23.1 SBIR Pre-Solicitation updated Topic Manager.pdf

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Small Business Innovation Research

(SBIR) Program

THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION

DHS IS NOT SEEKING PROPOSALS AT THIS TIME

Due Date: See Section 3.8

Issued By:

DHS Office of Procurement Operations on behalf of:

The DHS Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (DHS) SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH

(SBIR) PROGRAM

1.0 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

1.1 SUMMARY

1.2 DHS SBIR PROGRAM, PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES

1.3 THREE PHASE PROGRAM

1.4 KEY DATES AND EVENTS

1.5 ELIGIBILITY

1.6 SBIR OFFICE CONTACTS

1.7 DEFINITIONS

1.8 FRAUD, WASTE AND ABUSE

2.0 REGISTRATION, CERTIFICATIONS, DATA COLLECTION, DISCLOSURE

2.1 MANDATORY REGISTRATIONS

2.2 REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS

2.3 DATA COLLECTION REQUIREMENT

2.4 DISCLOSURE

3.0 PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

3.1 PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND LENGTH OF PROPOSAL

3.2 PROPOSAL COVER SHEET, TECHNICAL ABSTRACT, PROJECT AIMS, AND SUMMARY OF

RESULTS

3.3 TECHNICAL PROPOSAL FORMAT AND CONTENT

3.4 COST PROPOSAL

3.5 BRIEFING CHART

3.6 COMMERCIALIZATION REPORT

3.7 DHS PHASE II TRANSITION RATE BENCHMARK

3.8 QUESTIONS

4.0 METHOD OF SELECTION AND EVALUATION CRITERIA

4.1 EVALUATION CRITERIA, FACTORS AND RATINGS

4.2 PROPOSAL REVIEW FEEDBACK

4.3 CONTRACTOR SUPPORT SERVICES IN SUPPORT OF THE SELECTION PROCESS

5.0 CONSIDERATIONS

5.1 AWARDS

5.2 REPORTS AND DELIVERABLES

5.3 INVOICE INSTRUCTIONS

5.4 INNOVATIONS, INVENTIONS AND PATENTS

5.5 COST‐SHARING

5.6 PROFIT OR FEE

5.7 JOINT VENTURES OR LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS

5.8 RESEARCH AND ANALYTICAL WORK

5.9 AWARDEE COMMITMENTS AND SUMMARY STATEMENTS

5.10 RELEASE OF PROPOSAL INFORMATION

5.11 DISCRETIONARY TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS ASSISTANCE (TABA)

5.12 COMMERCIALIZATION ASSISTANCE MARKETPLACE

5.13 CLASSIFIED PROPOSALS

5.14 ANIMAL AND/OR HUMAN SUBJECTS

5.15 EXPORT CONTROL

5.16 DHS SBIR PHASE II ENHANCEMENT PROGRAMS

5.17 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

6.0 SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

7.0 RESEARCH TOPICS

7.1 S&T DIRECTORATE TOPIC

7.2 CWMD OFFICE TOPICS

APPENDIX A – RESEARCH TOPIC DESCRIPTIONS ......................................................................................... A-1 APPENDIX B – DEFINITIONS .................................................................................................................................. B-1 ATTACHMENT 1: SBIR FUNDING CERTIFICATION – TIME OF AWARD .................................................. 1-1 ATTACHMENT 2: SBIR FUNDING CERTIFICATION – LIFE CYCLE CERTIFICATION .......................... 2-1 ATTACHMENT 3: BRIEFING CHART TEMPLATE ............................................................................................ 3-1 ATTACHMENT 4: CWMD NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT ........................................................................ 4-1 ATTACHMENT 5: SOLICITATION PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT CLAUSES .......................................... 5-1

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Pre-Solicitation

1.0 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

1.1 Summary

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, comprised of the Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate’s SBIR Program and the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office’s (CWMD) SBIR Program, invites small business concerns (SBCs) to review this Pre-Solicitation for awareness of the upcoming 23.1 DHS SBIR Solicitation.

The DHS SBIR Program Office encourages all small business concerns, including small disadvantaged, women‐owned, veteran‐owned, service‐disabled veteran‐owned, and socially and economically disadvantaged small business concerns, with the capability to conduct research and development for homeland security‐related topic areas described in Appendix A, and to commercialize the results of that R/R&D, to submit proposals in response to topics described in the

23.1 Solicitation.

IMPORTANT:

• Please read this Pre-Solicitation carefully. This Pre-Solicitation is being provided for planning purposes, to allow SBCs to become familiar with the requirements for the upcoming 23.1 Solicitation. Failure to comply with the requirements in the 23.1 Solicitation will likely result negatively in the proposal evaluation or elimination from consideration for award. The final 23.1 Solicitation may differ from the Pre-Solicitation.

• This Solicitation contains topics for both the DHS SBIR Program and CWMD’s SBIR Program.

Section 7.0 outlines the Seven (7) research topics – six (6) S&T topics and one (1) CWMD topic.

Unsolicited proposals will not be accepted.

• While the Phase II proposal process is covered in this Solicitation, at this time this Solicitation requests and accepts Phase I proposals only. See Section 1.3.

• Prior to proposal submission, SBCs must register with the SBA Company Registration Database.

See Section 2.1.

• SBCs that are majority‐owned by multiple venture capital operating companies, hedge funds or private equity firms are NOT ELIGIBLE to submit proposals in response to the 23.1 Solicitation.

See Section 1.5.

