SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- Office of University Programs Phase VI BOAs
- Notice Date
- 4/20/2021 6:36:42 AM
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- SCI TECH ACQ DIV WASHINGTON DC 20528 USA
- ZIP Code
- 20528
- Solicitation Number
- OUP_PhaseVIBOAs
- Response Due
- 5/19/2021 12:00:00 PM
- Archive Date
- 06/03/2021
- Point of Contact
- Angela Haviland, Contract Specialist, DHS/Management/OCPO/OPO/STAD, Phone: 202-447-0523, Jennifer Foley, Dep Dir, Office of University Programs, Phone: 202-254-2326
- E-Mail Address
-
Angela.Haviland@hq.dhs.gov, Jennifer.Foley@hq.dhs.gov
(Angela.Haviland@hq.dhs.gov, Jennifer.Foley@hq.dhs.gov)
- Description
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate, Office of University Programs (OUP), is requesting information from the scientific community regarding the continued utilization of Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs) with current Centers of Excellence (COEs). DHS S&T intends to fund projects within the scopes of work of existing and future COEs requiring a contracting vehicle. DHS S&T proposes issuing five-year BOAs. The BOAs will be for Homeland Security mission-related unclassified and classified research, development, analysis, and technical services requested by any DHS office or Component agency (Component) that are within the scope of each COE's cooperative agreement. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for market research and planning purposes. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP. Furthermore, those who respond to this RFI will not receive feedback from DHS to their submissions other than acknowledgment of receipt, provided a submitter requests such an acknowledgement and addresses the mandatory responses/questions at (a)(1) - (a)(11) identified under Section 2.0, Responses Requested. This RFI does not commit the Government to enter into any contractual agreement, nor will the Government pay for any information requested hereunder. By submitting a response, each respondent agrees that any and all costs the respondent incurs in responding to this request or in support of activities associated with this RFI shall be the sole responsibility of the respondent. The Government shall incur no obligations or liabilities to anyone for any costs or expenses incurred by the respondent in responding to this RFI. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future Request for Proposal (RFP). The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government or the respondent. All submissions become the property of the Government and will not be returned. 1.0 DESCRIPTION 1.1 Background The Homeland Security Act of 2002 granted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the authority to create university-based COEs using grants, cooperative agreements or contracts. The COEs have significant Homeland Security-related science, technology, engineering, and mathematics capabilities to provide technical services to DHS including: subject matter expertise, laboratories, engineering and other testing facilities, databases, computer models, computer software and hardware, analytical tools, etc. The COEs are directly aligned with one or more of the DHS Components, creating linkages between DHS and other customers, as well as providing enduring multi-disciplinary research, development, testing, evaluation, education and training capabilities for DHS and the Nation. The COEs are authorized by Congress and chosen by the DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) through a competitive selection process. The designation of ""Center of Excellence"" is awarded to a university that brings together leading experts and researchers from other institutions, agencies, laboratories, think tanks, and the private sector to conduct multidisciplinary research and education for homeland security solutions. The S&T OUP's mission is to maximize DHS's return on investment in university-based research and education. OUP funds grants and cooperative agreements to the COEs to establish fundamental research and education programs in specific multi-disciplinary subject matter areas at each COE. DHS S&T expects the universities that comprise the COEs will obtain additional sources of funding beyond OUP's base funding in order to support more directed research, development, testing, evaluation, education and training. Other S&T Divisions and DHS Components frequently need to access the capabilities created by the COEs at the lead or partner universities, e.g. for directed research, analysis, technical services- both unclassified and classified- as well as DHS-specific education and training that cannot be performed under S&T's grants and cooperative agreements. Through this RFI, DHS S&T is pursuing funding strategies to meet emerging requirements. 