ATI, 5300 International Blvd., North Charleston, SC 29418

A -- MARITECH ADVANCED SHIPBUILDING ENTERPRISE RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENT SOL MASE 99-03 DUE 021299 POC Technical -- Ron Glover 843-760-4606 or glover@aticorp.org; Contracting/Cost -- Erinbeth Massie 843-760-3366 or massie@aticorp.org WEB: Click here to access the MARITECH ASE and NSRP website, http://www.nsrp.org. E-MAIL: Click here to contact the technical POC via e-mail, glover@aticorp.org. INTRODUCTION: The MARITECH Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise (ASE) Program is interested in receiving proposals (technical and cost) on the research effort described below. The ultimate program goal is to reduce U.S. shipbuilding cost and cycle time from initial business strategy development through post-delivery customer service. This CBD synopsis is an abbreviated version of the entire announcement which is published on the program Web site at http://www.nsrp.org. This announcement is issued to solicit proposals for research, development and implementation of best practices across the following major initiative areas in U.S. shipyards: Shipyard Production Process Technologies; Business Process Technologies; Product Design and Material Technologies; Systems Technologies; Facilities and Tooling; and Crosscut Initiatives. These major initiatives are described in detail in the Strategic Investment Plan (SIP) located on the Web at www.nsrp.org. Offerors are strongly advised to read the SIP in order to gaina greater understanding of the sub-initiative areas detailed below. Because the program major initiatives are closely tied to each other, proposals may be submitted with a scope that includes single major initiatives or represents integrated efforts across several major initiative areas. It is also anticipated that some project proposals may include one or more sub-initiative areas within a single major initiative. Due to budgetary actions, funding for FY 99 is less than projected in the Strategic Investment Plan. Teaming. Teaming arrangements are encouraged. At least one U.S. shipyard should be substantially involved in each project, normally in a leadership role. Exceptions to this may be considered on a case by case basis where there is compelling justification that the program mission is best served by the proposed deviation. Awards. Due to limited funding, the MARITECH ASE Program reserves the right to limit awards under any topic, and only proposals considered to be of superior quality will be funded. The MARITECH ASE Program reserves the right to select for award of a contract any, all, part, or none of the proposals received. Awards will be made using a class of non-procurement instruments called Technology Investment Agreements (e.g., Cooperative Agreements and Other Transactions). These assistance instruments are not subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation. RA Process. This is an unrestricted solicitation. Proposal preparation & submittal. Offerors should obtain a copy of the MARITECH Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise Proposal Kit (available from the MARITECH ASE and NSRP Web site at www.nsrp.org). This guide is specifically designed to assist offerors in understanding the RA proposal process. The MARITECH ASE Program will host a proposer's conference on 8 January 1999 from Noon until 4:00 PM Eastern Time, at the Hilton Hotel, North Charleston, SC, to provide an overview of the program and each of the six major initiative areas and to explain the process and answer general questions. Full Proposals in response to this Research Announcement (RA) shall be submitted by 12 February 1999, 3:00 PM Eastern Time, addressed to MARITECH ASE Program Administrator, Advanced Technology Institute, 5300 International Blvd, North Charleston, SC 29418 Attn: Ms Erinbeth Massie, ATI Contracts Department. Proposals received after the time and date specified will be returned to the proposer and will not be evaluated. Acknowledgement of receipt of proposals will be made by U.S. mail after the due date. REQUIREMENTS: Technical Description. This announcement is issued to solicit proposals for research, development and implementation of best practices across the major initiative areas in U.S. shipyards as described in detail in the Strategic Investment Plan (SIP). Refer to the entire research announcement posted on the Web at www.nsrp.org for the detailed Technical Description. Security Requirements. Classified material is not expected to be used on this effort. Other Special Requirements. Access to importanttechnology developments under this effort by Foreign Firms or Institutions must be carefully controlled. Procedures must be implemented to provide for this control. These controls are in addition to, and are not intended to change or supersede, the provisions of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (22 CFR pt. 121 et seq.), the DoD Industrial Security Regulation (DoD 5220.22-R), and the Department of Commerce Export Regulation (15 CFR pt. 770 et seq.). ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Anticipated Period of Performance: Offerors may submit multi-year proposals, providing they specify clearly defined one-year (or less) project phases to allow for go/no-go decisions on future year efforts/funding. Each phase should specify associated deliverables and milestones. The total length/duration of the technical effort is expected to vary by project complexity. It is anticipated that most projects will be of 24 or less months duration. It is recognized that particularly complex projects may require technical efforts of up to 36 months. The contractor shall also provide for an additional 4 months for processing/completion of the final report. Expected Award Date. April 1999 -- May 1999. Funding Estimate: Congress appropriated $16,600,000.00 for the MARITECH ASE Program in FY 99. However, all of the appropriated funding may not be available for project awards. There is no guarantee that awards will be made in each of the identified topic areas. Multiple awards may be made in a given major initiative area depending, in part, on the cost of individual proposals and available funding. Projected funding levels for future years are described in the MARITECH ASE Strategic Investment Plan dated August 14, 1998. Some program funding may be used to support other methods of industry technology advancement, such as symposia and industry study groups. Type of funding instrument. Technology Investment Agreement (cost reimbursable based on agreed to milestones). Program Furnished Property. None contemplated. Notice to Foreign-Owned Firms: Such firms are asked to immediately notify the MARITECH ASE Program Office point cited below upon deciding to respond to this announcement. Foreign contractors should be aware that prior Government approval may be required before their proposals can be considered. PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS: General Instructions. Offerors should apply the restrictive notice prescribed in the MARITECH ASE Proposal Preparation Kit (available after release of the official Research Announcement) to trade secrets or privileged commercial and financial information contained in their proposals. Proposal questions should be directed (E-mail is preferred) to