RFI Limited Purpose Cooperative Research & Development

Emerging Technology Solutions to Identify, Locate and Mitigate the Impact of Jamming A. INTRODUCTION: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is hosting the 2017 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise to assess the effectiveness of jamming mitigation technologies and techniques, tactics and procedures. The 2017 exercise will take place from July 17 - 22, 2017, at Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The 2017 exercise directly builds off of the findings of the 2016 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise, which validated the hypothesis that commercially available illegal jammers can impede public safety communications and first responders' ability to successfully complete their mission. DHS S&T is seeking to evaluate technology solutions that identify, locate and mitigate the impact of jamming of communications and position, navigation and timing systems used by law enforcement and public safety organizations (i.e., GPS, land mobile radio systems [VHF, UHF, 700/800 MHz] and commercial wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi or cellular systems). These technology solutions should make existing public safety communications systems more resilient in the presence of jammers and spectral interference. DHS S&T invites industry, academia, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers and other Government organizations to submit applications addressing innovative technology solutions for testing and evaluation during the 2017 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise. This is a Request for Information for Participation (RFI) only and the Government will not award a contract on the basis of this RFI. Respondents who are selected will be asked to enter into a Limited Purpose Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (LP-CRADA) with DHS S&T in order to participate in the 2017 exercise. Responses should be focused on jamming identification, localization and/or mitigation, and solutions must be Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 or above. Organizations that respond will not be paid for the information submitted and the Government will not pay for any submission preparation or related costs. Documents submitted in response to this RFI will not be returned. The Government is under no obligation to provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this RFI. There is no guarantee that any submission in response to this RFI will result in a Government invitation to participate in the 2017 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise. The Government may or may not use any responses to this RFI as a basis for a subsequent project. B. OBJECTIVE: During the 2017 exercise, DHS S&T will test and evaluate the selected technology solutions in a live-jamming environment with active public safety communications systems. DHS S&T is looking to assess the current state of jamming identification, localization and mitigation technologies and determine if solutions are viable in a variety of jamming conditions, or if additional research and development is needed. Industry participants will not only have the opportunity to validate their technology solutions in a rare open-air jamming test environment - which is illegal in the United States except under controlled and authorized conditions such as this exercise - but will also test compatibility with first responder equipment and gather feedback directly from the first responder community. Law enforcement and public safety organizations are seeking solutions to jamming threats, and this exercise will allow industry to better determine possible solutions. The 2017 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise will also provide federal, state and local law enforcement and public safety organizations with exposure to jamming environments, allowing them to better understand the threats they face from illegal jamming. Participating responders will help test both the technology solutions and the techniques, tactics and procedures that will enable them to identify, locate and mitigate the impact of jammers. Responder participants will also bring representative communications systems to help create the test environment (i.e., LTE deployable networks and cellular systems, land mobile radio systems [HF, VHF, UHF, 700/800 MHz; P25 conventional and trunking], GPS systems, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi systems, etc.). During the exercise, technology solutions capable of counteracting illegal jamming will be linked to active public-safety communications systems provided by state and local first responders to be tested under a variety of live-jamming conditions. As an outcome of this exercise, DHS S&T will provide clear recommendations to federal, state and local law enforcement and public safety organizations on technologies and tactics, techniques and procedures to identify, locate, and mitigate the impact of jammers. As organizations across the Homeland Security Enterprise become more aware of jamming threats, they become more prepared to recognize, respond, report, and resolve jamming incidents, which makes the nation more resilient. After review of the technology solution applications, the Government may invite candidates to test and evaluate their technologies during the 2017 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise. As stated above, participating organizations will be required to enter into an LP-CRADA that defines the conditions of participation, including intellectual property rights and security parameters for sharing information. DHS S&T will provide the test environment and each selected participant will use it and share data in return. Industry participation in the 2017 exercise does not suggest or imply that the Government will endorse, procure, or purchase equipment. C. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: THE DEADLINES FOR APPLICATION PACKAGES is no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on Friday, January 20, 2017. Applications received after this time may not be considered. All technology solution application packages must be submitted via email to contact@example.gov with the subject "(Organization Name) Application - 2017 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise." CLEARLY IDENTIFY ALL PROPRIETARY INFORMATION in the technology solution application. If proprietary information is required to adequately describe a technology solution, ensure that it is appropriately marked on the application form and any white papers. If you must submit proprietary information as part of your technology solution application, you should be aware that despite all precautions, the Government can only protect the confidentiality of proprietary information contained in applications to the extent that it is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA, 5 U.S.C. - 552). Generally, Exemption 4 of the FOIA [5 U.S.C. - 552(b)(4)] will protect from release information submitted to the Government that constitutes either (1) a trade secret or (2) commercial or financial information which is privileged or confidential. Therefore, any such proprietary information contained in your technology solution application form must be clearly marked in accordance with the following directions. 1. Insert the following paragraph in the comments section on page 4 of the application form, and on the cover page of any white papers. This Technology Solution Application includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed-in whole or in part-for any purpose other than to evaluate this application or develop a subsequent LP-CRADA for the 2017 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise. This restriction does not limit the Government's right to use information contained in the data if they are obtained from another source without restriction. 2. Application Form: Mark each text box that contains restricted information with "PROPRIETARY" at the start of the section of text. 3. White Papers: Mark each page and section that contains restricted information. DO NOT SUBMIT CLASSIFIED INFORMATION in the technology solution application. If classified information is required to adequately describe a technology solution, submit an unclassified application with a request for a classified submission of supporting materials. DO NOT SUBMIT ACQUISITION PROPOSALS. Submit technology solution applications. No contracts will be awarded based on this announcement, but selected participants will be asked to sign an LP-CRADA. Submitting an application in response to this RFI does not guarantee an invitation to participate in the 2017 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise. All submissions shall use the application form provided in Appendix A. Please ensure that all required fields are completed. All application forms shall be submitted in the portable document format (PDF) file format. Additional information may be submitted in a white paper, which shall be limited to a maximum of 5 (five) pages. All white papers shall be submitted in either Microsoft Word .docx or PDF format. All application packages shall be submitted via email to contact@example.gov and must include the following information in the subject or body of the email: - Subject: (Organization Name) Application - 2017 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise, - Organization Name, - Technology Solution Name, - Primary Point of Contact for the application: o Name, o Email, and o Phone number. You will receive an email verifying receipt of your application. Multiple applications addressing different technology solutions may be submitted. Each application package must address only one technology solution - note that a single "technology solution" may have multiple components, including both hardware and software. All components of the technology solution, including those that are commercially available, should be identified in the Jamming Identification, Localization or Mitigation Technology Solutions table on page 3 of the application. You will be notified by email if your technology is deemed suitable for invitation to the 2017 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise. Technology solution application packages must be submitted to contact@example.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on Friday, January 20, 2017. Applications received after this time may not be considered. The DHS S&T team will provide venues, supporting infrastructure, and personnel for assessment (operational and technical), based on availability of resources. Costs specific to running the technology solutions, as well as the travel costs to the exercise venue, will be at the manufacturer's or vendor's expense. Selected participants must be prepared to set up and execute their technology solutions for the exercise and cannot be dependent on venue resources to do so. If you have questions regarding the submittal, please email contact@example.gov. D. BASIS FOR SELECTION TO PARTICIPATE: DHS S&T and appropriate supporting Government organizations will review the application packages for technical merit, likelihood of integrating with first responder communications systems, and range of capabilities. DHS S&T will notify selected participants via an emailed invitation to the original submitter. No review outcomes or selection criteria will be made available to submitters. E. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Be advised that lessons learned from the 2017 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise may be broadly disseminated to the first responder community on a public facing website: www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/first-responders or other Government websites. If selected, participants may be asked to provide additional information that will be used in preparation for the exercise. F. SPECIAL NOTICE: While only federal employees will participate in the final selection process, first responders and Government support contractors may review and provide support during the application evaluation process. All participants involved in the evaluation process, including those in support roles, will sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement prior to such involvement. Submission in response to this RFI constitutes approval to release the application package to the evaluation team that may include first responders and Government support contractors. G. APPENDICES A. Technology Solution Application Form - 2017 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise B. Fact Sheet - 2017 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise