B08.02_2023_AGC Broad Agency Announcment (BAA)_Review - KO Signed FINAL.pdf

ARMY GEOSPATIAL CENTER

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA)

SOLICITATION NUMBER W5J9CQ-23-R-000

OVERVIEW INFORMATION

• Federal Agency Name: Army Geospatial Center (AGC)

• Funding: Research, Development, Test, & Evaluation (RDT&E)

• Opportunity Title: AGC Broad Agency Announcement

• Announcement Type: Initial Announcement

• Funding Opportunity Number: W5J9CQ-23-R-0004

• Dates:

• Posting Date – 26 JULY 2023

• Closing Date – 365 calendar days from the original posting date (white papers and proposals are due by 4:00pm Eastern Standard Time on the closing date)

• Concise description of funding opportunity: AGC is soliciting white papers and proposals in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 35.016, Department of Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 206.102(d)(2), and DFARS 235.016, which provides for competitive selection of basic and applied research, advanced technology development, and advanced component development and prototypes (hereinafter referred to as research). This announcement is general in nature and addresses multiple topic areas of research for the Systems and Acquisition Support Directorate. Submissions in response to this announcement shall be for areas relating to the advancement of a wide variety of geospatial topics, which are listed herein. Accordingly, proposals selected for award are considered to be the result of full and open competition and fully compliant with Public Law 98-369, "The Competition in Contracting Act of 1984,” DFARS 215.371-4(a)(4), and DFARS 235.006-71. This BAA is for procurement contracts (hereinafter referred to as contracts) only, and does not include grants, cooperative agreements, or other transactions.

• Anticipated individual awards: Multiple awards are anticipated; AGC reserves the right to select for award all, some, one, or none of the proposals received in response to this announcement.

• Submission Process: Two Step Process consisting of the following: Step 1- White Paper and Step 2 - Proposal (proposal submitted upon issuance of a formal Request for Proposal to Offeror).

• Types of instruments that may be awarded: Contracts only

• Amendments: Any amendments to this BAA will be posted to the Contract Opportunities website at https://beta.sam.gov/

• Agency Points of Contact:

Jamila Z. Bransford, Contracting Officer Email: jamila.z.bransford@usace.army.mil

Carmen Falls, Contract Specialist Telephone: (703) 428-3642 Email: carmen.n.falls@usace.army.mil

Technical Questions POCs:

Topics AGC.01 to AGC.13, Glen Quesenberry: glen.e.quesenberry@usace.army.mil

Topics AGC.14 to AGC.15, Richard Thompson: richard.l.thompson@usace.army.mil

Topics AGC.16 to AGC.25, Ashley Utter: ashley.a.utter@usace.army.mil

White paper and proposal submission mailbox:

AGCBAAProposals@usace.army.mil

PART I: FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION:

The Army Geospatial Center (AGC), is soliciting proposals in accordance with FAR 35.016 relating https://beta.sam.gov/ mailto:jamila.z.bransford@usace.army.mil mailto:carmen.n.falls@usace.army.mil mailto:glen.e.quesenberry@usace.army.mil mailto:richard.l.thompson@usace.army.mil mailto:ashley.a.utter@usace.army.mil mailto:AGCBAAProposals@usace.army.mil to the advancement of the state-of-the-art and increasing knowledge or understanding in any of the geospatial research topic areas identified in this solicitation.

This announcement is open for 365 days from the original posting date. Any white papers or proposals received during that time shall only be considered for award of a contract, not for any other transaction, grant, or cooperative agreement.

AGC Background

The U.S. AGC is a Major Subordinate Command (MSC) under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) located at the Humphreys Engineer Center in Alexandria, Virginia. The AGC focus is on the Army’s Geospatial Enterprise function from Policy to Warfighting; supporting the Army's Mission Command Systems by facilitating collection, management, exploitation; and dissemination of relevant geospatial information and products to every level across the operational environment.

AGC Mission

Coordinate, integrate and synchronize geospatial information requirements and standards across the Army; develop and field geospatial-enterprise enabled systems and capabilities to the Army and the Department of Defense; and provide direct geospatial support and products to Warfighters.

Roles and Responsibilities

1. Execute policy and implement standards; monitor emerging technologies; validate Army Geospatial Enterprise (AGE) technical solutions.

2. Conduct Research Development Test & Evaluation (RDTE) aimed at increasing the agility of Mission Command through characterization and application of Geospatial Data & Information (GI&S).

3. Provide technical, acquisition integration and logistical support to the Army acquisition community and transitional technical capabilities under Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTDs) and Quick Reaction Capabilities (QRCs), build and maintain a Ground – Warfighter Geospatial Data Model that provides a framework for common geospatial concepts and semantics required to share data and support common geospatial application services across the Army, other services, Department of Defense (DoD) organizations, and Coalition partners.

