BAA_V11_ACC NJ 27FEB25.docx

REQUEST FOR RESEARCH PROPOSALS FOR

NEW AND INNOVATIVE IDEAS

FOR

AUTONOMOUS DELIVERY OF PRECISION NEUTRALIZATION OF EXPLOSIVE HAZARDS

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT

CONTRACTS, AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS

W15QKN-25-S-14XS

Issued by:

U.S. Department of the Army Joint Program Executive Office Armament and Ammunition Office of the Project Manager Close Combat Systems

BAA Issue Date: 27 February 2025

W15QKN-25-S-14XS

Expiration Date: 31 December 2025

REQUEST FOR RESEARCH

PROPOSALS FOR

NEW AND INNOVATIVE IDEAS

AUTONOMOUS DELIVERY OF PRECISION NEUTRALIZATION OF EXPLOSIVE HAZARDS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 3

PART I: TECHNOLOGY AREAS OF INTEREST 5

PART II: WHITE PAPER: CONTENT, PREPARATION, AND SUBMISSION 8

PART IV: PROPOSAL EVALUATION 25

PART V: PROPOSAL FORMS 27

INTRODUCTION

This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), which sets forth by the U.S. Army’s Joint Program Executive Office Armament and Ammunition (JPEO A&A), Office of the Project Manager Close Combat Systems (PM CCS), Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, is issued under the paragraph 6.102(d)(2) of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which provides for the competitive selection of white papers. White papers submitted in response to this BAA and selected for award are considered to be the result of full and open competition and in full compliance with the provision of Public Law 98-369, "The Competition in Contracting Act of 1984" and subsequent amendments.

Proposals and white papers shall be evaluated only if they contain all technical requirements, and show a functioning system that can achieve the requirement set forth by the PM CCS. White papers that do not fully meet the requirements set forth in this BAA will not be considered for award.

In order to conserve valuable offeror and Government resources, and to facilitate determining whether a white paper meets the guidelines described herein, prospective offerors contemplating submission of a white paper are strongly encouraged to talk with the Ground Obstacle Breaching Lane Neutralizer (GOBLN) Team during the Industry Day, 4-5 March, held at the Courtyard Rockaway – Mt. Arlington, 15 Howard Blvd, Mt. Arlington, NJ 07856, or reach out to the GOBLN Team POC listed below, before submitting a white paper. Note, March 4th will primarily be briefs with the potential for optional one-on-ones with the GOBLN Team, and March 5th will be the primary day for optional one-on-ones with the GOBLN Team. If an offeror elects to submit a white paper, it shall be prepared in accordance with the instructions contained in PART II of this document. Upon receipt of a white paper, it will be evaluated, and the offeror shall be advised of the evaluation results. Offerors whose white papers receive a favorable evaluation may be contacted to prepare a complete proposal in accordance with instructions contained in PART III, Section 3 of this document.

The costs of a white paper preparation in response to this BAA is not considered as an allowable direct charge to any award resulting from this BAA, or any other award. It may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost specified in FAR 31.205-18.

Offerors submitting proposals are cautioned that only a Contracting or Agreements Officer may obligate the Government to any agreement involving expenditure of Government funds.

Administrative enquires regarding this BAA shall be addressed in writing via email to the Contract Specialist, Procurement Office Point of Contact, Jacqueline Smith:

Technical questions should be referred to the GOBLN Team Point of Contact (TPOC), PM CCS, MAJ Cameron Fulford:

This BAA is available on the following websites:

https://piee.eb.mil/

This BAA is a continuously open announcement valid throughout the period from the date of issuance through the expiration date stated on the cover page of this BAA unless announced otherwise. PM CCS will be reviewing White Papers across two periods of time. The first period of time will be from the date of BAA issue through 2 April 2025. PM CCS is seeking to award an initial contract(s) by 1 July 2025. The second time period for review will be from 2 April through the BAA closure date. White Papers received during this time will be considered for a potential secondary contract(s) award. Amendments to this BAA shall be posted to the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment web site (https://piee.eb.mil/) and published at the above websites when they occur. Interested parties are encouraged to periodically check these websites for updates and amendments.

PART I - TECHNOLOGY AREAS OF INTERESTS

The U.S. Army JPEO A&A, PM CCS is looking to identify technologies for the purpose of precision neutralization of explosive hazards. This BAA sets forth white paper proposals to the PM CCS, and is issued under paragraph 6.102(d)(2) of the FAR, which provides for the competitive selection of proposals. Efforts under this BAA should focus on the development and performance of technology for neutralization of current and future generation explosive hazards.

