ARI RFI Final 16 JUL 2026.pdf

GENERAL INFORMATION

Document Type: Request for Information Solicitation Number: N/A Posted Date: 16 July 2026 Response Date: 31 July 2026 Set Aside: N/A

DESCRIPTION

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) - This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. Solicitations are not available at this time.

Requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. This notice does not constitute a commitment by the United States Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. All information submitted in response to this announcement is voluntary;

the United States Government will not pay for information requested nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing information provided to the United States Government. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on SAM.gov. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this requirement.

The US Army Contracting Command-Aberdeen Proving Ground-Research Triangle Park (ACC-APG-RTP) Division, 800 Park Offices Drive – Suite 4229 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 is exploring options for support for U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI). The purpose of this notice it to encourage competition and exchanges of information. Additionally, response to this notice will be used to gather market research to identify potential offerors having an interest in and the resources to support this requirement.

ELIGIBILITY

The applicable NAICS code for this requirement is 541720 with a Size Standard of $28M.

The capability statement documentation must address at a minimum the following items:

1. Please provide any questions, comments, and feedback on the attached Draft Performance Work Statement and its contents.

2. Will your company propose on this effort? Yes or No?

a. If yes: Indicate if your company will propose as a Prime or Subcontractor. If your company will propose as a Prime, state affirmatively if you plan to self-perform entirely or team with subcontractors.

b. If yes: Indicate if your company is a small business. Also, indicate whether you qualify as a small disadvantaged business, women-owned small business, HUBZone small business, or service disabled veteran-owned small business concern.

i. If a small business: Indicate if your company would be capable and intend for at least 50 percent of the amount paid by the Government for contract performance to be performed by your company and any similarly situated subcontractors (See FAR 52.219-14 (DEVIATION 2020-O0008)).

c. If yes: How long do you need to submit a proposal (e.g. 14, 21, 30, 45 days)?

d. If no: Please provide as justification as to why you decided to no-bid.

3. What specific technical skills does your company possess to meet the requirements of the Performance Work Statement (PWS)? If your company does not possess the technical skills to meet all the PWS requirements, please provide the name, CAGE code, and business size of your potential teaming partners and describe the specific technical skills that they possess otherwise to meet the task areas in the Draft Performance Work Statement.

4. What type of work has your company performed in the past in support of the same or similar requirement? Please provide the contract number(s), government organization, total contract value, period of performance, description of effort, and any associated performance feedback. Please provide a description of your teaming partners’ past performance in the task areas in the Draft Performance Work Statement. Please also provide their contract number(s), government organization, total contract value, period of performance, description of effort, and any associated performance feedback.

5. Explain your proposed approach to managing multiple, concurrent task orders with varying contract types (e.g., CPFF, FFP) and technical requirements. How would your Program Management Office (PMO) ensure consistent quality and communication across the entire contract portfolio?

6. Does your company view this requirement as commercial or non-commercial and what is the supporting rationale for that determination?

7. What is your team’s recommendation for the optimal contract vehicle for this acquisition?

8. Are you aware of any active contract vehicles we could leverage that fully support the technical requirements of this effort? If yes, please list the specific vehicles and briefly outline why they are a viable fit for this requirement.

9. Are there any tasks, deliverables or requirements in the draft PWS that are ambiguous, conflicting or require further definition to allow for an accurate proposal submission?

SUBMISSION DETAILS

Potential offerors interested in this requirement are requested to submit a capabilities statement of no more than ten (10) pages in length in Times New Roman font and no less than 10 pitch. Microsoft Word or Portable Document Format (PDF) is acceptable.

Please be sure to include the company’s cage code and a company point of contact.

The deadline for responses to this request is no later than 4:00 PM EST, 31 July 2026.

All responses must be submitted via e-mail to Sydney Edmonds at sydney.m.edmonds.civ@army.mil and Megan Deluca at megan.a.deluca.civ@army.mil

No phone calls will be accepted. All data received in response to this notice that is marked or designated as corporate or proprietary will be fully protected from any release outside the Government.

mailto:sydney.m.edmonds.civ@army.mil mailto:megan.a.deluca.civ@army.mil

DRAFT PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

1.0: ARMY RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR THE BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES (ARI)

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS).

