SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- SITUATION-AWARE PROTOCOLS IN EDGE NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES (SAPIENT)
- Notice Date
- 7/9/2004
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 541690
— Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Other Defense Agencies, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Contracts Management Office, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA, 22203-1714
- ZIP Code
- 22203-1714
- Solicitation Number
- BAA04-32
- Response Due
- 6/24/2005
- Archive Date
- 7/9/2005
- Point of Contact
- Jonathan Smith, Program Manager, IPTO, Phone 000-000-0000, Fax 703-741-7804,
- E-Mail Address
-
xxxxx@xxxxx.xxx
- Description
- A. Overview Information I. Federal Agency Name: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Information Processing Technology Office II. Funding Opportunity Title: Situation-Aware Protocols In Edge Network Technologies (SAPIENT) III. Announcement Type: Initial Broad Agency Announcement IV. Funding Opportunity Number: BAA 04-32 V. CFDA Number: 12.910 VI. Key Dates a. Initial Closing: 12:00 Noon (ET), August 27, 2004 b. Final Closing: 12:00 Noon (ET), July 8, 2005 c. All administrative correspondence and questions on this solicitation, including requests for information on how to submit a proposal to this BAA, must be received at one of the administrative addresses below by 12:00 Noon (ET) June 24, 2005 d. DARPA plans to hold an Industry Day for qualified proposers, the details of which will be posted as a revision to this BAA. B. Full text of announcement The Information Processing Technology Office (IPTO) of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting proposals for Situation-Aware Protocols In Edge Network Technologies (SAPIENT), a new program to develop software coordination managers that provide coordination support to fielded human units, e.g., tactical teams. In addition to this BAA and before submitting proposals, a prospective offeror MUST refer to the SAPIENT Proposer Information Pamphlet (PIP) located at the DARPA website, http://www.darpa.mil/ipto/solicitations/solicitations.htm for further information. The SAPIENT PIP contains additional details on the program objectives, application space, program description, evaluation plans and metrics, program scope, general information, submission process, reporting requirements and procedures, proposal format, evaluation and funding processes, and administrative addresses. Additionally, all information MUST be handled in accordance with the SAPIENT Security Classification Guide (SCG), which is available to eligible contractors. Refer herein to paragraph IV. 2. c. or the SAPIENT PIP for instructions on how to obtain a copy of the SAPIENT SCG. I. Funding Opportunity Description PROGRAM SCOPE DARPA. Network-centric operations use applications which enhance the ability to rapidly orient, observe, decide and act. The challenges of an increasing number of networked applications and the complexity of the networks which interconnect them have been met in part by the internetworking protocol architecture (IP) and its transmission control protocol (TCP). A series of incremental optimizations of the TCP transport protocol for the commonly encountered cases of delay, throughput, congestion and link errors for research and commercial environments has led to a protocol which is often ill-suited to the challenges encountered in military operations. The Situation-Aware Protocols In Edge Network Technologies (SAPIENT) program seeks to address these deficiencies with a new generation of cognitive protocol architectures. The overarching goals of the SAPIENT program are to use these cognitive attributes to dramatically reduce the effect of network impairments on applications and to show a positive trend in this capability over time, as new situations are encountered and learned. Desired capabilities include interoperable knowledge representations and rapid incorporation of new knowledge about applications, network conditions, and building blocks from which new protocols can be constructed. The approach of this program is to combine cognitive techniques (such as goal-based planning, knowledge representation and machine learning) with architectures for flexible protocol configuration (such as reconfigurable network stacks, protocol boosters, micro-protocol architectures and other extensible network architectures). The central goal of this program is to create a new generation of adaptive systems which achieve new levels of functionality through ?situation-awareness.? It is the hypothesis of the SAPIENT effort that more specific knowledge of application requirements and network conditions would allow a more appropriate protocol to be deployed. At the same time, the wide range of application requirements and network conditions would create an explosion in the number of protocols required for coupling each application appropriately to the many network conditions which can exist. The cognitive technologies we seek will permit situation knowledge to be inserted by operators, exchanged amongst systems and learned in new situations by operating dynamically composed protocols in reaction to network conditions as they are actually encountered. There are three major research thrusts in Phase I of the program. These areas are: Knowledge Representation Selection and Composition Learning The knowledge representation effort will determine representations of knowledge appropriate for describing situations encountered in operational networks and in enabling machine response to these situations, including automated learning of effective responses. The selection and composition effort will be focused on exploiting the knowledge of the situation to construct a functioning network protocol adapted to the situation. It is expected, although not required, that a form of symbolic reasoning