4. Serve as the Army’s Geospatial Center of Excellence, providing direct support to

Geospatial Engineers (Geospatial Planning Cell down to Brigade Combat Team), as well as all other operating and generating forces that consume or produce geospatial information and services.

Research Topic Areas for AGC 2023 BAA:

A. Systems and Acquisition Support Directorate

A.1. Enterprise Support Branch

Introduction:

The Enterprise Support Branch synchronizes AGC policies, priorities, programs, production requirements, strategies, and technologies across the Army Acquisition Community (Program Executive Officers/Program Managers/Product Managers) to ensure the efficient integration of Geographic Information System (GI&S) technologies in systems acquisition. The branch also advises program management of Army acquisition programs, currently fielded systems and technology integration/demonstration programs on the integration of GI&S capabilities in a manner consistent with Headquarters (HQDA) approved policy, regulation and guidance.

Research Areas:

Army Geospatial Enterprise Operations (AGC-01).

The object of this topic is to conduct research on the technology, architecture and processes to support enterprise geospatial operations within the Army, from the individual platform to the theater level, and including support from outside theater. It also considers the efficient integration of GI&S technologies into weapons systems across and within computing environments.

Geospatial Standards (AGC-02).

The object of this topic is to conduct research on the appropriate standards to support geospatial information collaboration, content discovery, content delivery and visualization among Army mission command networks and systems. This research considers creators, consumers and managers of GI&S; and considers the needs of systems ranging from high-powered-to workstations and servers-to handhelds and embedded applications-to disconnected and disadvantaged users. It also takes into account Army data communications limitations, especially at the tactical level scanning and cartographic support equipment, techniques and management. It includes the metadata standards required to support data sharing and discovery services.

Geospatial Applications and Services (AGC-03).

The object of this research topic is to identify and define applications and services needed to support the AGE. These would include geospatially enabled applications to be implemented on multiple Army systems/platforms which improve Army capabilities, enhance geospatial synchronization, enhance the capabilities of systems using geospatial data, decrease bandwidth requirements, or otherwise improve the functioning of the AGE.

Data Model Development (AGC-04).

The object of this research topic is to support development of Army-wide geospatial data model(s) that supports enterprise-wide geospatial services and analyze the relation of that model to other Army and National System for Geospatial-Intelligence (NSG) models and data standards. It also includes research into the implementation of a geospatial data model in Army systems and programs.

Test and Certification (AGC-05).

The object of this research topic is to identify the experimentation, test, validation and certification strategies to directly support the Army Acquisition Community in ensuring the efficient integration of GI&S technologies and standards into Army acquisitions systems at the appropriate milestones defined by DoD Directive 5000 series. The research considers testing geospatial applications in both distributed and standalone environments.

Army Geospatial Enterprise Migration (AGC-06)

The object of this research topic is to support the evolution of the Army Geospatial Enterprise (AGE) to address emerging technologies, standards and changes to Army, Joint, and Coalition Operations.

Prototypes and experiments should address enterprise migration strategies that include the requirements of a Standard and Sharable Geospatial Foundation (SSGF) and Mission Command Essential Capabilities. The research identifies migration issues for existing Army systems as well as novel implementation of technology to demonstrate AGE capabilities.

Research areas include Open Geospatial Consortium Standards, Open Source Geospatial Software, 2-D and 3-D visualization software, globes, geospatial portfolio management and integration of multiple software packages. The research includes prototypes supporting geospatial applications in both distributed and standalone environments.

Geospatial Modeling & Simulation (AGC-07)

The object of this topic is to conduct research and engineering development into the production of digital terrain databases used in Modeling & Simulation (M&S). The research will consider processes for verifying and validating digital terrain databases and the processes used to develop these databases. The processes will undergo verification and validation on sample digital terrain databases.

Geospatial Experimentation (AGC-08)

The object of this research topic is to identify and define policies, procedures, instrumentation, and technologies required to conduct geospatial experimentation, to verify implementation of geospatial standards and profiles, and to measure performance parameters of mission command systems that utilize Geospatial Information.

Cloud Computing (AGC-09)

The object of this research topic is to explore various models of cloud computing in a geospatial enterprise and carry out experimentation pilot projects as necessary to validate the models.

Research areas would include the optimal architecture to support cloud computing in a geospatial enterprise, the benefits and challenges of cloud computing at various nodes of the enterprise, how various geospatial data types would be stored, indexed, and served in the cloud, and challenges for low-bandwidth and periodically disconnected users, geospatial visualization, geospatial processing, content management, providing analytics as a service, and geospatial data as a service via cloud computing. Additional areas could include security issues in the cloud environment, crowd-sourced data in the cloud, data validation, data synchronization, data backup, maintaining the currency of and adding to geospatial data in a deployed cloud, and the use of existing DoD, Army, Commercial and Federal Cloud Computing services versus standing up a geospatial cloud capability.

