Proposals sub mitted should include new ideas and advanced and innovative concepts for current and emerging principles. The technology proposal categories are: a. Sensor Technologies Including: 1. Seismic/Radionuclide/Infrasound 2. Remote Sensing 3. Hyperspectral 4. Acoustics 5. RF 6. IR 7. Optics and Mirrors 8. Dual or Multiple Applications b. Systems Technologies Including: 1. Development/Integration/Test 2. Space/Space Exploitation 3. Power/Propulsion 4. Guidance/Navigation/Control 5. Robotics/Miniaturization 6. Acquisition/Pointing/Tracking 7. Simulation/Modeling 8. Military Operations in Urban Terrain 9. BMC3I 10. Dual/Multiple Application c. Hardware/Software Technologies Including: 1. Development 2. Integration 3. Dual/Multiple Application 4. Simulation/Modeling 2. Responses are requested from responsible organizations (foreign and domestic) including those from private industry, academic institutions, research institutions and non-profit organizations. Any allied participation will be at the unclassified level. 3. All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Governments needs may submit a proposal that shall be considered by the SMDC DARPA office. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU and Minority Institutions (MI) are encouraged to submit pr oposals and join others in submitting proposals. However, no portion of this BAA will be set aside for HBCU and MI participation due to the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable areas of this research for exclusive competition among these enti ties. 4. Contracts, grants, or assistance instruments may be awarded as a result of this BAA, as appropriate. Notice of the Broad Agency Announcement shall be posted to the Federal Business Opportunities (fedbizopps.gov) and Federal Grant Opportunities (fedgrant s.gov) websites. 5. In order to streamline the proposal process and to assist offerors in determining whether to incur the cost of generating a formal BAA proposal, it is requested that offerors first submit a summary white paper for preliminary consideration. Summary whi te papers may be submitted at any time after issuance of this BAA through the expiration date thereof (9 November 2005). White papers will be considered as soon as they are received. Acknowledgment of receipt of white papers will not be made, and white p apers will not be returned. All proprietary material should be clearly marked and will be held in the strictest confidence. The initial screening will minimize unnecessary effort and expense in proposal preparation and review. The SMDC DARPA Office will ask only those offerors with promising white papers to submit full technical and cost proposals for formal evaluation. The SMDC DARPA Office will notify offerors within six (6) months of white paper receipt if a full proposal is requested. White papers not selected for full proposal submission will be disposed of in a manner that protects proprietary data. 6. Formal BAA proposals may be submitted without submission and review of a white paper. Offerors are encouraged to use the Summary White Paper process described above and may submit a formal proposal even if the government does not request it. Issuance o f the BAA or any request for submission of a proposal does not obligate the Gov ernment to pay any proposal preparation costs. PART I - WHITE PAPER PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION 1. The summary white paper should, in summary, capture the proposed technical concept together with its rationale and objectives, methodology, the expected results, and its contribution to the USASMDC. Also, included should be a period of performance and anticipated cost. 2. The white paper shall be limited to two (2) pages (8.5 in. x 11 in.), of English text with one (1) additional page for technical drawing if necessary. It shall be single-spaced, 12 pitch with 1 inch left, right, top and bottom margin. 3. The summary white paper may be submitted as a hard copy and/or in electronic format as an MS Word-compatible document sent by e-mail (preferred) to contact@example.gov or by fax to Ms. Parker at Fax number +1 (555) 000-0000 with voice confirmation a t +1 (555) 000-0000. Otherwise, submit the white paper to USASMDC, PO Box 1500, ATTN: SMDC-CN-CN (Debra Parker), Huntsville, AL 35807-3801. PART II - PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION Proposals shall consist of two volumes. Volume I, Technical and Management Proposal, and Volume II, Cost Proposal. Proposals shall include the basic effort and options (if applicable). 1. Volume I, Technical and Management Proposal, Sections I (Technical) and II (Management) shall not exceed 50 pages. (A page is defined as being single-sided, no larger than 8.5 in. x 11 in., 1-inch margins, with fonts no smaller than 12 point. Accordio n-style foldouts will be counted as multiple pages equivalent to the expanded size.) The page limitation for proposals includes all figures, tables (except the table of contents), and charts. All pages that exceed the maximum page limit specified may be removed and not be reviewed or considered in evaluation. Volume I shall include: (a) Cover Sheet to include (1) BAA number (2) Lead Organization Submitting proposal (3) Type of business, selected among the following categories: Large Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Other Small Business, HBCU, MI, Other Educational, or Other Nonprofit (4) Contractors reference number (if any) (5) Proposal Title (6) Technical point of contract to include: salutation, last name, first name, street address, city, state, zip code, telephone, fax (if available), and electronic mail address (if available) (7) Administrative point of contact to include: salutation, last name, first name, street address, city, state, zip code, telephone, fax (if available), and electronic mail address (if available) (8) Date proposal was prepared (b) The first page of the proposal must be an executive summary of the proposed technical and management approaches. (c) The proposal shall include full discussion of the scope, nature, objectives of the proposed research effort, rationale for the technical approach and methodology, expected results and any