1.1 Description of Services/Introduction:

The Contractor shall provide all personnel, materials, equipment, facilities, and other supplies and non-personal services necessary to conduct research, analysis, development, experimentation, and implementation activities as defined in this Performance Work Statement (PWS) for the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI), except as specified as government furnished equipment and information. The Contractor shall perform research, development, and analyses, and conduct research efforts intended to resolve issues associated with ARI’s on-going programs of work in U.S. Army personnel testing, training, and leader development. These efforts may include the design, development, testing, and evaluation of methods, tools, models, systems, and prototypes to support Army missions.

2.0: INTRODUCTION:

The ARI is a field activity of the DCS G-1 with Science and Technology funding and oversight by the DASA (R&T). ARI requires support for a research and development portfolio dedicated to maximizing personnel readiness, Soldier performance, and combat effectiveness across operational and institutional Army environments. ARI’s mission is to drive scientific innovation to enable the Army to acquire, develop, employ, and retain professional Soldiers and enhance personnel readiness. ARI efforts under this contract may address individual, team, organizational, and enterprise-level readiness within Army systems.

3.0: OBJECTIVES:

ARI activities include use of behavioral and social science methods to (1) advance personnel science; (2) conduct applied research and development efforts; and (3) develop innovative systems, tools, trainings, and job aids for Soldiers, units, and the Army at large. ARI activities include the application of interdisciplinary scientific methods, including but not limited to behavioral and social science, data science, and advanced analytics and modeling. These efforts may be conducted across a range of operational context, including but not limited to large-scale combat operations (LSCO), multi-domain operations (MDO), institutional training environments, and future force concepts. ARI’s scientific program will produce innovative and scalable approaches to identify talent and job requirements; design new assessment methods to acquire, employ, and retain high potential Soldiers; develop methods and models to inform Soldier and leader development; and create methods and measures to bridge the gap between the individual, team, and enterprise levels of talent management. The program will support the development and application of scalable, data-informed approaches to optimize readiness, decision-making, and performance across the Army.

4.0: SCOPE

The Contractor shall provide support to ARI in the following three specific areas. Support may span the full lifecycle of research and development activities, including but not limited to problem identification, concept development, data collection, experimentation, analysis, implementation, and transition. The Contractor shall be capable of responding to short-notice, surge, and time-sensitive requirements, including rapid task order execution and accelerated timelines, as directed by the Government, to provide support for emerging Army priorities.

4.1 Program Management

4.2 Applied Research, Development, and Experimentation

4.3 Data Discovery, Collection, Analysis, Management, Presentation, and Reporting

Specific requirements, deliverables, and level of effort will be defined at the task order level.

5.0: TASKS:

5.1 Task 1: Program Management

The Contractor shall provide program management and project management support under this Contract. This includes the management and oversight of all activities performed by Contractor personnel, including subcontractors, to satisfy the requirements identified in this Performance Work Statement (PWS). The Contractor shall identify, by name, a Program Manager (PM), who shall provide management, direction, administration, quality control, and leadership of the execution of this contract.

The Contractor shall perform the following tasks for each T.O awarded. This includes coordination and integration of multiple efforts across projects, stakeholders, and organizations to ensure alignment with Army priorities.

5.1.1 Prepare a Monthly Status Report (MSR)

The Contractor PM shall develop and provide a monthly status report (MSR) using Microsoft (MS) Office Suite applications, by the 10th of each month via electronic mail to the contracting officer (KO), Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and ACOR. The MSR shall summarize for each active contract: Financial Review/Expenses, accomplishments during the period, problems met or anticipated, activities anticipated during the next reporting period, and utilization of personnel. The MSR shall include the following information:

• Activities during reporting period, by task order/project (e.g., on-going activities, new activities, activities completed, current progress). Start each section with a brief description of the task.

• Problems and corrective actions taken. Also include issues or concerns and proposed resolutions to address the issues.

• Current burn rate against baseline. Baseline equals contract price divided into even monthly payments. For instance, the monthly baseline for a 12-month $0.6M project is $50k per month. If the current project significantly deviates from planned burn rate, as defined at the task order level, the Contractor shall include an explanation if requested by the COR.

• Personnel gains, losses, and status (e.g., onboarding, departing, access to Army systems, security clearance)

• Government actions required

• Schedule (e.g., major tasks, milestones, and deliverables; planned and actual start and completion dates for each)

• Summary of trips taken; conferences attended (attach trip reports to the MSR for the relevant reporting period.

• Accumulated invoiced cost for each CLIN up to the previous months and projected cost of each CLIN for the current month

The content and format of the MSR may be tailored at the task order level.

5.1.2 Convene Senior Management Review (SMR) Meetings

The Contractor Program Manager (PM) shall convene a recurring Senior Management Review (SMR) meeting to provide portfolio-level visibility and oversight of contract performance across all active task orders.