Disconnected Intermittent Low-Bandwidth (DIL) (AGC -10)

The object of this research topic is to explore various methods/models of providing geospatial data and services to support the AGE under DIL network conditions. This work can take the form of pilot projects, demonstrations and integration of new Software (SW) technology into existing Army Hardware (HW), development of new HW SW to support this computing environment. Subject areas for this research would be security concerns, providing data back to the AGE, development of crowd sourcing methodologies, data synchronization when devices are connected, fast effective ways to load and manage data in android environments as well as loading multiple devices at one time. Beneficial outcomes of this research would reduce load times, increase data management efficiency and enable delivery of data back to higher Army echelons.

Geospatial Architecture (AGC-11)

The object of this topic is to conduct research topic and engineering to develop architectures supporting the exchange of Geospatial Information using file-based exchange and web services across all echelons from the National to Tactical level. These architectures must support the exchange, distribution, discovery, and processing of faster, feature, and elevation data for all computing environments in both a connected and disconnected environment. Additional areas of research could include cross domain architectures, connected and disconnected access to data, software application architectures, and data architectures. Research must consider multiple platforms, echelons, security issues, and both raster and vector data.

Geospatial Data Center Architectures (AGC-12)

The object of this topic is to conduct research and engineering to design architectures supporting geospatial big data repositories (SIPR, NIPR and JWICS) and experiment with workflows and procedures for efficient distribution of geospatial data from a data center through all echelons to a soldier with a handheld. The architectures should include approaches and considerations for updating geospatial data in a data center, synchronization of data centers with tactical units and NGA (including NSG partners); and exposing Geospatial Authoritative Data Sources (ADS) and non- authoritative data sources. The architecture research should include support for 2D, 3D and 4D capabilities. Research geospatial analytic services that could be rapidly delivered from a data center to all Computing Environments (CEs). Identify emerging Big Data technologies that could be utilized in lieu of enterprise level service servers to support storage of massive data sets.

Geospatial Content Management Methods (AGC-13)

The object of this topic is to conduct research on geospatial content management tools, techniques and procedures for Army users, identify techniques and technologies for cross domain access to geospatial data – utilizing a build once paradigm and/or propose new and novel geospatial data Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) and validation tools/techniques and procedures for Big Data.

Research novel methods for copying, moving, distributing and managing large geospatial data sets, rating data for appropriateness of use and completeness, and providing commanders tools to rapidly build mission ready data sets for distribution. The scope of the research includes support to the full spectrum of operations, operating and generating force as well as humanitarian assistance.

A.2. Imagery Systems Branch

Introduction:

The Imagery Systems Branch (ISB) conducts advanced and engineering development in the areas of geospatial intelligence including tasking, processing, exploitation and dissemination and provides support for fielding, operations and maintenance of space-related, ground-based Army Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities (TENCAP) systems. The ISB serves as the AGC interface to the Army TENCAP Office. The ISB provides engineering and program management support, consultation to Product Director (PD) Army TENCAP and other Army organizations, to include identification of emerging technologies and new concepts that have potential application to Army/TENCAP systems implementations and interfaces with elements of the National Intelligence Community dealing with geospatial intelligence systems and architectures.

Research Areas:

Advanced and Engineering Development (AGC-14)

The object of this topic is to conduct research on geospatial intelligence systems and architectures along with development of support systems for their fielding, operations and maintenance.

Emerging Concepts and New Technologies (AGC-15)

The object of this topic is to conduct research, development and systems engineering of technologies that facilitate primary data acquisition, exploitation & dissemination of Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) by tactical Army warfighters in potentially austere and bandwidth limited environments. Topics may include, but are not limited to, Non-Traditional Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) Pseudo Satellite (Air/Space) applications (collection, computing & networking), ISR automation (including tasking and exploitation), machine learning applications for multi-INT exploitation systems (including Big Data), and Modular Architectures (open-IT, Microservices).

A.3. Systems Applications and Integration Branch

Introduction:

The Systems Applications and Integration Branch (SAIB) conducts research and development in the areas of Artificial intelligence techniques (machine learning, machine reasoning, pattern recognition, natural language processing), big data, Human Geography, Decision Support Systems (DSS), complex systems dynamics, environmental security, digital image acquisition, and intelligence data exploitation architectures in support of the Army to include the Army Futures Command/Cross Functional Support Teams, DoD, Joint Information Environment, Electronic Warfare (EW), Space and mission command networks and systems, i.e., Communications, Computers, Command and Control Intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) programs.

SAIB is focused on future innovation and concepts for capability development needs and opportunities. We develop, refine, engineer, and produce developed solutions that are relevant to the Army and Joint Common Operating Environment. SAIB continues to develop and demonstrate innovation, acquisition support, prototype technology development, and training support.

