SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- Aids and Agents to Support the Analyst
- Notice Date
- 9/24/2004
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 541710
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, AFRL - Rome Research Site, AFRL/Information Directorate 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome, NY, 13441-4514
- ZIP Code
- 13441-4514
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-BAA-04-10-IFKA
- Description
- CFDA Number: 12.800 DATES: It is recommended that white papers be received by the following dates to maximize the possibility of award: FY 05 should be submitted by 15 Oct 04; FY 06 by 1 Oct 05; FY 07 by 1 Oct 06; FY 08 by 1 Oct 07; and, FY 09 by 1 Oct 08. White papers will be accepted until 2pm Eastern time on 30 Sept 08, but it is less likely that funding will be available in each respective fiscal year after the dates cited. FORMAL PROPOSALS ARE NOT BEING REQUESTED AT THIS TIME. See Section IV of this announcement for further details. I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION: This BAA seeks research efforts that advance the state-of-the-art in the following area: Collaboration and Services. Collaboration and Services: Collaboration's focus is on developing information technology needed by teams of analysts and operations and policy personnel to anticipate and preempt threats to U.S. interests. The goal is to make such teams faster, smarter, and more joint in their day-to-day operations. It will apply automation to team processes so that more information can be exploited, more hypotheses created and examined, more models built and populated with evidence, and overall, more crises dealt with simultaneously. Specific areas include: a. Cognitive aids that allow humans and machines to think together in real-time about complicated problems, including improved tools and architectures which would focus relevant mission data context to analysts (and/or analyst teams). b. The means to overcome the biases and limitations of the human cognitive system. c. Cognitive amplifiers that help teams of people rapidly and fully comprehend complicated and uncertain situations. d. The means to rapidly and seamlessly cut across and complement existing stove-piped hierarchical organizational structures by creating dynamic, adaptable, peer-to-peer collaborative networks. Services' focus is on developing information technology needed by senior analysts and policy and decision makers to anticipate and preempt threats against the U.S., its persons and interests. The goal is to increase the speed and decisiveness of analyses, to decrease time to decision and dissemination and foster a truly joint collaborative analysis environment among all IC (Intelligence Communities) and DOD (Department of Defense) entities. It will apply background-running, service-automated environments to gather vast amounts of joint information and data, rapidly draw down to viable intelligence, and allow analysts and decision makers to decisively deal with more crises in shorter amounts of time. It will create knowledge bases to assist in collaboration and decision-making. Specific areas will include: a. Intelligent software agents designed to gather, process, exploit and disseminate information to the appropriate analysts and policy and decision makers b. Software agents designed to help gather and accumulate an analysts' knowledge base and to assist in gathering like information. Collaborative software agents designed to gather together related ideas, information, and personnel for the purpose of speeding comprehensive analysis and decision-making. c. Software agents designed to accommodate the mission context, the user cognitive role and cognitive readiness and the situational relevant topic areas to focus relevant and new information to the user analyst or analyst team within the analyst context focus areas of interest. II. AWARD INFORMATION: Total funding for this BAA is approximately $19M. The anticipated funding to be obligated under this BAA is broken out by fiscal year as follows: FY 05 - $5M; FY 06 - $5M; FY 07 - $5M; and FY 08 - $4M. Individual awards will not normally exceed 36 months with dollar amounts ranging from $150K to $2M per year. Awards of efforts as a result of this announcement will be in the form of contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or other transactions depending upon the nature of the work proposed. The Government anticipates multiple awards in each of the technical areas. A multi-phase approach will be needed to achieve program goals. Proposers should note that approaches with eclectic ideas from multiple technical specialties or communities are actively sought. The degree of advances will vary among the technical areas of interest, but the goal is to create a series of prototype systems that add value quickly and improves rapidly over the program schedule -- the primary goal is a series of leave-behind prototypes with limited set of proof-of-concept demonstrations in very high risk areas. The anticipated start date for the FY 05 efforts under the solicitation is February 2005. III. EXPECTED TECHNICAL DELIVERABLES 1) Regular Software Releases. Software releases will be packaged with detailed technical documentation; user documentation, libraries, sources and executable code, and delivered as self-extracting installation executables for the expected computing environment of our customers. 2) Technical Briefings and Reports. Briefings and reports will be developed as a product of individual effort, a tiger team, or as part of a larger working group. Quarterly Status Reports and Annual Project Summary Reports must be submitted as a minimum. 