SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- DARPA Tactical Technology Office (TTO) Aerospace Systems and Tactical Multipliers
- Notice Date
- 3/20/2006
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Other Defense Agencies, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Contracts Management Office, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA, 22203-1714
- ZIP Code
- 22203-1714
- Solicitation Number
- BAA06-15
- Response Due
- 12/31/2006
- Archive Date
- 1/15/2007
- Description
- General Information Document Type: Presolicitation Notice Solicitation Number: BAA06-15 Posted Date: March 20, 2006 Original Response Date: May 1, 2006 Current Response Date: May 1, 2006 Original Archive Date: Dec 31, 2006 Current Archive Date: Dec 31, 2006 Classification Code: A ? Research & Development Naics Code: 541990 Contracting Office Address Other Defense Agencies, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Contracts Management Office, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA, 22203-1714 Description PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION: The Tactical Technology Office (TTO) of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting proposals for advanced research and development of system and subsystem level technologies that enable revolutionary improvements to the efficiency and effectiveness of the military. The DARPA/TTO program will consider a broad range of technologies but focuses on the high risk/high payoff development and demonstration of complete systems or subsystems rather than advances in basic sciences. Proposed systems and subsystems need not be composed entirely of newly developed components, and may integrate new technology into existing systems and/or subsystems. AREAS OF INTEREST: DARPA/TTO priorities fall within two focus areas: Aerospace Systems and Tactical Multipliers. Other novel ideas that enhance military effectiveness and tilt the balance of modern warfare in favor of the US will also be considered. This BAA seeks new ideas, not necessarily extensions of the current programs. The range of programs managed by TTO has historically been broad. However, some proposals, particularly for devices, materials, and basic science, may be more appropriate to one or more of the other DARPA Offices listed at www.darpa.mil. Offerors are encouraged to look at http://www.darpa.mil/TTO for our current activities. At a later date, attachments may be provided which describe areas of special interest to the office; modifications will be published as these attachments are updated during the year. Offerors are encouraged to contact program managers and discuss their ideas and how they relate to TTOs focus areas. PROGRAM SCOPE: The Government plans to make $8.0M of FY 2006 funds available to fund projects under this BAA, though more may be made available. Multiple awards are anticipated from FY 2006 funds. For Government programmatic flexibility, offerors should segment their cost proposals into an initial 12-month (or shorter) phase which explores and validates the technical feasibility of the concept, and one or more phases proposed as optional efforts leading toward technology development. The total effort including options should not exceed five years. TTO typically provides less than $500K for the initial phase. Successful initial phases will have a greater likelihood of receiving funding for subsequent optional phases. OFFERORS: Teaming is encouraged. An offeror may submit more than one proposal. Small Businesses, Small Disadvantaged Businesses, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) are encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals; however, no portion of this BAA will be set aside because of the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable areas of research in innovative tactical technology. Proposals from US government entities, federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), and other offerors who are proposing additional work under existing task order contracts will not be considered part of this BAA but may be evaluated by TTO separately from the BAA proposals. RESPONSES: This BAA solicits both white papers and proposals on proposed research. Prospective offerors are encouraged to contact the Technical POC or other TTO Program Managers to discuss areas of interest prior to submission of white papers or proposals. Offerors are strongly encouraged to submit white papers before submitting proposals. TTO responds to white papers with a recommendation based on the relevance to the TTO mission and a preliminary technical assessment. Regardless of the TTO recommendation based on its review of the white paper, an offeror may submit a proposal and that proposal will be reviewed and evaluated. Favorable response to a white paper is not an assurance that a full proposal on the white paper's topic will ultimately be selected for contract award. SCHEDULE: TTO will conduct an initial round of proposal receipt, evaluation, selection, and award. For the initial round of source selection, white papers should be submitted to TTO no later than 5-1-06. In order to be considered for an award during this first round, proposals must be received by TTO no later than 06-15-06. White papers received after 1600 local time 10-15-06 will not be evaluated under this BAA. The BAA will remain open for proposals through 1600 local time on the closing date, 12-31-06. Proposals received after the closing date will not be reviewed or evaluated. TTO will endeavor to respond to each white paper within forty-five (45) days after its receipt. As soon as the evaluation of a proposal is completed, the offeror will be notified that 1) the proposal has been selected for funding pending contract negotiations, or 2) the proposal has not been