such as a planning system will be used to address the selection and composition process. The learning effort is focused on automatic enhancement of the knowledge base through recording of situation/response/result information that can be used towards a self-improving adapted system. Successful proposals will address all of these issues. In some cases this may require team efforts involving multiple institutions, including universities. Where necessary, such teaming is strongly encouraged. Assessment and validation of situation-aware protocols will be carried out to determine their efficacy in conditions experienced at the edge of DoD networks, which as noted previously are characterized by challenging link conditions such as mobility, ad-hoc routing, long round-trip times between end-points, extreme error conditions and link blockage. Among the scientific contributions of this program will be the creation of a practical framework in which the effect of protocol choices upon applications in impaired networks can be quantified. The first phase of this effort is planned to be 18 months long. If the research effort is progressing successfully, two additional phases, of 18 months and 12 months respectively, are anticipated. Phase I program goals are to demonstrate that situation awareness benefits networked applications which today, using conventional protocol architectures such as TCP, are severely affected by network impairments. A testbed designed and operated by an Independent Test and Evaluation (ITE) entity will measure performer systems using real applications operating with realistic link conditions. The target measure of success at the end of Phase I of the SAPIENT program will be that the application impairment (reduction in throughput, increase in latency, or unavailability) is no more than five (5) times worse than the analogous impairment of the network. This ratio must be achieved within one hundred and twenty (120) seconds from the time the network impairment is first encountered, and it is expected that the system will continue its self-improvement as time progresses. Phase II program goals are to demonstrate that the benefit of situation awareness extends to a number of important operating environments, including mobile satellite communications as well as the applications used in Phase I. The testbed operated by the ITE entity will be extended with both a satellite-on-the-move (SOTM) capability, and with additional applications. The ?best of breed? of the systems in Phase I of the program will be extended to these new environments, while reducing the multiplicative effect of network impairments on applications to a factor of three (3). For Phase II, the desired improvement must occur within a limited time interval of two (2) seconds. Note that this latter goal for learning performance is a factor of 60 improvement over the Phase I capability; it is expected that a major goal of Phase II will be successful systems integration and refinement towards DARPA?s desired capabilities for SAPIENT (including the ability to operate with a broader range of networks and applications), as well as accelerated learning technologies resulting from their specialization to the situation-aware protocol selection and composition task. The ultimate goal at the end of Phase III is that the effect of network impairments on applications is multiplied by no more than two (2) times the effect of the basic network impairment (e.g., link blockage, error bursts/congestion loss, or delay). The ?final exam? for SAPIENT will be a structured traversal of a real or emulated urban environment in which networked applications are used by competing teams to locate pre-placed ?flags.? The structure will presume that the SAPIENT program goal of limiting the effects of network impairments on applications to a factor of two (2) has been achieved and will be timed accordingly. It will also be presumed that learning will occur within 200 milliseconds. Notably, traversal of an urban environment is characterized by mobility and challenging wireless conditions, including blockage of satellite, mobile and airborne communications capabilities. Proposals should be for a base period of 18 months (Phase I), and are encouraged to provide for optional efforts to pursue efforts in Phase II (18 months) and Phase III (12 months). Offerors must explicitly state in their proposals a plan for providing deliverables for installation, training, manuals, etc. required for evaluation by the Independent Evaluation Team?s testbed facility, as well as travel costs and costs for collaborating with the ITE entity. Offerors should support the technical feasibility of their approach and discuss the future development of their approaches, validation and technology transition strategies. TEST AND EVALUATION. Performers will test and evaluate their technologies using a testbed developed for this program and operated by an Independent Evaluation Team, and results will be reported at periodic program review meetings with performers and at PI meetings, which will be held at program kickoff and at least once annually thereafter. To enable this testing and evaluation, performers will provide software distributions and will document all test and evaluation choices and procedures (hardware, software environment, scenario, etc.) with sufficient clarity for a third party to replicate the evaluations. II. Award Information The Government reserves the right to select all, some, or none of the proposals received in response to this solicitation and to make awards without discussions with offerors; however, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if the Source Selection Authority later determines them to be necessary. Proposals identified for funding may result in a contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or other transaction depending upon the nature of the work