PREAMBLE:

The Army’s Next Generation Breaching Technology – Explosive Breacher requirement requests a system capable of reducing enemy obstacle belts in order to provide Soldiers with safe assault lanes. Obstacles include explosive hazards, wire, and vehicle impediments. A key aspect of this requirement is scalability of a solution in contrast to existing large area mine clearing line charges.

The requirement addresses the Army maneuver force’s need for a reliable and effective automated system that reduces explosive and non-explosive obstacles while maintaining fast operational tempos. The GOBLN program enables improved deployment speed, force protection, and survivability to allow the Army of 2030s execution of penetration, disintegration, and exploitation when assaulting through obstacle belts.

TECHNOLOGY AREA DETAILED DESCRIPTION

1. ADVANCED MATERIALS:

This announcement requests a system capable of neutralizing explosive hazards integrated with an automated delivery system for that device. The system should operate at standoff distance from a Soldier’s last covered and concealed position. This system shall provide scalable neutralization such that it can selectively neutralize a number of explosive hazards encountered whether those explosive hazards are in-lane or placed outside of the lane. Proposals should clearly describe an integrated concept of accepting detected hazard locations, delivering a neutralizing device to those locations, and initiating an effective neutralizer.

Prioritization should be given to neutralizing explosive hazards: traditional mines, top-attack mines, side-attacks mines, all fuze types, and improvised explosive devices. This announcement requests neutralization of explosive hazards in several dispositions: surface-laid, and flush-buried to include those covered by moderate vegetation, however methods also effective at neutralizing buried are desired. Preference is given to devices that cause high order detonation of the hazards with a secondary preference for deflagration, but any method that meets the following definition will be considered. Additional capabilities to neutralize a broader class of enemy obstacle, wire and vehicle impediments, are beneficial, but not essential to proposals.

Neutralization: In mine warfare, a mine is said to be neutralized when it has been rendered, by external means, incapable of firing on passage of a target, although it may remain dangerous to handle (JP 1-02 Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms).

Delivery of the neutralizer to an appropriate location is essential to the function of the system during day or night. Any neutralizer component has a finite effectiveness over a ground area. The contractor shall provide a form of delivery that positions the neutralization device such that its effectiveness is maximized. The end-to-end solution shall contain fuzing to activate the neutralization device at the position of optimal effectiveness. The combination of delivery accuracy, fuzing, and neutralizer effectiveness area shall be demonstrated as an end-to-end solution for which neutralization effectiveness will be assessed.

Automation of the aforementioned end-to-end solution is important in light of degraded radio frequency environments. Areas where operator control is necessary, should be described in the proposal. Systems that satisfy the neutralization requirements without global positioning are preferred as are systems that can operate in radio denied environments. Proposal should describe system performance degradation in these degraded electromagnetic environments.

The system shall be able to interface with a detection system and accept target locations associated with explosive hazards. It should be assumed detections will have location errors. Detection of individual hazard locations during reconnaissance of the obstacle belt is important to the broader requirement, However, government capabilities are sufficiently mature that vendor contributions in this space are not emphasized in this announcement.

Performance of an end-to-end solution will be assessed on overall effectiveness to neutralize explosive hazards and the time it takes to create a mine lane. In this assessment, 7 explosive hazards shall be assumed to exist in a 4.5 m x 150 m breach lane, this number approximates a doctrinal placement. Proposals should model or describe how an automated delivery system integrated with a neutralization device is capable of neutralizing all explosive hazards in the lane and describe the time to do so. The Government will assess overall neutralization performance during multiple knowledge point field evaluations, both day and night. Two knowledge points will assess subcomponent performance. During which, the Government will assess delivery accuracy with a metric of spatial error relative to the explosive hazard target and the Government will measure probability of neutralization as a spatial distribution over an effected area. The final knowledge point will provide statistical confidence of integrated delivery and neutralization, and show the neutralization capability has achieved a Technology Readiness Level 6 following a Technology Readiness Assessment by the Government GOBLN Team.

Consideration should be given to final system costs in term of cost per lane and cost per mine neutralized. Metrics such as the number of neutralizers required per landmine location, the number of delivery systems required (if different from the number of neutralizers), effective area per neutralizer, or other metrics unique to your proposed method should be included in the proposal.

