Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), Contracts Management Office (CMO), 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714

A -- TRANSTECH SOL BAA 95-30 POC Grant E. Mayberry, Contracting Officer, (703)696-2438. The Advanced Research Projects Aency, Maritime Systems Technology Office, (ARPA MSTO) and Software and Intelligent Systems Technology Office (ARPA SISTO), are soliciting proposals to meet the transportation and logistics planning and operations needs of the 21st century. This announcement constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in FAR 6.102 (d)(2)(i). Information in this CBD announcement is NOT complete. Prospective offerors MUST also refer to the Proposer Information Packet before submitting an abstract or a proposal.The goal of this new program, TransTech, is to investigate and demonstrate technologies that will make a fundamental difference in transportation. The program will capitalize on the revolutionary advances made in communications, simulation, planning, presentation, retrieval, and visualization technology, as well as seek mechanical systems to improve the intermodal system performance and efficiency. ARPA plans to establish a broad network linking transportation/ logistics suppliers and users giving our forces powerful new tools to efficiently and flexibly manage the transportation and logistics 'war' envisioned for the 21st century warfighter. TransTech will also support the development of systematic investment and policy decisions about our national civilian and military transportation infrastructure. This will facilitate improved decision making by military planners and ultimately permit us to meet the strategic mobility requirements for the next century. The TransTech program will be developed using revolutionary advances in key technologies of Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C3I), advanced design processes based on virtual prototyping and advanced modeling, high performance computing, distributed networking, and human computer interaction. The objectives of the TransTech program are to develop new technologies for the next century that will: (1) Allow distributed real-time visualization and interaction with all elements of the military and commercial transportation infrastructure. (2) Allow efficient and effective real time control, planning, replanning, and rehearsal of the movement of forces and materiel, both for deployment and re-deployment. (3) Allow decision makers at all levels, from operators to policy makers, to make and validate systematic investment and policy decisions about the transportation infrastructure. (4) Achieve Total Asset Visibility from factory to foxhole using advanced communications architectures, databases and Automated Identification Technologies (AIT). (5) Develop and demonstrate emerging enabling technologies to enhance transportation system performance especially the physical handling and packaging of cargo to meet throughput requirements at intermodal gateways, the mitigation of relative motion for amphibious operations in the Theater of Operations, and Automated Identification Technologies (AIT) for tracking assets. TransTech will focus development efforts in three areas defined below. Each area is of equal importance. Proposers, either individual or teamed, are encouraged to propose in any or all of these three areas. ARPA may select for award a subset of the acceptable proposals to construct a balanced program meeting its needs. It will not be necessary for proposers to have experience in military transportation and/or logistics. Proposers must be willing to cooperate and exchange information in an integrated program with other contractors and be willing to be assigned to a prime contractor, or integrator, chosen by ARPA. Pending approval of funding, a total of approximately $10M may be available in FY96 for funding multiple efforts. Size of awards and duration of efforts will vary according to the type of effort undertaken. Cost Plus Fixed Fee type contracts are anticipated to be awarded, however, offerors may propose other types. In the latter situation, ARPA will make a decision on a case by case basis choosing the type most advantageous to the Government. Area 1. TransWeb: TransWeb is defined as the communication network, software, hardware, and data architectures, standards, and protocols that allow distributed resources (users, data, applications and systems) to interact. TransWeb will enable a high fidelity synthetic environment that accurately depicts the national military and commercial transportation infrastructure. TransWeb will permit multiple users to access the same data (both real and simulated), view the same displays, and interact with the environment and one another. TransWeb will provide the integrating environment, permitting other transportation systems, models (for example: ports (air, land, sea), transport vehicles (ship, truck, rail, plane), cost, labor, combat support, environment (weather, pollution, etc.), and safety), and data to work together seamlessly and efficiently. An information services layer will allow the user in government or industry to access all distributed resources of TransWeb. The information will be assimilated and organized in a visual fashion. Area 2. Applications: The Applications area will include development of individual models and simulations that are used in planning and executing logistics and transportation operations, including Total Asset Visibility, as well as optimization routines. This area will also include applications for Infrastructure Investment Planning which will permit the transportation users and planners (including Congress, DoD, Department of Transportation, Municipal Planning Organizations, etc.) to make informed decisions regarding investment in the infrastructure. New models and simulations may be developed, along with standards for model interoperability and seamless data exchange, which must be closely coordinated with Area One TransWeb. Information gathering techniques for real time update of transport and infrastructure information will be developed, along with techniques for combining and displaying the data. Area 2A. Logistics Planning: Area 2A is the focus of the Logistics for the Warrior (LFW) program in SISTO. The goal of the LFW program is to build and deploy multi-echelon, collaborative logistical support tools that integrate planning, execution, monitoring and decision support systems to achieve logistical reallocation and redeployment within and