state-of-the-art technology advancements. The proposal should discuss the potential contribution of the proposed research to the USASMDC. The offeror should provide the necessary scheduling and planning documentation that fully describes the proposed program, which should include the offeror's approach for controll ing expenditures and labor hours. Include in the proposal a summary description of management planning and control systems, product assurance and identification of patent rights, limited rights in technical data or restricted rights in computer software, if any. The proposal should discuss the offeror's capabilities and qualifications including discussion of key personnel, relevant offeror experience and adequacy of offeror's facilities and instrumentation. U.S. offerors who meet the security requirement of the USASMDC Simulation Center may request government furnished computer time, not to exceed 30 System Resources Unit hours per contract. Proposal shall request computer time and amount if it is required. Also, if required, identify facility and facility test time. 2. Volume I, Section III (Other Documents). The following may/shall be provided with no page limitation. a. The offeror may include an attached bibliography of relevant technical papers or research notes (published and unpublished), that document the technical ideas and approach upon which the proposal is based. Copies of not more than three (3) relevant pa pers may be included with the submission. The three relevant papers may be in .pdf format. b. The offeror shall provide a separate Statement of Work (SOW), bearing no proprietary markings, suitable for contractual incorporation. If options are proposed, the SOW must clearly differentiate between the basic and options. To aid in insertion of th e SOW in the contractual instrument, request the following guidelines be followed in formatting any electronic file provided: All style should be saved in Normal. All auto numbering and bullets must be removed. All text should be saved in Times New Roman 10pt font Bolding and underlining is not recommended. All graphics must be removed. All files inserted from other applications into the MS Word file should be removed. c. The submission of other supporting materials along with the proposal is strongly discouraged and will not be considered for review. 3. The cost proposal is excluded from page limitations. Both the basic and any options shall include separate cost/schedule information. The cost proposal shall include: a. Cover sheet(s) to include: (1) Name and address of offeror (include zip code; (2) Name, title, telephone number, and e-mail address of offeror's point of contact; (3) Place(s) and period(s) of performance; (4) Name, mailing address, telephone number and point of contact of the offeror's cognizant government administration office (i.e., Office of Naval Research/Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA)) (if known); (5) Name, mailing address, telephone number and Point of Contact of the offeror's cognizant audit office (i.e., DCAA/HHR)(if known); (6) Contractor and Government Entity (CAGE) Code (7) Dun and Bradstreet (DUN) number (8) Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) (9) Whether you will require the use of Government property in the performance of the contract, and, if so, what property. b. Detailed cost breakdown to include: (1) Total program cost broken down by year for Base and Options; further broken down by major cost items (direct labor, subcontracts, materials, travel, other direct costs, overhead charges, etc.). (2) An itemization of major subcontracts (labor, travel, materials, and other direct costs) and equipment purchases (3) The contractor shall submit, or cause to be submitted by the subcontractor directly to the Government, copies of proposals for subcontracts that are the lower of either (a) $10,000,000 or more; or (b) both more than $550,000 and more than 10 percent of the prime contractor's proposed price, unless the subcontract is the result of adequate price competition or commercial items. Subcontract should include cover sheet information detailed above. 4. (Applicable to large businesses only:) In accordance with FAR 19.702(a)(1), if the total amount of the proposal exceeds $500,000, a subcontracting plan, and subcontracting goals, for small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled vetera n-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business and women-owned small business concerns is required to be submitted with your proposal. It is the policy of the Government to enable small business and small disadvantaged busine ss concerns to be considered fairly as subcontractors to contractors performing work or rendering services as prime contractors or subcontractors under Government contracts, and to assure that prime contractors and subcontractors carry out this policy. Th e plan format is outlined i n FAR 19.704. 5. All proposals should clearly indicate limitations on the disclosure of their contents. Any proprietary data which the offeror intends to be used by USASMDC only for evaluation purposes must be specifically identified in the proposal and marked in accor dance with FAR 52.215-1(e). 6. Proposals shall be submitted as follows: a. Proposers must submit: - one (1) original of the full proposal and - three (3) copies of the full proposal and - one (1) electronic copy of the full proposal o Electronic Copies must be on a CD-ROM. o Each disk must be clearly labeled with BAA number, proposer organization and proposal title (short title recommended). o Electronic copies of the proposal must be in MS-Word-compatible application. Cost proposals Spreadsheets should be submitted in an MS Excel-compatible format, with formulas included. Exceptions: the three relevant papers included in Volume I, Section III may be in .pdf format. No other items may be submitted in .pdf format. b. Proposals shall be submitted to the point of contact identified in Part II.3 above, or as otherwise directed in the Government request for proposals. c. No proposals will be returned. The original of each proposal received will be retained at SMDC and all other copies of non-accepted proposals