Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Contracts Management Office (CMO), 3701 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington VA 22203-1714

A -- SMALL UNIT OPERATIONS SITUATION AWARENESS SYSTEM SOL BAA 97-15 DUE 053197 POC Dr. Mark McHenry, DARPA/TTO, FAX (703) 696-2204. PROGRAM OBJECTIVE: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is seeking proposals to design an Integrated Situation Awareness System (SAS) that would support the DARPA Small Unit Operations (SUO) program. Offerors are required to obtain the SUO SAS Proposer Information Pamphlet (PIP) for a description of the overall SUO program. PROGRAM SCOPE: This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) addresses only Phase I of an anticipated three-phase Situation Awareness System (SAS) Program. The emphasis in Phase I will be on innovative approaches to design a SAS which will cover the breadth and depth of the elements required for complete development and demonstration of a SAS. These elements include, but are not limited to communications, mobile wireless networks, situation awareness, planning, tasking, control, user interface, and other technologies that are necessary for full development of a SAS. In order to address the multiplicity of elements, offerors are encouraged to team. Each award under this BAA will contain a provision for reports which must include: (1) System Concept, (2) Preliminary System Specification, (3) Trade Study Reports, (4) Description of Preliminary Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) requirements for follow-on development of a SAS, and (5) Production cost estimate with a narrative describing how the price will be achieved and monitored. The Government intends to incorporate the results from all Phase I awards into a final System Capability Document (SCD) which will become the basis for a follow-on competition. Therefore, it is a basic premise of Phase I that all data developed under Phase I awards will be delivered to the Government with unrestricted rights. Each award will contain a specific provision setting forth this requirement. DARPA is currently developing enabling technologies under separate BAAs for possible insertion into a SAS. Offerors are notified that all awards resulting from BAA 97-15 will contain the requirement to participate in periodic open briefings for the purposeof exchanging information on the SAS as well as enabling technologies. The offeror is required to have an existing approved capability (personnel and facility) to perform SECRET classified work. DARPA has budgeted approximately $5 million in FY97 for this effort. Multiple awards are anticipated, however, individual awards are not expected to exceed the government's estimate of $1 million. The Phase I effort will be limited to six-months duration. AWARD CONSIDERATIONS: The selection of one or more sources for contract award will be based on a scientific review of proposals submitted in response to this BAA. Selection of proposals for award will be based on the potential benefits to the Government weighed against the cost of the proposals, in view of the availability of funds. Proposals will be individually evaluated solely on their own merit based on the following evaluation criteria, listed in descending order of importance: (1) Contribution/relevance to the overall DARPA SUO program, (2) Quality and technical merit of the proposed program, (3) The degree to which technical data and/or computer software developed under the proposed contract are to be delivered to DARPA with unrestricted rights, (4) The offeror's ability to implement the proposed approach as demonstrated by specific accomplishments in the technical field to be studied, by availability of qualified personnel, and by appropriate facilities, (5) Proposed cost and cost realism. Note: Cost realism will be used only as an evaluation criterion in proposals which have significantly under-or over-estimated the cost to complete their effort. All awards made in response to this BAA will be subject to availability of Government funds. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION: This BAA will remain open until May 31, 1997. To ensure consideration for planned FY97 funding, offerors are required to submit six (6) copies of a pre-proposal which must be received by 4:00 p.m. EST, FEBRUARY 14, 1997, at the DARPA address listed below. DARPA will review pre-proposals and recommend to those offerors with promising pre-proposals that they submit full technical and cost proposals. This initial screening of pre-proposals will minimize unnecessary effort and expense in proposal preparation and review. All interested offerors are encouraged to submit pre-proposals, however, all responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit a full proposal which will be considered by DARPA. Full proposals must be received at DARPA by 4:00 p.m. EST, April 4, 1997, to ensure consideration for FY97 funding. DARPA anticipates that initial contractor selections will be made during the second quarter of Fiscal Year 1997. However, proposals submitted up to May 31, 1997 may be considered for award if funding is available. Acknowledgment of receipt of pre-proposals or full proposals will not be made and submissions will not be returned. Proposals submitted by telefax or electronic mail will not be considered or evaluated. Offerors are required to obtain Proposer Information Pamphlet, BAA 97-15,which provides further information on pre-proposal and proposal format, page count, the submission process, evaluation and funding processes, technical scope, background information regarding the SUO program, and other useful information. Potential offerors can obtain the PIP from the administrative addresses listed below. GENERAL INFORMATION: It is the policy of DARPA to treat all proposals as proprietary information and to disclose the contents only for the purposes of evaluation. The Government intends to use selected technical experts from Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to provide advice on specific technical areas as necessary. SAIC will not be permitted to bid on this BAA and is restricted by its contract from disclosing any submitted information or using it for purposes other than performing the limited purpose of technical assessment stated above. Nondisclosure notices notwithstanding, proposals will be handled for administrative purposes by SAIC. Technical experts from the National Security Agency (NSA), the Communications and Electronics Command (CECOM), the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and other Government agencies will assist DARPA in reviewing pre-proposals and proposals, and provide technical advice to DARPA. Selections under this BAA will be made only by Government evaluators. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Minority Institutions (MI) 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 research in the development and demonstration of advanced communications and situation awareness technologies for SUO. The Government reserves the right to select for award any, all, part, or none of the proposals received in response to this announcement. This CBD notice, in conjunction with the pamphlet BAA 97-15, Proposer's Information Pamphlet, constitutes the BAA as contemplated by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2). A formal RFP or other solicitation regarding this announcement will not be issued and requests for same will be disregarded. This BAA will remain open until May 31, 1997. Awards are subject to the provisions of the 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. Affirmation 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 the FAR 9.501, must be disclosed. The disclosure shall include a description of the action the offeror has taken, or proposes to take, to avoid, neutralize or mitigate such conflict. This BAA is an expression ofinterest only and does not commit the Government to pay any pre-proposal or proposal preparation costs. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION: All requests for the PIP, administrative correspondence, or questions on this BAA should be directed to one of the administrative addresses below. DARPA prefers e-mail or fax. Telephone inquiries are strongly discouraged. The administrative addresses for this BAA are: Electronic Mail: BAA97-15@DARPA.mil, FAX: SAIC -- 703-841-4759 (Addressed to: DARPA/TTO, BAA97-15, 3701 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714). The PIP may also be obtained by accessing the World Wide Web at URL address (http://www.darpa.mil) and downloading the information for storage and/or printing. (0014)

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