Attachment 1_FFRDC Scope of Services For RFI (2).pdf

Draft Scope of Services

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED

Diplomatic Innovation and Modernization (DIM)

The purpose of DIM is to strengthen global engagement and humanitarian outcomes by pioneering research and development initiatives that address emerging threats and foster international cooperation.

• Emerging Threats, Concept Exploration, Experimentation and Evaluation o Develop concepts, models, simulations (for purposes of conceptual experimentation and evaluation, not for operational training), tools and metrics to evaluate system tradeoffs and integration strategies and support critical decision making.

o Apply statistical analysis and evaluation techniques o Develop prototypes and proof-of-concept demonstrations o Design, develop and establish unique testbeds, laboratories, and other experimentation environments o Evaluate alternative technologies and capabilities o Engage with critical infrastructure owners, operators, and/or stakeholders to improve security and resiliency (e.g., for-profit companies, non-profit companies, port authorities, State, Local, Tribal, Territorial entities, and Federal Sector Specific Authorities). Critical infrastructure security/resiliency capabilities including (but not limited to): architecture, engineering, insider threat, supply chain risk management, threat informed defense, adversary emulation, cyber autonomous response, cyber deception, cyber investment planning, data analytics, defensive operations, etc.

o Integrate sensing and surveillance systems with other data sources to make the most critical and relevant information available to decision makers when it is needed and in a readily understood presentation format.

o Develop operational and system requirements and conduct analysis of alternatives studies, trade space analyses, and independent evaluations for situational or domain awareness capabilities and course of action analysis tools.

o Design and implement prototype concepts that enable situational or domain awareness, as well as prototype concepts that generate and assess choices.

o Enable all source intelligence, integrating disparate and heterogeneous information, including highly classified information, open-source information, and international cooperative information sharing, deriving actionable or predictive intelligence that informs law enforcement or other homeland security operations.

o Design and implement prototype concepts that support the collection, processing, integration, analysis, and dissemination of intelligence, security, and diplomatic information.

o Performance of independent test and evaluation, verification and validation, the FFRDC shall avoid conflicts of interest in conducting operational testing of any articles in which they were directly or indirectly involved in providing development, or advisement in development, of the article under test.

o Development of realistic test environments and scenarios.

o Review of test plans and procedures for compliance with organizational strategies, goals and business needs; federal regulations; performance requirements and other contract requirements.

o Design and implement prototype concepts that support the collection, processing, integration, analysis, and dissemination of intelligence, security, and diplomatic information.

o Perform Gaming tasks such as wargames, tabletop exercises, and computer-assisted simulations to provide strategic analysis and decision-making by testing and extrapolating how certain choices impact allies and adversaries, including the secondary and tertiary effects of their ideas in real time.

• International Policy Analysis and Multilateral Diplomacy o Conduct in-depth research and analysis on international relations, policy trends, and regional dynamics to inform diplomatic decision-making. This includes building a network of analysts with regional expertise and worldwide field work for in-depth research.

o Conduct in-depth research and analysis on counterterrorism (domestic or global).

o Focused research on conflict resolution strategies, mediation techniques, and best practices for preventing and resolving international disputes at the United Nations and other multilateral fora.

o Continuing studies on climate change impacts on international relations, facilitating global cooperation on environmental issues.

o Conduct in-depth research and analysis on international relations, including bilateral and multilateral diplomacy (e.g., United Nations), policy trends, and regional dynamics to inform diplomatic decision-making.

o Conduct in-depth research and analysis on counterterrorism (domestic or global).

• Science and Technology Horizon Scanning o Provide continuous monitoring of emerging trends in the domestic and global science, technology, and innovation (STI) landscape, including in critical and emerging technology (CET) areas of particular importance to national security and economic competitiveness, including bilateral and multilateral diplomacy (e.g., United Nations).

For the purpose of this section, CET is described as those technologies listed in the U.S.

Critical and Emerging Technology List or in bilateral Initiatives on CET.

o Automate an early warning system that tracks market behaviors related to S&T related patents, tenders, investments, mergers, acquisitions, and real estate transactions.

o Track and report on military and non-state actors’ interest, investment, acquisition, and deployment of S&T knowhow and applications.