• Per the Small Business Administration (SBA) SBIR Policy Directive, dated October 1, 2020 (hereafter referred to as “the Policy Directive”) to be eligible for a Phase I award, Offerors must meet or exceed the Phase II Transition Rate Benchmark, See Section 3.7, DHS Phase II Transition Rate Benchmark.

1.2 DHS SBIR Program, Purpose and Objectives

The statutory purpose of the SBIR Program is to strengthen the role of innovative small business concerns in Federally funded R/R&D. Program objectives are as follows:

(1) stimulate technological innovation;

(2) strengthen the role of small business concerns in meeting Federal R/R&D needs;

(3) foster and encourage participation by socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses (SDBs) and by women‐owned small businesses (WOSBs); and

(4) increase private sector commercialization of innovations developed through Federal R/R&D, thereby increasing competition, productivity, and economic growth.

The federal SBIR Program is mandated by the Small Business Research and Development Act of 1982 (Public Law 97‐219), the Small Business Research and Development Act of 1992 (Public Law 102‐564), and the SBIR and STTR Extension Act of 2022 (Public Law 117‐183).

The DHS SBIR Program follows the policies and practices of the Policy Directive. This Solicitation incorporates and uses the flexibility of the Policy Directive to encourage innovative proposals in response to the research topics listed in Appendix A.

1.3 Three Phase Program

The SBIR Program is a three-phase program. The objective of Phase I is to determine the scientific, technical, and commercial merit, feasibility of the proposed effort, and the SBC’s quality of performance, with a relatively small agency investment prior to providing further Federal support in Phase II. Phase I proposals should concentrate on R/R&D which will significantly contribute to proving the scientific and technical feasibility, and commercialization potential of the proposed effort. The successful completion of Phase I is a prerequisite for further DHS support in Phase II. Offerors are encouraged to consider whether the R/R&D being proposed also has private sector potential, either for the proposed application or as a base for other applications.

The objective of Phase II is to continue the R/R&D effort from the completed Phase I. Phase II efforts further develop work from Phase I that meets program needs and exhibits potential for commercial application. Phase II is the principal R&D effort and is expected to produce a well‐ defined deliverable prototype. Phase II awards may be made to SBCs based on the results of their Phase I projects, and the scientific merit, technical merit, and commercialization potential of the Phase II proposal.

In accordance with the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2016 (Public Law 114‐ 328), all small businesses awarded a Phase I contract originating from the 23.1 Solicitation are eligible to submit a Phase II proposal. A Contracting Officer will notify Phase I awardees with Phase II proposal submission requirements and deadlines.

SBIR Phase III refers to work that derives from, extends, or completes an effort made under prior SBIR funding agreements, but is funded by sources other than the SBIR Program. Phase III work is typically oriented towards commercialization of SBIR research or technology. Under Phase III, the SBIR awardee is expected to seek contracts and obtain funding from the private sector and/or the Federal government (non‐SBIR federal government sources) to develop the prototype or supply goods or services related to the work performed under the SBIR contract(s) into a viable product or non‐R&D service for sale in DHS and/or private sector markets.

A Phase III award, by its nature, is an SBIR award, has SBIR status, and must be accorded SBIR data rights. Phase III proposals can only be submitted by, and made to, a Phase I and/or Phase II awardee or successor in interest. The competition for SBIR Phase I and Phase II awards satisfies any competition requirement of the Armed Services Procurement Act, the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, and the Competition in Contracting Act. Therefore, an agency that wishes to fund an SBIR Phase III project is not required to conduct another competition in order to satisfy those statutory provisions.

1.4 Key Dates and Events

The following chart shows the projected important events and corresponding dates of the 23.1 DHS SBIR Solicitation:

KEY DATES*

EVENT DATE*

Pre‐Solicitation issued: November 17, 2022 Direct questions to Topic POC permitted: November 17, 2022 – December 14, 2022 Solicitation released: December 15, 2022 Phase I proposals submission: December 15, 2022 – January 17, 2023 Questions for public response: January 4, 2023,1:00 pm, ET Q&A Posted on SAM.gov January 10, 2023 Deadline for receipt of proposals: January 17, 2023, 1:00 pm, ET Phase I POP (5 months):

May 2023 – Oct 2023 Phase II Proposals Due: ~October 2023

Phase II Begins: ~March 2024 *The dates in the table above are approximate dates and are subject to change without notice.

1.5 Eligibility

Not eligible - SBCs that are majority‐owned by multiple venture capital operating companies, hedge funds or private equity firms are not eligible to submit proposals in response to the 23.1 Solicitation nor are they eligible to receive a DHS SBIR award.

To receive SBIR funds, each awardee of a Phase I or Phase II award must qualify as an SBC at the time of award and at any other time set forth in SBA’s regulations at 13 CFR 121.701 through 121.705.

Small business concerns must register with the SBA Company Registration Database. See Section 2.1.

For both Phase I and Phase II, the primary employment of the principal investigator must be with the SBC at the time of the award and during contract performance. Primary employment means that more than one‐half of the principal investigator’s time is spent in the employ of the SBC. This precludes full‐time employment with another organization.

For both Phase I and Phase II, all research or research and development must be performed by the SBC and its subcontractors in the United States in accordance with Section 5.8 Research and Analytical Work.

1.6 SBIR Office Contacts

For general questions about the S&T Directorate’s SBIR Program, please contact STSBIR.PROGRAM@hq.dhs.gov. For general questions about the CWMD SBIR Program, please contact CWMD.SBIR@hq.dhs.gov.

mailto:STSBIR.PROGRAM@hq.dhs.gov mailto:CWMD.SBIR@hq.dhs.gov.