Preference will be given to systems focusing on neutralization and delivery of neutralizers. These systems will accept lists of explosive hazards’ locations that were detected using Government systems. If the proposed solution requires integrated detection capabilities, vendors are encouraged to integrate Government detection algorithms to minimize development costs. Alternatively, vendor detection capabilities will be considered if they currently have a high level of performance and do not require further development.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS REQUESTED:

The contractor shall deliver a system capable of meeting the following requirements.

1. Capable of creating a maneuver lane (4.5 meters x 150 meters) for tactical vehicles to pass. Soldiers shall remain in their last covered and concealed position while employing the system. Nominally 7 explosive hazards per doctrinal breach lane will need to be neutralized.

2. Ability to neutralize current and future explosive hazards, with priority to surface-laid and partially buried. This ability must exist day and night in challenging field conditions, to include tall vegetation.

3. Provide neutralization that is proportionate to the explosive hazards to include in lane and off route explosive hazards.

4. System is modular and can be integrated on current and future Engineer ground platforms and/or uncrewed aerial systems or uncrewed ground vehicles (UAS/UGS).

5. Maintain positive control of the system while keeping Soldiers as far away from the breach area as possible.

Meetings and key events will include: a knowledge point where data from the system is collected to assess neutralization capabilities, at least two subsystem knowledge points for key component performance-metric assessment, a final stakeholder demonstration event in July 2026, test readiness reviews for each knowledge point, a kickoff meeting in person, quarterly in person technical meetings, and a program update teleconference meetings every two weeks.

PART II – WHITE PAPER: CONTENT, PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION

1. Application and Submission Process

Prior to submitting a full proposal, proposers are strongly encouraged to first submit an executive summary and/or abstract as described below. This process allows a proposer to ascertain whether the proposed concept is (1) applicable to the DSO Office-wide BAA and (2) currently of interest. For the purposes of this BAA, applicability is defined as follows:

· The proposed concept is applicable to the technical areas described herein.

· The proposed concept is important to DSO’s current investment portfolio.

· The proposed concept investigates an innovative approach that enables revolutionary advances, i.e., will not primarily result in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice.

· The proposed work has not already been completed (i.e., the research element is complete but manufacturing/fabrication funds are required).

· The proposer has not already received funding or a positive funding decision for the proposed concept (whether from DARPA or another Government agency).

Executive summaries, abstracts and full proposals that are not found to be applicable to the DSO Office-wide BAA as defined above may be deemed non-conforming2 and removed from consideration. All executive summaries, abstracts, and full proposals must provide sufficient information to assess the validity/feasibility of their claims as well as comply with the requirements outlined herein for submission formatting, content, and transmission to DARPA.

Executive summaries, abstracts, and full proposals that fail to do so may be deemed non-conforming and removed from consideration. Proposers will be notified of non-conforming determinations via letter.

White Paper Background:

White papers are initially sought to preclude unwarranted effort on the part of the offeror in preparing full technical and cost proposals without an initial assessment of the operational, technical and logistical feasibility of the concept. Offerors submitting white papers that receive a rating of Promising are encouraged to submit a full technical and cost proposal on all or part of their white paper submission. However, any such encouragement does not assure a subsequent award. Any offeror may submit a full proposal even if its white paper was not identified as promising or if no white paper is submitted. White papers, in Microsoft Word format, shall be submitted in an attachment to an email addressed to the Procurement Office POC identified in the introduction of this BAA.

White Papers Evaluation/Notification:

Evaluations of all white papers submitted in response to this BAA will be issued via e-mail notification on or about three weeks after receipt by the government. Each paper will subsequently be assigned one of the following three ratings: Promising, Acceptable, or Not of Interest at this time. The following are the definitions of these ratings:

Promising: White Paper demonstrates good understanding of the research area’s technical objectives, displays a solid technical approach, and has a medium to high probability of achieving all or most of the requirements of the objective. White Paper has one or more strengths that can significantly benefit the government.

Acceptable: White Paper demonstrates some understanding of the research area’s technical objectives and displays an approach that has a fair probability of achieving some of the requirements of the objective. White Paper has potential to benefit the government, but is not considered a priority, as written.

Not of Interest at this time: White Paper demonstrates a shallow understanding of the research area’s technical objectives and/or the approach has little probability of achieving any requirements of the objective. White Paper proposes a less than minimally acceptable solution to the government.

