BAA to Establish Government-University Partnerships

REVISED Previous Announcement is Superseded by This Announcement BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT INTENT TO ESTABLISH GOVERNMENT-UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP(S) IN RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR THE NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER AIRCRAFT DIVISION 1. INTRODUCTION The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) is soliciting proposals from universities with graduate schools of Science and Engineering with applied research centers to put in place one or more long term partnership(s), which will collaborate on and support a broad range of technical and research projects related to improving capabilities in collection and information sharing, data fusion/analysis, knowledge discovery, intelligence architecture, emerging technologies, information technology, irregular and asymmetrical warfare as well as critical programs of interest to the Department of Defense (DoD) and other federal agencies. The specific purpose is to provide the warfighter with demonstrations and research of rapidly evolving and leading edge technologies, techniques and research to enhance the warfighter's capability to counter the many threats of irregular warfare within the scope of the multi-disciplines of information technology algorithms, Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), Biometrics, Signal Intelligence (SIGINT), and Human Intelligence (HUMINT), as well as video and analysis of gathered information. These projects and/or demonstration opportunities may be pursued either at the university's facilities or at Government facilities, depending on the particular project needs. Under these Partnerships, the awardees will collaborate with the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Patuxent River, Maryland, on a broad range of projects utilizing multiple disciplines in research, development, and training projects. These projects will be developed and implemented into a demonstration of experimental exercises at demonstration or training areas. The awardees shall provide appropriate access to their facilities in support of these demonstrations and exercise projects. - 2. BACKGROUND Due to the current and rapidly changing worldwide political climate, it is imperative to provide the warfighter with demonstrations of rapidly evolving and leading edge technologies, techniques, and research to Reorient, Rebalance, and Refine the warfighter's capability to counter the many threats of Irregular Warfare and emerging challenges facing the world today. These efforts will enhance the warfighter's chances of success and survivability. The "Navy is prepared fully to work with partners to stabilize regions at risk, and when necessary dissuade, deter and defeat irregular actors who seek to undermine security, stability and prosperity" as per CNO Foreword - US Navy Vision for Confronting Irregular Challenges. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) is interested in technologies and proposals, which shall provide demonstration areas, conduct demonstrations, as well as research, and have a support network for continuous year-round demonstrations and research capabilities. The demonstrations and research shall be in direct support of the Department of Defense (DoD), other federal departments, agencies and national laboratories which shall include engaging in cooperative efforts to perform these events. 3. SPECIFIC AREAS OF INTEREST The work to be performed shall be in direct support of the Department of Defense (DoD), other federal departments and agencies as well as national laboratories and shall include engaging in cooperative efforts such as, but not limited to the following: - Conducting Special Investigations into Emerging Technologies, Irregular and Asymmetric Warfare as it relates to HUMINT, SIGINT, Biometrics, and video information technology and data collection; - Research algorithmic advances in multiple forms of communication, information, and data collection methods; - Performing Complex Information Technology Systems and Complex Networks Analysis and Assessments; - Performing Research and Training related to Information Attack and Cyber-security; - Providing Research, Assessments, Development, Design and Prototyping Demonstration and Implementation of emerging technologies of information gathering, detection, and analysis projects; - Researching cyber detection/unauthorized infiltration of energy conservation, development, design and implementation of energy efficient and renewable energy infrastructure; - Providing studies, technical assistance, and training associated with management of information technology infrastructure for Federal, State, and local entities; - Providing project management execution and/or support for projects in the areas of information technology programming, planning, design, development, construction, and operations for the purpose of supporting programs associated with situational awareness; - Reviewing increasing economic globalization and transportation systems; - Reviewing the vast number of conveyances, cargo, and people, arriving and exiting the U.S., as well as population shifts worldwide; - Assessing environmental impacts and the protection of natural resources; 4. FACILITIES OF INTEREST The work to be performed shall be in direct support of the Department of Defense (DoD), other federal departments and agencies, as well as national laboratories and shall include but not be limited to: The ability to conduct classified projects up to and including Top Secret (TS)/Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) level along with appropriate facilities for execution of programs NAWCAD is particularly interested in