The SMR is intended to serve as a structured forum to accomplish the following:

• Provide senior leadership visibility into project status, risks, and performance trends.

• Identify and address issues requiring Government attention or decision.

• Prioritize activities and resources across the contract portfolio.

• Facilitate coordination among Government stakeholders.

The SMR shall be conducted monthly unless otherwise directed by the Government and shall include the project COR(s) and other Government stakeholders as designated (e.g., KO, RUC, ARI leadership).

SMR Format and Content

The Contractor shall present a consolidated status of all active task orders, including at a minimum:

• Project Status Summary: Each task order shall be assessed using a standardized indicator (e.g., Green/Yellow/Red) based on schedule, cost, and performance.

• Issue and Risk Review: Emphasis shall be placed on projects assessed as Yellow or Red, including:

o Description of issues or risks o Root cause of the issue o Proposed mitigation strategies o Return to Green plan and timeline o Government actions or decisions required

• Schedule and Execution Updates: Significant milestones, delays, or changes in execution approach.

• Resource and Staffing Considerations: Any impact to personnel, workload, or surge requirements.

Outputs and Documentation

The Contractor PM shall provide meeting minutes within two (2) business days following the meeting. Minutes shall include the following items at a minimum:

• Attendance.

• Key discussion points.

• Decisions made.

• Action items, including responsible party and suspense date.

Flexibility

The frequency, format, and level of detail of the SMR may be tailored at the task order or contract level as directed by the Government.

5.1.3 Prepare A Research & Project Management Plan (PMP)

The Contractor shall develop a Research & Project Management Plan that defines tasks, methods, deliverables, and schedules. The plan is a living document and may be updated with COR approval to reflect evolving, in-scope requirements. The PMP acts as the authoritative execution baseline for the task order.

The Contractor shall document all support requirements in a PMP that include the following:

• Describe the proposed management report.

• Contain detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all tasks/projects.

• Include milestones, tasks, subtasks, and projects required by this Contractor.

• Provide for an overall Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and associated responsibilities and partnerships between Government organizations.

The Contractor shall provide the Government with a draft PMP at time of proposal, upon which the Government will accept the PMP by virtue of contract award and provide comments at the kickoff meeting.

The Final PMP shall incorporate the Government’s comments within fifteen (15) business days.

The PMP is a living document that shall be updated annually at a minimum. The PMP shall support adaptation to emerging requirements, priorities, and mission needs as directed by the Government.

Updates to the PMP that do not change overall scope, cost, or period of performance may be approved by the COR at the task order level.

5.1.3 Quality Control Plan (QCP)

The Contractor shall provide a detailed draft quality control plan (QCP) that is applicable to the contract and in consideration of all requirements. The QCP should detail how the Contractor intends to monitor, inspect, and correct deficiencies for the requirements of the PWS. At a minimum, the plan shall provide methods to be used to achieve the Government’s objective within acceptable levels of quality as outlined in the Performance Requirements Summary (PRS). The plan should address, at a minimum, the following:

• Type, level of frequency of Contractor’s Quality Control actions, including remediation.

• Inspection checklists and records.

• Deficiencies reported to COR.

• Reports.

• Meetings.

5.1.4 Update the Quality Control Plan

The Contractor shall update the QCP submitted with their proposal and provide a final QCP after incorporating comments from the Government. The Contractor shall periodically update the

QCP as changes in program processes are identified.

5.1.5 Travel Authorization and Preparing Trip Reports

The Contractor shall keep a summary of all cost-reimbursable travel including, but not limited to, the name of the employee, location of travel, duration of trip, and point of contact (POC) at travel location. The Contractor shall provide a Travel Authorization Request to the COR at least fifteen (15) business days before travel and deliver a Trip Report five (5) days after trip completion. The COR may adjust the timeline for the authorization request and trip report, as required, at the task order level.

5.1.6 Staffing Plan

The Contractor shall submit a Staffing Plan that details the number of personnel by skill level needed to satisfy the objectives and requirements of the contract and demonstrates that it will possess available staff with the requisite education, experience, and skills to successfully perform the contract requirements. The Staffing plan must provide the following at a minimum:

• A detailed discussion of the methods and approach that will be taken to acquire and/or retain a skilled staff that will meet or exceed the contract requirements.

• A discussion of the offeror’s approach to effectively communicate and coordinate with the Government.

