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

A -- METALWORKING MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY SOL 00-005 DUE 020300 POC Helen Paul Contracting Officer, ONR 253, (703) 696-8556 This announcement constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in FAR 6.102(d)(2). There will be no other formal request for proposals or solicitations regarding this announcement. Interested parties should be alert for any BAA amendments that may be published. Technical Point of Contact: Mr. Edward J. Coyle, ONR MANTECH Detachment, email: coylee@onr.navy.mil or fax: (215) 697-9534. Contracts Point of Contact: Ms. Helen Paul, ONR, Code 253, email: paulh@onr.navy.mil or fax: (703) 696-0066. BACKGROUND: The National Center for Excellence in Metalworking Technology (NCEMT) is currently managed and operated by Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) under a Cost Plus Fixed Fee Contract. The existing contract will expire 31 August 2000. A listing of current projects with their status is accessible at http://www.onr.navy.mil/02/baa/baa00005iday.htm website. The Navy Manufacturing Technology (MANTECH) Program is seeking proposals to continue its metalworking initiatives via this announcement. The Government reserves the right to award a Cooperative Agreement or a Contract to the successful offeror. The benefits of a Navy Metalworking Center to the metalworking industry include increased productivity, reduced costs and cycle time, and improved quality. These benefits accrue to industry as well as the Navy and DOD. The Navy MANTECH Program Office will provide prioritized requirements / issues at least annually for planning and execution. Technologies, processes and services covering developments in net shape manufacturing by casting, forming (forging, extruding, drawing, bending, shaping, semi-solid forming, etc.), powder metallurgy, surface treatment, joining, machining (metal removal and cutting), systems integration, concurrent processing, intelligent processing, process modeling, material properties testing, and engineering knowledge bases are germane to this thrust area. Effective technology transfer throughout the defense industrial base metalworking and manufacturing industries will be one of the primary objectives. While there is no statutory requirement for cost sharing, there is a requirement to include an evaluation factor to evaluate each offeror on the amount of cost sharing proposed to determine best value to the Government. The Navy is seeking a cost sharing goal on all technical projects in an appropriate ratio of recipient dollars for each government dollar spent. REQUIREMENTS: The recipient will be responsible for the creation, operation, and management of a Navy Metalworking Center of Excellence. Through this MANTECH thrust, the recipient will access, evaluate, develop, and demonstrate metalworking technologies to address both current and future Navy and Department of Defense (DOD) requirements. The technical work assigned under subsequent award will be requirements driven to reflect current and future Navy and / or DOD needs in metalworking technologies and will include major emphasis on weapons system affordability, sustainment and life cycle cost reduction. Focus areas could include any metalworking or similar material manufacturing technologies applicable to Navy and /or DOD weapon systems. Whenever practical, the work carried out via the center should be conducted as a collaborative effort among academia, industry, other Centers of Excellence and government laboratories and organizations. The recipient will be responsible for the transfer of these technologies to the commercial sector to enhance industrial and supplier base competitiveness and reduce manufacturing response time. Results of projects will be included in national publications and presented at symposia, conferences, and similar venues. All projects or programs designed to address identified Navy manufacturing, production, or sustainment requirements shall include technology transfer and implementation deliverables. The Government reserves the right to add or transition the management of any ongoing NCEMT projects after award. The following specific tasks are required: 1. Assist Navy and industry in identifying andestablishing metalworking manufacturing technology requirements / issues for weapon system program managers to prioritize. 2. Assist Navy in coordination, management and execution of Navy- and DOD-funded manufacturing technology projects to address assigned requirements / issues from solution identification / formulation through technology transfer and implementation. 3. Participate in the identification and development of leading-edge metalworking technology practices. 4. Provide access to and, as needed, develop and maintain a high level of expertise in various metalworking technologies. 5. Sponsor seminars, conferences, and short courses / training, which provide state-of-the-art information and technology transfer in metalworking technologies. EVALUATION CRITERIA: The evaluation criteria factors shown below are listed in descending order of importance, which means Technical is the most important and Cost Realism is the least important. Commitment to Small Business will be an evaluation criterion used toevaluate each offeror's proposal that is proposing on a Contract basis and will be evaluated separately from the other factors. All offerors submitting a proposal on a contract basis must address its commitment to utilize small business concerns in the performance of the effort. (1) TECHNICAL: (a) Corporate background and experience in metalworking manufacturing technologies as reflected in previous contracts or relevant manufacturing enterprises, and personnel background and experience, including relevant qualifications, time commitment of key technical and managerial personnel, and technology experience. (Personnel experience within the past 5 years will be considered relevant.) (b) Previous experiences and understanding of the technical intricacies and innovative approaches to all state-of-the-art forms of metalworking. (c) Ability to identify and address DOD manufacturing technology needs for all types of platforms; e.g. land vehicles, ships, aircraft, and missiles. (d) Previous experience and proposed mechanisms and deliverables to conduct technology transfer to industry (producers) and Government to achieve a high degree of implementation of the developments and results. (e) Familiarity with International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) requirements. (2) MANAGEMENT: (a) Understanding of the goals and mission of the MANTECH metalworking thrust and reflection