Office of Naval Research, 800 North Quincy St., Arlington, VA 22217-5660

A -- ACQUISITION CENTER OF EXCELLENCE (ACE) SUPPORT SOL N00014-97-R-0006 DUE 061797 POC Lambert McCullough 251, ONR (703)696-2601 ONR- BAA-97-019 The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is sponsoring a competitive contract to find a new or mature Mentor-Prot g Team on behalf of the Navy's Acquisition Center of Excellence (ACE). The ACE will be a new Navy activity -- a research collaboration designed to combine cutting edge technology with world class business practices to provide the entire Navy acquisition system with the ability to develop better ways of doing business. The ACE will house the knowledge and combined expertise of hundreds of collaborating acquisition professionals, research scientists, management experts, and engineers. The ACE and the research conducted there will provide the entire Navy acquisition system with the ability to continually reinvent itself toward a more responsive and cost-effective acquisition system. The Department of the Navy wants to sponsor a professional relationship(s) under the extended DoD Pilot Mentor-Prot g Program, which is due to expire on 30 September 1999, to build upon existing capabilities of the small disadvantaged business community to participate as a prime contractor / subcontractor to provide acquisition reform, management services in the areas described below entitled Engineering and Technology Assistance, standard industrial classification code 8711. The anticipated developmental assistance areas may include: General Business Management Assistance-Mentor to provide business and operational assistance; oversight and management aid; security training and program assistance; personnel management/human resources assistance and marketing and business development support. Engineering and Technical Assistance -- Mentor to provide the protege firm(s) with technical assistance and employee training to enhance the protege's ability to participate as a viable source for contracts and subcontracts in such areas as advanced simulation/modeling (e.g., life-cycle cost, total ownership cost, ); state of the art Business Process Reengineering (BPR) ; wo rld-class benchmarking /process maturation; strategic planning processes; Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Level 2 certification; software tool evaluation; Quality Function Deployment; virtual prototype importing and exporting; Simulation Based Acquisition (SBA); earned values process; Cost As An Independent Variable (CAIV) process; benchmarking commercial Electronic Source Selection (ESS) capabilities; strategic/strategy modeling for acquisition wargames; and what if drills. Other Technical Assistance -- Mentor may assist the prot g firm(s) in the development of the following additional capabilities of the protege: electronic marketing video; gaining access to the Federal Sources Data Base; conducting proposal training; automating the Red Team process; implementing MIS study recommendations; developing Internet services; installing Windows upgrade to the Deltek financial accounting system; and assisting in the development of video teleconferencing capability. Interested mentor firms must submit a concise Capabilities Package that clearlydemonstrates the abilityof the proposed mentor protege team to meet the aforestated objectives with sufficiently qualified personnel. Assistance provided by Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions to prospective protege(s) is encouraged. ONR's intention is to do an initial review of potential applicants based upon the submission of Capability Packages (white papers) prior to issuance of the formal RFP. All those submitting white papers will receive oral feedback prior to issuance of the RFP so that they may better judge their ability to meet the Navy's needs. This white paper phase is intended to reduce the number of marginal proposals/applications and thus save potential applicants time and effort. All full offers will be reviewed under the RFP even if no white paper has been submitted or even if the Navy's feedback on a white paper was not encouraging. The Capabilities Package should present evidence that the company is fully capable of providing the necessary assistance to meet the protege's needs in the areas of technical, marketing and business development. The mentor company should enhance the prospective protege's ability to perform successfully under contracts or subcontracts with DoD, other Federal agencies and commercial contracts in the areas described above. The capabilities paper may contain any information that the team believes relevant subject to the page limitations recommended below. The Capabilities Package should address the following areas: (a) background and commitment of the mentor; (b) current contracts of the mentor with DoD in the area of acquisition reform /acquisition management in the areas of SDB outreach and subcontracting commitment; (c)mentor company resources, including people, facilities, tools, technologies, and training. Interested firms should submit an electronic copy of their white paper/Capabilities Package and most recent SF 295, Summary of Subcontractor Report NLT 1400, 17 June 1997 to Ms. Genesta S. Belton, electronic mail address beltong@onr.navy.mil. The following format is recommended: 5 single-spaced pages maximum. Preferably formatted in Microsoft Word 6.0. The Navy will review the offerors Capabilities Packages using the following criteria: (a) the mentor's experience in acquisition reform efforts/acquisition management; (b) overall merits of the mentor's proposed effort toward meeting the areas of interest stated in this request; (c) the adequacy of the mentor's staff, facilities, tools, process, and technologies necessary to provide the anticipated development assistance to the protege(s); (d) the past performance record of the mentor in support of the small disadvantaged business community as shown by the mentor's subcontracting program to include the mentor's most recent annual Summary Subcontract Report(s), Standard Form 295, submitted for DoD contracts and any other Federal agencies; and (e) planned Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions involvement in providing assistance to the protege. Feedback of whitepapers will be followed by issuance of the RFP in early July. Government is considering multiple awards. A site visit is scheduled for June 10, 1997 at the Washington Navy Yard from 2:00 -- 4:00 pm. The location is the Auditorium, 901 M Street S.E. Bldg 220, Washington, DC 20374. RSVP Genesta Belton at (703) 696-4511. Supplemental ACE information may be obtained from Department of the Navy Acquisition Reform Office Website: http://www.acq-ref.navy.mil (0150)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0001 19970603\A-0001.SOL)