Ceros Project Office, 73-4460 Queen Kaahumanu Hwy, Suite 111, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740

A -- OCEAN TECHNOLOGIES FOR INTEGRATED NAVY-MARINE FORCES. SOL BAA-CEROS-2K-01 DUE 042800 POC William A. Friedl, CEROS Technical Director, (808) 327-4310 WEB: CEROS Web Page, http://www.ceros.org. E-MAIL: William A. Friedl, CEROS Technical Director, billf@ceros.org. BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA-CEROS-2K-01): (Ocean Technology Development, Use, and Applications in support of Integrated Navy-Marine Forces including but not limited to Shallow Water Surveillance Technologies, Ocean Environmental Preservation, New Ocean Platform and Ship Concepts, Ocean Measurement Instrumentation and Ocean Engineering Tools, and Unique Properties of the Deep Ocean Environment) SOL BAA-CEROS-2K-01; DUE: 28 April 2000 [POC William A. Friedl, (808) 327-4310]. The National Defense Center of Excellence for Research in Ocean Sciences (CEROS) is soliciting proposals for concept exploration, analysis, study, development, and commercialization of ocean technologies and applied ocean science. Of particular interest are proposals for development and demonstration of advanced technologies for Shallow Water Surveillance, Ocean Environmental Preservation, New Ocean Platform and Ship Concepts, Ocean Measurement Instrumentation and Ocean Engineering Tools, and Unique Properties of the Deep Ocean Environment. Innovative concepts and new approaches are being sought to advance technology, take advantage of capabilities, facilities and infrastructure in Hawaii, and demonstrate beneficial applications with military utility and commercial development potential for the Department of Defense. CEROS anticipates executing the program outlined in this announcement contingent upon funding amount and availability. Contract awards shall be based on proposal merit and funding availability. CEROS anticipates that initial contractor selections will be made during March 2000 from submissions received by CEROS in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii by 3 PM, Hawaii Standard Time, 17 November 1999. However, properly formatted proposal abstracts received after initial contractor selections and before 28 April 2000 will be considered for award if funding is available. Proposed work should be structured to have a base period of performance of 6 to 12 months. Options to extend the period of performance for up to 12 additional months may beincluded in proposals but incremental funding of any such options is not guaranteed. CEROS will use a two-step submission process to formulate a Core Program of projects submitted under this announcement. For the first submission step, offerors are required to submit a Proposal Abstract to be considered. CEROS will evaluate all abstracts against the evaluation criteria herein without regard to other abstracts submitted. For the second step, CEROS will request full technical and cost proposals from selected offerors for proposed efforts deemed as best qualified for potential negotiation under this BAA. Proposal format and length for full proposals will be specified by CEROS in the invitation to submit the more detailed proposal. An invitation from CEROS to submit a full proposal does not assure subsequent award. The decision to submit or not submit a full proposal is the responsibility of the offeror submitting the abstract. No selection for negotiation or subsequent funding will be made under this BAA without full technical and cost proposals. Subject areas of interest include: (1) Shallow Water Surveillance Technologies, including shallow water anti-submarine warfare; high resolution surveys and mine countermeasures; mine identification and classification technologies; low-cost sensors and hydrophones; unique array configurations; netted sensor applications; reliability and utility of network-resident data; advanced signal processing techniques; advanced information processing techniques; point and wide area ship defense; and environmental exploitation techniques for defense applications. (2) Ocean Environmental Preservation, including in situ measurements; spectral remote sensing technologies; microelectronic and/or micromechanical systems development; non-point source pollution measurement and remediation; explosive ordnance disposal; environmental cleanup or remediation techniques; spoils disposal and handling procedures; and low cost monitoring techniques. (3) New Ocean Platform and Ship Concepts, including fast ship concepts; low cost sea test techniques; unique structures; simulation based design and model development and testing; affordability; automation; assembly and manufacturing technology; software enabled, embedded control systems; new hull designs; and ocean range utilization concepts. (4) Ocean Measurement Instrumentation and Ocean Engineering Tools, including acoustic observatories; advanced sensors and geophysical survey techniques; subsystems and/or components for teleoperated systems (TOS); nondestructive testing systems; low power, autonomous data collection platforms; laser applications; modeling, measurements and predictions; undersea system or facilities installation, monitoring and repair; focused power generation for obstacle clearing; and exploitation of ocean data packages at the Maui High Performance Computing Center. (5) Unique Properties of the Deep Ocean Environment, including ocean property survey techniques; factors controlling ocean environmental conditions; deep seawater chemistry and biology; unique products extraction; deep seawater materials testing; energy and fuel production potential; long term high pressure