5.1.7 Required Meetings and Briefings

For all required meetings and briefings (e.g., kickoff, IPRs, closeout, regular project meetings, other briefings) the Contractor shall provide to the Government a draft or better copy of any material to be presented at least five (5) business days prior to the meeting. The Contractor shall provide minutes of these meetings, including attendance, issues discussed, decisions made, and action items assigned, to the COR no later than two (2) business days following the IPR. The COR may adjust the timeline for the briefing materials and IPR minutes, as required, at the task order level.

Kickoff meeting: The Contractor shall coordinate and schedule a kickoff meeting at a time convenient for the Government but no later than one month after contract award. Kickoff locations will be specified in the T.Os. At these meetings, the Contractor shall deliver to the Government a proposed execution plan, complete with a draft schedule and milestone activities for completing all work associated with the PWS tasks. Working from the proposed schedule and milestones, the Contractor shall in concert with the Government produce the joint final execution plan, schedule, and milestones no later than ten (10) business days after the kickoff meeting. Any subsequent changes to the schedule and milestones shall be jointly agreed upon by the Contractor and the Government.

Conduct Interim IPRs: Across the entire project PoP, the Contractor shall conduct In- Progress Reviews (IPRs) via the Government’s preferred video conferencing software (e.g., MS Teams ) or at designated Government locations to review work progress and work projections at least every six (6) months. The exact number and scheduling of these reviews shall be determined based on discussions between the Government and the Contractor and will be documented in the schedule. Scheduling of these reviews may be time and/or event driven.

Closeout meeting: There shall be an in-person meeting between the Contractor and the COR in the final quarter of the contract to brief results at ARI.

Regularly Scheduled Project Meetings: The Contractor shall coordinate with the COR to schedule a reoccurring project meeting at a time convenient to the Government. These meetings shall occur at least once every two weeks (approximately ten [10] business days) but may occur more often at the COR’s discretion.

Provide Input to Briefings: Across the entire project PoP, the Contractor shall provide input as needed for the Government’s use in preparing and presenting briefings addressing the process and progress of this effort.

5.2 Task 2: Applied Research, Development, and Experimentation Support

ARI research programs encompass efforts designed to advance Soldier performance, readiness, and effectiveness across individual, team, and organizational levels. The Contractor shall design and execute experiments, pilots, demonstrations, and field data collections to assess concepts, prototypes, and interventions. Research activities may be conducted in training and field environments, including support with Army units, as directed by the Government. The following activities and domains are illustrative and not intended to be exhaustive.

The Army must be prepared to execute the potential range of future military operations (e.g., LSCO, COIN) in complex environments. Thus, the Army must develop Soldiers who can perform well across a variety of contexts and have the competencies needed for positions of increasing responsibility. Developing such competencies requires time and experience over a career and deliberate leader development and training interventions.

Social science research in support of Army objectives serves to systematically investigate and address Soldier, organizational, and behavioral factors that influence operational effectiveness, leadership, and mission success. This area of research addresses methods and techniques to identify, train, develop, and assess competencies and requisite skills for successful Soldier performance within the Army. This research task aims to optimize individual and collective performance, enhance decision-making, and improve performance in dynamic environments (e.g., MDO). This research area will develop evidence-based interventions, training programs, reports, and tools that align with the Army's objectives, ensuring adaptability to evolving challenges. The Contractor shall support research involving human participants in accordance with applicable ethical, regulatory, and Army requirements, including Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) processes, as directed by the Government.

The Contractor shall provide research and analysis support and subject matter expertise across a broad range of domains, including but not limited to the following examples: The following activities are illustrative and not intended to limit the scope of work under this contract.

• Qualitative research design, methods, and analytic techniques to include participant observation, interviews, focus groups, user experience tests, assessments, and questionnaires.

• Quantitative research design, methods, and analytic techniques to include descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, data science, data mining, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning.

• Fundamental theories and new domains in behavioral and social sciences.

• Policy and regulation review to include coverage at the Army-, Federal-, and DoW-level.

• Data collection using participant observation, interviews, focus groups, and user experience questionnaires.

• Military data collection and analysis. Army Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) with military experience, knowledge of Army operations, and with a background in military training.

• Generate both written reports and oral presentations, to include, for example, research reports, literature reviews, front-end analyses, conference briefings, sponsor meetings, and webinars.

• Operational initiatives to build trainings, tools, videos, websites, web-based and mobile applications, and databases informed by research and made viable for use in the Army.

• Application of computational models & methods, AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics to support decision -making and performance optimization.