3) Internet Products. Software products that integrate (1) and (2), will be directly uploaded / posted to Web pages specified by AFRL Program Managers. Proposers are encouraged to identify data and software components (including source code) they would be willing to make available to others to help achieve the overall objectives of this BAA. IV. 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, Lori Smith, Contracting Officer, telephone (315) 330-1955 or e-mail Lori.Smith@rl.af.mil for information if they contemplate responding. The e-mail must reference the title and BAA 04-10-IFKA. 2. COST SHARING OR MATCHING: Cost sharing is not a requirement. V. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION: 1. APPLICATION PACKAGE: THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION. WE ARE SOLICITATING 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 Rome "BAA& PRDA: A Guide for Industry," Sep 1996 (Rev), may be accessed at: http://www.if.afrl.af.mil/div/IFK/bp-guide.html. 2. CONTENT AND FORM OF SUBMISSION: Offerors are required to submit 5 copies of a 5 to 10 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, Cost of Task, Name of Company; Section B: Task Objective; and Section C: Technical Summary. 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, a fax number, and an e-mail address with their submission. All responses to this announcement must be addressed to the technical POC, as discussed in paragraph five 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 05 should be submitted by 15 Oct 04; FY 06 by 1 Oct 05; FY 07 by 1 Oct 06; FY 08 by 1 Oct 07; and, FY 09 by 1 Oct 08. White papers will be accepted until 2pm Eastern time on 30 Sept 08, but it is less likely that funding will be available in each respective fiscal year after the dates cited. Submission of white papers will be regulated in accordance with FAR 15.208. 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. OTHER SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: DO NOT send white papers to the Contracting Officer. All responses to this announcement must be addressed to ATTN: Nancy Roberts, AFRL/IFED, 525 Brooks Road, Rome, NY 13441. Respondents are required to provide their Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number with their submittal and reference BAA-04-10-IFKA. Electronic submission to BAA0410@rl.af.mil will also be accepted. VI. 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 and its evaluation, (2) Related Experience - The extent to which the offeror demonstrates relevant technology and domain knowledge, (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). Also, consideration will be given to past and present performance on recent Government contracts, and the capacity and capability to achieve the objectives of this BAA. No further evaluation criteria will be used in selecting white papers/proposals. Individual white papers/proposals 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. Cost sharing will not be considered in the evaluation. 2. REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS: Only Government employees will be reviewing 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. VII. 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. Data subject to export control constraints may be involved and only firms holding certification under the US/Canada Joint Certification Program (JCP) (www.dlis.dla.mil/jcp) are allowed access to such data. AFRL intends to team with one or more U.S. intelligence agencies, and may desire that proposers selected for award would perform in collaboration with those agencies. Key Performers of prospective awardees whose activities would involve collaboration with the Intelligence Community must hold a current Top Secret Department of Defense (DoD) clearance and be approved for access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), or be eligible for the timely granting of such clearance and access. A sufficient number of non-key performers to enable the effective accomplishment of the proposed research effort must also hold a Top Secret DoD clearance with SCI access, or be eligible for the timely granting of such clearance and access. In addition, prospective awardees whose activities would be associated with the Intelligence Community must also possess a current DoD Top Secret Facility clearance and an approved SCI Facility (SCIF). Proposers desiring consideration for awards involving collaboration with the Intelligence Community shall identify key personnel and enabling support staff satisfying the above Top Secret DoD clearance and SCI access requirement; shall certify their DoD Top Secret Facility clearance; and, shall detail their organization's approach to maintaining separation of unclassified and classified activities, and controlling need-to-know. 3. REPORTING: Once a proposal has been selected for award, offeror?s will be required to submit their reporting requirement through our web-based reporting system known as JIFFY. Prior to award, the offeror will be given complete instructions regarding its use. VIII. AGENCY CONTACTS: All questions prior to the submission of a technical and cost proposal can be addressed to the technical POC, Nancy Roberts, telephone: (315) 330-3566 or email BAA0410@rl.af.mil. Email submissions preferred. Questions, clarification, or concerns from offerors or potential offerors during the proposal development phase of this acquisition should be communicated directly to the IFKA Contracting Officer, Lori Smith, telephone (315) 330-1955 or e-mail Lori.Smith@rl.af.mil The email must reference the title and solicitation number of the acquisition. All responsible organizations may submit a white paper which shall be considered.
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