selected. One copy of each non-selected proposal will be retained for the files. Any additional copies of non-selected proposals will be destroyed upon non-selection. EVALUATION CRITERIA: Evaluation of proposals will be accomplished through a review using the following criteria, listed in descending order of importance: 1) potential contribution to TTO mission; 2) overall scientific and technical merit including degree of innovation, understanding of the technical and operational issues, and experimental approach; 3) likelihood of transition to the military if technically successful; 4) offeror's capabilities and related experience, including qualifications and achievements of all team members and their key personnel, their capability to carry out further development and production, and the adequacy of facilities and equipment to be used for the proposed effort; 5) project plan; and 6) cost and cost realism. All proposals must first be deemed acceptable under criteria (1) to receive a full technical review. AWARDS: Awards under this BAA will be made to offerors on the basis of the evaluation criteria above and program balance to provide best value to the Government. Awards will be subject to the availability of funds. Award instruments may take the form of a procurement contract, grant, or agreement depending upon the nature of the work proposed, the required degree of interaction between parties, and other factors. Phases after Phase I will be options, with pricing based on the cost proposal. An estimated cost for options beyond Phase I must be included or the options will not be considered. The Government reserves the right to 1) select for award all, some, or none of the proposals received, and 2) incrementally fund any award instrument. FORMAT AND SUBMITTAL: The form and format for white papers and proposals follows below. White papers and proposals that do not satisfy these form and format requirements or with differing content between their electronic and paper versions may be rejected without further review or evaluation. All submissions should be in the English language. White papers should be submitted electronically; a paper copy is not required. Proposals should also be submitted electronically but in addition, two paper copies of each proposal, accompanied by a transmittal letter signed by an official who is authorized to commit the offeror should be mailed to the address below. Electronic copies should be in PDF (preferred) or Microsoft Word format and submitted via a web site interface. Submission deadlines apply both to electronic and paper versions. All copies of white papers and proposals should be sent to: Web Site: https://www.tfims.darpa.mil/baa . Mail: DARPA, TTO, ATTN: BAA 06-15, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714. Proposals received by TTO but not submitted specifically to the BAA may be considered under the BAA. WHITE PAPERS: The submission of a white paper is optional, but strongly recommended. A white paper should be a brief summary. It introduces the idea, solicits interaction with TTO, and avoids the expense of generating proposals that have little likelihood of selection within this BAA. White papers should summarize the planned proposal and clearly articulate the innovative concept or technology development being proposed. White papers should contain a cover sheet (clearly marked "White Paper"), a four page (maximum) summary of the technical idea, a one-page cost summary, and a one-paragraph (150-200 words) abstract of the white paper as a whole. All pages should be printable on 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper; type not smaller than 12 point. The page limitations for white papers include all figures, tables, and charts. No formal transmittal letter is required. Receipt will be confirmed. White papers should avoid proprietary or classified information or data not critical to the idea being presented. PROPOSALS: Each proposal shall consist of two volumes, Volume I - Technical, and Volume II - Cost. Volume I shall consist of a Cover Sheet, an abstract, and three sections. Volume II shall consist of a Cover Sheet and two sections. All pages shall be printable on 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper with type not smaller than 12 point. The maximum total length of Sections I and II of Volume I, together with any figures, tables, and/or charts, is forty (40) pages. The Cover Sheet, Table of Contents, table of figures, and acronym list do not count against the 40 page limit. There is no page limit on Section III of Volume I, nor is there any page limitation applicable to Volume II. Information or data deemed proprietary by the author should be clearly marked. Offerors that intend to include classified information or data as part of their proposals shall submit an unclassified proposal referring to a classified annex. The classified annex, together with any figures, tables, and/or charts shall be counted toward the forty (40) page length for Sections I and II of Volume I, as described above. The offeror should contact the Technical POC for this BAA for guidance on submitting the classified annex. Volume I - Technical. Volume I, Cover Sheet. The Cover Sheet shall identify the BAA number; proposal title; offeror's number (if any); lead organization submitting the proposal; type of business (large, small, educational institution, other not-for-profit or non-profit, etc.); other team members (if applicable) and their types of business; technical point(s) of contact; and administrative point(s) of contact. Volume I, Abstract. The abstract shall consist of a 150-200 word unclassified synopsis of the effort proposed. Volume I, Section I - Summary of Proposal. This section shall provide a summary of Section II. Volume I, Section II - Detailed