• Integration of research activities within operational and training environments to ensure relevance to the Army mission and evolving Army priorities.

This area of research addresses methods and techniques to identify, train, develop, and assess competencies and requisite skills for successful individual and collective performance within the Army and includes but not limited to the following representative topic areas:

• Enhancing the measurement of individual differences and personal attributes, both cognitive and noncognitive, for personnel assessment using both classical and innovative measurement approaches.

• Refining and expanding the measurement of job performance to include innovative job analyses approaches and a holistic perspective of performance.

• Employing innovative methods, tools, and techniques to enhance personnel management (e.g., selection, assignment, promotion) from application to the Army until separation.

• Concurrently and/or longitudinally evaluating and validating personnel assessments across the Soldier lifecycle to include evaluating the impact of new and proposed personnel policies and programs on personnel management and performance.

• Utilizing methods to assess, develop, and accelerate the acquisition of cognitive and noncognitive competencies.

• Deploying innovative measures and leader development methods and models including methods to assess competency baselines and progression throughout a Soldier's career, including but not limited to Professional Military Education, self-development, and operational assignments.

• Developing and validating innovative measures, methods, and models of individual and collective processes and unit outcomes at varying echelons.

• Identifying and measuring contextual factors, methods, techniques, and tools to improve individual and collective resilience, performance, and other collective constructs (e.g., cohesion, command climate).

• Identifying new individual and collective knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes to operate successfully in dynamic and complex environments with changing mission sets.

• Developing measurement and feedback tools (e.g., developmental, diagnostic, predictive formative, and summative) for evaluating the acquisition, performance, and retention of individual and collective skills as well as determining the impact of training and training enablers.

The Contractor may apply emerging methods, technologies, and approaches as required to address evolving Army requirements. Specific methods, tools, and deliverables, and research approaches will be defined at the task order level based on mission needs.

5.3 Task 3: Data Discovery, Collection, Analysis, Management, Presentation, and Reporting

The Contractor shall identify, access, integrate, and analyze existing and emerging data sources, automated electronic databases, and non-automated information sources, and assess their value for use in Tasks 1-2. Data sources may include, but are not limited to, administrative systems, training and operational performance data, simulation and synthetic environment data, sensor and wearable data, personnel records, and external data sources as authorized.

The Contractor shall provide support in all aspects of survey research, including but not limited to (a) developing research questions and hypotheses; (b) sampling; (c) data collection technologies; (d) survey design, construction, administration, and support; (e) SME interview and focus group planning, administration, note taking, data entry, and analysis; (f) development of coding schemes; (g) data validation and quality assurance; and (h) operational issues.

The Contractor shall provide programming and other information system technical support to (a) extract, transform, load, and merge data; (b) create automated routines for data processing; (c) perform data quality control, data deduplication, addressing missing data, and ensuring data integrity; (d) create automated routines for data standardization and categorization; (e) create, test, modify, and maintain relational databases and data entry applications used for automated and manual data collection; (f) perform manual data coding and transformation, where not automatable; (g) conduct data quality assurance on manually coded data; (h) perform troubleshooting of software and hardware systems; (i) develop, deploy, and maintain data pipelines, data architectures, and analytical environments to support research and operational use; and (j) create procedural documentation, including code books, user’s guides, software installation procedures, and other such documents.

5.3.1 Data Science, Predictive Modeling, and Advanced Analytics

The Contractor shall analyze data from approved Army sources to generate descriptive and inferential analysis, develop predictive models, and support decision-makers and researchers in those programs with actionable information.

Specific requirements may include but are not limited to conducting analyses using (a) basic descriptive statistics; (b) statistical correlation; (c) significance testing; (d) predictive modeling including but not limited to standard forms of regression; (e) experimental design; (f) classification; (g) machine learning; and (h) text analysis and language processing.

5.3.2 Research and Analysis Results Presentation

The Contractor shall demonstrate expertise presenting results in written and oral form.

Specific requirements include (a) writing standard research reports; (b) authoring briefing slides;

(c) delivering oral briefings; (d) displaying quantitative results in a wide variety of data visualizations; (e) displaying qualitative data in a variety of graphical formats, including but not limited to flowcharts; (f) providing technical reviews, APA Publications Manual, ARI Publications Manual, and technical and grammar editing; and (g) generating user manuals, data dictionaries, and other documentation. Deliverables may include reports, briefings, datasets, dashboards, software tools, models, and other products.

