R&D Contracting Directorate, Bldg 7, 2530 C Street, WPAFB, OH 45433-7607

A -- ANALYSIS AND SUPPORT INITIATIVE FOR STRUCTURAL TECHNOLOGY SOL PRDA NO. 98-03-VAK POC Contact Genet R. Stewart. Contract Negotiator, 937-255-5901 or Lawrence W. Kopa, Contracting Officer, (937) 255-5901 WEB: click here to view the supplemental package, http://www.wrs.afrl.af.mil/contract/. E-MAIL: click here to contact the contract negotiator, stewart@wl.wpafb.af.mil. INTRODUCTION: The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/VAK) is interested in receiving proposals (technical and cost) on the research effort described below. Proposals in response to this PRDA shall be received by 16 July 1998, 1500 hours Eastern Daylight Savings Time, addressed to Air Force Research Laboratory, Directorate of R&D Contracting, Building 7, Area B, Attn: Genet Stewart, AFRL/VAK, 2530 C Street, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-7607 (e-mail, Genet.Stewart@wl.wpafb.af.mil). This is an unrestricted solicitation. Small businesses are encouraged to propose on all or any part of this solicitation. Proposals submitted shall be in accordance with this announcement. Proposal receipt after the cutoff date and time specified herein shall be treated in accordance with restrictions of FAR 52.215-1 (c) (3); a copy of this provision may be obtained from the contracting point of contact cited in this announcement. There will be no other solicitation issued in regard to this requirement. Offerors should be alert for any PRDA amendments that may permit subsequent submission of proposal dates. Offerors should request a copy of the indexed guide to Program R&D Announcements and Broad Agency Announcement programs. This guide was specifically designed to assist offerors in understanding the PRDA/BAA proposal process. Copies of the guide and the supplemental package to this procurement may be requested from the contract point of contact, AFRL/VAK, Genet Stewart, telephone (937) 255-5901. The guide and supplemental package for this procurement also available on the Internet address, www.wrs.afrl.af.mil/contract. B-REQUIREMENTS: (1) Technical Requirements: The purpose of this program is to conduct quick reaction studies and research projects pertinent to four core technology areas within the Structures Division. The four core areas to be supported in the Structures Division are structural integrity of aging aircraft, structural technology integration, extreme environment structures and smart structures. A cost-reimbursable, delivery order contract is contemplated in order to conduct long/short term quick reaction studies, surveys, test planning, model fabrication/modification, testing, analyses, assessments, evaluations and research projects pertinent to the four core areas of the Structures Division. Five Delivery orders covering key aspects of each core area in the Structures Division are included in the supplemental package for this PRDA. It is anticipated that the first three delivery orders will be funded at award of the contract. The remaining two will be used for evaluation of proposals. Offerors will be required to demonstrate responsiveness to each sample order/core area. The contractor will require access to a broad range of technical disciplines, planning, scientific and technical expertise in order to accomplish these objectives. The contractor shall furnish the necessary personnel, material, and travel to accomplish and effectively manage work designated by means of individual delivery orders issued by the Contracting Officer. The contractor shall be available on short notice for meetings at WPAFB for planning new starts and reviewing existing programs. The contractor shall be required to collect, organize, evaluate and disseminate scientific, engineering and program management data and information applicable to all aspects of aerospace flight vehicle structure design, fabrication and certification testing. Responses must demonstrate the respondent's experience and knowledge of advanced structures and materials disciplines, to include proposed subcontractors, team members and other key personnel; and demonstrate how much work they world expect to be able to provide by drawing on in-house resources. Further detailed information on the requirements of this contract is included in the supplemental package for this PRDA. (2) Deliverable Items: The following CDRL deliverable data items shall be proposed. Contractor format is encouraged in all deliverables. The numbers before the item names refer to references in the supplemental package for this PRDA. Any requirements for hardware/samples, or software deliverables will be addressed in each delivery order as determined necessary. Any software delivered will by Y2K compatible. A001 Scientific and Technical Reports, DI-MISC-80711/T, (Draft and Reproducible, Interim and Final) A002 Contract Funds Status Report (CFSR), DI-FNCL-81468/T, quarterly A003 Contractor Billing Voucher, DI-MISC-80711/T, monthly