between future combat theaters. To effectively support logistics planning, the concept of a logistics anchor desk (LAD) is being investigated. Essentially an anchor desk is a means of organizing resources to obtain access to multiple systems and decision aids that provide logistical information when it is needed and where it is needed. Further, it also provides the flexibility of determining how the information will be presented to support combat and mobilization operations. It is anticipated that LAD will be seamlessly integrated into TransWeb during the TransTech program. The LAD in the year 2001 would be a synthesizing facility capable of existing at various organizational command levels to provide distributed planning tools and expert ''virtual staff'' assistance to theater and deployed joint task force logistics staffs. The LAD would support mission rehearsal and refinement for the Joint Task Force (JTF) staff while enroute to the forward deployed JTF headquarters. Key aspects of the LAD are focused collaborative planning, real-time connections to defense logistics data sources and other LADs, and dynamically reconfigurable software. It is envisioned that the LAD would be capable of being dynamically configured to allow creation of customized information systems that can be individually configured without conventional reprogramming. Area 3. Critical Transport Technologies: The final area will identify and develop critical technologies focused at physical systems that will make a revolutionary and fundamental impact on intermodal system performance and efficiency. Technologies that are being considered for development include, but are not limited to: automated identification technology, global mobile communications, electronic data transfer, cargo handling technologies for port through-put, mitigation of relative motion technologies for on/off-load in unprotected waters, and packaging technologies. Proposals for technologies not listed above are also encouraged. Proposers, either individual or teamed, are strongly encouraged to submit an abstract of their proposed work. The purpose of this abstract is to preclude unwarranted effort on the part of an offeror. It is not a requirement for submission or selection of proposal. Any offeror whose abstract is found to be consistent with the intent of this BAA will be invited to submit a full technical and cost proposal. Such an invitation does not assure subsequent contract award. Regardless of the recommendation, the decision to submit or not submit a proposal is the responsibility of the party submitting the abstract. No award can be made without a proposal to perform the specific effort within an estimated cost and time framework. ARPA will evaluate proposals and make contract awards within a reasonable period of time after receipt. Proposals and abstracts will be selected through a technical/scientific/business decision process with technical and scientific considerations being most important. Proposals and abstracts submitted in a technical area are evaluated only within that area, based on their own technical merit. ARPA will evaluate proposals and make contract awards within a reasonable period of time after receipt. Evaluations will be performed using the following criteria which are the same for each area and are listed in descending order of relative importance, criteria 1 and 2 are of greatest weight, and are equal in weight to each other; criteria 3 is of significantly lesser weight than criteria 1 or 2; criteria 4 is of lesser weight than criteria 3; criteria 5 and 6 are of least weight, but are equal in weight to each other. (1) Innovation, (2) Relevance of work proposed, (3) Technical Approach, (4) Defensibility of the overall estimated cost, (5) Facilities, capabilities, and related experience, (6) Personnel in primary and subcontractor organizations. An automated-response system has been established at ARPA to provide rapid electronic information exchange regarding technical questions, as well as the Proposer Information Packet (PIP). The following describes how this system operates: (a) This System is Case Sensitive, Therefore All Commands Should Be Written In Lower Case, (b) For information on how to use this system, send an email message to baa-info@arpa.mil with the message field containing ''info baa95-30'', and the text of the instruction file will be sent by return email, (c) To obtain a copy of the Proposer Information Packet (PIP), send an email message to baa-info@arpa.mil with the message field containing ''get baa95-30 pip'' and the text of the PIP will be sent by return email, (d) To obtain a copy of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) file send an email message to baa-info@arpa.mil with the message field containing ''get baa95-30 faq'' and the text of the FAQ file will be sent by return email, (e) To ask a technical question regarding the BAA, send an email message to baa95-30@arpa.mil with your question in the message field and ARPA will answer it by return email, and both the question and answer (without the name of originator) will be appended to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) file. The preferred method for obtaining the PIP, FAQ and asking technical questions is by automated response email. Technical questions will only be responded to in writing. If the offeror does not have access to email, information requests or technical questions may be sent by FAX to 703-696-2204, Attention: BAA 95-30. If the offeror does not have access to either email or a FAX machine, written requests or questions may be sent to: ARPA MSTO, Attn: BAA 95-30 INFORMATION, 3701 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203. Questions of a contractual nature shall be directed to Mr. Grant Mayberry, ARPA, Contract Management Office, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203, or via phone at 703-696-2438. Abstracts and Proposals Sent by Fax or E-mail Will Be Destroyed. There will be no formal request for proposals or other solicitations regarding this announcement. This BAA is open for 1 year after its appearance in the Commerce Business Daily. Abstracts are due by 30 June 1995. Abstracts received after that date will be evaluated, but may not be considered during the initial round of evaluations. Proposals should be submitted no later than 11 September 1995. Proposals received after that date will be evaluated, but may not be considered during the initial evaluation period. (0146)

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