SAIB integrates and demonstrates technologies required to better manage, develop, demonstrate and evaluate multi-domain and joint emerging and operational capabilities that address DoD priorities and promote the use and benefits of rapid prototyping throughout the DoD. SAIB conducts proof-of-principle prototyping required to validate the technical feasibility of an envisioned capability and explore its operational value with high levels of confidence in delivering on the technical and operational promise for the warfighter.

Research Areas:

Artificial intelligence techniques (AGC-16)

SAIB conducts research and development in Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques (machine learning, machine reasoning, pattern recognition, natural language processing) and systems.

These AI systems are widely accepted as a technology offering an alternative way to tackle complex and dynamic problems in urban studies; and is necessary to increase the understanding of how innovative AI approaches will enhance warfighter awareness in urban and land dynamics modeling processes for applied research and prototype development.

(AGC-16.1) The objective of this topic will be to support the SAIB in the integration of AI derived applications and techniques in urban land dynamics domain as well as the emerging challenges they face to develop innovative Artificial intelligence techniques (machine learning, machine reasoning, pattern recognition, natural language processing) in order to examine source data and extract from the ontological models that best represent the decision domain and support requirements.

The objective of this topic will be to develop and integrate AI capabilities focused on leveraging publicly available data for climate informed decision making to highlight and prioritize geographical areas of National Security interest deemed most at risk or in crisis and in need of security cooperation, foreign internal defense, and/or crisis repose. SAIB seeks to integrate AI applications to support both improved situational understanding, decision making and U.S. DoD resource allocation relevant to campaign objectives and security cooperation. This topic will include research and development for technologies to collect, collate, process, analyze and disseminate natural resources phenomenon as early warning and detection further defined as Security Implications of Climate Change or “Environmental Security”. This topic requires the examination of publicly available for Climate Security and other resiliency focused domains that best represent the anticipatory analytics required for Water, Food, and Energy stability at strategic, operational and tactical levels.

(AGC- 16.2) The objective of this topic will be to enhanced capabilities to collect large volumes of geographic data (big data, data lakes, data fabric), development of new methods and tools that can intelligently and automatically transform geographic data representation, query processing, spatial analysis, and data visualization levering Artificial Intelligence techniques (machine learning, machine reasoning, pattern recognition, natural language processing).

(AGC- 16.3) The objective of this topic will be to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques (machine learning, machine reasoning, pattern recognition, natural language processing) required to enhance technical capabilities to process, extract, exploit, and visualize the implied and tacit knowledge stored within a large data repository of structured and unstructured content.

This topic seeks to improve the warfighters ability to “VISUALIZE and DESCRIBE” the Operational Environment with critical understanding about emerging trends and relationships within the available data. The particular elements of this research should consider intelligence frameworks required to extract, analyze, and visualize entities and their relationships from the unstructured data, then fuse and visually display structured data (geospatial, relational, temporal, and traditional database attributes) with unstructured data (free text narratives) in a User Defined Operational Picture (UDOP).

(AGC- 16.6)

Civil-Military Informatics (AGC-21)

The objective of this topic is to conduct RDT&E to support advanced DoD Civil-Military Business Intelligence and Analytics to provide dynamic capabilities, empowering decision makers to support superior planning, analysis, and decision support capabilities today and in the future.

Utilizing big data principles to connect diverse data sources from government, commercial and open sources, CIV-MIL Business Intelligence analytics capabilities allow for data-based analysis of DIME/PMESII-PT framing, regional stability operations, Partner Nation capabilities, Great Power Competition, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response planning.

This research will encompass the innovations of advanced Knowledge Management Systems (KMS), big data with machine learning capabilities designed to optimize computing systems for open source data- intensive environments improving decision making capabilities and how Civil Military Operations (CMO) provide capabilities to 'see', 'hear', 'read', 'understand', 'reason', 'interpret', 'learn' and 'recommend' from existing data and reports. This topic will include the networking science and graphing of high volumes of unstructured data, visualization, dissemination and decision support capabilities for understanding the human aspects of the Civil- Military Operations (CMO). This also includes the geospatial analysis, and modeling for CMO resource allocation; social media analysis in support of measuring the operational impact of CMO; dissemination of geospatial and human geography CMO data products to interagency, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), and non-governmental organizations (NGOs);

development of a CMO ontology for knowledge management and inference; and subject matter expert support for disaster mitigation, preparedness, relief and recovery operations capabilities.

Joint Information Environment (JIE) (AGC-22)

The objective of this topic is to conduct research and development required to prototype, test, evaluate, experiment with the collection, processing, exploitation and dissemination (CPED) of data required for the Joint Information Environment. This topic will also include the research, development, testing, and new modalities for training necessary for implementation, transition, and sustainment of prototype tools, new techniques, tactics, and procedures required to conduct strategic and operational level offensive and defensive information, public affairs, psychological, and civil affairs operations. This topic will include physical, informational, and cognitive aspects of the Joint Information Environment.