Proposal Information. This section should provide a detailed discussion of the proposed work to enable an in-depth review of all technical and management issues. This section should address the risks, approach, and payoffs of the proposed research. Efforts under the second phase of this program must be identified as options. In a manner of the offeror's choosing, this section should provide: (1) a description of the intended results of the proposed work for each phase or option of the effort and the expected benefits compared to the current state-of-the-art and alternative approaches. (2) A detailed description of the technical issues, the proposed approach, its basis, and a comparison with other ongoing research showing both the advantages and disadvantages. (3) Innovative claims for the proposed research including all proprietary claims to results, prototypes, intellectual property, or systems supporting and/or necessary for the use of the research, results, and/or prototype. If there are no proprietary claims, this should be stated. (4) A Statement of Work (SOW) for each phase or option that describes the scope of the effort, the schedule, specific tasks, milestones, and deliverables for the effort. (5) A schedule of the estimated cost for each major task in each phase or option of the effort and a schedule of any proposed company cost share, if appropriate. (Cost share is not required.). (6) A description of the proposed approach to management of the project including an organizational chart showing reporting relationships, statements of the responsibilities of the team members, and the teaming strategy. (7) A description of the experience and capabilities of the offeror, each team member, and key personnel; a description of their capability to carry out further development and production; and a description of the facilities and equipment that would be used for the proposed effort. (8) A description of plans and capabilities to accomplish technology transition and commercialization. (9) Any information required regarding Human Use in Research. Volume I, Section III - This section shall contain all affirmations relative to DARPA's Organizational Conflict of Interest requirements (see below). In addition, this section may provide a bibliography of relevant technical papers and research notes (published and unpublished) which document the technical ideas upon which the proposal is based. This section may also include such papers, however, DARPA is under no obligation to review and evaluate the papers. Volume II - Cost. Volume II, Cover Sheet. The Cover Sheet shall identify the name and address of the offeror (include zip code); name, title, and telephone number of the offeror's business POC; recommended award instrument; place(s) and period(s) of performance; total proposed cost, separated by basic award and option(s) (if any); name, address, and telephone number of the offeror's cognizant Defense Contract Management Command (DCMC) administrative office (if known); and name, address, and telephone number of the offeror's cognizant Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) audit office (if known). Volume II, Section I - Detailed Cost Breakdown. This section shall include: (1) total program cost broken down by major cost items (direct labor, subcontracts, materials, other direct costs, overhead charges, etc.) for each major program task and for each phase. (2) An itemization of major subcontracts and equipment purchases. (3) A summary showing by month the total projected cost, cost share by the offeror, if any, and Government funding requirements. (4) A description of cost estimating methods. (5) The source, nature, and amount of any cost sharing proposed. Volume II, Section II - Supporting Cost and Pricing Information. This section shall include supporting cost and pricing information in sufficient detail to substantiate the summary cost estimates in Section I of the cost proposal. Costs for individual subcontracts having 20% or more of the value of the work must be substantiated to the same level of detail as the costs of the offeror. CLASSIFIED SUBMISSIONS AND ITAR: DARPA/TTO will accept classified responses to this BAA when the classification is mandated by classification guidance provided by an Original Classification Authority of the U.S. Government, or when the proposer believes the work, if successful, would merit classification. Security classification guidance in the form of a DD Form 254 (DoD Contract Security Classification Specification) will not be provided at this time since DARPA is soliciting ideas only. If a determination is made that contract award may result in access to classified information, a DD Form 254 will be issued upon contract award. The point of contact for classified responses is the Director of TTO Security at 703-526-6708. Proposers who are unsure about the appropriate classification of their proposal should contact this POC before submitting a response. Information generated after award may be controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR 120-130, therefore contractors may be required to protect information pursuant to the ITAR and are encouraged to consider this when proposing. HUMAN USE IN RESEARCH: Proposals selected for funding are required to comply with provisions of the Common Rule (32 CFR 219) on the protection of human subjects in research (www.dtic.mil/biosys/downloads/32cfr219.pdf) and the Department of Defense Directive 3216.2 (www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/html2/d32162x.htm). All proposals that involve the use of human subjects are required to include documentation of their ability to follow federal guidelines for the protection of human subjects. This includes, but is not limited to, protocol approval mechanisms, approved Institutional Review Boards (IRB), and Federal Wide Assurances. These requirements are based on expected human use issues sometime during the entire length of the proposed effort. For proposals involving "greater than minimal risk" to human subjects within the first year of the project, performers must provide evidence of protocol submission to a federally approved IRB at the time of proposal submission to DARPA. For proposals that are forecasted to involve "greater than minimal risk" after the first year, a discussion on how and when the proposer will comply with submission to a federally approved IRB needs to be provided in the submission. More information on applicable federal regulations can be found at the Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Human Research Protections website (http://www.dhhs.gov/ohrp). ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Awards made under this BAA are subject to the provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 9.5, Organizational Conflict of Interest. All offerors and proposed subcontractors must affirmatively state whether they are supporting any DARPA technical office(s) through an active contract or subcontract. All affirmations must state which office(s) the offeror supports and identify the prime contract number. Affirmations shall be furnished at the time of proposal submission, and the existence or potential existence of organizational conflicts of interest, as that term is defined in FAR 9.501, must be disclosed. This disclosure shall include a description of the action the offeror has taken, or proposes to take, to avoid, neutralize or mitigate such conflict. If the offeror believes that no such conflict exists, then the offeror shall so state in the affirmation. NON-GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL: All proprietary material should be clearly marked and will be held in strict confidence. Restrictive notices notwithstanding, proposals may be handled, for administrative purposes only, by a support contractor, which is bound by appropriate non-disclosure requirements. Input on technical aspects of the proposals may be solicited by DARPA from non-Government consultants and experts who are bound by appropriate non-disclosure requirements. Non-Government technical consultants will not have access to proposals that are labeled by the offerors as "GOVERNMENT ONLY." Evaluations and selections under this BAA will be made only by Government evaluators. SUBMISSION INFORMATION: DARPA/TTO will employ an electronic upload process, the Technical ? Financial Information Management System (T-FIMS) Proposal Submission System, for all proposal submissions. All material submitted through T-FIMS must be UNCLASSIFIED. Please DO NOT attempt to submit CLASSIFIED material proposal through the electronic upload process as this is PROHIBITED. Offerors that intend to include classified, or potentially classified, information or data as part of their proposals shall submit an UNCLASSIFIED PROPOSAL referring to a classified annex. The offeror should contact the Technical POC for this BAA, or the TTO Security POC cited above, for guidance on submitting the classified annex. Content of proposal submissions made through T-FIMS must be UNCLASSIFIED. The web site http://www.darpa.mil/spo/solicitations.htm contains guidance for proposal submission. Organizations must register at: http://www.tfims.darpa.mil/baa to submit a proposal. Only the lead or prime organization should register. One registration per proposal should be submitted. Organizations wishing to submit multiple proposals should complete a single registration for each proposal. The deadline for registration for the electronic submission is 31 December 2006 at the registration Uniform Resource Locator (URL) listed above. By registering, the Proposer has made no commitment to submit. The T-FIMS Proposal Submission System can support the following file formats: Portable Document Format (pdf), Word Document (doc), Plain Text (txt), Comma-separated Values (csv), PowerPoint Presentation (ppt), Excel Worksheet (xls), and Excel Workspace (xlw). PDF is the preferred format. Proposal submissions made through the T-FIMS Proposal Submission System must be no larger than 50 megabytes per file. This means that the Technical Volume file, as well as the Cost Volume file, must not exceed 50 megabytes, individually, as the T-FIMS program will not allow it. This announcement and any additional supporting materials may be retrieved via the WWW at URL http://www.darpa.mil/ in the solicitations area. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this announcement is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting contract or any other contract. Proposers are warned that only Contracting Officers are legally authorized to commit the Government. ADMINISTRATION: DARPA will reply to questions relating to this BAA and will make replies to questions of general interest available to prospective bidders. All correspondence including questions and requests for access to the replies to the questions regarding this solicitation should be directed to one of the addresses below. DARPA prefers to use electronic mail for correspondence regarding this BAA. The addresses for this BAA are: EMail: BAA06-15@darpa.mil. Mail: DARPA, TTO, ATTN: BAA 06-15, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714. This BAA may be retrieved via the WWW at URL http://www.darpa.mil/ in the "Solicitations" area. Point of Contact Dr. Gary Graham, Deputy Director, DARPA Tactical Technology Office (TTO), Phone N/A, Fax N/A, Email BAA06-15@darpa.mil. Chris Glista, Contracting Officer, DARPA Contracts Management Office (CMO), Phone N/A, Fax (571) 218-4405, Email christopher.glista@darpa.mil.
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