▪ Identify and monitor emerging threats including the use of advanced technologies and new applications of existing technologies in chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives (CBRNe) programs of concern.

o Develop, build, and maintain unclassified database that may be accessed, as needed, by external government partners. Databases may map global STI policy, regulations, legislation, and associated tools; domestic and foreign S&T innovation ecosystems, including government, military, private sector, academia, and research institutions; and foreign influence and/or funding on emerging industries of strategic importance.

o Convene analytical forums that bring together expertise from industry, civil society, science and technology associations, academia, and other relevant stakeholders to discuss STI trends.

Global CyberTech Solutions (GCS)

The purpose of GCS is to enhance global stability through cutting edge research and development in IT, cyber defense, systems engineering, and data analytics.

• Information Technology and Communications o Develop and evaluate data processing methodologies including data transmission, storage, retrieval, and manipulation.

o Develop and evaluate computational algorithms, search engine technologies, semantical relationships and non-structured data analytics.

o Develop and evaluate networking, telecommunications and communications technology o Develop and evaluate computer technologies, cloud services and enterprise applications resource planning.

o Review and advise regarding software development processes and standards.

o Decision and Data Analytics support to improve operational effectiveness, efficiencies, and manage and mitigate risks to the enterprise (e.g., Data-Centric Decision-Making

Data & Human Centered Solutions).

o Provide specialized information resources regarding the information technology landscape and access to industry professionals providing guidance and support in the evolving IT landscape, including research tools dedicated to specialized and sensitive IT supply chain logistics, financial analysis, and emerging IT technologies at the highest clearance levels.

o Develop operational and system requirements, as well as conduct analysis of alternatives studies, trade space analyses, threat and survivability assessments, developmental and operational test and evaluation assessments, and reliability availability and maintainability (RAM) assessments, for sensor systems and systems-of-systems.

o Provide cyber capacity expertise to eligible countries to support the develop and implementation of national cyber strategies.

• Cyber Operations, Assessment, and Solutions o Develop, review, and evaluate cybersecurity standards, protocols, vulnerability and threat identification and mitigation.

o Leverage big data analytics and machine learning to develop comprehensive threat intelligence capabilities that aggregate and analyze threat data from multiple sources to enable the identification of emerging threats and vulnerabilities, facilitating timely and informed decision-making.

o Develop continuous monitoring systems that provide real-time visibility into networks and devices and utilize advanced forensic tools to conduct in-depth investigations into incidents.

o Develop data security and risk assessment protocols to safeguard federal data within federal systems and in external environments where federal data is process or stored.

o Develop emulation plans and emulation of adversaries in an operational context to enable organizations to view their defenses and capabilities through the eyes of cyber adversaries.

o Data analytics applied to cyber challenges such as cybersecurity threat detection to identify, deter, and mitigate threats in the evolving cyber landscape, while evaluating effectiveness. Data security and integrity for traditional databases, big data applications, and distributed data systems. Best practices and technologies to provide strategic security advice and big data analytics capabilities.

o Digital Forensics: Access and analyze artifacts from electronic devices including computers, smartphones, vehicles, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

o Technology, architecture, and policy expertise to enable effective, secure information sharing across diverse security domains; analyze requirements; evaluate alternatives;

investigate high-assurance approaches, perform security and risk assessments, and recommend specific CDSs.

o Cyber Assessments: Tailor and apply a range of vulnerability, architectural, and adversarial assessment and testing methods to diverse environments and technologies across the system lifecycle.

o Develop automated methods to enhance security and efficiency of system management and evolution. Develop and apply approaches, tools, and interfaces that automate, monitor, and manage enterprise security and privacy posture and compliance.

Integrates security capabilities into automated processes including agile DevOps frameworks.

o Research, develop, and apply cyber resiliency engineering methodologies, architectures, techniques, and technologies to help assure mission continuity despite adversary attacks.

o Security / Cybersecurity Operations Center (SOC) Assessments, Optimization, and

Modernization: Combining research with direct experience and threat intelligence from live environments to establish and evolve operations centers.

o Enterprise Security Architecture: Develop and prototype end-to-end architectures that meet both security and business needs including cost, performance, and availability.

o Cloud Security: Develop approaches for resilient and affordable solutions for integrating cloud services to meet business/mission services.

o Mobile Security. Develop approaches to secure and integrate mobile devices and apps into a wide range of enterprise and mission environments.

o Develop approaches, architectures, assessments, tools, and analytics to allow safe and secure use of cyber-physical and Internet of Things systems at scale that operate with varying degrees of autonomy and have physical consequences. (Systems include ICS, SCADA, industrial and consumer IoT systems).

o Privacy Engineering. Support integration and operationalization of privacy policy and technology solutions.