1.7 Definitions

Definitions provided in the Policy Directive and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) apply for the purposes of this Solicitation. Terms that are unique to the SBIR Program, this specific SBIR Solicitation, or may be unfamiliar to SBCs, are defined in Appendix B.

1.8 Fraud, Waste and Abuse

DHS and the SBIR Program Office are taking proactive measures to reduce the vulnerability of the SBIR Program to fraud, waste, and abuse. Instructions on the DHS OIG SBIR Fraud, Waste and Abuse training package will be included in the full Solicitation. Offerors must review the training package prior to submission of proposals.

To report SBIR fraud, please contact the DHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG):

DHS Office of Inspector General/MAIL STOP 0305 Attn: Office of Investigations - Hotline 245 Murray Lane SW Washington, DC 20528-0305

Online: Allegation Form: https://hotline.oig.dhs.gov/#step-1

Call: 1-800-323-8603 toll free

TTY: 1-844-889-4357 toll free To reach someone within S&T’s SBIR Program Office about fraud, waste and abuse, please contact DHS S&T SBIR Program PM, STSBIR.PROGRAM@hq.dhs.gov.

To reach someone within the CWMD SBIR Program Office about fraud, waste and abuse, please contact the DHS CWMD SBIR PM at CWMD.SBIR@hq.dhs.gov.

2.0 REGISTRATION, CERTIFICATIONS, DATA COLLECTION, DISCLOSURE

2.1 Mandatory Registrations

In order to prepare and submit SBIR proposals to DHS under the 23.1 Solicitation, Offerors must be registered in the DHS SBIR Portal at https://sbir.dhs.gov/sbir/public.

Company registration is also required in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA).

Company Registry Database at http://sbir.gov/registration.

Prior to submitting the complete proposal to DHS, each Offeror must:

1. Affirm registration in the SBA Company Registry;

2. Input the company’s SBC Control ID number in the Company Data section of the DHS SBIR

Cover Sheet;

3. Upload a copy of the Registration (see Section 3.1).

PROPOSALS WHICH FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE ABOVE REQUIREMENT ARE

NON- RESPONSIVE AND WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR AWARD.

Before an SBIR contract can be awarded, proposing firms must also be registered in the System for https://hotline.oig.dhs.gov/ https://hotline.oig.dhs.gov/#step-1 mailto:STSBIR.PROGRAM@hq.dhs.gov mailto:CWMD.SBIR@hq.dhs.gov.

http://sbir.gov/registration

Award Management (SAM). SAM is the official U.S. Government system that consolidated the capabilities of the Central Contractor Registration (CCR)/Federal Register, Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA), and the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) databases.

Although not required at the time of proposal submission to the DHS SBIR Program, it is highly recommended that Offerors register in SAM during the proposal process. Award cannot be made to a company unless they are registered in SAM. To register in SAM and/or update company’s records, visit https://www.sam.gov/SAM/

Offerors are encouraged, but not required, to have a UEI (Unique Entity ID) number and a CAGE code at the time of proposal submission. Companies must obtain these before a contract can be awarded to the company. To obtain a UEI number, register with SAM.gov. Home CAGE Codes will be assigned by DLA during the registration process in SAM.gov. For more information about the Commercial and Government Entry (CAGE) code, please visit www.fsd.gov.

2.2 Required Certifications

At the time of proposal submission, each SBC must certify via the Cover Sheet of the proposal that it meets the size, ownership, and other requirements of the SBIR Program. In addition, the Policy Directive includes certifications requirements set forth in the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2016. The certifications require SBCs to certify that they are meeting the Program’s requirements at award and during the life cycle of the funding agreement.

The DHS SBIR Programs will implement the certifications as follows:

1. SBIR Funding Agreement Certification – Time of Award (Attachment 1) – If selected for award, this certification will be provided by the Contracting Officer to the small business concern for completion prior to issuing the Phase I and Phase II award.

2. SBIR Funding Agreement Certification – Life Cycle Certification (Attachment 2) ‐ The Life Cycle Certification will be included in resultant Phase I and Phase II contracts and is considered a deliverable.

2.3 Data Collection Requirement

Each Phase I and Phase II applicant is required to either enter information into SBA’s database at www.SBIR.gov or to update previously entered information. Companies should login to www.SBIR.gov using the account created when registering for the SBA company registry database. The following are examples of data to be entered into the database:

• Any business concern or subsidiary established for the commercial application of a product or service for which an SBIR award is made.

• Revenue from the sale of new products or services resulting from the research conducted under each Phase II award.

• Additional investment from any source, other than Phase I or Phase II awards, to further the research and development conducted under each Phase II award.

The SBC may apportion sales or additional investment information relating to more than one Phase II award among those awards if it notes the apportionment for each award.

In addition, each Phase II awardee is required to update the appropriate information on the award http://www.fsd.gov/ http://www.sbir.gov/ in the database upon completion of the last deliverable under the funding agreement and is requested to voluntarily update the information in the database annually thereafter for a minimum period of 5 years.

2.4 DISCLOSURE

Section 4(c) of the SBIR and STTR Extension Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-183) requires each small business concern submitting a proposal or application for a federally funded award to disclose information in the proposal or application regarding ties to the People’s Republic of China and other foreign countries of concern. DHS will provide the disclosure form(s) with any instructions prior to the proposal submission deadline. The small business concern must complete the form(s) in accordance with any instructions and include the form(s) in the concern’s proposal submission. Details on the requirements of the act can be found at https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/4900/text.