A004 Funds and Man-Hour Expenditure Report, DI-FNCL-80331/T, monthly A005 Mathematical Model Finite Element Analysis Report, DI-GDRQ-81257A/T A006 Mathematical Model Finite Element Structure Report, DI-GDRQ-81256B/T A007 Status Report, DI-MGMT-80368/T, monthly A008 Presentation Material, DI-ADMN 81373/T, as required A009 Still Photo Coverage, DI-MISC-80169 A010 Technical Videotape Presentation, DI-MISC-81275/T A011 Technical Report-Study/Services, DI-MISC-80508/T A012 Scientific and Technical Reports-Technical Handbook, DI-MISC-80711/TA013 Computer Software Product End Item, DI-MCCR-80700/T (3) Security Requirements: The work performed under this contract may include delivery orders requiring access or generation of information up to a secret level. C-ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: (1) Anticipated Period of Performance: The total length of the technical effort is estimated to be 72 months. (2) Expected Award Date: Fourth Quarter FY98. (3) Government Estimate: The government has set a funding cap for delivery orders for this effort of $13,871,000. The estimated cost of D.O. 1 is $75K with $20K budgeted in FY98 and $55K budgeted for FY99. The estimated cost of D.O. 2 is $180K with $5K budgeted for FY98 and $175K budgeted for FY99. The estimated cost of D.O. 3 is $180K with $5K budgeted for FY98 and $175K budgeted for FY99. The Government funding cap is an estimate only and is not a promise for funding as all funding is subject to change due to Government discretion and availability. (4) The Air Force anticipates ID/IQ with CPFF orders but will consider the full range of Cost Contract types, to include Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF), Cost Reimbursement (CR) (no fee), Cost Sharing (CS), along with grants and other forms of assistance instruments such as cooperative agreements and other transactions. Offers are encouraged to propose a contract type that is considered to be most appropriate for the technology proposed to be developed. If a cooperative agreement is awarded, no CDRL requirements will apply but provisions to make the same type of data available to the government and industry on a similar schedule should be proposed. Any grants awarded will be Cost (no fee). (5) Government Furnished Property: Some delivery orders may involve GFP that will be specified in the delivery order. (6) Base Support: Some delivery orders may involve base support that will be specified in the delivery order. (7) Size Status: For the purpose of this acquisition, the size standard is 500 employees (SIC 8731). (8) Notice to Foreign-Owned Firms: Such firms are asked to immediately notify the Air Force contract pointof contact upon deciding to respond to this announcement. The Foreign Disclosure Branch has determined that because some of the delivery orders will contain information on the Military Critical Technology lists or involve classified information up to a secret level foreign participation as a prime contractor is excluded. (9) CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Some of the delivery orders for this effort will require the contractor to supply personnel for Advisory and Assistance Services (A&AS). These technical experts will be used to evaluate existing technical efforts and plan for new programs. There exists a potential conflict of interest in this effort. The contractor may have access to other contractors' proprietary information, and plans for U.S. Government contracts. A Conflict of Interest provision will be incorporated into any resulting contract to prevent conflicting roles which may bias the contractor's judgment or objectivity and to preclude the contractor from obtaining an unfair competitive advantage in concurrent and future acquisitions. Offerors shall address any known conflict of interest as part of this proposal response. D-PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS: (1) General Instructions: Offerors should apply the restrictive notice prescribed in the provision at FAR 52.215-1 (e), Restriction on Disclosure and Use of Data, to trade secrets or privileged commercial and financial information contained in their proposals. Proposal questions should be directed to one of the points of contact listed elsewhere herein. Offerors should consider instructions contained in the indexed guide to PRDA and BAA programs referenced in Section A of this announcement. Technical and cost proposals, submitted in separate volumes, are required and must be valid for 180 days. Proposals must reference the above PRDA number. In an effort to move toward paperless contracting, you are encouraged to submit your cost and technical proposals via electronic means on computer disk or CD-ROM. Please note that classified information shall NOT be submitted on disk. If proposals are not submitted on computer disk or CD-ROM by electronic means, they shall be submitted in an original and eight copies. If proposals will be submitted by electronic means, submit 2 paper copies and 6 electronic copies. The disks shall be 3 1/2-inch high-density disks, MS-DOS formatted and virus free. It is acceptable to supply graphics/exhibits in a separate hard copy or as part of the electronic file. Providing the Technical Proposal on floppy disk is voluntary and will not affect proposal evaluation. All responsible sources may submit a proposal that shall be considered against the criteria set forth herein. Offerors are advised that only contracting officers are legally authorized to contractually bind or otherwise commit the government. (2) Cost Proposal: Adequate price competition is anticipated. The accompanying cost proposal/price breakdown shall be furnished with supporting schedules and shall contain a person-hour breakdown per task.. The costs should be broken down by task to facilitate partial award of a separate task if appropriate. The basic cost proposal should include a cost matrix of estimated outyear rates for the length of the entire contract.(3) Technical Proposal: The technical proposal shall include a discussion of the nature and scope of the research and the technical approach taken for the overall program. The technical proposal shall also include proposed approaches to each of the five delivery orders included with this package. It is anticipated that the first three delivery orders will be funded at award of the contract. (A minimum of 1 delivery order will be funded with this award.) The remaining two are being used for evaluation purposes. The technical proposal shall include a Statement of Work (SOW) detailing the technical tasks proposed to be accomplished under the proposed effort and suitable for contract incorporation. Offerors shall refer to the Guide referenced in Section A to assist in SOW preparation. Any questions concerning the technical proposal or SOW preparation shall be referred to the Technical Point of Contact cited in this announcement. Pages in the SOW will not be counted in the page limitations. (4) Page Limitations: The technical proposal shall be limited to 50 pages for the overall approach and 20 pages for each delivery order for a total of 150 pages (12 pitch or larger type), double spaced, single-sided, 8.5 by 11 inches. The page limitation includes all information, i.e. indices, photographs, foldouts, appendices, attachments, etc. The only exception is the SOW as stated in the previous section. If electronic means are used, it shall be readable by Microsoft Word for Windows, version 6.0. The double spacing requirement shall be satisfied by Microsoft Word's double spacing method and the 12 pitch or larger requirement shall be satisfied by setting the Microsoft Word for windows type size (point) at 10 or larger. The Government will not consider pages in excess of these limitations. Cost proposals have no limitations; however, offerors are requested to keep cost proposals to 50 pages as a goal for the basic cost proposal and 25 pages for each delivery order. If electronic means are used, it shall be readable by Microsoft Excel for Windows version 5.0. (5) Preparation Cost: This announcement does not commit the Government to pay for any response preparation cost. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this PRDA is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting or any other contract. However, it may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost as specified in FAR 31.205-18. E-BASIS FOR AWARD: The selection of one or more sources for award will be based on an evaluation of an offeror's response (both technical and cost aspects) to determine the overall merit of the proposal in response to this announcement. The criteria used for the evaluation process are included in the supplemental package for this PRDA. F-POINTS OF CONTACT: (1) Technical Point of Contact: Project Engineer, Forrest Sandow, AFRL/VASA, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH 45433-7542, (937) 255-5664 (e-mail, sandowfa@wl.wpafb.af.mil). (2) Contracting Point of Contact: Questions related to the contract /cost issues should be directed to the Contract point of contact listed in part A. (3) An Ombudsman has been appointed to hear concerns from offerors or potential offerors during the proposal development phase of this acquisition. The purpose of the Ombudsman is not to diminish the authority of the Program office or the Contracting Officer, but to communicate contractor concerns, issues, disagreements and recommendations to the appropriate government personnel. When requested, the Ombudsman shall maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The Ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals or in the selection decision. Interested parties are invited to contact Lt Col James Bixler, Det1 AFRL/PK, telephone (937) 255-4813 (e-mail, BixlerJP@wl.wpafb.af.mil). All routine communication concerning this acquisition should be directed to the Contract point of contact listed in part A. (0153)

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