1.2 Discussion DHS S&T seeks comments on the use of a BOA to accommodate DHS requirements for COE research, analysis, and technical services-unclassified and classified-, as well as DHS-specific science and engineering education and training. DHS S&T proposes to award a BOA to the current and future COE research lead university, to be renewed once after five years, and again at the end of its period of performance, renewals being subject to suitable COE progress in research, development, test, evaluation, education and training. OUP will determine the need for a BOA for the COE research lead by matching university capabilities with DHS's requirements and needs (S&T will address high priority requirements first). � The following thrust areas will be covered under Phase VI of the COE BOAs: Artic Domain Awareness Center (ADAC) Command, Control, and Interoperability Center for Advanced Data Analysis (CCICADA) Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases (CEEZAD) Coastal Hazards Center of Excellence (CHC) Maritime Security Center (MSC) National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) A BOA enables DHS components to access the capabilities, experience, research results, technology, models and data that the COEs have developed with DHS funding. Characteristics: o Versatile umbrella agreements between a federal agency (DHS in this case) and performing institutions (the lead university from the COE) o Enables contracting officers within the funding agency to issue task orders to performers that are within the scope of the BOA o Designed to address the needs of DHS for specific research questions with deliverables at an identified cost and on scheduled performance o Awarded for a five-year period of performance The task/delivery orders issued under the BOA will be issued non-competitively to the BOA recipient. The total estimated annual value of all orders issued under each BOA is one to three million dollars ($1M-$3M). Experience indicates that current projects have been in the range of $25,000 to $15,000,000 in value. The value of task orders under a new BOA may be lower or higher. DHS S&T anticipates that the COE research lead university will use BOA subcontracts with current or new organizations to access the best possible skills, knowledge, and capabilities needed to address each task order. The DHS Office of Procurement Operations (OPO) S&T Acquisition Division will issue and administer the BOA. DHS Components' contracting offices will issue and administer their task orders under the BOA, subject to a determination by the S&T contracting officer's representative (COR) that the requested goods or services are within the scope of the BOA. The OPO will publish and issue an ordering guide to explain to ordering officers at all DHS Components how to issue task orders under the BOA. Task orders issued under the BOA will be predominantly firm fixed price. However, the BOA will contain pertinent terms and conditions that will facilitate the issuance of fixed price or cost reimbursement type task orders as determined by the ordering contracting officer of the relevant DHS component. Designated ordering officers at DHS offices and Components will be able to issue task orders under the COE BOA for unclassified or classified research, scientific or technical analyses, and technical services related to homeland security challenges and solutions. Orders will fit within the broad scope of COE capabilities and may include: a) Creating technologies and models b) Utilizing facilities and technologies c) Providing subject matter expert review, presentation, or testimony d) Testing and evaluation e) Conducting analyses or assessments f) Developing and delivering education and training materials g) Performing other relevant services within an existing COE scope of work. ADAC will develop and transition technology solutions, innovative products, and educational programs to improve situational awareness and crisis response capabilities related to emerging maritime challenges posed by the dynamic Arctic environment. The research areas are: Maritime Risk, Threat Analysis and Resilience in the Arctic; Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) in the Arctic; Maritime Technology in the Arctic; Integration of Science and Engineering with Maritime Security Governance and Policy in the Arctic; and Arctic Integrated Education. CCICADA will conduct research and develop technologies, tools, and advanced methods to enable operational personnel, scientists, or decision- and policy-makers to analyze, understand and apply diverse, diffuse, and distributed data on threats and manmade or natural disasters in the presence of uncertainty with a focus on Data Sciences. CEEZAD will protect against high-consequence high consequence emerging, foreign animal and zoonotic diseases in the United States, with an emphasis on next generation technology candidates. Potential projects will include Countermeasures, Detection, Epidemiology/Modeling, and Education and Outreach. CHC will enhance the Nation�s ability to safeguard its people, property, and economy by increasing their resilience to the consequences of natural hazards through research and education.� Potential projects will include: conducting research, education and developing technologies, tools and advanced methods in two primary research areas that expand the understanding of natural hazards and disasters; assessing and enhancing physical, social, economic, environmental, and institutional resilience; and transferring the knowledge generated and tools created into practice. MSC will enhance our nation�s Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), the resiliency of our Marine Transportation System (MTS), and the technical skills and leadership capabilities of our current and prospective maritime security workforce. In addition to achieving the goals established in Presidential Policy Directive 18: Maritime Security (PPD-18) and the National Strategy for Maritime Security (NSMS), the National Maritime Domain Awareness Plan (NMDAP), potential projects include Maritime Risk, Threat Analyses and Resilience; Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA); Maritime Technology, and Integrated Education. START will advance science-based knowledge about the human causes and consequences of terrorism that is directly relevant to homeland security policymakers and practitioners. The COEs will support DHS by improving its operational capabilities that contribute the Nation's layered defense. The �COEs will work with S&T Offices, such as the Offices of Science & Engineering, and Mission & Capability Support, and DHS Component agencies (e.g. United States Coast Guard (USCG), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD), and the Office of Intelligence & Analysis (I&A)). 