proposed, the required degree of interaction between the parties, and other factors. If warranted, portions of resulting awards may be segregated into pre-priced options. III. Eligibility Information 1. Eligible Applicants This BAA solicits proposals from all interested and qualified sources. All participants and/or individuals must meet security clearance requirements as determined in the program Security Classification Guide (SCG) for the Situation-Aware Protocols In Edge Network Technologies (SAPIENT) program and comply with any necessary Non-Disclosure Agreements, Security Regulations, Export Laws, and other governing statutes that would be applicable under the circumstances. The SCG for the Situation-Aware Protocols In Edge Network Technologies (SAPIENT) program is authoritative on all security requirements and guidance. In the event of discrepancies between information presented in this announcement and the SCG, the SCG takes precedence. All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit a proposal that shall be considered by DARPA. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) are encouraged to submit proposals 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 entities. Awards made under this BAA may be subject to the provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 9.5, Organizational Conflict of Interest. All offerors and proposed subcontractors must affirmatively state whether they are supporting any DARPA technical office(s) through an active contract or subcontract. All affirmations must state which office(s) the offeror supports, and identify the prime contract number. Affirmations should be furnished at the time of proposal submission. All facts relevant to the existence or potential existence of organizational conflicts of interest, as that term is defined in FAR 2.101, must be disclosed in Section II, I. of the proposal, organized by task and year. This disclosure shall include a description of the action the Contractor has taken, or proposes to take, to avoid, neutralize, or mitigate such conflict. 2. Cost Sharing or Matching Cost sharing is not required for this particular program; however, cost sharing will be carefully considered where there is an applicable statutory condition relating to the selected funding instrument (e.g., for any Technology Investment Agreement under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2371). IV. Application and Submission Information 1. Address to Request Application Package This announcement contains or refers to all information required to submit a proposal. No additional forms, kits, or other materials are needed. [NOTE: See paragraph 6, ?Other Submission Requirements,? for reference to the PIP.] 2. Content and Form of Application Submission a. BAA Coversheet. This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) requires completion of a BAA Cover Sheet for each Proposal prior to submission. This cover sheet can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.dyncorp-is.com/BAA/index.asp?BAAid=04-32 After finalizing the BAA Cover Sheet, the proposer must print the BAA Confirmation Sheet that will automatically appear on the web page. Each proposer is responsible for printing the BAA Confirmation Sheet and attaching it to every copy. The Confirmation Sheet should be the first page of the Proposal. If a proposer intends to submit more than one Proposal, a unique UserId and password must be used in creating each BAA Cover Sheet. Failure to comply with these submission procedures may result in the submission not being evaluated. b. DD 254. Contract award is expected to result in access to classified U.S. TOP SECRET/NOFORN information. A DD Form 254 will be issued upon contract award. If you choose to submit a classified proposal you must first receive the permission of the Original Classification Authority to use their information in replying to this BAA. c. Security Classification Guide. A Security Classification Guide (SCG) from DARPA is available to eligible contractors in order to properly protect any information submitted into this program solicitation. To obtain a copy of the Security Classification Guide, (which is For Official Use Only), please contact: Eugene E. McGoldrick Government Security Officer, Situation-Aware Protocols In Edge Network Technologies 703-526-4747 emcgoldrick@darpa.mil d. New Requirements/Procedures. The Award Document for each proposal selected and funded will contain a mandatory requirement for submission of DARPA/IPTO Quarterly Status Reports and an Annual Project Summary Report. All unclassified reports will be submitted electronically via the DARPA/IPTO Technical-Financial Information Management System (T-FIMS), utilizing the government-furnished Uniform Resource Locator (URL) on the World Wide Web (WWW). Further details may be found in the Proposer Information Pamphlet (PIP). e. Proposal Format. Proposers must submit an original and 4 copies of the full proposal and 2 electronic copies (i.e., 2 separate disks) of the full proposal (in PDF or Microsoft Word 2000 for IBM-compatible format on a 3.5-inch floppy disk, 100 MB Iomega Zip disk or CD-R). Mac-formatted disks will not be accepted. Each disk must be clearly labeled with BAA 04-32, proposer organization, proposal title (short title recommended) and Copy number of 2. Refer to the PIP for classified proposal requirements. 3. Submission Dates and Times The full proposal (original and designated number of hard and electronic copies) must be submitted in time to reach DARPA by 12:00 NOON (ET) August 27, 2004, in order to be considered during the initial evaluation phase. However, BAA 04-32, Situation-Aware Protocols In Edge Network Technologies (SAPIENT) will remain open until 12:00 NOON (ET) July 8, 2005. Thus, proposals may be submitted at any time from issuance of this BAA through July 8, 2005. While the proposals submitted after the August 27, 2004, deadline will be evaluated by the Government, proposers should keep in mind that the likelihood of funding such proposals is less than for those proposals submitted in connection with the initial evaluation and award schedule. DARPA will acknowledge receipt of submissions and assign control numbers that should be used in all further correspondence regarding proposals. 