3.0 PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

3.1 Proposal Preparation and Length of Proposal

Offerors responding to the 23.1 Solicitation must submit a direct, concise, and informative research or research and development proposal. Each complete proposal must be submitted via the DHS SBIR Portal at https://sbir.dhs.gov/sbir/public.

The SBC will need to submit all the mandatory proposal sections. Some sections will be generated by the proposal submission portal and some will require a PDF upload (CWMD topic will also require documents submitted via email). Some sections which require PDF upload have a page limit.

The table below describes each mandatory section and, when applicable, page limitations.

Proposals submitted which do not contain all mandatory sections and/or exceed page limitations as described in the table below, will be deemed NON-RESPONSIVE and will not be evaluated. Any attachments and appendices will be counted toward the page limitation. It is the responsibility of the SBC to ensure that once the proposal is submitted and uploaded into the system, it complies with the page limits. Only information included in the proposal submission will be considered for evaluation purposes; no referenced materials will be considered.

Mandatory Proposal Requirements Phase I Phase II

System Generated

Cover Sheet As generated by system

Cost Proposal As generated by system

PDF Uploads

Technical Proposal Limited to 20 pages Limited to 40 pages Briefing Chart1 Limited to 1 page Limited to 1 page

SBA Company Registration Limited to 1 page Limited to 1 page Commercialization Report N/A No page limit – if applicable

Email Submissions Non-disclosure Agreement2 CWMD Topics ONLY

CWMD Topics Only NDA from Phase I applies to Phase

II

1 Briefing Chart Template is Attachment 3 in the Solicitation.

2 CWMD Topics ONLY – NDA must not be included in the proposals but submitted separately via provided email: see Section 4.3.

https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.congress.gov%2Fbill%2F117th-congress%2Fsenate-bill%2F4900%2Ftext&data=05%7C01%7C%7C041aeb631fb949f6d72308dac73a500f%7Ced5b36e701ee4ebc867ee03cfa0d4697%7C0%7C0%7C638041350646314367%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=5csq5F35BWAJvlngiL%2B3wC%2BktC09kbs7uJZpnV1jZIc%3D&reserved=0

The Cover Sheet and the Cost Proposal are completed electronically via the DHS SBIR online proposal submissions system, while the Technical Proposal, Briefing Chart, SBA Company Registration, and the Commercialization Report, if applicable, are uploaded as PDF documents.

3.2 Proposal Cover Sheet, Technical Abstract, Project Aims, and Summary of Results It is a requirement for the Offeror to provide basic details about the proposed effort on the proposal Cover Sheet. Additionally, the Cover Sheet includes the following fillable sections: Technical Abstract, Project Aims, and Summary of Results.

The Technical Abstract is limited to 250 words. The abstract must identify the purpose of the work and briefly describe the work to be carried out, the finding or results, and the potential commercial applications of the effort. If the Offeror’s proposal is selected for award, the Technical Abstract section will be publicly posted on the DHS SBIR website and on the SBA’s website; therefore, do not include proprietary or classified information in the Technical Abstract section of the Cover Sheet.

The Project Aims section is limited to 500 words, the Offeror should state the specific objectives of the research and development effort, define the proposed product, process or service to ultimately be developed. This section is intended for internal Government use and it will not be released.

For Phase I proposals only, the Offeror should state the specific objectives of the Phase I R/R&D effort, including the technical questions the Offeror will answer to determine the Phase I feasibility of the proposed approach and the impact that the results of the proposed research will exert on the research field(s) involved. The Offeror should state concisely and realistically what the proposed research is intended to accomplish in terms of its potential for technological innovation and commercial application. The proposed product, process or service that will ultimately be developed must be defined. Milestones for each of the aims should be included, as these will be used in the evaluation process.

For Phase II proposals only, the Offeror should state the specific objectives of the Phase II research and development effort including the impact that the results of the proposed research will exert on the research field(s). The Offeror should state concisely and realistically what the proposed research is intended to accomplish in terms of its potential for technological innovation and commercial application. The proposed product, process or service that will ultimately be developed must be defined. Milestones for each of the aims should be included, as these will be used in the evaluation process.

The Summary of Results section is limited to 500 words, must not contain proprietary information, and is for Government use only. The Offeror should provide the anticipated results and implications of the approach (both Phases I and II) and the potential commercial applications of the research.

3.3 Technical Proposal Format and Content

Prepare the Technical Proposal in single column format, 12‐point Times New Roman, with 1” margins on 8 ½” x 11” paper. Company name, topic number, and proposal number must be included in the header of each page. (The header may be included in the 1” margin.) The use of 10‐ point font is permissible for imbedded tables, figures, and graphics. See Section 3.1 for page limitations for Phase I and Phase II proposals.

The Technical Proposal must be a single file, including tables, figures, graphics, and table of contents (if included). Do not lock, password protect, or encrypt the file to be uploaded.

Perform a virus check before uploading the Technical Proposal file. If a virus is detected, it may cause rejection of the proposal.

The Technical Proposal must include the following sections in the order provided:

PROPOSAL FORMAT

PHASE I PROPOSAL PHASE II PROPOSAL

I. Identification and Significance of the Problem or Opportunity

I. Identification and Significance of the Problem or Opportunity

II. Phase I Technical Objectives II. Phase I Technical Objectives and Results

III. Phase I Work Plan III. Phase II Work Plan IV. Related R/R&D IV. Related R/R&D

V. Key Individuals and Bibliography of Directly Related Work

V. Key Individuals and Bibliography of Directly Related Work

VI. Relationship with Future R/R&D VI. Relationship with Future R/R&D VII. Commercialization Strategy VII. Commercialization Plan VIII. Facilities/Equipment VIII. Facilities/Equipment IX. Subcontractors/Consultants IX. Subcontractors/Consultants X. Potential Post Applications X. Prior, Current, or Pending Support of Similar

Proposals or Awards XI. Prior, Current, or Pending Support of Similar Proposals or Awards

The following is a brief description of each section of the Technical Proposal as applicable for each Phase:

• Identification and Significance of the Problem or Opportunity – Succinctly define the specific technical problem or opportunity addressed; the proposed innovation; the relevance and significance of the proposed innovation to a need(s) within the topic description; the proposed innovation relative to the state of the art; and the importance of the work proposed.