of this understanding in the proposed resources, management structure, organization, technical approach, use of subcontracting, and leveraging of government and other funds. This includes knowledge of the Navy and DOD MANTECH Programs and their goals. (b) Adequacy and availability of facilities and equipment, both available and proposed, for program execution, including lead-time from award of contract until the proposed management, technical staff and facilities could be in place and available to support the technical requirements. (c) Approach to assisting Navy in establishing MANTECH issues for prioritization consideration. (d) Offeror's policies on intellectual property, proprietary rights, patent restrictions, and foreign activities, governments, and foreign students. (e) Approach for assuming responsibility for on-going projects upon assumption of management responsibilities from the NCEMT. If a contract is contemplated by the proposed recipient, offeror should provide its approach on how its team will integrate and communicate with Navy, industry and academic and or other organizations and Centers of Excellence as necessary in developing and executing the solution(s) for MANTECH projects as well as implementing results within industry. If a consortium is contemplated by the proposed recipient, the offeror should provide its organizational structure, levels of membership and descriptions thereof; the method of operation in responding to Navy and DOD requirements including interactions with Navy and DOD customers and between consortium members, project management, selection of project team members, strength of commitment from each member to the consortium and the collective range of metalworking technical expertise of the proposed participants. (3) EXAMPLE SOLUTION IDENTIFICATION PROCESS. Viability of the offeror's process for identifying the best solution to address the offeror's selected Navy metalworking technology issue with emphasis on processes that support technology transfer and implementation within industry (producers). (4) COST SHARE: Emphasis will be placed on cost sharing, leveraging and minimizing administrative and facility infrastructure, maintenance and indirect costs. Two goals are maximizing the return on Navy investment and having the recipient share in the risk of technology development and insertion by sharing the cost of technical activities to the maximum extent practicable. Offerors will describe in detail their process for obtaining high quality cost share to leverage Navy investment for technical work. Offerors are also encouraged to identify and offer other innovative methods to augment Navy investment. The following items are not considered as allowable costs for calculation of recipient's cost share: -- Sunk costs, i.e., costs incurred before the start of the proposed project; -- Foregone fees or profits; -- Foregone G&A or cost of money applied to a base of IR&D; -- IR&D (under contracts); -- Bid and proposal costs; -- Value claimed for intellectual property in excess of 10% of recipient's cost share; -- Costs incurred for prior research; -- Parallel research or investment, i.e., research or other investments that might be related to the proposed project but which will not specifically be part of the project or subject to the direction of the project management team. (5) COST REALISM: Costs will be evaluated on the basis of cost realism of the respondent's program management effort. This pertains to the offeror's ability to project costs which are realistic and reasonable and which indicate whether the offeror understands the nature and scope of the work to be performed. (6) COMMITMENT TO SMALL BUSINESS -- Applicable only if offeror is proposing a Contract award. a. The criteria for evaluation of the Offeror's Commitment to Small Business will include: (i) The extent to which such firms [i.e., Small, HUBZone Small, Small Disadvantaged, and Women-Owned Small Businesses and Historically Black Colleges and Universities or Minority Institutions (HBCUs/MIs)] are specifically identified in the proposal; (ii) The extent of commitment to use such firms for meaningful work; (iii) The complexity and variety of the work small firms are to perform; (iv) The realism of the proposal; (v) The extent of participation of such firms in terms of the value of the total acquisition; (vi) The Offeror's past performance on utilization of small business concerns in contract performance. Those offerors required to submit Subcontracting Plans (i.e., other than small businesses requesting contract awards) who do not submit subcontracting plans which meet statutory goals must justify the goals they include. b. The Small Business Subcontracting Plan submitted for the contract under the clause entitled "Small Business Subcontracting Plan" (FAR 52-219-9) will be evaluated to ensure that it includes at least the congressional mandated goals of twenty-three percent (23%) for small business concerns (including HUBZone small business concerns), five percent (5%) for small disadvantaged business concerns and five percent (5%) for women-owned small business concerns or a detailed explanation as to why these goals cannot be included in the plan. INDUSTRY BRIEFING DAY: Interested offerors are encouraged to attend an industry briefing to be held on 03 Feb 2000 from 1:30 PM-3:30 PM. Offerors desiring to attend industry day must notify Ms. Adrienne E. Gould, ONR Code 361, telephone (703) 696-8485 within ten (10) days of the date of this announcement of their interest and the names of up to two (2) representatives who will attend the briefing on their behalf. The briefing will be held at the Office of Naval Research, 800 N. Quincy Street, Room 915, Arlington, Virginia. Personnel attending the briefing will be required to meet security access requirements for visitation of a government installation, which includes providing a picture identification and being subject to physical search. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS: An offeror responding to this Broad Agency Announcement shall submit ten (10) copies of its proposal in the following format. The proposal shall consist of four parts: Technical and Management (Part I); Example Solution Identification Process (Part II); Cost (Part III); and, Commitment to Small Business (Part IV). Parts I and II of the recipient's proposal shall not exceed 75 pages, excluding resumes and exhibits. Proposals shall be single-spaced, single-sided in 12 pitch, with a 1 inch margin maintained on top, bottom and both sides of each page. Paper size shall be standard 8.5 inch by 11 inch. Offerors will provide a matrix showing where in their proposal (e.g., page, section, and or paragraph(s)) each of the evaluation criteria is addressed. Part I shall be counted as part of the proposal page limitation of 75 pages and shall consist of: (1) A cover page including title, technical point(s) of contact, administrative point(s) of contact and pertinent phone numbers. (2) Summary page(s) of organizations participating in the proposal outlining related experience with addresses and points of contact. (3) An organization and management plan which documents an understanding of the goals and missions of the Navy and DOD Manufacturing Technology Programs with a major emphasis on affordability, life-cycle-cost, and technology transitioning to industry. (4) A summary of personnel experience in metalworking manufacturing or related technologies. (5) An overall plan for the first year of operation, to include lead-time contemplated for initiation of technology development projects based on new requirements identified by the Navy as well as management control and technical continuation of ongoing projects. (6) A listing and description of relevant facilities and equipment (and their location) that would be used during the operation of this initiative. (7) Planned use of subcontracting to address potential MANTECH project requirements. (8) Approach to assisting Navy in establishing MANTECH issues for prioritization consideration. Offerors shall detail how they would collaborate or participate with weapons systems manufacturers and Navy acquisition program offices as well as their technical support organizations and other applicable organizations in establishing requirements or issues to be considered for prioritizing as proposed MANTECH projects. (9) Approach to assuming responsibility for ongoing projects upon assumption of management responsibilities from the NCEMT. The successful offeror may be required to assume program management responsibilities for some or all-ongoing NCEMT projects being carried out by CTC in its current operation of the Center. Offerors shall detail how this transition will be accomplished should it become necessary. (10) Statement regarding existence of, or intention to obtain, facility and personnel clearances. (12) Offeror's policies on intellectual property, proprietary rights, patent restrictions, and foreign activities, governments, and foreign students. (13) Offeror's process (in detail) for obtaining high quality cost share to leverage Navy investment for technical work/tasks into effective transitions of the technology to the industrial base. (14) If contemplating a consortium arrangement, offerors shall provide supporting documentation, which clearly substantiates the level of commitment of each consortium member. Also include a matrix that identifies each consortium member and its salient metalworking technical core competencies (maximum of 3 competencies per member). Part II shall be counted as part of the proposal page limitation of 75 pages and shall consist of: (1) The offeror shall utilize their understanding of the Navy MANTECH Program to describe their proposed plans and processes to address any technology issue of their choice in this section. Navy will not provide or propose technologies for offerors to choose from or to address in this section. Identify the Navy Metalworking technology issue selected for the Example Solution Identification Process. Provide verbiage and associated flow charts(s) describing the process that the offeror proposes to use in identifying the best solution(s), implementation plans and path assuring technology transfer to the appropriate industrial producer(s). Example Solution Identification Process shall not exceed 15 pages, and the format is at the discretion of the offeror. The offeror shall identify its fully integrated process and approach to identify the best solution for the example and address technology transfer and ultimate implementation within industry. Describe in this part the offeror's method for leveraging Navy investment with cost share and if applicable other novel methods to augment Navy investment to help transition the manufacturing technology into industrial application. The example must include offeror's approach and details on how it proposes to: integrate with Navy, industry and academic and or other organizations and Centers of Excellence as necessary in formulating and addressing the cost share and solution for the selected issue or requirement. Stipulate in the proposal how the respondent will: communicate and coordinate within the Government and Industry; assess the current state of the example; develop a detailed understanding of the Navy's expectations to meet the example; formulate prospective solutions for the example; select the most effective technological solution, execute approved Navy plans addressing and implementing the example technology /solution(s) within industry; and provide program management and oversight of the approved technical effort throughout the entire time span of the effort. (2) Proposed technology transfer methodologies and deliverables focused on implementing results within industry. This could include outlining technology demonstration and transition plans. Part III shall not be counted as part of the proposal page limitation of 75 pages and shall contain: (1) A one- to two-page cost summary. (2) Supporting pages, which shall include a detailed breakdown of labor categories, labor rates, capital equipment needs, travel costs, and any other direct or indirect costs. (3) Identification of applicable indirect rate proposals, recent audits (DCAA or A-133 audits, Independent Public Audits) and independent reviews of the offeror's accounting, estimating, and billing systems (if any). (4) Cost Share Proposed. Offerors shall provide details on their proposed cost share approach and cost-sharing goals for technical activities contemplated by the offeror. Offerors shall provide sufficient details of their cost share plan to allow government evaluation of the quality and value of the cost sharing arrangement being offered. Describe the process for: identifying sources of cost sharing; soliciting and securing (guaranteeing) cost share contributions; monitoring and tracking cost sharing. Include provisions for tracking cost share detail such as commitment receipt; obligation/allocation; and application/liquidation. Offerors shall explain any process controls to be used to insure receipt of cost share prior to project / task execution. Provide the minimum level of cost share to be offered for any / all technical activity contemplated by the offeror. Provide the expected sou Posted 01/12/00 (W-SN415186). (0012)

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