4. Intergovernmental Review ? N/A 5. Funding Restrictions Authorization of precontract costs will be considered in situations of genuine urgency where programmatic benefits will accrue from their use. 6. Other Submission Requirements Proposers must obtain the BAA 04-32 Proposer Information Pamphlet (PIP), which provides further information on the areas of interest, submission, evaluation, funding processes, proposal formats, and instructions on how to obtain a copy of the SAPIENT SCG. This PIP will be posted directly to FedBizOpps.gov and may also be obtained at URL address http://www.darpa.mil/ipto/Solicitations/solicitations.htm. Proposals not meeting the format described in the pamphlet may not be reviewed. This notice, in conjunction with the BAA 04-32 PIP and all references, constitutes the total BAA. No additional information is available, nor will a formal RFP or other solicitation regarding this announcement be issued. Requests for same will be disregarded. V. Application Review Information 1. Criteria (listed in descending order of relative importance): (1) Overall Scientific and Technical Merit: The overall scientific and technical merit must be clearly identifiable and compelling. The technical concepts should be clearly defined and developed. The technical approach must be sufficiently detailed to support the proposed concepts and technical claims. Evaluation will also consider the effectiveness of the system integration and management plan. (2) Innovative Technical Solution to the Problem: Offerors should apply new and/or existing technology in an innovative way that supports the objectives of the proposed effort. The proposed concepts and systems should show breadth of innovation across all the dimensions of the proposed solution. Offerors must also specify quantitative experimental methods and metrics for measuring progress of the effort. (3) Potential Contribution and Relevance to DARPA/IPTO Mission: The offeror must clearly address how the proposed effort will meet the goals of the undertaking and how the proposed effort contributes to significant advances to DARPA/IPTO. (4) Offeror's Capabilities and Related Experience: The qualifications, capabilities, and demonstrated achievements of the proposed principals and other key personnel for the primary and subcontractor organizations must be clearly shown. (5) Plans and Capability to Accomplish Technology Transition: The offeror should provide a clear strategy and plan for transition to military forces (and commercial sector, where applicable). Offerors should consider involving potential military transition partners, as appropriate, in any proposed experiments, tests and demonstrations. Offerors should also provide a plan for transition of appropriate technology components and information to the user community. (6) Cost Realism: The overall estimated costs should be clearly justified and appropriate for the technical complexity of the effort. Evaluation will consider the value of the research to the government and the extent to which the proposed management plan will effectively allocate resources to achieve the capabilities proposed. 2. Review and Selection Process It is the policy of DARPA to ensure impartial, equitable, comprehensive evaluation of all proposals and to select the source (or sources) whose offer meets the Government?s technical and policy goals. Evaluation of proposals will be accomplished through a scientific review of each proposal, using the above criteria. Proposals will not be evaluated against each other, since they are not submitted in accordance with a common work statement. DARPA's intent is to review proposals as soon as possible after they arrive; however, proposals may be reviewed periodically for administrative reasons. Restrictive notices notwithstanding, proposals may be handled for administrative purposes by support contractors. These support contractors are prohibited from competition in DARPA technical research and are bound by appropriate non-disclosure requirements. Input on technical aspects of the proposals may be solicited by DARPA from non-Government consultants /experts who are also bound by appropriate non-disclosure requirements. However, non-Government technical consultants/experts will not have access to proposals that are labeled by their offerors as ?Government Only. Use of non-government personnel is covered in FAR 37.203(d). VI. Award Information Administration 1. Award Notices Principal Investigators will receive a letter informing them of the disposition of their proposal via U.S. mail. 2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements Proposers may wish to visit DARPA?s Contract Management Office (CMO) website (http://www.darpa.mil/cmo/pages/modelgrantagreement.htm) for model grant and cooperative agreement terms and conditions. 3. Reporting Post-award reporting requirements are set forth in Section B.I, Funding Opportunity Description. Additional details are contained in the Proposer Information Pamphlet. The DARPA/CMO website referenced above also provides general information about reports required specifically for grants and cooperative agreements. VII. Agency Contacts Fax: (703) 741-7804 Addressed to: DARPA/IPTO, BAA 04-32 Electronic Mail: BAA04-32@darpa.mil Electronic File Retrieval: http://www.darpa.mil/ipto/Solicitations/solicitations.htm Mail to: DARPA/IPTO ATTN: BAA 04-32 3701 N. Fairfax Drive Arlington, VA 22203-1714
- Record
- SN00618413-W 20040711/040709212735 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |