SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- Federated Information Spaces
- Notice Date
- 1/19/2007
- 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, UNITED STATES
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-BAA-07-07-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 07 should be submitted by 20 Feb 07; FY 08 by 01 Nov 07; FY 09 by 01 Nov 08, FY 10 by 01 Nov 09. White papers will be accepted until 2pm Eastern time on 30 September 2010, 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: The Information Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Rome Research Site, is soliciting white papers under this announcement for innovative technologies to support the development and operation of information management technology in accordance with AFRL Information Management technology goals. Information management (IM) is defined as a set of intentional activities to maximize the value of information to support the objectives of the military enterprise. The quantum of managed information, referred to as a Managed Information Object (MIO), is comprised of a payload (e.g., document, imagery, or movie clip) and metadata that characterizes the payload context (e.g., topic, time, and location). The MIO metadata is used in the information catalog that describes what information is currently available or may become available. An important factor that drives the effectiveness of the information management services is the degree to which the metadata describes the information available. The layers of services that form the information management infrastructure empowers an information space wherein information is managed directly, rather than delegating all information management responsibilities to applications that produce and consume information. The information space is a collection of information catalogues and repositories that form the heart of an IM infrastructure. Actors interact with one another indirectly through the information space and the layers of services that manage the information within the information space. There are four different types of actors interacting with the information infrastructure who are known as producers, consumers, federates, and managers. Producers are information space clients that add information to the information space that will reside in the persistent or transient information repositories. Consumers are information space clients that requests and utilize the information within the information space based on client provided search or subscription criteria. Managers are responsible for the policies, resource management, and maintenance services and processes that enable the information space to process information demands in a secure, timely, and reliable manner. Federates are other information spaces that virtually extend the contents of an information space by appropriately sharing information among the federate members. The services and mechanisms that will enable the creation and operation of a federation is the focus of this BAA. A single universal information space is unlikely to be achieved in any sufficiently complex military endeavor and it will be necessary to have multiple information spaces where clients will need to reach across them to get information they require. The desire is to have the spaces themselves connect to form a federation that allows one information space to be 'extended' by the contents of another. The advantage provided by this class of federation is providing consumers a "single" information space. Producers merely share information with its 'native' information space and the federation services ensure that it is shared appropriately with other spaces. Having the spaces interact directly will require agreements between the respective information spaces that encompass trust management, confidentiality and integrity management, policy mediation, content filtering, information replication, and pass-through processing. The concept of a shared information space is central to the AFRL Information Management vision. Understanding how concepts for federating information across multiple information spaces and the technologies that can be applied in the unique military operational and tactical domains are of critical importance. These information spaces will be organized and based on multiple factors such as geographic regions, functional requirements, organizational boundaries, and network topology/infrastructure. The necessary modes of interaction will require higher-level services where service agreements between the infospheres manage the interactions in a seamless and efficient manner. These information services connect information spaces together for the purpose of providing a 'single virtual' information space. It is anticipated that different federation services and techniques will be necessary when federating between highly connected federates (Ethernet), loosely connected federates (airborne environment), or federation between both environments. Identifying and addressing deficiencies in technologies in this area will be essential to achieving the DoD vision of Net-Centric Operations (NCO). AFRL/IF has been conducting research in the areas of information dissemination and management approaches which have been focused on the creation of a single shared information space. This research has lead to the development of multiple information dissemination and management infrastructures conforming to the Infospherics (www.infospherics.org) Common API. A reference implementation has been developed in accordance to the infospherics API that enables the creation of a shared information space. This reference implementation will be made available (executable and/or source code) to all successful offerors interested in using the system as a research vehicle for experimenting with the proposed approaches for federation. Additional reference information: 1. "Joint Battlespace Infosphere: Information Management within a C2 Enterprise" http://www.dodccrp.org/events/10th_ICCRTS/CD/papers/065.pdf 2. "A Reference Model for Information Management to Support Coalition Information Sharing Needs" http://www.dodccrp.org/events/10th_ICCRTS/CD/papers/274.pdf All white papers should address solutions based on the development of non-proprietary, modular components (including the delivery of source code) that will be capable of being integrated into existing or emerging IM infrastructures. The objective of this BAA is to