Offerors submitting white papers that receive a rating of “Promising” are encouraged to submit full technical and cost proposals via the above referenced e-mail address. However, any such encouragement does not assure a subsequent award.

Submission of Full Proposal Any offeror may submit a full proposal even if its white paper was not identified as being “promising.” However, the Army’s initial evaluation of the white papers should give potential offerors some indication of whether a full proposal would likely result in an award. If the white paper is identified as “Acceptable”, or “Not of Interest at this time,” it is likely that no award will be made.

2. Content and Format of White Papers

The White Papers and Proposals submitted under this BAA shall be unclassified. The Proposal submissions will be protected from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with FAR 15.207, applicable law, and DoD regulations. Offerors are expected to appropriately mark each page of their submission that contains proprietary information. Important Note: Titles given to the white papers should be descriptive of the work they cover and not be merely a copy of the title of this solicitation.

3. Restrictive Markings on White Papers:

a. Any included proprietary data that the offeror intends for use exclusively by the Government for evaluation purposes, must be identified. The offeror must also identify any technical data contained in the white paper that is to be treated by the Government as limited rights data. In the absence of such identification, the Government will assume to have unlimited rights to all technical data in the white paper. Records or data bearing a restrictive legend may be included in the white paper. It is the intent of the Army to treat all white papers as privileged information before the award and to disclose their contents only for the purpose of evaluation.

b. The offerors are cautioned, however, that portions of the white papers may be subject to release under terms of the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, as amended.

c. Care must be exercised to ensure that classified, sensitive, critical technology(ies) is not included. If such documents are required, appropriate restrictive markings and procedures should be applied.

4. White Paper Format

• Paper Size – 8.5 x 11 inch paper

• Margins – 1” inch

• Spacing – single spaced

• Font – Times New Roman, 12 point

• Number of Pages – No more than ten (10), single-sided pages, excluding cover page, plus one page addendum as discussed below. White Papers exceeding the page limit may not be evaluated. Evaluators will be advised that they are only required to review the white paper cover page and up to six pages including the addendum.

5. White Paper Content

White papers should include the following items:

a. Cover page: clearly labeled “White Paper”, including BAA title and number, Area of Interest (listed in the BAA - identify one only per white paper), title of white paper, date, administrative and technical points of contact along with telephone, fax, and e-mail addresses. The cover page will not count toward the page limit.

b. Technical Description: to consist of:

1) Neutralization: Describe technical details of neutralizer components. Describe the method of neutralization and how the proposed system will achieve the desired effect on explosive hazards. Define key characteristics of the neutralizer; how it neutralizes an explosive hazard. Describe fuzing or how it is activated. Describe how many neutralizers are required per explosive hazard. Describe operation in a communication and gps denied environments. Describe capabilities and limitations in challenging field conditions (e.g. tall grass, clutter, etc), meteorological states, and 24-hour solar conditions. Provide a current TRL assessment, per the definitions described in Technology Readiness Assessment Guidebook, dated June 2023 from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. Please provide supporting documentation for your assessment.

2) Delivery: Describe technical details of delivery of the neutralizer and how this system will maximize effectiveness of the neutralization components. Describe autonomous capabilities and remote operation capabilities. Describe operation in a communication and gps denied environments. Describe capabilities and limitations in challenging field conditions (e.g. tall grass, clutter, etc), meteorological states, and 24-hour solar conditions. Provide a current TRL assessment and supporting documentation for your assessment.

3) Time and range: Describe the operating time the integrated system will require while carrying a payload necessary to neutralize a single explosive hazard and time required to create a breach lane. Describe the distance and range capabilities of the system.

4) Detection: Describe how the system uses explosive hazard detection. Does the system use external detection and localization input or will the system integrate detection, please describe details of its use. If the system integrates vendor detection components, describe the detection algorithm and sensing hardware and how it operates autonomously and remotely during day and night.

5) Prior data: When available, provide data on prior system testing against surrogate or live explosive hazards that supports a TRL rating of the system. Data may include detection, delivery, neutralization, and fuze performance, such as localization accuracy, probabilities of effectiveness, spatial effectiveness distributions, target types, dates, pictures, and test environment descriptions.

6) Risk: Define the systems current technical risks and propose a risk mitigation strategy. Define technical performance measures for subsystems. Describe how these will be measured, tracked, and improved to meet goals.