Note for definition: (The physical dimension includes the connective infrastructure that supports the transmission, reception, and storage of information. The informational dimension contains the content (or data) itself. It refers to the content and flow of information, such as text or images, or data that staffs can collect, process, store, disseminate, and display. The informational dimension provides the necessary link between the physical and cognitive dimensions. The cognitive dimension refers to the minds of those who are affected by and act upon information. This dimension focuses on the societal, cultural, religious, and historical contexts that influence the perceptions of those producing the information and of the targets and audiences receiving the information. In this dimension, decision makers and target audiences are most prone to influence and perception management. From a military standpoint, information enables decision making, leadership, and combat power; it is also key to seizing, gaining, and retaining the initiative, and to consolidating gains in an OE. Army commanders conduct information operations to affect the information environment. (See FM 3-13 for doctrine in the information environment and the various information-related capabilities available to commanders).

Army and Joint Simulations (AGC-23)

The objective of this topic is to integrate and demonstrate technologies to improve the representation of realistic synthetic environments in Army and Joint simulations to include related military installations, monuments, and memorials.

Great Power Competition: (AGC-26) (formerly known as Grey Zone Challenge)

The objective of this topic is to conduct research and development required to study, prototype, test, evaluate, experiment with the operational and strategic geospatially related solutions for identifying, mapping, and making decisions within a Great Power Competition or Gray Zone.

This topic will also include the research, development, testing, and new modalities for (DOTMLPF-P) Doctrine development, Organization changes, Training required, Material (technical solutions) requirements, Leadership impacts, Personnel requirements for Professional Military Education (PME), Facilities, and Policy inclusions necessary for implementation, transition, and sustainment of prototype tools, new techniques, tactics, and procedures required to identify, map, and conduct strategic and operational level offensive and defensive strategies within Gray Zones. This topic will include physical, informational, and cognitive aspects required to establish the technical approach and implementation for DoD and National Military Strategy objectives as inputs to the military component of interagency responses to Great Power Competition and specific gray zone conflicts with Russia and China.

Defining the Great Power Competition

Great Power Competition, existing short of a formal state of war, present novel complications for U.S. policy and interests in the 21st Century. We have well-developed vocabularies, doctrines, and mental models to describe war and peace, but the numerous gray zone challenges where Great Power Competition exist defy easy categorization. For purposes of this paper, Great

Power Competition challenges are defined as competitive interactions among and within state and non-state actors that fall between the traditional war and peace duality. They are characterized by ambiguity about the nature of conflict, opacity of the parties involved or uncertainty about the relevant policy and legal frameworks.

Great Power Competition challenges can be understood as a pooling of diverse conflicts exhibiting common characteristics. Notably, combining these challenges does not imply a single solution, since each situation contains unique actors and aspects. It is also significant that there is not just one technical solution, one data source, nor one DoD warfighter information capable or available to the commanders and staffs to VISUALIZE and DESCRIBE the Operational Environment or operational framework relevant to the Great Power Competition/Gray Zone space. Overall, Great Power Competition challenges rise above normal information systems capabilities to visualize and describe everyday peacetime geo-political competition, assess multiple perspective, and map the ambiguous nature of events, objectives, tertiary effects.

Recommended Reading for this topic include:

First is to study the Assessing Revolution and Insurgent Strategies Project at this link. The 46 case studies as well as the human factors and legal research provide a foundation for study of the phenomena that take place in the gray zone. Below are the selected or representative cases of the 5 types of revolutions categorized from 1962-2009.

George Kennan and his 1948 concept of political warfare.

Sam Sarkesian (Unconventional Conflicts in a New Security Era: Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam) on unconventional conflicts:

Asymmetric conflicts: For the US these conflicts will be limited and not considered a threat to its survival or a matter of vital national interests; however, for the indigenous adversaries they are a matter of survival. Conflicts with Political-Social Milieu Center of Gravity: The center of gravity will not be the armed forces of adversaries as Clausewitz would argue but more in the political and social realms as Sun Tzu espouses.

AGENCY CONTACTS

POCs for this solicitation:

Jamila Z. Bransford, Contracting Officer Telephone: (703) 428-6663 Email: jamila.z.bransford@usace.army.mil

Carmen Falls, Contract Specialist Telephone: (703) 428-3642 Email: carmen.n.falls@usace.army.mil

Technical Questions POCs:

Topics AGC.01 to AGC.13, Glen Quesenberry: glen.e.quesenberry@usace.army.mil

Topics AGC.14 to AGC.15, Richard Thompson: richard.l.thompson@usace.army.mil

Topics AGC.16 to AGC.25, Ashley Utter: ashley.a.utter@usace.army.mil mailto:jamila.z.bransford@usace.army.mil mailto:carmen.n.falls@usace.army.mil mailto:glen.e.quesenberry@usace.army.mil mailto:richard.l.thompson@usace.army.mil mailto:ashley.a.utter@usace.army.mil

White paper and proposal submission mailbox:

AGCBAAProposals@usace.army.mil

Selection Notices/ Award Process for Contracts.