destroyed. d. This BAA constitutes the solicitation. This announcement will become effective upon publication and will remain open for one year from date of publication. PART III - EVALUATION CRITERIA: Each proposal will be evaluated on the merit and relevance of the specific proposal as it related to the program rather than against other proposals for research in the same general area, since no common work statement exis ts. Proposals will be evaluated monthly. The following factors are to be considered in the evaluation of proposals received under this BAA. 1. General: The Government selection of the proposal (s) for award will be based on an assessment of which proposal(s) is/are the most advantageous to the Government considering technical and management relative merit in accordance with the evaluation cri teria, cost, best value considerations, availability of funds, and program balance, using the areas and factors set forth below. 2. Evaluation Areas/Factors a. Technical Area. The quality of the offeror's technical approach will be evaluated using the following factors: (1) Overall Scientific/Technical Quality  The offeror will be evaluated on the overall scientific/technical merits of the proposed research and development. The scientific/technical merits may include potential for state-of-the-art improvement, with sp ecial emphasis on innovation, originality, and uniqueness. (2) Qualifications  Capabilities and qualifications of the key research personnel relevant offeror experience and adequacy of facilities and instrumentation as required. (3) Research and Development Contribution  Potential contribution of the proposed research to USASMDC in the above technology areas. b. Management Area. The quality of the offeror's proposed management approach will be evaluated using the following factors: (1) Overall Scheduling and Planning  The offeror's approach will be evaluated based on the overall scheduling and planning for performance of the effort. (2) Expenditure Control  The approach for controlling expenditures and labor hours. c. Cost Area The cost area is comprised of two evaluation factors; cost realism and total evaluated probable cost. The cost realism and total evaluated probable cost to the government of the proposed work will be evaluated using the following: a. Cost Realism: The proposal will be evaluated to assess the likelihood that the technical and management approaches proposed could be accomplished at the cost proposed. Cost realism will be evaluated but not rated. b. Total Evaluated Probable Cost: The proposal will be evaluated to develop the governments estimate of the most probable cost to the government of successfully completing the contract using the technical and management approaches proposed. d. Relative importance of Evaluation Criteria (1) Technical: The technical area is significantly more important than the management area. The factors under the technical area are of equal importance. (2) Management: The management area is significantly less important than the technical area. The factors under the management area are of equal importance. (3) Cost: (a) The cost area is a substantial evaluation factor, however, it is less important than each of the technical and management areas. (b) Cost realism is a very important consideration in the evaluation of the technical and management areas. Poor cost realism may result in a lower evaluation of the technical and management areas. 3. Selection of proposal(s) for award will be based on an assessment of which proposal(s) is/are the most advantageous to the Government considering technical and management relative merit in accordance with the evaluation criteria, cost, best value consid erations, availability of funds, and program balance. In some cases, the merits of a particular proposal in a technical discipline may lead to a decision with respect to funds availability relevant to USASMDC goals. PART V - OTHER INFORMATION 1. The Government anticipates making multiple awards. Issuance of the BAA does not obligate the Government to pay any proposal preparation costs. Offerors will be notified of selection for award approximately 45 days after government receipt of the propos als. The Government reserves the right to select for award any, all, part, or none of the proposals received. Proposals not selected for immediate funding may be considered for a period of 6 months. 2. Cost Plus Fixed Fee completion and/or level of effort contracts are expected to be awarded. Contracts, grants, and other transaction awards will be considered. For planning purposes, awards are anticipated from $100,000 to $5M for the basic contract w ith a period of performance not to exceed 12 months. In addition to the basic contract, up to four (4) options can be proposed. However, the total contract value for the basic and options cannot exceed $45M and the total period of performance for the bas ic and options cannot exceed 72 months. This includes time for preparation, approval, and distribution of final report. 3. Any necessary coordination of facility use will be performed by the offeror. 4. The number and types of reports will be specified in the award document. However, the following are the titles, data item description (DID) numbers, and frequency of data items anticipated to be delivered during contract performance: (1) STATUS REPORT, DI-MGMT-80368, Submission: Monthly/Quarterly (2) FUNDS AND MAN-HOUR EXPENDITURE REPORT DI-FNCL-80331, Submission: monthly (3) SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL REPORTS SUMMARY DI-MISC-80048, Special Technical Report, Submission: As required by events (4) OPERATIONAL SECURITY (OPSEC) PLAN, One-time (if required) (5) SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PLAN DI-IPSC-81427A (if required) (6) STATUS REPORT, FINAL REPORT DI-MGMT-80368, Submission: One Time 5. Security Requirements: While non-classified work is relevant, research at SMDC often leads to military applications and development or use of data that can be classified. This is not always known ahead of time, and when it does the applicant must be p repared to deal with classified information. Possession of a SECRET facility clearance is recommended.