• Technical Objectives (Phase I proposals only) – State the specific objectives of the Phase I R/R&D effort, including the technical questions that must be answered to determine the feasibility of the proposed innovation/approach.

• Technical Objectives and Results (Phase II proposals only) – State the specific objectives of the Phase I R/R&D effort including the technical questions addressed to determine the feasibility.

Address the progress, results and findings of the Phase I effort.

• Work Plan (Phase I proposals only) (including the efforts of the subcontractor(s)/consultant(s), if applicable) – Provide an explicit, detailed description of the Phase I approach. The Plan should indicate what tasks are planned, how, when, and where the work will be conducted, a schedule of major events, and the final product(s) to be delivered. The Phase I effort should determine the technical feasibility of the proposed concept, and address the questions cited in the Technical Objectives immediately above. The methods planned to achieve each objective or task should be discussed explicitly and in detail. Task descriptions, schedules, resource allocations, estimated task hours for each key personnel and planned accomplishments, including project milestones, should be included. This section will be a substantial portion of the total Technical Proposal.

• Work Plan (Phase II proposals only) (including the efforts of the subcontractor(s)/ consultant(s), if applicable) – Provide an explicit, detailed description of the Phase II approach. The Plan should indicate what tasks are planned, how, when, and where the work will be conducted, a schedule of major events, the final product to be delivered, and the completion date of the effort. The Phase II effort should satisfy the anticipated results, as specified in the topic description. The methods planned to achieve each objective or task should be discussed explicitly and in detail. Task descriptions, schedules, resource allocations, estimated task hours for each key personnel and planned accomplishments, including project milestones, should be included. This section should be a substantial portion of the total proposal.

• Related Research/Research and Development – Describe significant (current and/or previous) R/R&D activities that are directly related to the proposed effort, including any conducted by the principal investigator, the Offeror, consultants, or others. Discuss any planned coordination with outside sources. Describe how these activities relate to the proposed project. Describe previous efforts similar but directly related to the proposed effort. For each effort, provide the following: (a) short description, (b) client for which work was performed (including individual to be contacted and phone number), and (c) date of completion. The Offeror should persuade reviewers of his or her awareness of key, recent R/R&D conducted by others in the specific topic area.

• Key Individuals and Bibliography of Directly Related Work – Identify key personnel who will be involved in the effort including information on directly related education, experience, and bibliographic information. A concise resume for the Principal Investigator and all key personnel, including a list of relevant publications (if any), should be included. All resumes will count toward the appropriate page limitation, see Section 3.1. Offerors must identify any non‐U.S. citizen(s) expected to be involved on proposed project [including direct employees, subcontractors and consultants], their country of origin, type of visa or work permit under which they are performing, and an explanation of their anticipated level of involvement on this project. Do not include Privacy Act Information. SBC foreign national(s) must first be cleared by S&T’s Foreign Disclosure Office prior to working and accessing data or information on awarded SBIR efforts.

Foreign nationals must receive separate clearances for each award including awards from multiple topics and multiple awards on the same topic. All foreign nationals requiring SBIR access must complete DHS foreign access management screening. Foreign Nationals must complete the DHS Form, 11000-55 upon request during award negotiation.

• Relationship with Future Research/Research and Development (Phase I proposals only) – State the anticipated results of the proposed approach if the project is successful through Phase I and Phase II. Discuss the significance of the Phase I effort in providing a foundation for Phase II research or research and development effort, application and commercialization efforts (Phase III).

• Relationship with Future Research/Research and Development (Phase II proposals only) – State the anticipated results of the proposed approach if the project is successful through Phase II and

Phase III. Discuss the significance of the Phase II effort in providing a foundation for Phase III commercialization efforts.

• Commercialization Strategy (Phase I proposals only) – (1) Explicitly describe the company's strategy (vision) for commercializing the proposed technology and how it will transition to the specific operational component in DHS, other Federal Agencies, and/or private sector markets. (2) Provide specific information on what related technologies, if any, already exist in the market and why the technology being proposed will be superior and how this information was ascertained. (3) Include a discussion on the Offeror’s current capability to commercialize previously developed technologies, as well as how the Offeror intends to develop the proposed technology all the way to the market. Responses to (1), (2), and (3) should be specific to the technology being proposed.

Failure to respond to any of the items listed will result in a lower valuation for criterion c (See Section 4.1 for Phase I evaluation criteria). If the Offeror has no commercial experience (item (3)) this should clearly be stated, and Offeror should describe how Offeror intends to bring the necessary experience to the company.