Offers may be submitted at any time during the open BAA solicitation period, as specified in Part I. The submission of a white paper is required before submitting a proposal to prevent undue effort on the formation and evaluation of a proposal not of interest to the Government and improbable for award. Once submissions (white papers) are received, responses to Offerors will be provided via email notification from the Contracting Officer within 75 working days.

This is an open BAA and utilizes a two-step process:

Step 1: White papers may be submitted during the times specified in Part I. All white papers will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria identified in Section V. White paper responses will contain the Government evaluation board’s opinion of whether the idea expressed in the white paper is likely to generate a successful proposal. All information necessary to submit a white paper is in this BAA; no additional information is available.

Step 2: Proposals may be requested by a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) when the Governments’ scientific or peer review committee’s opinion of the idea expressed in the white paper is likely to generate a successful outcome. All proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria identified in Section V. Proposal evaluations will be conducted without regard to any comments resulting from the review of a white paper.

Proposal responses will contain the Government’s intent to either pursue or not pursue an award based on the proposal. All information necessary to submit a proposal is in this BAA; no additional information is available.

PART II: AWARD INFORMATION:

This BAA is for contracts. Accordingly, the Government may award any appropriate contract type under the FAR. This BAA supersedes all previous editions and shall remain in effect until superseded.

Multiple awards are anticipated as a result of this BAA. The amount of resources made available under this BAA will depend on the quality of the submissions received and the availability of RDT&E funds. The Government reserves the right to:

1. Select for negotiation all, some, one, or none of the proposals received in response to this BAA.

2. Award contracts with or without discussions with Offerors.

3. Remove Offerors from award consideration should the parties fail to reach agreement on award terms, conditions and cost/price within a reasonable time or the Offeror fails to timely provide requested additional information.

4. Have sole discretion to negotiate all contract clauses with selectees.

5. Accept proposals in their entirety or to select only portions of proposals for award. In the mailto:AGCBAAProposals@usace.army.mil event the Government desires to award only portions of a proposal, negotiations may be opened with the Offeror.

6. Fund proposals in phases with options for continued work at the end of one or more of the phases.

Selection Notices/ Award Process for Contracts.

Offers may be submitted at any time during the open BAA solicitation period, as specified in Part I. The submission of a white paper is required before submitting a proposal to prevent undue effort on the formation and evaluation of a proposal not of interest to the Government and improbable for award. Once submissions (white papers) are received, responses to Offerors will be provided via email notification from the Contracting Officer within 75 working days.

PART III: ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS:

The Offeror must be considered responsible in accordance with FAR 9.104. By submission of an offer or execution of a contract in response to this solicitation, the Offeror certifies they are not debarred, suspended, declared ineligible for award of public contracts, or proposed for debarment pursuant to FAR 9.406-2. If the Offeror cannot certify, or if the status of the Offeror changes prior to award, the Offeror must provide detailed information as to its current status.

Proposals submitted under this BAA should clearly identify within the proposal any research that is expected to be fundamental in nature as defined in National Security Defense Directive 189.

Fundamental research means basic and applied research in science and engineering, the results of which ordinarily are published and shared broadly within the scientific community, as distinguished from proprietary research and from industrial development, design, production, and product utilization, the results of which ordinarily are restricted for proprietary or national security reasons.

The AGC highly encourages small business concerns, women owned small businesses, small disadvantaged business concerns, small businesses located in HUBZones, businesses participating in the Small Business Administration 8(a) program, service disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and veterans to submit research proposals for consideration. There will be no set-aside used for this BAA and all contracts awarded as a result of this BAA are considered full and open competition.

Awards of contracts to colleges and universities are permissible under this BAA, in accordance with 10 USC 2361, and are highly encouraged to submit proposals for consideration.

The AGC highly encourages proposals from Historically Black Colleges and Universities or Minority Institutions (HBCUs/MIs) for students to provide research support to any of the research and development areas listed in this BAA. HBCU/MIs interested in submitting a proposal must address the specific areas of research under which they are submitting. They must also clearly state within their proposal their capability to perform the contract and include a positive statement of their eligibility as an HBCU or MI. These contracts will be written in accordance with the Contract Student Regulation as regards pay, GPA requirements, place of performance and every other requirement or statement within the regulation.

Department of Defense funds may NOT be provided to any institution of higher education that either has a policy of denying or that effectively prevents the Secretary of Defense from obtaining, for military recruiting purposes, entry to campuses or access to students on campuses or access to directory information pertaining to students.