7) Reliability: Provide a reliability growth curve and reliability block diagram.

8) Interfaces: Provide an interface diagram showing connections between subsystems.

9) System Cost: Estimate final-system cost, as well as the cost to neutralize an individual explosive hazard.

10) Army application: A technical discussion of the effort’s objective, approach, and level of effort shall be submitted. Also include the nature and extent of the anticipated results and, if known, the manner in which the work will contribute to the accomplishment of Army’s mission and how this would be demonstrated.

11) GFE: The type of support, if any, that the offeror requests of the Government, such as facilities, equipment, demonstration sites, test ranges, software, personnel or materials, shall be identified as government furnished equipment (GFE), government furnished information (GFI), government furnished property (GFP), or government furnished data (GFD). Offerors shall indicate any Government coordination that may be required for obtaining equipment or facilities necessary to perform any simulations or exercises that would demonstrate the proposed capability.

12) Cost Proposal: The cost portion of the white paper shall contain a cost estimate: materials, hours, travel, burden, profit, etc.

13) Prior Work: Any current or past contract work with the U.S. Government that is related to your proposal.

PART III – RESEARCH PROPOSAL: CONTENT, PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION

SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION:

This part provides information for preparing research proposals for submission, via email or on electronic media, to the Procurement Office POC identified in the “Introduction” above.

SECTION 2 - GENERAL INFORMATION:

All offerors preparing research proposals for submission IAW this BAA should initially submit the information as described below:

TABLE OF CONTENTS: PART V of this BAA contains the required Table of Contents format. Offerors' proposals should show the location of each section of the proposal, as well as major subdivisions of the project description.

A-1: COVER PAGE:

1. See PART V of this BAA for the required Cover Page. “Proposals will not be processed without a signed Cover Page".

Should the project be carried out at a branch campus or other component of the submitting organization, that branch campus or component shall be identified in the appropriate location in the proposal.

2. The title of the proposed project should be brief, scientifically representative, intelligible to a scientifically literate reader, and suitable for use in the public press.

3. The proposed duration for which support is requested should be consistent with the nature and complexity of the proposed activity. Where appropriate, contract awards for periods up to three (3) years (1 basic year of performance with two 1-year options) will be made. Nevertheless, the federal awarding agency reserves the right to make awards with shorter or longer periods of performance.

4. Specification of a desired starting date for the project is important and helpful however, requested effective dates cannot be guaranteed. Should unusual situations, such as long lead-time on awards, create problems regarding the proposed effective date, the investigator should consult the proposing organization's business office.

5. Should any of the special aspects apply to a proposal, the appropriate box(es) should be checked.

6. Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 7701, as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 [section 31001(I) (1), Public Law 104-134], federal agencies shall obtain each awardee's Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). This number may be the Employer Identification Number for a business or non-profit entity or the Social Security Number for an individual. The TIN is being obtained for purposes of collecting and reporting on any delinquent amounts that may arise out of an awardee's relationship with the Government.

7. Offerors shall provide their organization's Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number. The UEI number is a twelve-digit number assigned by Dun and Bradstreet Information Services.

8. Offerors shall provide their assigned Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code. The CAGE Code is a 5-character code assigned and maintained by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to identify a commercial plant or establishment.

9. Proposals must be cleared through the organizational office having responsibility for Government business relations. An official authorized to commit the organization in business and financial affairs must sign the original copy of the Cover Page.

B-1: STATEMENT OF DISCLOSURE PREFERENCE:

1. Complete statement of disclosure forms for Industrial Contractors or Educational and Nonprofit Organizations as provided in PART V.

C-1: ABSTRACT:

1. The Abstract shall include a concise statement of work and basic approaches to be used in the proposed effort. The abstract should include a statement of objectives, methods to be employed, and the significance of the proposed effort to the advancement of knowledge.

2. The abstract should be no longer than one (1) page and be in a form suitable for release under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, as amended. The abstract should indicate the effort intended for each 12-month period of research, where applicable.

D-1: TECHNICAL PROPOSAL:

The technical portion of the proposal should contain the following:

1. The offeror should demonstrate that they have thoroughly analyzed the problem to be addressed and provide detailed background information on the issue to be investigated, with particular emphasis on their previous efforts in this area. Include a complete discussion stating the background and objectives of the proposed work, the approaches to be considered, and the level of effort to be employed. Include also the nature and extent of the anticipated results and, if known, the manner in which the work will contribute to the accomplishment of the Army's mission. Technical details in the proposal shall expand upon the topics introduced in the whitepaper technical description, PART II 5 b, to demonstrate that they have thoroughly analyzed the requirements set forth by the government GOBLN Team.