• Commercialization Plan (Phase II proposals only) – The Commercialization Plan should address the following: (Failure to address each item listed below in some detail will result in a lower valuation for criterion b (See Section 4.1 for Phase II evaluation criteria):

a. Company Information. Focused objectives/core competencies; specialization area(s); products and significant product sales; and history of previous Federal and non‐Federal funding, regulatory experience, and subsequent commercialization. Does the Offeror have marketing expertise and, if not, how does the Offeror intend to bring that expertise into the company?

b. Customer and Competition. Provide a clear description of key technology objectives, current competitors, and advantages (cost and technical) compared to competing products or services, description of hurdles to acceptance of the innovation. Address who the customers will be, and for non‐DHS customers explain the demand drivers for this technology. Estimate the market size. Has the Offeror contacted anyone in the projected target customer base including DHS customers?

Identify potential factors that could have positive and/or negative impacts regarding the transition of the proposed product.

c. Market. Provide milestones, target dates, analyses of market size, and the estimated market share after first and five-year sales. Provide detailed explanation on the plan to obtain market share.

d. Financing. Provide detailed information on the identification and acquisition of costs associated in transitioning the proposed product/services into the market. If available, provide brief discussion on potential financial sources. What are the plans for securing necessary funding for Phase III?

e. Intellectual Property (IP). Provide a detailed description on how the company plans to acquire and protect appropriate IP of the proposed product/service. What is the IP strategy and how will it be protected? Address patent status, technology lead, trade secrets or other demonstrations of a plan to achieve sufficient protection to realize the commercialization stage and attain at least a temporal competitive advantage.

f. Assistance and Mentoring. Provide plans for securing needed technical or business assistance through mentoring, partnering, or through arrangements with state assistance programs, small business development centers, Federally funded research laboratories, Manufacturing Extension Partnership centers, or other assistance providers. Address how the product will be produced.

The Commercialization Plan should also include a schedule and the basis for that schedule showing the quantitative results from the Phase II project that the company expects to report in its Company Commercialization Report Updates one year after the start of the Phase II, at the completion of Phase II, and after the completion of Phase II (i.e., amount of additional investment, sales revenue, etc.).

• Facilities/Equipment – Provide information to allow the evaluators to assess the ability of the Offeror to carry out the activities of the proposed phase as well as all subsequent phases. Describe available instrumentation and physical facilities necessary to carry out the proposed effort.

Equipment to be purchased, as detailed in the Cost Proposal, should be justified under this section.

Also state whether the facilities where the proposed work will be performed meet environmental laws and regulations of federal, state, and local governments for, but not limited to, the following groupings: airborne emissions, waterborne effluents, external radiation levels, outdoor noise, solid and bulk waste disposal practices, and handling and storage of toxic and hazardous materials.

• Subcontractors/Consultants – Involvement of any subcontractor(s) or consultant(s) (including Federal Laboratories, FFRDCs, universities, and technical assistance providers) is permitted. If such involvement is proposed, it should be described in detail in this section and in the Cost Proposal. Subcontractors’ or consultants’ involvement under Technical and Business Assistance (see Section 5.11) should be clearly delineated from involvement by other subcontractors and consultants. A minimum of two‐thirds of the research and/or analytical work in Phase I, as measured by total contract value, should be carried out by the proposing SBC. A minimum of one‐ half of the research and/or analytical work in Phase II, as measured by total contract value, should be carried out by the proposing SBC. If the SBC determines that it needs to acquire services from a non‐U.S. source, it must fully explain in its proposal why a non‐U.S. source must be used, and why no qualified U.S. source exists to perform the same services.

• Potential Post Applications – Briefly describe the following: (1) whether and by what means the proposed project appears to have potential commercial application; and (2) whether and by what means the proposed project appears to have potential use by the Federal Government.

• Prior, Current, or Pending Support of Similar Proposals or Awards – WARNING – While it is permissible, with proposal notification, to submit identical proposals or proposals containing a significant amount of essentially equivalent work (see Appendix B) for consideration under numerous Federal program solicitations, it is unlawful to enter into funding agreements (contracts or grants) requiring essentially equivalent effort. If there is any question concerning this, it must be disclosed to the soliciting agency or agencies before award.

If an Offeror elects to submit identical proposals or proposals containing a significant amount of essentially equivalent work in response to the 23.1 Solicitation, or other Federal program solicitations, or is substantially the same as another proposal that has been funded, is now being funded, will be submitted to other agencies for funding consideration, or is pending with DHS or another Federal Agency, the Offeror must indicate so on the Proposal Cover Sheet and provide the following information in the Technical Proposal:

a. Name and address of the Federal Agency(s) to which a proposal was submitted, will be submitted, or from which an award is expected or has been received

b. Date of proposal submission or date of award

c. Title of proposal

d. Name and title of principal investigator or project manager for each proposal submitted or award received

e. Title, number, and date of solicitation(s) under which the proposal was submitted, will be submitted, or under which award is expected or has been received

f. If award was received, state contract number

g. Specify the applicable topics for each SBIR Proposal submitted or award received

Note: If this section does not apply, the following statement should be included in the Technical Proposal:

“No prior, current, or pending support for proposed work.”

3.4 Cost Proposal

All Offerors must submit a cost proposal via as part of the submission to the SBIR Portal at https://sbir.dhs.gov/sbir/public. Proposed costs must not exceed the maximum thresholds outlined below.

SBIR Topic Proposal Structure*

Phase I Phase II $150,000** $1,000,000***

5 months 24 months

Notes: * Proposal Structure may be modified in 23.1 Solicitation or in Phase II Proposal Submission Instructions.

**Phase I total is not inclusive of Discretionary Technical and Business Assistance. If requesting assistance, the potential total is $150K plus assistance. Please see Section 5.11 ***Phase II total IS inclusive of the Discretionary Technical and Business Assistance. If requesting assistance, the total must not exceed $1M. Please see Section 5.11.