Any white papers or proposals from United States Government facilities and organizations, or Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) will not be considered under this announcement.

All Offerors and proposed subcontractors must affirm whether they are providing scientific, engineering, and technical assistance (SETA) or similar support to any DoD Component through an active contract or subcontract. All affirmations must state the office(s) that the Offeror supports and identify the prime contract numbers. Affirmations shall be furnished at the time of proposal submission. All facts relevant to the existence or potential existence of organizational conflicts of interest must be disclosed. The disclosure shall include a description of the action the Offeror has taken or proposes to take to avoid, neutralize, or mitigate such conflict. Without prior approval, a contractor cannot simultaneously be a SETA and related research and development performer. Proposals that fail to fully disclose potential conflicts of interests or do not have acceptable plans to mitigate identified conflicts will be rejected without technical evaluation and withdrawn from further consideration for award.

All Offerors - If a prospective Offeror believes that any conflict of interest exists or may exist (whether organizational or otherwise), the Offeror should promptly raise the issue with AGC by sending his/her contact information and a summary of the potential conflict by e- mail to the Agency Contact identified herein, before time and effort are expended in preparing a proposal and mitigation plan. If, in the sole opinion of the Government after full consideration of the circumstances, any conflict situation cannot be effectively avoided or mitigated, the proposal may be rejected without technical evaluation and withdrawn from further consideration for award under this BAA.

Foreign or foreign-owned Offerors are advised that their participation is subject to foreign disclosure review procedures. If the Offeror anticipates the efforts of foreign nationals on any proposal submitted hereunder; the foreign national’s name, nationality and extent of involvement in the proposed research must be provided. Foreign nationals cannot work under a contract or any instrument unless all AGC- required security clearances and approvals have been obtained. There are no exceptions to these requirements.

PART IV: WHITE PAPER AND PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INFORMATION:

Introduction:

In preparing white papers and proposals, it is important that Offerors keep in mind the characteristics of a suitable proposal acceptable for formal evaluation, including the focus on scientific study and experimentation directed toward advancing the state-of-the-art or increasing knowledge or understanding. Offerors should include all the information specified in this announcement, to avoid delays in evaluation. White papers will be responded to within 75 working days of receipt, either with a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) or advisement of nonacceptance of white paper. All Offerors’ submissions shall be sent to the AGC BAA Proposals Mailbox at AGCBAAProposals@usace.army.mil. Offerors shall adhere to the following instructions pertaining to the type of document they are submitting:

A. White Paper Submission Instructions

**Offerors shall not submit White Papers to technical personnel**

White papers shall not contain classified data. Offerors are expected to appropriately mark each page of their submission that contains proprietary information; do not provide submissions marked “classified,” “confidential,” “secret,” etc.

1. White paper submissions shall be submitted to the AGC BAA Proposals mailbox at AGCBAAProposals@usace.army.mil.

2. The following information must be included in the body of the e-mail when submitting the white paper:

a. Topic Name and Topic Number (Do not use any acronyms for topic name.)

b. Vendor Name and Address

c. Proposal Title

d. Total Dollar Amount

3. The Offeror’s white paper shall not exceed 5 (five) pages and shall address the topic area (i.e. AGC-21) of which they are submitting their white paper for. All pages shall be formatted for printing on 8-1/2- by 11-inch paper with a font size not smaller than 12 point and a minimum of one-inch margins all around. Smaller, but easily readable, font sizes may be used for figures, tables, and charts. Pages within each document (cover sheet and each attachment) shall be numbered consecutively. Document files must be in .rtf, .txt, Portable Document Format (.pdf, ISO 32000-1), OpenDocument (.odx, ISO/IEC 26300:2006), .doc, .docx, xls, or .xlsx formats. Submissions must be written in English. White paper contents should consist of:

a. A title descriptive of research to be performed.

b. The applicable topic area and topic number.

c. The name and phone number of the principal investigator or senior researcher tentatively supervising the project.

d. The estimated duration and a cost/price rough order of magnitude (ROM).

e. One or more paragraphs describing the objective(s) or goals of the proposed research to include a statement of the working hypothesis to be proved or disproved, if appropriate.

f. One or more paragraphs describing the technical approach to be taken during the research. If experimental, it should include a description of the scope of the testing program. If analytical, it should include key assumptions to be made, the scientific basis for the analysis, and the numerical procedures to be used.

g. One or more paragraphs describing the potential military and/or civil payoffs that might ultimately derive from the proposed research to the Corps of Engineers.

h. A one-page curriculum vitae of the principal investigator.

B. Proposal Submission Instructions

**DO NOT submit Proposals to technical personnel**

Proposals shall not contain classified data. Offerors are expected to appropriately mark each page of their submission that contains proprietary information; do not provide submissions marked “classified,” “confidential,” “secret,” etc.

1. When invited to do so by the Government, an Offeror may develop and submit a full proposal. Proposals are to be submitted only upon the issuance of a formal Request for Proposal by the Contracting Officer to the Offeror. Therefore, the proposal is the only vehicle available to the Offeror for receiving consideration for award.

The proposal must stand on its own merit; only information provided in the proposal can be used in the evaluation process leading to an award. The proposal should be prepared simply and economically; providing straightforward, concise delineation of capabilities necessary to perform the proposed work. The technical proposal must be accompanied by a fully supported cost/price proposal, as cost and technical considerations are reviewed simultaneously.

2. Proposal submissions shall be submitted to the AGC BAA Proposals mailbox at AGCBAAProposals@usace.army.mil.

3. The following information must be included in the body of the e-mail when submitting the proposal:

a. Topic Name and Number (Do not use acronyms in the topic name.)

a. Vendor Name and Address

b. Proposal Title

c. Total Dollar Amount

4. Offerors are requested to provide their e-mail address with submission of proposal and the name, address, and phone number of their cognizant Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) office.

5. Should an award be funded with military funds, contractor and subcontractor manpower reporting is required through The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower & Reserve Affairs), at https://sam.gov. The below information is provided for your assistance in complying. “The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower & Reserve Affairs) operates and maintains a secure Army data collection site where the contractor shall report ALL contractor and subcontractor manpower required for performance of the awarded contract.

The contractor is required to completely fill in all the following information using the web address: https://sam.gov: (1) Contracting Office, Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative; (2) Contract number, including task and delivery order number; (3) Beginning and ending dates covered by reporting period; (4) Contractor name, address, phone number, e-mail address, identity of contractor employee entering data; (5) Estimated direct labor hours (including subcontractors); (6) Estimated direct labor dollars paid this reporting period (including sub-contractors); (7) Total invoiced amounts (including sub-contractors); (8) Predominant Federal Service Code (FSC) reflecting services provided by contractor (and separate predominant FSC for each sub-contractor if different); (9) Estimated data collection cost; (10) Organizational title associated with the Unit Identification Code (UIC) for the Army Requiring Activity (the Army Requiring Activity is responsible for providing the contractor with its UIC for the purposes of reporting this information); (11) Locations where contractor and subcontractors perform the work (specified by zip code in the United States and nearest city, country, when in an overseas location, using standardized nomenclature provided on website);

(12) Presence of deployment or contingency contract language: and (13) Number of contractor and sub- contractor employees deployed in theater this reporting period (by country).

As part of its submission, the contractor will also provide the estimated total cost (if any) incurred to comply with this reporting requirement. Reporting period will be the period of performance not to exceed 12 months ending 30 September of each government fiscal year and must be reported by 31 October of each calendar year. Contractors may use a direct XML data transfer to the database server or fill in the fields on the website. The XML direct transfer is a format for transferring files from a contractor’s systems to the secure web site without the need for separate data entries for each required data element at the web site. The specific formats for the XML direct transfer may be downloaded from the web site. The FAQs on the website are very helpful.

6. NOTE: All Offerors shall be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) Database prior to submitting a proposal, which includes completion of the Representations and Certifications. Registration can be completed at https://www.sam.gov. When submitting a proposal, be sure to include the: Unique Entity ID (UEI), Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE Code), Duns and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS Number) and the Tax Identification Number (TIN) obtained from SAM registration.

7. Proposals containing data that is not to be disclosed to the public for any purpose or used by the Government except for evaluation purposes shall include the following statement on their cover page: “The proposal includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed - in whole or in part - for any purpose other than to evaluate this proposal. If, however, a contract is awarded to this Offeror as a result of, or in connection with, the submission of this data, the Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the resulting contract, and as required in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 5 USC 552 et seq. This restriction does not limit the Government's right to use information contained in this data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained in sheets.”

8. The Offeror shall also mark each sheet of data it wishes to restrict with the following legend: “Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject to the restriction on the title page of this proposal.”

9. The Offeror’s proposal shall contain at a minimum, a cover page, table of contents, list of illustrations/tables, an executive summary, and no more than 30 pages. All pages shall be formatted for printing on 8-1/2- by 11-inch paper with a font size not smaller than 12 point and a minimum of one-inch margins all around. Smaller, but easily readable, font sizes may be used for figures, tables and charts. Pages within each document (cover sheet and each attachment) shall be numbered consecutively. Document files must be in .rtf, .txt, Portable Document Format (.pdf, ISO 32000-1), OpenDocument (.odx, ISO/IEC 26300:2006), .doc, .docx,. xls,. or .xlsx formats. Submissions must be written in English.

10. The Offeror is required to address the topic name and topic number they are submitting the proposal against (e.g.