Computing Architecture Technologies

The purpose of this modification is to republish the original announcement, incorporating all previous modifications, pursuant to FAR 35.016(c). This republishing also includes the following changes: (a) Section IV.5: added new link to DSS; (b) Section VI.2: more detailed information about export control; (c) Section VI.3: change in reporting instructions; and (d) Section VII: Agency Contacts: updated information for the new AFRL Ombudsman. No other changes have been made. NAICS CODE: 541712 FEDERAL AGENCY NAME: Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, AFRL - Rome Research Site, AFRL/Information Directorate, 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome, NY, 13441-4514 TITLE: Computing Architecture Technologies ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: Initial announcement FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER: BAA #09-03 - RIKA CFDA Number: 12.800 I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION: The Information Directorate, Computing Technology Applications Branch of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Rome Research Site, is soliciting white papers under this announcement for innovative technologies to explore and develop computer architectures with greater capacity, sophistication and assurance for addressing dynamic mission objectives under constraints imposed by Command, Control, Communications, Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR), trusted/secure systems and performance requirement driven layered information processing battlefield networks. Additional innovative technology developments are sought for technologies that will enable the development of and affordable acquisition of large-scale, complex, software-intensive systems through the development of tools, techniques, standards, and technologies. Of particular interest are technologies that support architectures for high assurance, trusted/secure architectures, increased computational sophistication, more complex system functionality with improved quality, dramatic improvements in the performance/cost of systems, embedded processing and high productivity computing. Also of interest are technologies that can reduce warfighter decision latencies/response time, decrease system costs and system development times, automate the labor-intensive/error-prone and costly aspects of system software development, improved reliability, longevity, and useability of new and legacy military computing systems. The overall objective of this BAA is to develop, integrate, and demonstrate computing architecture technologies and applications. This effort will investigate the research, application and/or development of computing architecture technologies, products and standards as they relate to the following technical areas: (1) Development of appropriate information technology to enhance the processing capabilities of current and future Air Force C4I systems: This area encompasses all information processing technology both hardware and software that could potentially contribute to enhancing the functionality, performance, reliability, longevity, scalability and usability of legacy or planned Air Force C4I processing systems. Examples of hardware technologies include multi-core processing architectures with emphasis on hardware support for semantic operations, power reducing/power management/power aware processing architectures, high assurance/trusted/secure processing architectures, high productivity computing systems, self-aware computing systems, data storage, performance optimization visualization tools, mobile and wireless networks and technologies necessary to achieve exa-scale computing. Examples of software technologies include High Performance Computing (HPC) programming languages both new and existing, data retrieval/mining, data management, data delivery, software/system monitors, publish/subscribe mechanisms, decision making techniques, distributed databases, static and dynamic runtime optimization and resource management. (2) Multiple Independent Levels of Security (MILS): This area consists of research into the implications of state-of-the-art commercially available processor architectures (including multi-core, GPU's, FPGA's, etc.) and development of solutions for associated security issues to alleviate the impact on the Separation Kernels that are being developed by the real-time operating system vendors for use in environments requiring high assurance. Advance the state of the art through research and development of high assurance middleware technologies for insertion in mission critical embedded systems in order to enhance system interoperability and capability to support cross domain solutions that will enable delivery of superior and timely information to the warfighter. Develop protection profiles according to the Common Criteria for middleware security components in the Multiple Independent Levels of Security/Safety architecture. (3) Software Producibility/Software Intensive Systems: Software is a prime enabler of complex weapons systems and command and control infrastructure, yet it is the least well understood and the most problematic element of large-scale systems. Software project failures dominated by unmet requirements and cost and schedule