exploitation for product development or enhancement; and upper ocean bioluminescence and acoustic and optical scattering characteristics. PROPOSAL PROCESS To be considered in the initial contract award period, offerors responding to this BAA shall submit an unclassified Abstract of the proposed effort to CEROS in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, by 3 PM, Hawaii Standard Time, 17 November 1999. The Abstract should provide an overview of the project and associated costs and shall be prepared on 8.5 x 11 inch plain paper printed on one side only in the following format: single or double spaced, in at least ten point type, with margins not less than one inch, and pages numbered. An original Abstract and eight (8) copies are requested for each submission. Each Abstract should be unbound with the pages secured by a single staple in the upper left-hand corner. Abstracts may not be submitted by facsimile ("fax") or electronic mail, and any so sent will be rejected. Acknowledgment of receipt of abstracts or proposals will not be made, and abstracts or proposals will not be returned. CEROS will attempt to respond not later than 20 December 1999, to organizations that submit project Abstracts on or before 3 PM, Hawaii Standard Time, 17 November 1999. Each Abstract shall address one subject area and must be no longer than 5 single-sided pages, including figures and tables. Abstracts longer than 5 pages will be deemed unresponsive. . The Abstract shall consist of a cover page and up to 4 additional pages of project information. The Cover Page shall include the following: title of the proposed effort; the specific CEROS technical subject area addressed (i.e. Shallow Water Surveillance Technologies, Ocean Environmental Preservation, New Ocean Platform and Ship Concepts, Ocean Measurement Instrumentation and Ocean Engineering Tools, or Unique Properties of the Deep Ocean Environment); up to 5 "key words" (i.e. individual words or short word combinations) to characterize the proposed effort; intended product or result; name, affiliation, phone number, fax number, and mailing address of the Principal Investigator and Administrative Point of Contact; proposed period of performance; funding required to produce the proposed products; names and affiliations of sub-contractors and co-investigators; and special requirements or considerations. The balance of the Abstract shall include the following sections, each clearly labeled: A. Technical Rationale for the proposed effort, stating the technical problem and Department of Defense (DoD) technical need addressed; the relationship of the proposed effort to CEROS program objectives; and the specific benefits for the DoD and state of Hawaii anticipated through the work. B. Technical Objectives of the work, describing the work's intended result and deliverable products and specifying the technical innovation and improvements involved. C. Technical Approach and Methods to be used to attain the work's technical objectives, including the planned work schedule, work assignments and significant developmental milestones; special capabilities of the proposed work team; and state-of-the-art processes, techniques or facilities involved. This section of the proposal abstract should also specify the technical risks inherent to the proposed effort and outline the offeror's plans to mitigate those risks in the course of the proposed work. D. Expected Results or Products, discussing the anticipated application of results, including the relationship of the work to the offeror's overall technical and business objectives; plans for follow-on development, transition or commercial application; anticipated patents or other intellectual property; and specific aspect of the work that will add value to the proposed project and advance CEROS objectives of ocean technology development in the state of Hawaii. E. Budget, outlining the principal cost elements of the proposed effort, including labor, contracts, material, travel and other significant aspects of the project's spending plan. The Abstract may also contain any other information germane to the proposed effort, such as leveraged assets involved, details of technology transfer plans, company qualifications, consultant commitments, or technical references. EVALUATION CRITERIA The following criteria apply to both Abstracts and full proposals requested under this announcement. CEROS will select for award those projects offering the best value and, except for the first criterion (item A), will give equal weight to each of the following criteria. Item A will receive twice the weight of any other criterion in the evaluation. A. Quality. Scientific and technical quality of the proposed effort and its potential to advance the technical state-of-the-art and impact DoD ocean technical competence; relevance to DoD technical needs and the CEROS mission; and potential importance to intended users or beneficiaries of the developed technology. B. Approach and Capabilities. Realism of technical objectives and potential for attaining stated objectives using the methods and resources described. Qualifications of the principal investigator and key team members. Adequacy of equipment and facilities proposed, including stated plans to use equipment, facilities, infrastructure or natural ocean resources in Hawaii. Understanding of technical risks inherent in the proposed effort and adequacy of offeror's technical risk management plans. C. Anticipated Benefits. Potential for the proposed effort to provide significant benefits, value or return to the DoD, state of Hawaii and the offeror at reasonable cost and in a timely