2. The offeror should propose a solution / approach that clearly indicates a strong potential to address the issue to be investigated. It shall provide specific supporting information (data), and include alternatives and risk mitigators where applicable

3. The offeror should thoroughly analyze the approach to be taken. They shall evaluate potential impediments to success, and shall provide a detailed plan that addresses the major issues.

4. The offeror should demonstrate the capability to manage the various aspects of the effort to be performed. This shall include a program management structure, a detailed schedule and team member qualifications.

5. A brief description of your organization. If the offeror has extensive government contracting experience and has previously provided the information to the issuing office identified on the cover of this BAA, the information need not be provided again. A statement setting forth this condition should be made.

6. The names of other federal, state, local agencies, or other parties receiving the proposal and/or funding the proposed effort. If none, so state. Concurrent or later submission of the proposal to other organizations will not prejudice its review if we are kept informed of the situation.

7. A statement regarding possible impact, if any, of the proposed effort on the environment considering as a minimum its effect upon water, atmosphere, natural resources, human resources, and any other values.

8. The offeror shall provide a statement regarding the use of Class I and Class II ozone-depleting substances. Ozone-depleting substances mean any substance designated as Class I by EPA, including but not limited chlorofluorocarbons, halons, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform and any substance designated as Class II by EPA, including but not limited to hydro chlorofluorocarbons. See 40 C.F.R. Part 82 for detailed information. If Class I or II substances are to be utilized, a list shall be provided as part of the offeror's proposal. If none, so state.

9. The type of support, if any, requested (e.g., facilities, equipment, and materials).

F-1: BIBLIOGRAPHY:

A bibliography of pertinent literature is required. Citations must be complete (including full name of author(s), title, and location in the literature).

G-1: PAST PERFORMANCE:

Offerors shall submit a list containing no more than five (5) relevant Government and non-Government contract references (including contract number, type, and dollar value; place of performance; date of award; whether performance is on-going or complete; extent of subcontracting; and the names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of at least two points of contact (POCs) for each contract) that were awarded within the last three (3) years. Relevancy refers to contract awards for the same or similar items. Offerors shall provide a specific narrative explanation of each contract listed describing the objectives achieved and detailing how the effort is relevant to the efforts described in the offerors technical proposal. For any contract listed that did not/do not meet original schedule or technical performance requirements, provide a brief explanation of the reason(s) for the shortcoming and any corrective action(s) taken to avoid recurrence.

In addition, offerors shall submit information related to their past performance on relevant efforts for state and local Government, private sector clients, subcontracts, and team or joint efforts. If offerors have no relevant past performance information, past performance information for their key personnel and/or key subcontractors shall be submitted. Be advised that the Government may use past performance information obtained from sources other than those identified by the offeror.

H-1: CURRENT AND PENDING SUPPORT:

1. PART V of this BAA provides a model format for reporting all current, on-going projects, and pending support for proposals, including subsequent funding in the case of continuing contract award. All project support from whatever source must be listed. The list must include all projects requiring a portion of the principal investigator's and other senior personnel's time, even if they receive no salary support from the project(s).

2. The information should include, as a minimum: (i) the project/proposal title and brief description, (ii) the name and location of the organization or agency presently funding the work or requested to fund such work, (iii) the award amount or annual dollar volume of the effort, (iv) the period of performance, and (v) a breakdown of the time required of the principal investigator and/or other senior personnel.

I-1: FACILITIES, EQUIPMENT, AND OTHER RESOURCES:

The offeror should include in the proposal a listing of facilities, equipment, and other resources already available to perform the research proposed.

J-1: BUDGET PROPOSAL (including DD Form 1861):

1. Each proposal must contain a budget for each year of support requested and a cumulative budget for the full term of requested support. The proposal may request funds under any of the categories listed so long as the item is considered necessary to perform the proposed work and is not precluded by applicable cost principles. In addition to the forms, the budget proposal should include up to five (5) pages of budget justification for each year. A summary budget page for each year should be included. The documentation pages should be titled "Budget Explanation Page" and numbered chronologically starting with the budget form. The need for each item should be explained clearly. Each direct and indirect rate used in the budget/cost proposal shall be listed in each area of the budget/cost proposal where they are applied.