one of the points of contact listed elsewhere herein. Offerors should consider instructions contained in the MARITECH ASE Proposal Preparation Kit referenced in Section A of this announcement. Technical and cost proposals, submitted in separate volumes, are required and shall be valid for 180 days. Proposals shall reference the above RA number. An original, hard copy (unbound) of the proposal and seven copies (bound) must be received by the time and date listed earlier. Offerors are also encouraged to submit one copy of the cost and technical proposals via electronic means (using Microsoft software -- Windows 95 or later versions) on computer disk or CD-ROM. The disks shall be 3.5 inch high density disks, MS-DOS formatted, and virus free. It is acceptable to provide graphics/exhibits in a separate hard copy or as part of the electronic file. Providing an electronic copy of the proposal is voluntary and will not affect proposal evaluation. All responsible sources may submit proposals which shall be considered against the criteria set forth herein. Offerors are advised that only MARITECH ASE Program Office contracting officers are legally authorized to contractually bind or otherwise commit the program. Cost Proposal. The accompanying cost proposal/price breakdown shall be supplied together with supporting schedules, and shall contain a person-hour breakdown per task. Copies of the above-referenced forms may be obtained from the contracting office cited or by accessing the MARITECH ASE and NSRP Web site. Technical Proposal. The technical proposal shall include a discussion of the nature and scope of the research, the technical approach and appropriate metrics to gage progress. The proposal shall identify which other Major Initiatives or sub-initiative areas are related/impacted by the proposed research, or state that none are related/impacted. Proposals that develop technology that is transferable throughout the industry will receive higher scores than those that do not produce demonstrable, transferable results. Resumes of personnel who will be participating in this effort should also be included as an appendix to the technical proposal and are not included in the page limit. The technical proposal shall include a Statement of Work (SOW) suitable for contract incorporation as an attachment detailing the technical tasks proposed to be accomplished under the proposed effort. Offerors should use the MARITECH ASE Proposal Preparation Kit available on the Web (www.nsrp.org) 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. Crosscut Initiatives. The proposal shall also specifically address the crosscut initiative areas (technology transfer; organizational change; education and training; human resources; and environment, safety, and health) -- or identify why this is inappropriate for the specific proposal. Page Limitations. The technical proposal shall be limited to 40 pages (fixed pitch font of 12 or fewer characters per inch or proportional font point size 10 or larger), single-spaced, single-sided, 21.6 x 27.9 cm (8.5 by 11 inches). Smaller type may be used in figures and tables, but must be clearly legible. Margins on all sides (top, bottom, left, and right) should be at least 2.5 cm (1"). The page limitation includes all information, except the Cover Page, Table of Contents, List of Figures and Tables, Cross Reference to Evaluation Criteria, Resumes, and Statement of Work. Pages in excess of this limitation will not be considered. Offerors are advised that the number of pages should be commensurate with the degree of complexity of the proposed effort. Less complex, less expensive proposals may be significantly less than 40 pages in length. Cost proposals have no page limitations, however, offerors are requested to keep cost proposals to less than 45 pages as a goal. Preparation Cost: This announcement does not commit the program to pay for any response preparation cost. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this announcement is not considered a direct charge to any resulting award or any other contract. 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 the announcement. Details of the evaluation criteria are provided in the Proposal Preparation Kit, and are summarized below: Technical Aspects. The technical aspect, which is ranked as the first order of priority relative to the other factors (cost share, proprietary content, and cost aspect), shall be evaluated based on the following criteria: a. How well the proposal fits with the industry vision and Strategic Investment Plan b. Innovation and technical merit c. Plan for industry implementation d. Business case, including return on investment e. Team strength and management plan, including the availability of qualified technical personnel and their experience with applicable technologies. The first item is the most important technical factor. The other four technical factors are of equal importance to each other. Other Factors. a. Cost Share: The proposal shall demonstrate a commitment to share the cost and risk of the proposed effort. The MARITECH ASE program goal is 50% cost share (i.e., for every dollar of program funding provided, industry will provide at least a dollar of cost share). While there is no pre-determined cost share ratio requirement for any single project, the following incentives apply: (1) Shipyard-specific proposals are expected to provide significantly higher cost share than collaborative projects, and (2) All projects will compete on, among other factors, the degree to which the proposers will share the cost and thus leverage program funds. Additional information regarding allowable types of cost share can be found in the MARITECH ASE Proposal Preparation Kit. b. Proprietary Content: Most of the program funding will be applied toward open, collaborative projects. Most projects will be funded on a basis of sharing results within the U.S. industry. It is anticipated that some projects with proprietary content (called "shipyard-specific") will be awarded, but these projects will require substantially higher cost share. The estimated fraction of the funding that will be used in developing technologies that will be openly shared without delay, such that a higher percentage of the results are shared, will be considered in the evaluation. Proposals with a higher degree of results that are openly shared will be viewed more favorably. Proposals that include proprietary intellectual property as cost share, but whose research results will be openly shared will be considered non-proprietary for this factor. Cost Aspects: Cost/Price includes the reasonableness and realism of the proposed cost and consideration of proposed budgets and funding profiles. The technical and cost information will be evaluated at the same time. POINTS OF CONTACT: Technical Contact Point: Mr. Ron Glover, Advanced Technology Institute, 5300 International Blvd., North Charleston, SC 29418. Phone (843) 760-4606, E-mail glover@aticorp.org Contracting/Cost Point of Contact: Questions related to the contract/cost issues should be directed to the MARITECH ASE Program Office, Advanced Technology Institute, Erinbeth Massie, North Charleston, SC 29418, (843) 760-3366, E-mail massie@aticorp.org. Posted 12/22/98 (W-SN282571). (0356)

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