o Cyber Threat Intelligence and Analysis. Understand and analyze real world threats, adversaries, and threat intelligence, developing program and sharing threat data.

o Cyber deception and adversary engagement: Actively engaging to impose additional cost on adversary including deception and reshaping of networks and defense.

o Develop scalable, interoperable approaches to securely manage and authenticate identities and perform authentication and access control throughout the enterprise.

o Identify and mitigate information security risks associated with cyber threats from individuals within organizations.

o Cyber Strategy and Governance: Provide strategic guidance for establishing cybersecurity programs, guidance, and policy within a rapidly evolving technological, economic, and social environment.

o Trust and Assurance: Develop, apply, and advance state-of-the-art software assurance, cryptographic protocol analysis, trustworthy computing, and foundational security components to protect against evolving advanced cyber threats.

o Data security: Develop, apply and advance approaches to secure data, including data at rest, data in transit and data in-use, from destructive forces and malicious actors.

o Cyber safety: Develop, apply, and advance approaches to identify and mitigate risks to human safety associated with technologies that impact physical processes (e.g., IoT, ICS).

• Systems Engineering, System Architecture and Integration o Development and review of systems design optimization and trade-space considerations o Systems Engineering for acquisition of new systems: Concept Development, Requirements Engineering, System and Enterprise Architecture, System Design and Development, System Integration, Test and Evaluation, and Transition to Operations and Maintenance.

o Systems Engineering Technical Specialties, including, but not limited to, Acquisition, cost-benefit analysis, Human Centered Engineering, Modeling & Simulation, Security

Engineering, RMA, Safety Engineering, Software and Information Engineering, Software

Intensive System, Networks and Communication Engineering, Modern Systems

Engineering tools and methodologies in the acquisition of new systems (e.g., Systems

Thinking, Evidence-Based Systems Engineering, Human-Machine Teaming Systems

Engineering, Digital Engineering, Agile SE, System of Systems Engineering, Resilience

Systems Security Engineering.

o Design, develop and validate integrating architectures, frameworks and technology roadmaps for existing and emerging systems and applications o Application of system and systems engineering principles to portfolio management, integration and aggregation of mission related systems and technologies o Design and develop sensor and system interfaces, interoperability requirements and data fusion methodologies o Application of enterprise systems engineering principles to overall systems integration and aggregation considerations

Global Operations and Acquisitions (GOA)

The purpose of the GOA is to advance diplomatic effectiveness through collaborative and cutting-edge acquisition methodologies and tools, and data assessments of broad scale Departments needs, international cooperation, and innovative operational practices.

• Acquisition Planning and Development o Develop comprehensive acquisition policies and implementation guidance that promotes innovation by integrating new technologies, methodologies, and best practices to enhance efficiency and outcomes.

o Develop and implement integrated frameworks that synchronize the acquisition and budgeting lifecycle agencywide using advance, data-driven methodologies to ensure acquisition strategies and resource allocations align with strategic objectives.

o Execute detailed assessments to analyze, document, and monitor acquisition requirements, costs, schedule, and performance; facilitate joint requirements through collaborative tools, and develop detailed requirements through alternative solution analysis, trade-off studies and formal validation processes.

o Provide comprehensive acquisition awareness insights from a range of relevant domains to inform acquisition decisions; example domains include economic environment, intelligence, industrial base concerns and capabilities available in the global market, policy implications and international agreements.

o Provide recommendations in support of reviewing critical documents such as Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Information (RFI), and other technical documentation (e.g., work statements, specifications, test and evaluation plans) and technical review of proposals in support of source selections for acquisitions using creative acquisition methods or procuring innovative support tools.

• Operational Analysis and Organizational Innovation o Design, development, and execution of comprehensive assessments to map existing operational capabilities, identify gaps, and develop actionable plans to bridge the gap between current and desired capabilities, including recommendations for resource allocation, training, and technological upgrades.

o Design, develop, and establish innovative organizational structures and business models that can better support strategic and operational goals using best practices from both public and private sectors to drive innovation.

o Provide expert guidance on implementing strategic plans and Key Performance Indicator systems, including scenario planning and the use of contingency strategies to handle potential future challenges.

o Develop reports for Congress, OMB, or other external requesters using empirical analyses on Department needs, allowances, resources, etc.

o Develop and review of technical performance indicators, measures and metrics o Identify, develop and promote technical standards and specifications.

o Design, evaluate, and refine human resources management frameworks to align with

Federal regulations, improve organizational culture, and integrate best practices in workforce analytics.