2.0 RESPONSES REQUESTED a) Mandatory Responses/Questions: 1) Describe your university's/organization's knowledge, experience, and capacity to administer FAR-based contracts and, in particular, BOAs. 2) Describe your university's/organization's willingness to accept a FAR-based BOA and task/delivery orders under the BOA in fulfillment of future DHS research, analysis, and technical services requirements. 3) Does the award of a BOA impose a burden on your university/organization and on your partner organizations that you cannot accommodate given your institution's current skills, capabilities, experience, and resources? Please explain. 4) Which FAR-based contract type is preferred for orders issued under a BOA, if awarded to your university/organization for COE-related research, analysis, and technical services? [For example: Firm Fixed Price (FFP), Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF), Cost Plus Award Fee (CPAF), Time and Materials (T&M).] Please rank order, from most preferred to least preferred, the contract types listed above. 5) Are you willing and able (having the necessary facilities, practices, procedures, etc.) to accept and perform sensitive but unclassified (SBU) task orders under a FAR-based BOA? 6) Are you willing and able (having the necessary facilities, practices, procedures, etc.) to accept and perform classified task orders under a FAR-based BOA? 7) Describe your understanding and management practices for advancing technologies in the disciplines identified in Section 1.2. This includes describing processes in use at the submitting organization that manages the advancement of research through commercialization and market deployment. 8) Describe the kinds of research, analysis, and technical service projects that your COE/organization might perform for DHS Components under the aforementioned BOA. Include project examples. 9) What other questions or concerns should DHS S&T consider with respect to implementing this BOA contracting approach? 10) Since research performed under this BOA will address DHS mission needs, the availability of the results of such research for publication might be limited. Does this present an issue? 11) Are there any issues regarding intellectual property rights that DHS should consider as it prepares its BOA for issuance? DHS expects to use the FAR clause on data rights 52.227-14 with Alt II, III, & IV. Pursuant to that clause, DHS expects to review scientific articles prior to publication to ensure that DHS's security & mission needs are considered. 3.0 RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS At this time, proprietary information is not being requested. Respondents wishing to submit proprietary information should specifically mark or identify any information they perceive as proprietary/confidential for which they seek added protection. To the extent that any proprietary data is submitted with the RFI responses, it will be properly protected by DHS S&T. Respondents are advised that government support contractors may be involved with the review of the submitted information in addition to DHS employees. All government support contractors needed to review the information will be required to submit non-disclosure/confidentiality statements (if not already on file) with DHS. 4.0 SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTATION Respondents, at a minimum, must address the mandatory responses/questions identified under Section 2.0, (a) (1-11) and clearly identify which item is being answered for each response. Information must contain: o Name and Address of Firm/Organization o Business Size of Firm/Organization o Socio-economic status of Firm/Organization o Dunn & Bradstreet number for Firm/Organization o Is your firm/ organization registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) at�http://www.sam.gov Responses are not mandatory to receive a subsequent BOA award. Responses must be provided no later than the response date of this announcement. DHS will not consider or review unsolicited proposals submitted in response to this RFI. Requirement of responses: pages numbers must be placed at the bottom left-hand corner, 12-point font, 1-inch margins, 8.5"" by 11"" paper, and no more than six (6) pages in length, including images, data displays, charts, graphs, and tables. Respondents must submit their information in electronic versions to�DHSCOEBOA@HQ.DHS.GOV�and the Contract Specialist�angela.haviland@hq.dhs.gov and must be in either Word or PDF format. The email ""Subject"" line must include the words ""BOA Phase VI RFI Response."" All interested parties should email their questions to BOTH�points of contact below: DHSCOEBOA@HQ.DHS.GOV Angela Haviland� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � Contract Specialist� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � angela.haviland@hq.dhs.gov� � � � �
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-
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- Record
- SN05978210-F 20210422/210420230124 (samdaily.us)
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