manner. Importance of the anticipated results to the DoD and to the offeror's business development plans and technical development goals. Transition potential and plans for anticipated results and project's potential for support from sources other than CEROS. D. Costs and Budget. Overall cost and realism of cost for proposed effort, results, and schedule. Leveraged assets and cost-saving aspects of the proposed effort that add value to the final result. OTHER REQUIREMENTS CEROS plans to make up to $7M available to fund proposals in response to this announcement, depending on funding availability. Out-year funding has not been defined. Multiple, fixed-price contracts, not exceeding $1M each, are anticipated to be awarded to commercial entities capable of doing business in Hawaii as a result of this BAA. In particular, CEROS encourages proposals requesting $0.5 to 1.0M and involving multiple entities ("teaming") to leverage capabilities and advance technology development in Hawaii. Contract awards will be based on proposal merit and funding availability. CEROS anticipates that initial selections for awards will be made in March 2000 from submissions received by CEROS in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii by 3 PM, Hawaii Standard Time, 17 November 1999. CEROS may request that successful offerors deliver one technical presentation to students in Hawaii as part of the project. Options to extend the period of performance for up to 12 additional months may be included in submissions to CEROS but incremental or follow-on funding of any such option is not guaranteed. CEROS may choose to fund such optional phases without additional competitive submissions from the offeror, contingent upon anticipated funding availability and results from the initial year's effort and only upon specific recommendation and approval from DARPA. CEROS may choose to fund all, some or none of the optional phases included in submissions in response to this announcement. The commitment of out-year funding to optional phases will not exceed $1.0M. This solicitation will remain open for 210 days from the date of this announcement. However, to be considered in the initial award period, a properly formatted abstract must be received by CEROS in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii by 3 PM, Hawaii Standard Time, 17 November 1999. It is CEROS policy to treat all proposals as competitive information and to disclose the contents only for the purposes of evaluation. CEROS may use selected contractors as special resources to evaluate abstracts and proposals. These contractors are restricted by contract from disclosing proposal information or using it for purposes other than the technical assessments for CEROS. CEROS evaluators are required to sign non-disclosure statements. By submitting an abstract to CEROS, you agree that the project's technical and management information may be disclosed to selected contractors and evaluators for the limited purpose stated above or unless otherwise required by law. Any information submitted to CEROS that an offeror intends to exclude from such limited release must be clearly marked proprietary and submitted segregated from other proposal material. All abstracts submitted under this BAA must be unclassified. If offerors propose to undertake classified work or require access to classified information, they must be able to certify that they have a proper facility clearance, and key personnel must be certified as holding a Secret clearance. Abstracts must clearly state that the proposed work will be classified. Successful offerors will be required to execute a State of Hawaii Agreement for Goods or Services Based Upon Competitive Sealed Proposals with the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority pursuant to its statutory authority provided under Chapter 227, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Pursuant to section 103-10, Hawaii Revised statutes, contract payments shall be contingent upon the receipt of federal funds. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Information about CEROS and Hawaii ocean R&D is available to potential offerors upon request from the CEROS Project Office or through the CEROS website at http://www.ceros.org/. Information on the goals and objectives for the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii and the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority are available at the website http://lehua.ilhawaii.net/nelha/index.html/. Information about technology business and development in Hawaii is available fromthe state's High Technology Development Corporation website at http://www.htdc.org/ and the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) website at http://www.state.hi.us/dbedt/. Offerors who submit abstracts to CEROS through delivery services are advised to confirm delivery schedules with the service and plan submissions accordingly. Offerors are wholly responsible for timely submission of abstracts whether or not third party delivery services are employed. Contact Point: questions relating to this BAA are to be directed to Attn.: Technical Director, CEROS Project Office, 73-4460 Queen Kaahumanu Highway, Suite 111, and Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96740, phone (808) 327-4310. All responsive sources may submit a proposal abstract, which shall be considered by CEROS. CEROS reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals received in response to this announcement. The program described in this announcement is contingent upon funding availability. Posted 09/30/99 (W-SN387036). (0273)

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