SPECIAL NOTICE
A -- MD5 National Security Technology Accelerator - RFI
- Notice Date
- 6/30/2017
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Army, Army Contracting Command, ACC - APG (W911NF) RTP, PO BOX 12211, RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, North Carolina, 27709-2211, United States
- ZIP Code
- 27709-2211
- Solicitation Number
- W911NF-RFI-MD5-OTA
- Point of Contact
- Kenneth Morris, Phone: 919-541-5481, Roger V. Smith, Phone: 9195412332
- E-Mail Address
-
kenneth.l.morris2.civ@mail.mil, roger.v.smith.civ@mail.mil
(kenneth.l.morris2.civ@mail.mil, roger.v.smith.civ@mail.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Notice Type: Special Notice 1. Contracting Office Address: Department of the Army, US Army Contracting Command - Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG), Research Triangle Park (RTP) Division, Durham, NC. 2. General Information: The ACC-APG, RTP Division, on behalf of the United States (U.S.) Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy (MIBP) is exploring the possibility of entering into an Other Transaction for Prototype Project, awarded pursuant to 10 U.S.C. §2371b to carry out prototype projects that are directly relevant to enhancing the mission effectiveness to military personnel and the support platforms, systems, components, or materials in use by the armed forces. This is a Request for Information (RFI) from eligible applicants who can provide the capabilities sought by DoD-MIBP as described in this RFI. Eligibility: In accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2371b(d)(1), the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that no official of an agency enters into a transaction (other than a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement) for a prototype project under the authority of this section unless one of the following conditions is met: (A) There is at least one nontraditional defense contractor participating to a significant extent in the prototype project. (B) All significant participants in the transaction other than the Federal Government are small businesses or nontraditional defense contractors. (C) At least one third of the total cost of the prototype project is to be paid out of funds provided by parties to the transaction other than the Federal Government. (D) The senior procurement executive for the agency determines in writing that exceptional circumstances justify the use of a transaction that provides for innovative business arrangements or structures that would not be feasible or appropriate under a contract, or would provide an opportunity to expand the defense supply base in a manner that would not be practical or feasible under a contract. RFI submission and post submission guidelines: Documents submitted in response to this RFI will not be returned. DoD-MIBP is under no obligation to provide feedback with respect to any information submitted by an interested applicant under this RFI. There is no guarantee that any submission in response to this RFI will result in the establishment of an Other Transaction for Prototype Project with an eligible applicant. Any information submitted by an interested applicant in response to this RFI may be used to help DoD-MIBP to further define its needs. DoD-MIBP may select an entity for award based solely on an RFI submission. 3. Background Information: The United States (U.S.) Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy (MIBP) seeks to ensure robust, secure, resilient, and innovative industrial capabilities upon which the DoD can rely to fulfill Warfighter requirements. MIBP is the principal advisor to the USD (AT&L) on all matters related to the defense industrial base, including; developing DoD policies and procedures; providing advice associated with the health of the industrial base; improving industrial capabilities to meet planned, ongoing, current and future defense requirements; conducting antitrust reviews of mergers, acquisitions, teaming, and joint ventures; monitoring financial markets; reviewing the national security impact of foreign ownership of U.S. industrial facilities; preserving essential industries and technologies and other industry and program activities. DoD is looking for faster and more efficient ways to bring forward solutions to a wide range of mission areas that feature technology innovation. Having incubated some of the greatest technologies the world has ever known - the internet and GPS to name a few - the DoD has a long history of innovation. However, as the pace of commercial technological advancement has accelerated in the Silicon Valleys of the world, the DoD has not fully embraced the advantages these innovations (or the general culture and mindset in which they are created) could provide to the world of national security. As a result, a divide has emerged between the DoD and the civilian market, with the latter preferring the more venture-friendly commercial sector and the former, in turn, losing out on the innovation that these markets provide. As a result, DoD loses out on technologies and often wastes hundreds of millions of dollars by building its own technologies from the ground-up when technology