overruns abound, in large part due to little underlying science, a minimal engineering knowledge base and a lack of understanding of the physics of software. The complexity of today's system lies in greater than 10 to the 5th power requirements, greater than 10 to the 7th power lines of code, thousands or more component interactions, greater than 30 year product life cycles and stringent certification standards. Technologies, methodologies, techniques, and tools to specify, design, build, verify and test software that will enable the development and affordable, timely, and predictable acquisition of complex, software-intensive systems is being sought. Areas of interest include: software and systems composability with guaranteed system interoperability for provably trusted components and systems; model-based development for predictable software attributes with provably correct code generation and automatic software and system analysis; dynamic, scalable and adaptive software debugging; software mechanisms to fully exploit emerging technology, such as multi-core, in producing new software or modernizing legacy systems; mechanisms to fight through software failures; technology that will increase our understanding of software; and the development of an infrastructure for software-intensive systems modeled after the Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification Guideline DO-178B. (4) Formal architectures for the development of verifiably secure systems: This area includes the development of formal, architectural approaches for the design and development of secure systems. The principle research in this area should study powerful, new notions and related formal methods to underlie the approach, including appropriate forms of composition, model transformation, refinement, and general characterizations of security properties. This research must include the demonstration of the feasibility of the approach, and the development of a proof of concept. (5) High Assurance/Trusted Computing Architectures: The objective of this topic is to investigate the necessary building blocks for high assurance computing environments (environments where compelling evidence is supplied to determine a high level of trustworthiness), including both the underlying hardware and software to support it. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to: (a) the problems and challenges with current processor designs for trustworthiness and their solutions; (b) the problems and challenges with current computer architectures for trustworthiness and solutions to them; (c) the Operating System level constructs, objects and functions that must be provided to complement the hardware to enable a trustworthy computing base; (d) the state of the art software-based assurance designs, methodologies or concepts which are better suited for implementation in hardware than software. This area is also interested in research and development for increasing the level of trustworthiness of integrated circuit designs, commodity integrated circuits and currently available systems as a whole. Finally, this area is also interested in research in the implications of state-of-the-art commercially available processor architectures (including multi-core, GPUs, FPGAs, etc.) and specially designed processor architectures in support of Separation Kernels and other secure micro-kernels being developed by real-time operating system vendors for use in environments requiring high assurances, develop solutions for such implications, and also research and develop supporting software, e.g. high assurance middleware technologies, in order to enhance system interoperability and capability to support cross domain solutions that will enable delivery of trustworthy, superior and timely information. II. AWARD INFORMATION: Total funding for this BAA is approximately $24.9M. The anticipated funding to be obligated under this BAA is broken out by fiscal year as follows: FY 09 - $4.9M; FY 10 - $5M; FY 11 - $5M; FY 12 - $5M; and FY13 - $5M. Individual awards will not normally exceed 36 months with dollar amounts normally ranging from $100K to $1.5M per year. There is also the potential to make awards up to any dollar value. Awards of efforts as a result of this announcement will be in the form of contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements depending upon the nature of the work proposed. III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION: 1. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS: All potential applicants are eligible. Foreign or foreign-owned offerors are advised that their participation is subject to foreign disclosure review procedures. Foreign or foreign-owned offerors should immediately contact the contracting office focal point, Lynn G. White, Contracting Officer, telephone (315) 330-4996 or e-mail Lynn.White@rl.af.mil for information if they contemplate responding. The e-mail must reference the title and BAA 09-03-RIKA. 2. COST SHARING OR MATCHING: Cost sharing is not a requirement. 3. CCR Registration: Unless exempted by 2 CFR 25.110 all offerors must: (a) Be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) prior to submitting an application or proposal; (b) Maintain an active CCR registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application or proposal under consideration by an agency; and (c) Provide its DUNS number in each application or proposal it submits to the agency. 4. Executive Compensation and First-Tier Sub-contract/Sub-recipient Awards: Any contract award resulting from this announcement may contain the clause at FAR 52.204-10 - Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards. Any grant or agreement award resulting from this announcement may contain the award term set forth in 2 CFR, Appendix A to Part 25 http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=c55a4687d6faa13b137a26d0eb436edb&rgn= div5&view=text&node=2:1.1.1.41&idno=2#2:1.1.1.4.1.2.1.1 IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION: 1. APPLICATION PACKAGE: THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION. WE ARE SOLICITING WHITE PAPERS ONLY. DO NOT SUBMIT A FORMAL PROPOSAL AT THIS TIME. Those white papers found to be consistent with the intent of this BAA may be invited to submit a technical and cost proposal, see Section VI of this announcement for further details. For additional information, a copy of the AFRL/Rome Research Sites "Broad Agency Announcement (BAA): A Guide for Industry," April 2007, may be accessed at: http://www.fbo.gov/spg/USAF/AFMC/AFRLRRS/Reference%2DNumber%2DBAAGUIDE/listing.html 2. CONTENT AND FORM OF SUBMISSION: Offerors are required to submit 3 copies of a 3 to 5 page white paper summarizing their proposed approach/solution. The purpose of the white paper is to preclude unwarranted effort on the part of an offeror whose proposed work is not of interest to the Government. The white paper will be formatted as follows: Section A: Title, Period of Performance, Estimated Cost, Name/Address of Company, Technical and Contracting Points of Contact (phone, fax and email)(this section is NOT included in the page count) (include technical area that you are responding to); Section B: Task Objective; and Section C: Technical Summary and Proposed Deliverables. Multiple white papers within the purview of this announcement may be submitted by each offeror. If the offeror wishes to restrict its white papers/proposals, they must be marked with the restrictive language stated in FAR 15.609(a) and (b). All white papers/proposals shall be double spaced with a font no smaller than 12 pitch. In addition, respondents are requested to provide their Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) number, their Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, a fax number, an e-mail address, and reference BAA 09-03-RIKA with their submission. All responses to this announcement must be addressed to the technical POC, as discussed in paragraph six of this section. 3. SUBMISSION DATES AND TIMES: It is recommended that white papers be received by the following dates to maximize the possibility of award: FY 09 should be submitted by 30 Jan 2009; FY 10 by 1 Dec 2009; FY 11 by 1 Dec 2010; FY 12 by 1 Dec 2011 and FY 13 by 3 Dec 2012. White papers will be accepted until 2 p.m. Eastern time on 30 Sep 2013, but it is less likely that funding will be available in each respective fiscal year after the dates cited. This BAA will close on 30 Sep 2013. FORMAL PROPOSALS ARE NOT BEING REQUESTED AT THIS TIME. 4. FUNDING RESTRICTIONS: The cost of preparing white papers/proposals in response to this announcement is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting contract or any other contract, but may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost specified in FAR 31.205-18. Incurring pre-award costs for ASSISTANCE INSTRUMENTS ONLY, are regulated by the DoD Grant and Agreements Regulations (DODGARS). 5. All Proposers should review the NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL SECURITY PROGRAM OPERATING MANUAL, (NISPOM), dated February 28, 2006 as it provides baseline standards for the protection of classified information and prescribes the requirements concerning Contractor Developed Information under paragraph 4-105. Defense Security Service (DSS) Site for the NISPOM is: http://www.dss.mil/. 6. OTHER SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: DO NOT send white papers to the Contracting Officer. All responses to this announcement must be addressed to ATTN: Christopher Flynn, AFRL/RITB, 525 Brooks Rd., Rome, NY 13441. Electronic submission to Christopher.Flynn@rl.af.mil will also be accepted. V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION: 1. CRITERIA: The following criteria, which are listed in descending order of importance, will be used to determine whether white papers and proposals submitted are consistent with the intent of this BAA and of interest to the Government: (1) Overall Scientific and Technical Merit -- Including the approach for the development and/or enhancement of the proposed technology. The technical concepts should be clearly defined and developed. The technical approach must be sufficiently detailed to support the proposed concepts and technical claims. (2) Offeror's Capabilities and Related Experience - The extent to which the offeror demonstrates relevant technology and domain knowledge, to establish that the offeror has credible capability and experience to complete the proposed work. (3) Openness/Maturity of Solution - The extent to which existing capabilities and standards are leveraged and the relative maturity of the proposed technology in terms of reliability and robustness, and (4) Reasonableness and realism of proposed costs and fees (if any) to evaluate whether the costs are aligned with the proposed work plan. No further evaluation criteria will be used in selecting white papers/proposals. Individual white paper/proposal evaluations will be evaluated against the evaluation criteria without regard to other white papers and proposals submitted under this BAA. White papers and proposals submitted will be evaluated as they are received. 2. REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS: Only Government employees will evaluate the white papers/proposals for selection. The Air Force Research Laboratory's Information Directorate has contracted for various business and staff support services, some of which require contractors to obtain administrative access to proprietary information submitted by other contractors. Administrative access is defined as "handling or having physical control over information for the sole purpose of accomplishing the administrative functions specified in the administrative support contract, which do not require the review, reading, or comprehension of the content of the information on the part of non-technical professionals assigned to accomplish the specified administrative tasks." These contractors have signed general non-disclosure agreements and organizational conflict of interest statements. The required administrative access will be granted to non-technical professionals. Examples of the administrative tasks performed include: a. Assembling and organizing information for R&D case files; b. Accessing library files for use by government personnel; and c. Handling and administration of proposals, contracts, contract funding and queries. Any objection to administrative access must be in writing to the Contracting Officer and shall include a detailed statement of the basis for the objection. VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION: 1. AWARD NOTICES: Those white papers found to be consistent with the intent of this BAA may be invited to submit a technical and cost proposal. Notification by email or letter will be sent by the technical POC. Such invitation does not assure that the submitting organization will be awarded a contract. Those white papers not selected to submit a proposal will be notified in the same manner. Prospective offerors are advised that only Contracting Officers are legally authorized to commit the Government. All offerors submitting white papers will be contacted by the technical POC, referenced in Section VII of this announcement. Offerors can email the technical POC for status of their white paper/proposal no earlier than 45 days after proposal submission. 2. ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS: Depending on the work to be performed, the offeror may require a SECRET facility clearance and safeguarding capability; therefore, personnel identified for assignment to a classified effort must be cleared for access to SECRET information at the time of award. In addition, the offeror may be required to have, or have access to, a certified and Government-approved facility to support work under this BAA. This acquisition may involve data that is subject to export control laws and regulations. Only contractors who are registered and certified with the Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS) at http://www.dlis.dla.mil/jcp/ and have a legitimate business purpose may participate in this solicitation. For questions, contact DLIS on-line at http://www.dlis.dla.mil/jcp or at the DLA Logistics Information Service, 74 Washington Avenue North, Battle Creek, Michigan 49037-3084, and telephone number 1-800-352-3572. You must submit a copy of your approved DD Form 2345, Militarily Critical Technical Data Agreement, with your Proposal. 3. REPORTING: Once a proposal has been selected for award, offerors will be given complete instructions on the submission process for the reports. VII. AGENCY CONTACTS: Questions of a technical nature shall be directed to the cognizant technical point of contact, as specified below: TPOC Name: Christopher Flynn Telephone: (315) 330-3249 Email: Christopher.Flynn@rl.af.mil Questions of a contractual/business nature shall be directed to the cognizant contracting officer, as specified below: Lynn White Telephone (315) 330-4996 Email: Lynn.White@rl.af.mil The email must reference the solicitation (BAA) number and title of the acquisition. In accordance with AFFARS 5301.91, an Ombudsman has been appointed to hear and facilitate the resolution of concerns from offerors, potential offerors, and others for this acquisition announcement. Before consulting with an ombudsman, interested parties must first address their concerns, issues, disagreements, and/or recommendations to the contracting officer for resolution. AFFARS Clause 5352.201-9101 Ombudsman (Apr 2010) will be incorporated into all contracts awarded under this BAA. The AFRL Ombudsman is as follows: Ms. Barbara Gehrs AFRL/PK 1864 4th Street Building 15, Room 225 Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-7130 FAX: (937) 656-7321; Comm: (937) 904-4407 All responsible organizations may submit a white paper which shall be considered.