2. All cost data must be current and complete. Costs proposed must conform to the following principles and procedures:

Educational Institutions: OMB Circular A-21 Nonprofit Organizations: OMB Circular A-122* Commercial Organizations: FAR Part 31, DFARS Part 231, FAR Subsection 15.403-5, and DFARS Subsection 215.403-5

*For those nonprofit organizations specifically exempt from the provisions of OMB Circular A-122, FAR Part 31 and DFARS Part 231 shall apply.

3. THE ITEMIZED BUDGET(S) MUST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

a. Direct Labor: Show the current and projected salary amounts in terms of man-hours, man-months, or annual salary to be charged by the principal investigator(s), faculty, research associates, postdoctoral associates, graduate and undergraduate students, secretarial, clerical, and other technical personnel either by personnel or position. State the number of man-hours used to calculate a man-month or man-year. For proposals from universities, research during the academic term is deemed part of regular academic duties, not an extra function for which additional compensation or compensation at a higher rate is warranted. Consequently, academic term salaries shall not be augmented either in rate or in total amount for research performed during the academic term. Rates of compensation for research conducted during non-academic (summer) terms shall not exceed the rate for the academic terms. When part or all of a person's services are to be charged as project costs, it is expected that the person will be relieved of an equal part or all of their regular teaching or other obligations. For each person or position, provide the following information:

(1) The basis for the direct labor hours or percentage of effort (e.g., historical hours or estimates).

(2) The basis for the direct labor rates or salaries. Labor costs should be predicted upon current labor rates or salaries. These rates may be adjusted upward for forecast salary or wage cost-of-living increases that will occur during the agreement period. The cost proposal should separately identify the rationale applied to base salary/wage for cost-of-living adjustments and merit increases. Each must be fully explained.

(3) The portion of time to be devoted to the proposed research, divided between academic and non-academic (summer) terms, when applicable.

(4) The total annual salary charged to the research project.

(5) Any details that may affect the salary during the project, such as plans for leave and/or remuneration while on leave.

b. Fringe Benefits and Indirect Costs (Overhead, General and Administrative, and Other): The most recent rates, dates of negotiation, the base(s) and periods to which the rates apply must be disclosed and a statement included identifying whether the proposed rates are provisional or fixed. If the rates have been negotiated by a Government agency, state when and by which agency. A copy of the negotiation memorandum should be provided. If negotiated forecast rates do not exist, offerors must provide sufficient detail to enable a determination to be made that the costs included in the forecast rate are allocable according to applicable OMB Circulars or FAR/DFARS provisions. Offerors' disclosure should be sufficient to permit a full understanding of the content of the rate(s) and how it was established. As a minimum, the submission should identify:

(1) All individual cost elements included in the forecast rate(s);

c. Permanent Equipment: If facilities or equipment are required, a justification why this property should be furnished by the Government must be submitted. State the organization's inability or unwillingness to furnish the facilities or equipment. Offerors must provide an itemized list of permanent equipment showing the cost for each item. Permanent equipment is any article or tangible nonexpendable property having a useful life of more than one year with an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit. The basis for the cost of each item of permanent equipment included in the budget must be disclosed, such as:

(1) Vendor Quote: Show name of vendor, number of quotes received and justification, if intended award is to other than lowest bidder.

(2) Historical Cost: Identify vendor, date of purchase, and whether or not cost represents lowest bid. Include reason(s) for not soliciting current quotes.

(3) Engineering Estimate: Include rationale for quote and reason for not soliciting current quotes.

….. If applicable, the following additional information shall be disclosed in the offeror's cost proposal:

(4) Special test equipment to be fabricated by the awardee for specific research purposes and its cost. Include a statement justifying the need for the special fabrication of the equipment.

(5) Standard equipment to be acquired and modified to meet specific requirements, including acquisition and modification costs, listed separately.

(6) Existing equipment to be modified to meet specific research requirements, including modification costs. Do not include equipment the organization will purchase with its funds if the equipment will be capitalized for Federal income tax purposes. Proposed permanent equipment purchases during the final year of an award shall be limited and fully justified.

Contracts may convey title to an institution for equipment purchased with project funds. At the discretion of the contracting officer, the contract may provide for retention of the title by the Government or may impose conditions governing the equipment conveyed to the organization. The Government will not convey title to commercial contractors.

