BAA Call 001 Questions and Answers 06202019.pdf

Call 001 Questions and Answers June 20, 2019

General Reminder: Per Solicitation 692MN15-19-R-00020, “Respondents must refer to the solicitation document entitled 692M15-19-R-00020 and must read it in conjunction with this call for WP’s. All instructions set forth in solicitation 692M15-19-R-00020 apply to this call.”

1. I have read the BAA documents and want to confirm the eligibility for a Canadian company to receive a contract under this program? We would meet all other qualifying criteria and would work with an identified test range but, as said, are a Canadian company.

A. A foreign company can participate in this effort as a sub-contractor; but, a U.S.

company must be the lead applicant.

2. The BAA White Paper Call says that only Qualified Commercial Entities may apply, so it would seem that the definition is needed prior to the due date for the white papers.

“To be eligible for consideration and potential contract award, the applicant must be a Qualified Commercial Entity (QCE) seeking to demonstrate or validate technologies that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) considers essential to the safe integration of UAS in the National Airspace Systems (NAS) at FAA designated UAS test sites.”

Can you provide?

A. The FAA considers an Applicant as a QCE if the Applicant:

1. Is a U.S. company

2. Has the technical proficiency to demonstrate or validate the technologies or a compelling use case for UAS technology that the FAA identifies as essential to the UAS integration effort;

3. Has an existing contractual relationship with an FAA designated UAS Test Site (UASTS) or demonstrate that funding contract award would enable it to enter into a relationship with the UASTS;

3. I noted with interest your recent BAA release for further UAS testing. My company designs and manufactures C-UAS systems and I have interest in testing them for use at airports in the future. I noted Topic UAS1908 Other critical priorities (Counter UAS is excluded in Call #1); makes specific reference to excluding C-UAS experimentation in this BAA. Can you confirm that is in fact the case? And why would that be?

A. Yes, Counter UAS is specifically excluded from this call; another FAA service unit is addressing this topic.

4. Do proposing organizations need to have a current relationship with one of the UASTS to be considered for an award under the Topic Numbers that require working with a UASTS? For example, Topic Number UAS1904, BVLOS Operations.

A. Interested parties looking to submit a white paper to CALL 01 will either need to show an existing working relationship with a test site, or that they will be able to establish a working relationship with a test site. Reference Call 001 under section Additional Information bullet 3.

5. Will whitepapers from foreign companies be considered (for funding)?

A. Please refer to question 1 above.

6. Can Test Sites contribute to the cost match?

A. It is the responsibility of the Prime Contractor to show how the cost-matching requirement will be satisfied. Arrangements between prime contractors and their sub-contractor is the responsibility of the prime contractor.

7. Must each subcontractor provide their own 1:1 cost match, or does the entire project just need to provide 1:1? In other words, can a subcontractor provide more than 1:1 match to account for another subcontractor’s less than 1:1 match?

A. See answer 6 above.

8. Does the data produced from the testing have to be made publicly available (publicly releasable) or can it be protected by proprietary restrictions?

A. Yes, the FAA intends to share data, results, and conclusions of these projects with the public to advance the UAS capabilities and their integration into the NAS.

Proprietary information and restrictions will be handled on a case by case basis.

White papers being submitted with proprietary restriction must be appropriately marked.

9. May only one topic area at a time be addressed in a whitepaper? Meaning, can a proposed project address multiple topics simultaneously (e.g. BVLOS/OOP)?

A. It is the responsibility of the offeror to determine the best approach to representing the information and details within their White Paper submittal.

a. If more than one topic may be addressed, how should the multiple topics be identified in the whitepaper?

A. It is the responsibility of the Offeror to clearly explain the information contained within their White Papers. Per the BAA, “When responding/inquiring on a specific area of Essential UAS Integration Topics, refer to the Topic Number.” If more than one topic is address within the white paper, each applicable topic number must be identified.

10. Can the commercial entity bring multiple technologies for a “compelling use case”

(as described in FAQ) with the use case being the focus of the project?

A. Yes.

a. If so, must each technology included in the testing complete a separate TRL calculation sheet?

A. Yes, each technology should demonstrate its TRL.

b) If only a single TRL calculation sheet is required, how should the TRL for multiple technologies be calculated?

A. N/A, see response for 10a above

11. Are both cash and in-kind contributions acceptable as offeror Government funding cost-matching?

A. Yes. The Prime (QCE) is responsible for determining and presenting its cost model. Per the BAA under section WHITE PAPER PREPARATION, SUBMISSION, and EVALUATION 3. Cost it states, “The offeror’s cost proposal must be prepared in a clear and concise manner that accurately reflects the offeror’s cost estimate for accomplishing the proposed technical effort. Cost data must include all costs expected during the performance of the contract. All details, broken down by cost element, must be prepared for each major task along with a supporting rationale. All cost data is subject to Government evaluation and verification. If applicable, cost sharing/matching must also be detailed within the cost proposal.” Per the Call 01 under section 2. FUNDING it states , “White papers must show the estimated cost of the effort. The estimated cost of the effort must include the offeror cost matching the Government funding on at least a dollar for dollar basis or greater.”

12. If costs have been incurred prior to contract award which are deemed to be necessary and reasonable for accomplishment of project or program objectives, are such costs acceptable as offeror Government funding cost-matching? If acceptable, what limitation would apply to the period during which such costs were incurred?

A. Cost incurred prior to contract award will not satisfy the cost matching requirement.

13. For a White Paper covering multiple topics, is a separate TRL calculation required for each topic?

A. See answers to 9a and 10a.

14. The topic dealing with the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM) of the Broad Agency Announcement refers to “obtaining data and information related to the implementation of UTM services that expand operations”. Will the FAA be considering matching funding for research and testing of the physical data infrastructure (computing environment & hardware, managed services or software as a service, connectivity, redundancy, edge computing and power sufficiency) that will power UTM in the future?

A. The FAA will consider providing federal matching funds to increase knowledge or understanding of the safety of UTM concepts of operations, systems interoperability and reliability, and related navigation procedures before integration into the national airspace system.

15. Is Applicant collectively the commercial entity and a UAS Test Site? Can the applicant include the Nevada TSO doing the TRL evaluation/documentation?

A) No, the applicant must be a qualified commercial entity. It is the responsibility of the applicant to decide how to interact and work with their subcontractors and present the TRL evaluation/documentation.

16. What determines a formal working relationship (pg. 2) between the commercial entity and the UAS TSO? Teaming Agreement, Letter of Intent or pledge?

A) Per the CALL 01 document under additional information, “The Applicant must submit a Letter of Attestation, signed by a representative from one of the seven UAS Test Sites who has the authority to represent the test site in this specific capacity, confirming that there is a formal working relationship between them and the test site.”

17. For the funding commitment by commercial partners, does the White Paper require the commercial entity to sign a pledge or can it be an intent to commit funds? In other words, does the proposal requirement firm dollar commitments as a contract as part of the white paper.

A) The white paper represents a good faith intent to commit funds on behalf of the

QCE. Any subsequent contract award will be a legally binding obligation for the QCE to provide the matching funding.

18. What is the specific format of the White Paper outside the font and naming conventions?

A) White paper format and naming conventions are provided for in the BAA (White

Paper Preparation, Submission, and Evaluation) and augmented in the Call 001 document (SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS).

19. What is the specific format of the TRL calculation (Excel file)?

A) Per the instructions in Call 001 document: The Applicant must submit a completed TRL Calculation (Excel file) demonstrating their TRL. The TRL calculation (Excel file) is posted on the FAACO website.

20. Can a UAS Test Site submit a proposal itself as the lead with commercial partners as contributing funding co-applicants? Or, does a commercial lead entity have to be designated other than a UAS Test Site?

A) The UAS Test Sites are Public Entities as certified by State Attorneys General - a requirement of the UASTS SIR in response to the FMRA of 2012. Public entities are not Qualified Commercial Entities (QCE). Further, the QCE is the Prime entity and they submit the white paper/proposal as appropriate. The FAA designated UAS Test Sites MUST be a sub-contractor.

21. Can the proposal include drone technology acquisition as part of the estimate of cost?

A) It is the responsibility of the offeror to determine what would be required in order to fulfill the requirements of the white paper. Should a proposal be requested in response of a White Paper submission a detailed cost break down will be requested in accordance with the base BAA.

22. Is there a duration that the testing will be limited to? Is it okay to have 12, 24, or 36 months as the duration of the proposal?

A) It is the responsibility of the offeror to determine the extent of the duration needed based on their specific submittal for their White Paper.

23. Does the FAA put the proposals received in a cue (like the Drone Zone 107 Waivers) – i.e., first in is first considered and awarded?

A) The FAA intends to review White Papers based on when they are received.

Proposals will only be requested based upon an accepted White Paper.

24. Is it a disadvantage if any entity working with a UAS TSO submits multiple White Papers and proposals?

A) No, note that Call 001 states , “Any Applicant proposing testing at multiple

UASTSs must submit a unique White Paper for each UASTS individually.”

25. Is it a disadvantage or advantage if a UAS TSO is part of multiple applications/White Papers that saturate the FAA with White Papers?

A) No, note that Call 001 states , “Any Applicant proposing testing at multiple

UASTSs must submit a unique White Paper for each UASTS individually.”

26. Item UAS 1908: Can the TSO include passive drone detection and surveillance as a valid “Other” topic?

A) No. Per Call 001 document, “UAS1908 Other critical priorities (Counter UAS is excluded in Call #1).” C-UAS includes detection/surveillance.

27. If the TSO can include passive only drone detection and surveillance, will this testing comply with and doesn’t run counter to the 1908 exclusion of drone detection?

A) Please see the response to question 26.

28. Will the FAA select from the White Papers submitted by 28 June and then require the applicant in July to develop a detailed proposal?

A) The FAA intends to select from the White Papers submitted in accordance with the instructions listed in CALL 001 . Approved White papers will then receive a formal Request For Proposal from the Contracting Officer.

29. Should the seven UAS Test Sites stick to the $850,000 potential award or less in one application or can they be part of multiple submission that have the same $850,000 listed in multiple submissions?

A) It is the responsibility of the QCE to determine the potential cost of the effort being submitting within their White Paper. UAS Test Sites cannot submit White Papers as they cannot be a QCE.

30. The Alaska UAS Test Site has five states involved. if an offeror wants to work with several of the states. Should they do one white paper to the Alaska Test Site with all the states inside the test site on it or should they do three separate ones? If so, how do we name them given that the file naming convention just has - AK for the test site, not subsections of AK?

A) It is the responsibility of the QCE to determine the most comprehensive and appropriate way to fulfill the requirements of the white paper. The naming convention is specific to the Test Site with whom the QCE has the relationship, not subsets of the Test Site.