For additional information on the items in the Cost Proposal, reference Section 4.3.2 of the Portal Registration and SBIR Submission Guide located under “Resources” at https://sbir.dhs.gov/sbir/public.

Additionally, more information about cost proposals and accounting standards can be found on the DCAA customer guidance page, available at https://www.dcaa.mil/Customers/Guidance/

Proposals submitted under the 23.1 Solicitation will be considered valid for 180 days. If a proposal is selected for award, Offerors should be prepared to submit further cost/pricing documentation to the Contracting Officer in order to justify items on the cost proposal.

The following are required elements of the cost proposal:

• Direct Labor – list the name, labor category, labor hours and labor rate of each employee working on the project

• Overhead Cost – specify the current overhead rate. Use overhead rate approved by a cognizant federal agency, if available.

• Other Direct Cost – include direct material, special testing, equipment, travel, subcontracts, etc.

For Phase I planning purposes, Offerors should budget for two mandatory trips to Washington, DC

– a post‐award conference and a one‐day meeting to present the results in the final report. In the event that an in-person post award conference is not feasible, then a virtual event will take place.

https://oip.dhs.gov/sbir/public.

https://oip.dhs.gov/sbir/public.

The structure of the post award conference is different for S&T and CWMD topics. Refer to the table below for details:

PHASE I POST AWARD DETAILS

Day S&T Topics CWMD Topics 1 (Mandatory) Session includes:

Program background and contracting overview One‐on‐One sessions with Topic Managers

(Mandatory) Session includes:

Program background and contracting overview One‐on‐One sessions with Topic Managers

2 (Mandatory) Commercialization workshop N/A

3 (Optional) Showcasing and Presentation Workshop ‐ venue where small business concerns can enhance their presentation skills in front of Government, Industry, and representatives from the investment community

N/A

3.5 Briefing Chart

The mandatory one‐page Briefing Chart should provide a very concise summary of the overall effort. The Briefing Chart is uploaded during proposal submission and may be used in the evaluation process. The briefing chart MUST NOT contain proprietary or classified data. Offerors must use the Briefing Chart template provided in Attachment 3.

3.6 Commercialization Report

All Phase II Offerors with previous Phase II awards from any federal agency must submit a Commercialization Report. It is important to note that this is a separate document from the Commercialization Plan required as part of the Phase II Technical Proposal.

Offerors that have not received any Phase II awards should check the appropriate box on the Cover Sheet certifying that the company has not received SBIR Phase II funding from any agency.

Offerors with no prior Phase II awards will not be negatively impacted in the evaluation process.

Instead, such companies will be evaluated based on the Commercialization Plan, see Section 3.3.

If applicable, the succinct Commercialization Report should be in PDF format and submitted as a separate upload during the Phase II proposal submission. The following are examples of company commercialization data expected in the Commercialization Report:

• Any business concern or subsidiary established for the commercial application of a product or service for which an SBIR award is made.

• Revenue from the sale of new products or services resulting from the research conducted under each Phase II award; delineate revenue by government, open market, prime contractors, other awards, and when this revenue event occurred.

• Additional investment from any source, other than Phase I or Phase II awards, to further the research and development and/or commercialization conducted under each Phase II award.

• Whether the Phase II technology has been used in a fielded DHS system or acquisition program, and, if so, which system or program.

• The number of patents resulting from the contractor’s participation in the SBIR Program and whether any licenses based on these patents have been issued.

• Whether the company has completed an initial public offering (IPO) of stock, merged or been acquired resulting, in part, from any DHS SBIR Phase II project.

The Commercialization Report for any prior Phase II award received by the company must be current as of the end of the company’s last full fiscal year (FY). The company may apportion sales or additional investment information relating to more than one Phase II award among those awards, if it notes the apportionment for each award.

3.7 DHS Phase II Transition Rate Benchmark

The Phase I to Phase II Transition Rate requirement applies only to SBIR and STTR Phase I applicants that have received more than 20 (21 or more) Phase I awards over the past 5 fiscal years, excluding the most recent year. These companies must meet the required benchmark rate of transition from Phase I to Phase II. The current Transition Rate requirement, agreed upon and established by all 11 SBIR agencies and published for public comment at 77 FR 63410 (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2012/10/16/2012-25328/sbirsttr-phase-i-to-phase-ii-transition-benchmarks ) in October 2012 and amended at 78 FR 30951 ( https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2013/05/23/2013-12312/sbirsttr-phase-i-to-phase-ii-transition-benchmarks ) in May 2013, is that an awardee must have received an average of one Phase II for every four Phase I awards received during the most recent 5-year time period (which excludes the most recently-completed fiscal year) to be eligible to submit a proposal for a new Phase I (or Direct-to-Phase II) award. That is, the ratio of Phase II to Phase I awards must be at least 0.25.

For SBIR/STTR awardees that have received more than 20 Phase I awards during the time period, SBA calculates the company Transition Rate and displays it on the company registry page at www.sbir.gov. Companies with less than that number of past Phase I awards will only see “N/A” because the benchmark requirement does not apply to them. To calculate the company Transition Rate, SBA divides the total number of SBIR and STTR Phase II awards a company received from all agencies during the past 5 fiscal years by the total number of SBIR and STTR Phase I awards it received during the past 5 fiscal years excluding the most recently-completed year. The 5-year period over which Phase I awards are counted excludes the most recently completed fiscal year because not all Phase II awards can occur within the same year as the Phase I award.

3.8 Questions

General Questions Questions pertaining to the S&T’s SBIR Program should be submitted to STSBIR.PROGRAM@hq.dhs.gov.

Questions pertaining to the CWMD’s SBIR Program should be submitted to CWMD.sbir@hq.dhs.gov.

Technical Questions file:///%5C%5Cdhsnet.ds1.dhs%5CS&T_SHARES%5CVTA-COMMON%5CUNDER%20SECRETARY%20FOR%20SCIENCE%20AND%20TECHNOLOGY%5CSHARED%5CINNOVATION%20SHARED%5CSBIR%5C2021%20Solicitation%5C21.1%5CFY%2021%20Solicitation%20Docs%5C77%20FR%2063410%20(https:%5Cwww.federalregister.gov%5Cdocuments%5C2012%5C10%5C16%5C2012-25328%5Csbirsttr-phase-i-to-phase-ii-transition-benchmarks%20) file:///%5C%5Cdhsnet.ds1.dhs%5CS&T_SHARES%5CVTA-COMMON%5CUNDER%20SECRETARY%20FOR%20SCIENCE%20AND%20TECHNOLOGY%5CSHARED%5CINNOVATION%20SHARED%5CSBIR%5C2021%20Solicitation%5C21.1%5CFY%2021%20Solicitation%20Docs%5C77%20FR%2063410%20(https:%5Cwww.federalregister.gov%5Cdocuments%5C2012%5C10%5C16%5C2012-25328%5Csbirsttr-phase-i-to-phase-ii-transition-benchmarks%20) file:///%5C%5Cdhsnet.ds1.dhs%5CS&T_SHARES%5CVTA-COMMON%5CUNDER%20SECRETARY%20FOR%20SCIENCE%20AND%20TECHNOLOGY%5CSHARED%5CINNOVATION%20SHARED%5CSBIR%5C2021%20Solicitation%5C21.1%5CFY%2021%20Solicitation%20Docs%5C77%20FR%2063410%20(https:%5Cwww.federalregister.gov%5Cdocuments%5C2012%5C10%5C16%5C2012-25328%5Csbirsttr-phase-i-to-phase-ii-transition-benchmarks%20) file:///%5C%5Cdhsnet.ds1.dhs%5CS&T_SHARES%5CVTA-COMMON%5CUNDER%20SECRETARY%20FOR%20SCIENCE%20AND%20TECHNOLOGY%5CSHARED%5CINNOVATION%20SHARED%5CSBIR%5C2021%20Solicitation%5C21.1%5CFY%2021%20Solicitation%20Docs%5C78%20FR%2030951%20(%20https:%5Cwww.federalregister.gov%5Cdocuments%5C2013%5C05%5C23%5C2013-12312%5Csbirsttr-phase-i-to-phase-ii-transition-benchmarks%20) file:///%5C%5Cdhsnet.ds1.dhs%5CS&T_SHARES%5CVTA-COMMON%5CUNDER%20SECRETARY%20FOR%20SCIENCE%20AND%20TECHNOLOGY%5CSHARED%5CINNOVATION%20SHARED%5CSBIR%5C2021%20Solicitation%5C21.1%5CFY%2021%20Solicitation%20Docs%5C78%20FR%2030951%20(%20https:%5Cwww.federalregister.gov%5Cdocuments%5C2013%5C05%5C23%5C2013-12312%5Csbirsttr-phase-i-to-phase-ii-transition-benchmarks%20) file:///%5C%5Cdhsnet.ds1.dhs%5CS&T_SHARES%5CVTA-COMMON%5CUNDER%20SECRETARY%20FOR%20SCIENCE%20AND%20TECHNOLOGY%5CSHARED%5CINNOVATION%20SHARED%5CSBIR%5C2021%20Solicitation%5C21.1%5CFY%2021%20Solicitation%20Docs%5C78%20FR%2030951%20(%20https:%5Cwww.federalregister.gov%5Cdocuments%5C2013%5C05%5C23%5C2013-12312%5Csbirsttr-phase-i-to-phase-ii-transition-benchmarks%20)

The Pre-Solicitation period is from November 17, 2022 through December 15, 2022 During the Pre-Solicitation period, technical questions concerning the topics should be directed towards the Technical Point of Contact (POC) for each topic, listed in the 23.1 Pre-Solicitation SBIR Topic Areas.

During this Pre-Solicitation period, interested parties have an opportunity to contact topic authors via email to ask technical questions about specific technical topics attached to this notice.

Telephone inquiries will not be addressed.

Questions are limited to technical information related to improving the understanding of a topic’s requirements. Any questions or inquiries seeking advice or guidance on a solution approach are unacceptable and will not receive a response.

No further contact between offerors and Technical Points of Contact shall occur after 5pm on December 15, 2022.

Rules for submitting questions after Pre-Solicitation ends, on December 15, will be outlined in the

23.1 Solicitation.

The Government anticipates releases of the 23.1 Solicitation on December 15, 2022.

Electronic Submission Questions.

Questions about the electronic submission of proposals should be submitted to the Help Desk at

(571) 446-4869, or via email to OIPPortalHelpDesk@hq.dhs.gov. The Help Desk may be contacted from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday excluding Federal Holidays.

4.0 METHOD OF SELECTION AND EVALUATION CRITERIA

4.1 Evaluation Criteria, Factors and Ratings

The Phase I evaluation criteria, listed in decreasing order of importance, are as follows:

a. Technical Merit – the soundness, technical merit, and innovation of the proposed approach and its incremental progress toward topic or subtopic solution.

b. Staff Qualifications and Capability – the qualifications of the proposed principal investigator, key personnel, supporting staff, and consultants. Qualifications include the ability to perform the research and development.

c.