conversions might save valuable resources. To actively close this divide, the DoD is engaging in several innovative initiatives, including various programs through MIBP, such as the National Security Technology Accelerator, which is doing business under the MD5 brand (NSTA/MD5), to spur conversation and collaboration between the military and non-traditional civilian partners. As a part of this effort, NSTA/MD5, is establishing a new program that bridges its current Collaboration and Acceleration activities - its Civil-Military Innovation Initiative (C-MII) - designed to facilitate collaboration between DoD civilian and military employees and their academia, non-profit, start-up and high-technology counterparts to promote national security and military utilization of non-traditional capabilities that meet critical DoD innovation objectives. The goal of C-MII is for Government, non-traditional industry partners and academia to collaborate on DoD innovation objectives critical to DoD missions through enabling education services, infrastructure, tools, and other capabilities that promote national security and military utilization of non-traditional capabilities. The NSTA/MD5 C-MII objectives are to: ACCELERATE DUAL-USE TECHNOLOGIES - Support the accelerated development, testing, and transition to DoD utilization of dual-use products that provide sustainable competitive advantage to DoD and mission critical technology capabilities; ADVANCE BUSINESS PRACTICE INNOVATION - Prototype and scale innovative business practices and problem-solving techniques to provide support to DoD; and DEVELOP NON-TRADITIONAL TESTING INFRASTRUCTURE - Develop infrastructure to support C-MII prototype and other dual-use products development, integration, and testing brand, is establishing a rapid prototype activation methodology, process, and system pilot program, designed to facilitate collaboration between DoD civilian and military employees and their academia and high-technology counterparts to promote national security and military utilization of non-traditional capabilities that meet critical DoD innovation objectives. The purpose of this RFI is to solicit information from sources interested in carrying out prototype projects to meet the NSTA/MD5 C-MII objectives listed above. The awardee is expected to carry out prototype projects as described in Paragraph #5 below. 4. Estimated Funding for the Agreement and Possible Award: Funding for this program is estimated to be $15-$20M annually. Approximately $5M of the annual funding is to be applied to the activities to support the Awardee's efforts to identify, manage and assist with the prototype projects. The remaining $10-$15M annually is for the specific prototype projects to be identified as separate Tasks under this agreement. It is anticipated that fixed payable milestones will be used to the maximum extent possible under this Agreement. Should an entity be selected for Award as a result of this RFI, the Government must be able to determine the amount of the Agreement fair and reasonable. Further, the Government and the Awardee must be able to negotiate appropriate and acceptable award terms and conditions for any resulting agreement. 5. Description of the Prototype Project Effort: C-MII is an MD5 initiative primarily focused on identifying critical warfighting gaps and problems and developing prototypes associated with solving those critical problem sets. The Awardee is expected to carry out Prototype Projects that must meet the following definitions: A prototype project must generally be described as a preliminary pilot, test, evaluation, demonstration, or agile development activity used to evaluate the technical or manufacturing feasibility or military utility of a particular technology, process, concept, end item, effect, or other discrete feature. Prototype projects may include systems, subsystems, components, materials, methodology, technology, or processes. A prototype project must be directly relevant to accomplish the mission effectiveness of military personnel and the supporting platforms, systems, components, or materials proposed to be acquired or developed by the DoD, or improvements of platforms, systems, components, or materials in use by the armed forces. Prototypes under C-MII, including Minimum Viable Products (MVPs), may be developed out of several distinct, but interconnected, programming lines. These include, but are not necessarily limited to: Hackathons: Under the MD5 Hacks program, prototypes are delivered in answer to a general problem set or specific, warfighter requirement from a DoD entity that is developed over the course of 48-54-hour hackathon. Selection of prototypes under this program effort will be limited to no more than three "best of breed" per event. The awardee will conduct continuation activity with a group of winners identified by DoD to ensure rapid and robust research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E). Academic Collaboration: The awardee will work by, with, and through academic institutions (including the non-profit research arms, thereof) throughout the country to identify extant dual-use technology with national security applications to specific or general warfighting requirements and conduct incubation, testing, development and evaluation activities to ensure prototypes meet specific government requirements and can enter the DoD acquisitions system. Existing Entrepreneurs and Start-Ups: Through the MD5 Starts program line, the awardee will identify existing prototyping activity taking place in innovation ecosystems throughout the United States that meets national security requirements, identify dual-use applications of such technology and facilitate RDT&E prototyping activities with non-traditional defense suppliers (i.e., start-ups and entrepreneurs) through incubation and acceleration activities related to increased access to test ranges, facilities (proof of concept centers; maker spaces; etc.) and advanced prototyping. In addition to physical prototyping to meet specific warfighting requirements related to individual projects, the awardee must be capable of prototyping software (and, where necessary, hardware) to support an MD5 platform that enables virtual interaction between DoD problem sponsors and those non-traditional entities engaged in prototyping under the C-MII initiative. This platform should form both a "marketplace" of ideas and problems that enables matching between extant prototyping activity under C-MII and DoD entities seeking to solve specific warfighting requirements. Prototype Deliverables. As stated above, this award is expected to result in the carrying out of prototype projects. Such prototype projects will be further defined with discrete deliverables and funded as separate Tasks under this award. Other Anticipated Deliverables. FY18-19 Strategic Plans for all key tasks above within 120 days of the award; Kick-Off Meeting Minutes; Monthly Status Reports that summarize work accomplished and performance schedule updates for each Task and prototype, as well as the technical status and future financial requirements for each Task; Software source code and executable files, as applicable; Final Reports for each Task. Deliverables will be in a mutually agreed upon format unless otherwise noted. Numbers of copies and frequency will also be annotated. 6. Submission Guidelines: Responses to this RFI are limited to 20 single-sided pages, using standard letter-size 8x11 paper. The font for text must be Times New Roman or Arial, 12-point or larger. Submissions must be unclassified. Extraneous materials (brochures, manuals, etc.) will NOT be considered or read. Submissions shall also include the following: (a) Entity name and address; (b) Point of contact name, phone number and email address RFI submissions, if evaluated for award, will be evaluated against the following criterion: Past Performance: Demonstrated ability over at least a two-year period to identify, incubate and produce prototypes of any type or nature, inclusive of the total number or prototypes delivered to sponsors, success rate of adoption or acquisition and prior experience with US Government entities during the prototyping and rapid acquisitions process. Performance Management Plan and Capabilities: Submitted performance management plans, description of organizational plan and overview and general approach to incubation, acceleration and prototyping activities to include articulation of any potential resource limitations that may hinder the capacity of the potential awardee to absorb and manage an increasing number of non-traditional innovators into the acceleration pipeline over the course of the agreement. Existing Innovation Network and Technology Scouting Capability: Demonstrated and extant ability to identify, enter and impact non-traditional innovation communities throughout the United States with particular emphasis on accessibility and experience working with and knowledge of DoD Laboratories, university and college engineering departments and laboratories, maker spaces and collaborative technology studios and the start-up and venture community within individual innovation ecosystems capable of producing or advancing prototyping activity. 7. Questions or Requests for Clarification: Only electronically submitted questions and requests for clarification regarding this RFI will be accepted. No telephone calls regarding this RFI will be accepted. Written questions and requests for clarification shall be submitted to the following email address: Kenneth.l.morris2.civ@mail.mil In order to facilitate a timely response, written questions or requests for clarification must be received by the Government no later than 3:00 PM, local Durham, NC time, 14 July 2017. 8. Submission Deadline: Responses to this RFI must be received by the Government no later than 3:00 PM, local Durham, NC time, 28 July 2017. Responses shall be submitted to the following email address: Kenneth.l.morris2.civ@mail.mil Responses must be in Microsoft Word format or PDF format. If a late submittal is received, acceptance of such will be at the discretion of the Government. Responses sent by any other means (e.g. submitted to other email addresses, hand-carried, postal service mail, commercial carrier or fax) will NOT be considered or read.
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