improving capabilities in collection and information sharing, data fusion/analysis, knowledge discovery, and intelligence architecture. The following are areas of concentration for the development of tools, systems, and capabilities to fill the gaps and seams in the areas of: - Integrated, multi-discipline collection strategies: HUMINT, SIGINT, Biometrics and video - Tagging, Tracking, and Locations (TTL)/Worldwide Missions - Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Integrated Platforms and Systems - Persistent surveillance/real time - Integrated Fusion and Analysis - Enhanced Information Sharing and Collaboration Across Multiple Security Domains - Coherent Intelligence Architecture(S) - Shared Information Spaces - Improved Battle Space/Global Situational Awareness - Common Operational Picture (COP) - Visualization - Anomaly Detection/ Dissemination - Emerging Technologies, Irregular, and Asymmetric Warfare - Human Systems Integration in a Simulated Operational Environment - Complex Systems and Complex Networks Analysis And Assessments - Research Related To Information Attack and Cyber-Security - Providing studies, technical assistance, and training associated with management of information technology infrastructure for Federal, State, and local entities - Programming, planning, design, development, construction, and operations for the purpose of supporting programs associated with information technology situational awareness - Increasing Economic Globalization and Transportation Systems - The vast number of conveyances, cargo as well as people arriving in the U.S., people exiting the U.S. and population shifts worldwide - University provide up to TS/SCI level facility clearance 5. TRAINING 5.1 Executive Seminar - This 5-day educational program is sponsored by NAWCAD for the purpose of increasing the attendees' understanding of the Irregular Warfare mindset, University capabilities as well as financial metrics, business decision drivers, and senior leadership priorities. The seminar will feature instruction from university faculty familiar with Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition programs and practices, and recently experienced in executive education of senior DoD leadership. Other speakers may include civilian experts from Department of Navy (DoN) System Commands, Wall Street analysts, current staff members of Congress, current and past leaders in DoN and DoD, and retired industry executives. Approximately 40 to 50 seminar attendees are drawn from across the DoN, primarily O-6/GS-15 major program managers, O-7/SES program executive officers, and key staff members. The seminars may be held semi-annually in the general vicinity of the university or other mutually agreed upon location. 5.2 Short Courses - Abridged forums conducted at various Government sites across the country or at university facilities, these 3-day educational programs feature speakers such as university professors, civilian experts from DoN System Commands, and current leaders at DoN System Commands. Attendees are drawn from individual System Commands, primarily O-4/5/6 officers and GS-14/15 civilians involved in program management, requirements generation, contracting, cost/pricing analysis, etc. Specific course content will be tailored to the needs of resident program offices at individual System Commands. The purpose of these courses is to increase the attendees' understanding of industry's mindset, financial metrics, business decision-making processes, and management priorities and incentives. The courses are also intended to address unique topics and issues in specific industry sectors; e.g., Emerging Technologies, Irregular and Asymmetric Warfare, Energetic Materials, Alternative and Renewable Energy, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Integrated Platforms and Systems, Cyber Security, etc. Approximately 25 to 50 Government attendees are drawn from across the DoN per Short Course. The course may be held between up to four (4) times per year, subject to demand and global events. 5.3 Deep Dive Analysis - Workshops may be conducted at the University facilities or Government sites across the country. These research and educational activities provide participants with the knowledge to better understand global situational awareness as it relates to Irregular and Asymmetric Warfare and the solutions to dissuade, deter, and defeat irregular actors. The workshop elements may include corporate/sector-level financial target allocation, return on investment, make/buy decisions, cash flow modeling, quarterly performance timing considerations, local economic factors, and scenario analysis. With a nominal duration of 3 days, these analytical workshops may be tailored to the needs of resident program offices at individual System Commands. Approximately 15 Government attendees are drawn from individual System Commands, primarily program managers, program executive officers, procurement officers, and others directly involved in planning, negotiating, and executing contracts. Workshops may be conducted at various Government sites across the country or at university facilities. 6. CONTRACT/AGREEMENT TYPE NAWCAD will consider various types of acquisition vehicles including but not limited to traditional FAR/DFARS type contracts or other non-procurement agreements. The Government will negotiate the most appropriate acquisition type. Note: Typically, research and technical activities result in the need for additional services/supplies, which are not possible to anticipate or project. Contract/Agreement modifications may be executed to satisfy these requirements; thereby providing for flexibility. In the event that this is required, it shall be considered to be within the scope of this BAA and the resulting agreement. Therefore, the resulting acquisition vehicle will have met the requirements of the FAR/DFARS and the Competition in Contracting Act. 7. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION No request for proposal (RFP), solicitation, or other announcement of this opportunity will be made. The initial rounds of proposal abstracts are requested by close of business on 20 January 2014. Proposal abstracts submitted after this date through one (1) year from the original posting date of this BAA in FEDBIZOPPS may be considered. Offerors are instructed to submit proposals abstracts only for research, technical, and training activities within the areas of interest listed within this announcement. Offerors may choose to submit proposals for individual areas or for multiple areas of interest. Offerors may submit multiple proposal abstracts. The Government will not respond to requests for oral discussions of potential research or technical offerings. Proposals are to be submitted in two (2) phases. 7.1 Phase I - Proposal Abstracts Offerors shall submit a Proposal Abstract, not to exceed fifteen (15) pages, at any time during the above stated open period. For the initial evaluation, the Government will evaluate proposal abstracts submitted by close of business on 20 January 2014. Proposal Abstracts shall be submitted via email to Rebecca.Wathen@navy.mil and to Richard.r.Rodgers@navy.mil. Offerors are hereby notified that non-Government employees may have access to the technical portions of the offeror's proposal abstracts, and that submission of proposal abstract shall constitute consent to the disclosure of all technical information to any non-Government employee. No cost information will be released to non-Government employees. The non-Government participants are employees of commercial firms under contract to the Government, and if they serve as technical advisors, they will be authorized access only those portions of the proposal data and discussions that are necessary to enable them to provide specific technical advice on specialized matters or on particular problems. Abstracts shall identify the following: - a. BAA Number; - b. Organization Name; - c. Other team members and type of business for each; - d. Technical points of contact (including phone, fax, and e-mail information) - e. Administrative Point Of Contact; - f. Overview of the Proposed Work to include: A summary of proposed educational and research activities, a brief description of the approach to be taken for the project elements and tasks including pertinent datasets, methods and analytical models, a brief description of the facilities involved, and a brief resume of the principle investigator(s) and/or faculty member(s); Resumes are not included in the page limitation of the proposal abstract; - g. Overview of Relevant Experience to include: A summary of previous and ongoing activities similar to the project elements and tasks specified herein, and a summary of other relevant programs within the university's graduate schools of Science and Engineering. - h. Cost information to be provided are: - 1. A copy of your Principle Investigator and Graduate Student reimbursement policy to include salaries, benefits paid to the individuals, and other costs of personnel (administrative, etc.) that may be required to execute tasking under the acquisition vehicle (i.e., contract/agreement); - 2. A copy of your indirect rate agreement that has been negotiated with the Office of Naval Research (ONR), (In the event a formal agreement has not been negotiated with ONR, then provide your proposed Indirect Rates that will be used for the tasking that may be accomplished under this acquisition vehicle and your last three years of indirect rates used for similar tasking with other entities; and - 3. A copy of facility costs charged by your University for classrooms, labs, etc. that may be required in the performances of tasking under this acquisition vehicle. 7.1.1 Important Information for Prospective Contractors Current registration in the DoD's Central Contractor Registration (CCR) and System for Award Management (SAM) databases shall be a prerequisite for receiving an award from this BAA. For more information, please contact the CCR Assistance Center at 1-888-227-2423. Proposal Abstracts received from offeror's who are not currently registered shall not be considered. 7.2 Phase II - Full Proposal DO NOT SUBMIT PHASE II PROPOSALS UNLESS CONTACTED TO DO SO. Based upon review of the Phase I Proposal Abstract, the Government will determine which proposals have presented concepts related to the areas of interest stated herein that Government determines shows merit. Those offerors will be contacted and will be requested to submit a Phase II Full Proposal. Request for submission of a Phase II Full Proposal does not guarantee award selection. Full proposals shall be submitted with the signature of an authorizing official. Additional information required within the Phase II Full Proposal will be provided in the notification to the offeror. Proposal submission is not restricted in any way to any particular entity. Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Minority Institutions, and Tribal Colleges and Universities are encouraged to participate. Phase II Proposals shall be submitted in two (2) volumes: a. VOLUME I - TECHNICAL PROPOSAL - not to exceed twenty (20) pages and shall include the following three (3) sections: Section 1 - Executive Summary: Provide a brief description of the contents of the technical proposal. The summary should address the program's goals, approach, and expected results. Section 2 - Technical Approach: Detail the objectives, practices, staffing and resources relating to the development and execution of the proposed research and educational activities; provide a Statement of Work (SOW) that discusses the specific tasks to be accomplished, the proposed approach and anticipated outcomes of the activity, and references to the specific project task areas described herein; describe the proposed university facilities and features to accommodate the program activities. Section 3 - Relevant Experience: Describe the university's experience with similar research and executive-level training/development efforts for the DoD, other Government agencies, or Corporations where pertinent; provide resumes for the key educational and research personnel who will contribute to the development and execution of the proposed activities. Each person's resume shall not exceed two pages in length. Resumes are not counted towards the page limitation of the Phase II Proposal. b. VOLUME II - COST PROPOSAL - Not restricted in length; should include the three (3) sections described below. Formal work breakdown structures (WBS) and certified cost or pricing data are not required. However, NAWCAD reserves the right to request this information for proposals that result in a FAR/DFARS type contracts. Section 1 - Total Cost by Project Task: This section will give a detailed breakdown of costs for tasks appearing in the Statement of Work (SOW) provided in Volume 1. The elements of cost should be addressed (ex. direct labor, materials, travel, other direct costs, equipment, software, patents, indirect costs, cost of money, etc.) Sufficient information shall be provided in supporting documents to allow the Government: (i) to evaluate the reasonableness of these proposed costs; and (ii) to ascertain the remaining costs to the Government that are not covered by the offeror's cost proposal (examples could be: Government attendee expenses for travel, lodging, meals or incidentals; fees or expenses for non-Government invited speakers). Section 2 - Scalable Cost by Project Task: The research and educational/training activities necessitate a procurement strategy that is flexible. Requirements such as frequency, duration, number of attendees, etc. cannot be defined with precision at the present time. Therefore, the offeror will provide sufficient information regarding the basic cost categories of each proposed task, so that estimates may be made by the Government for individual project tasks as the requirements are varied. Section 3 - Approved Direct and Indirect Cost Agreements: Educational institutions are requested to provide the most recently approved Direct and Indirect Cost Agreements that have been approved by the Cognizant Office of Naval Research. The Cognizant ONR office, point of contact, phone number, and email address shall be provided. In the event a formal agreement has not been negotiated with ONR, then provide your proposed Direct and Indirect Rates that will be used for the tasking that may be accomplished under this acquisition vehicle and your last three years of indirect rates used for similar tasking with other entities. Note: Offerors are hereby notified that non-Government employees may have access to the technical portions of the offeror's proposal abstracts, and that submission of proposal abstract shall constitute consent to the disclosure of all technical information to any non-Government employee. No cost information will be released to non-Government employees. The non-Government participants are employees of commercial firms under contract to the Government, and if they serve as technical advisors, they will be authorized access only those portions of the proposal data and discussions that are necessary to enable them to provide specific technical advice on specialized matters or on particular problems. 8. EVALUATION CRITERIA The Government will evaluate proposals responsive to any or all of the areas of interest discussed herein. The evaluation criteria are: - a) Technical merits of the proposed educational and research activities, to include, the degree to which proposed objectives support the targeted areas of interest; - b) The offer's capabilities, related and recent experience, educational and research personnel, facilities, techniques, or unique combination of these which are integral factors for achieving the proposal objectives; - c) The realism and reasonableness of cost - d) Total cost to the Government, to include cost of all university services/supplies, plus the applicable cost of the time and expense for Government attendees' travel to the university, plus any local lodging, meals and incidental expenses not included in the offer's cost proposal. 9. AWARDS NAWCAD is planning to make one or more awards within the overall objectives stated in this BAA. All awards will be based on the individual merit of the proposal. The Government reserves the right to select all, some, or none of the proposals received in response to this announcement. Any awards are subject to the availability of appropriations. There is no commitment by the Navy to be responsible for any monies expended by the offeror before award of a contract/agreement. For awards made as contracts, the socio-economic merits of each proposal will be evaluated based on the commitment to provide meaningful subcontracting opportunities with small business, small disadvantaged business, woman-owned small business concerns, and HBCU/MIs. Contracting Office Address: 22299 Exploration Drive Building Exploration IV, Suite 301 Lexington Park, MD 20653 United States Place of Performance: As determined by the tasking but includes government installation, the educational institution's facilities, or accommodations nearby. Primary Points of Contact: Rebecca J. Wathen Contracting Officer Rebecca.Wathen@navy.mil Phone: (301) 737-2632 And Richard Rodgers Contract Specialist richard.r.rodgers@navy.mil Phone: (301) 737-7590