The Contractor shall develop and maintain appropriate technical and project documentation sufficient to support continuity of operations, knowledge transfer, and Government use of deliverables. Documentation requirements, including format, level of detail, and update frequency, will be defined at the task order level based on the scope and complexity of the work.

5.3.3 Technology Expertise

The Contractor shall demonstrate expertise in technologies that support behavioral and social science research and advanced analytics, including statistical software, programming languages, data engineering tools, cloud-based platforms, artificial intelligence/machine learning, and data visualization tools.

Solutions developed under this contract shall, where applicable, be designed to integrate with existing Army systems, data environments, and Army enterprise architecture.

5.3.4 Army Expertise

The Contractor shall demonstrate expertise in Army operations and Soldier performance domains relevant to behavioral and social science research. This includes, but is not limited to, military data collection and analysis, training environments, and operational contexts.

The Contractor shall provide Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) with demonstrated experience in Army or military environments, including knowledge of Amry operations, training, and organizational structures.

Teams should include a mix of personnel with current or recent Army experience and technical experts to ensure both operational relevance and analytical rigor.

The Government strongly prefers personnel with recent and relevant Army experience to ensure alignment with current practices, operational demands, and evolving requirements. Equivalent experience supporting Army or Department of Defense missions may be considered where it provides comparable operational understanding.

6.0: DELIVERABLES:

The Contractor shall provide deliverables in support of research, analysis, development, and related activities performed under this PWS. Deliverables shall be specified at the task order level and may include, but are not limited to, technical reports, briefings, datasets, software code, digital tools, models, dashboards, training materials, and other products.

Deliverables shall be complete, accurate, and suitable for their intended use. Formats, content requirements, and delivery schedules shall be defined in individual task orders. Deliverables identified at the task order level may be refined, consolidated, or re-sequenced with COR approval to better meet mission needs, provided the overall objectives are met and changes remain within scope and cost/ceiling.

Interim milestones and delivery dates may be adjusted by the COR to reflect operational priorities during execution, provided such adjustments do not extend the overall period of performance without KO approval.

Where applicable, the Contractor shall provide documentation sufficient to enable Government use, modification, and sustainment of delivered products.

7.0: SECURITY REQUIREMENTS:

The Contractor shall comply with all applicable Department of War (DoW) and Army security policies and regulations. This includes requirements for handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), sensitive data, and access to Government systems and facilities.

Contractor personnel shall obtain and maintain any required security clearances as specified at the task order level.

The Contractor shall ensure that all personnel adhere to applicable cybersecurity, information assurance, and operational security requirements when accessing Government systems or data.

The Contractor shall immediately report any actual or suspected data spillage, unauthoized disclosure, or cybersecurity incident involving Government data or systems.

Notification shall be made to the COR within 24 hours of discovery.

The Contractor shall take immediate steps to contain and mitigate the incident and shall provide follow-up reporting as directed by the Government.

Additional incident reporting requirements may be specified at the task order level.

8.0: DATA MANAGEMENT:

The Contractor shall manage, store, transmit, and protect data in accordance with applicable Federal, DoW, and Army policies.

The Contractor shall implement appropriate safeguards to ensure data confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Data management approaches, including storage solutions, access controls, and data sharing mechanisms, shall be defined at the task order level.

The Contractor shall support Government access to data, including provision of data in usable formats and documentation sufficient for interpretation and reuse.

8.1: Human Subjects Research and Civilian Data Collection

The Contractor shall support research and assessment activities involving human participants in accordance with applicable Federal, DoW, and Army policies, including DoW I 3216.02 and related human subjects protection requirements.

Research activities may include data collection from both military and civilian populations, as appropriate to the research objectives and authorized by the Government.

Such activities may be conducted in a variety of environments, including Government, academic, commercial, or public settings, consistent with applicable approvals and oversight requirements.

The Contractor shall support the preparation and submission of protocols for Institutional Review Board (IRB) review, as required. The Contractor may utilize Government IRBs or non- DoW institutional IRBs, as appropriate and approved by the Government, to facilitate research involving civilian populations.

The Contractor shall design and conduct activities to minimize risk to participants and to align with categories of research that may qualify for expedited review, exemption, or waiver of documentation of informed consent, as applicable under governing regulations.

Activities conducted under this contract may include program evaluation, assessment, and analysis of Soldier performance, in addition to research, where appropriate and consistent with applicable policy and oversite.

The Contractor shall ensure that all data collection, storage, and use complies with applicable privacy, confidentiality, and data protection requirements.