solve the technical problem of federating information spaces. Successful white papers/proposals will focus on developing the following mechanisms in the listed order of importance. The initial focus should be on developing the mechanisms for inter-federate sharing, followed by mechanisms to facilitate security and service requirements, followed by mechanisms to manage and enforce operational requirements, and conclude with mechanisms to mediate inconsistent data standards. Proposals may address highly connected or loosely connected federates or both. Shorter duration efforts should concentrate on mechanisms for inter-federate sharing. Longer duration efforts should address a specific approach that encompasses some or all of the multiple mechanisms discussed. The technical issues listed below identify specific concerns, but should not be used to limit or constrain innovative ideas. Further, sub-elements of the four listed technical areas should not be considered individually or as a subset to be sufficient in scope to warrant consideration as a whitepaper or a proposal. 1. Connect information spaces together establishing a 'single virtual' information space. a. Methods for seamless information sharing across information boundaries to satisfy both client demand and information management efficiencies. b. Methods for performing information discovery across information spaces without prior knowledge of the existence of that information. c. Efficient methods such as information discovery, content filtering, information replication and pass-through processing as appropriate for addressing highly connected and loosely connected federates. d. Analysis and experimentation that will be performed to assess and validate the hypotheses behind the proposed architectural approach. e. Methods for managing the lifecycle of the federation, addressing formation, adaptation, and dissolution. 2. Security mechanisms for trust, confidentiality, and integrity. a. Distributed trust mechanisms between information spaces b. Role and policy mappings for discretionary and mandatory access. 3. Information service agreements and policy mediation that enables the negotiation and specification of: a. Information sharing and enforcement obligations across information spaces. b. Service requirements and obligations 4. Mediation of inconsistent data standards across information spaces. II. AWARD INFORMATION: Total funding for this BAA is approximately $4.2M. Principal funding of this BAA and the anticipated award of contracts will start approximately the second quarter of FY 07. The anticipated funding to be obligated under this BAA is broken out by fiscal year as follows: FY 07-$800K; FY 08-$1.2M; FY 09-$1.2M; and FY10-$1M. Individual awards will not normally exceed 30 months with dollar amounts normally ranging between $50,000 to $350,000 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, Lori L. 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 07-07-IFKA. 2. COST SHARING OR MATCHING: Cost sharing is not a requirement. IV. 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 AFRL/Rome Research Sites "Broad Agency Announcement (BAA): A Guide for Industry," Nov 2006, may be accessed at: http://www.if.afrl.af.mil/div/IFK/bp-guide.doc. 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 of Task, Name/Address of Company, Technical and Contracting Points of Contact (phone, fax and email)(this section is NOT included in the page count); 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, 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 07 should be submitted by 20 Feb 07; FY 08 by 01 Nov 07; FY 09 by 01 Nov 08, FY 10 by 01 Nov 09. White papers will be accepted until 2pm Eastern time on 30 September 2010, but it is less likely that funding will be available in each respective fiscal year after the dates cited. 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: James Hanna, Rome Research Site/IFSE, 525 Brooks Road, Rome NY 13441-4505. Respondents are required to provide their Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number with their submittal and reference BAA 07-07-IFKA. Electronic submission to James.Hanna@rl.af.mil will also be accepted. Please include the text "BAA-07-07" in the subject line. V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION: 1. CRITERIA: The following criteria, in which criteria (1) through (3) are of equal importance and criteria (4) is of lesser importance than criteria (1) through (3), 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, (2) Soundness of approach for the development and/or enhancement of the proposed technology and methods to assess and evaluate it, (3) Openness of Solution - The extent to which existing capabilities and standards are leveraged and extent of a modular non-proprietary component approach and (4) Reasonableness and realism of proposed costs and fees (if any). Also, consideration will be given to 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 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 review 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. 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. 3. REPORTING: Once a proposal has been selected for award, offeror's will be required to submit their reporting requirement through one of our web-based, reporting systems known as JIFFY or TFIMS. Prior to award, the offeror will be notified which reporting system they are to use, and will be given complete instructions regarding its use. VII. AGENCY CONTACTS: Questions of a technical nature shall be directed to the cognizant technical point of contact, as specified below: Mr. James P. Hanna Telephone: (315) 330-3473 Email: James.Hanna@rl.af.mil Questions of a contractual/business nature shall be directed to the cognizant contracting officer, as specified below: Lori Smith Telephone: (315) 330-1955 Email: Lori.Smith@rl.af.mil The email must reference the solicitation (BAA) number and title of the acquisition. In accordance with AFFARS 5315.90, 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 (Aug 2005) will be incorporated into all contracts awarded under this BAA. The AFRL Ombudsman is as follows: Amy Smith AFRL/PK Building 15, Room 225 1864 Fourth Street Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-7132 (937) 255-3079 All responsible organizations may submit a white paper which shall be considered.
- Record
- SN01215410-W 20070121/070119225216 (fbodaily.com)
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