NOTE: It is the policy of the DOD that all commercial and nonprofit contractors provide the equipment needed to support proposed research. In those rare cases where specific additional equipment is approved for commercial and nonprofit organizations, such approved cost elements shall be "nonfee-bearing." In addition, commercial contractors are precluded from using contract funds to acquire facilities with a unit acquisition cost of $10,000 or more.

d. Travel: Forecasts of travel expenditures (domestic and foreign) that identify the destination and the various cost elements (dates of each travel, number of individuals, trip duration, locations (from-to), airfare, car rental, mileage, per diem rates, etc.) must be submitted. The costs should be in sufficient detail to determine the reasonableness of such costs. Allowance for air travel normally will not exceed the cost of round-trip, economy air accommodations. Specify the type of travel and its relationship to the research project. Requests for domestic travel must not exceed $20K per year per principal investigator. Separate, prior approval by the PCO is required for all foreign travel (i.e., travel outside the continental U.S., its possessions and Canada). Foreign travel requests must not exceed $10K each per year per principal investigator. Special justification will be required for travel requests in excess of the amounts stated above and for travel by individuals other than the principal investigator(s). Individuals other than the principal investigator(s) are considered postdoctoral associates, research associates, graduate and undergraduate students, secretarial, clerical, and other technical personnel. Additional travel may be requested for travel to Army laboratories and facilities to enhance contract objectives and to achieve technology transfer.

d. Participant Support Costs: This budget category refers to costs of transportation, per diem, stipends, and other related costs for participants or trainees (but not employees) in connection with conferences, meetings, symposia, training activities, and workshops. Generally, indirect costs are not allowed on participant support costs. The number of participants to be supported should be entered in the parentheses on the budget form. These costs should also be justified in the budget justification page(s) attached to the cost proposal.

e. Materials, Supplies, and Consumables: A general description and total estimated cost of expendable equipment and supplies are required. The basis for developing the cost estimate (vendor quotes, invoice prices, engineering estimate, purchase order history, etc.) must be included. If possible, provide a material list.

f. Publication, Documentation, and Dissemination: The budget may request funds for the costs of preparing, publishing, or otherwise making available to others, the findings and products of the work conducted under a contract, including costs of reports, reprints, page charges, or other journal costs (except costs for prior or early publication); necessary illustrations, cleanup, documentation, storage, and indexing of data and databases; and development, documentation, and debugging of software.

g. Consultant Costs: Offerors normally are expected to utilize the services of their own staff to the maximum extent possible in managing and performing the project's effort. If the need for consultant services is anticipated, the nature of proposed consultant services should be justified and included in the technical proposal narrative. The cost proposal should include the names of consultant(s), primary organizational affiliation, each individual's expertise, daily compensation rate, number of days of expected service, and estimated travel and per diem costs per consultant.

h. Computer Services: The cost of computer services, including computer-based retrieval of scientific, technical, and educational information, may be requested. A justification/explanation based on the established computer service rates at the proposing organization should be included. The budget also may request costs, which must be shown to be reasonable, for leasing automatic data processing equipment. The purchase of computers or associated hardware and software should be requested as items of equipment.

i. Subcontracts: A precise description of services or materials that are to be awarded as a subcontract must be provided. For subawards totaling $10,000 or more, provide the following specific information:

If the total amount of the proposal exceeds $750,000 and the offeror is a large business or an institute of higher education (other than HBCU/MI) and the resultant award is a contract, the offeror shall be prepared to submit a subcontracting plan for small business and small disadvantaged business concerns. A mutually agreeable plan will be included in and made a part of the contract.

j. Other Direct Costs: Itemize and provide the basis for proposed costs for other anticipated direct costs such as communications, transportation, insurance, and rental of equipment other than computer related items. Unusual or expensive items shall be fully explained and justified.

k. Fixed Fee: The fixed fee, if any, which a commercial organization proposes to assess the research project.

K-1: CONTRACT FACILITIES CAPITAL COST OF MONEY:

If cost of money is proposed, a completed Contract Facilities Capital Cost of Money (FCCM) (DD Form 1861) is required.

L-1: APPENDICES:

Some situations require that special information and supporting documents be included in the proposal before funding can be approved. Such information and documentation should be included by appendix to the proposal.

SECTION 3 - CONTENTS OF COMPLETE RESEARCH PROPOSALS (PHASE I)

Preliminary Inquiries:

The Issuing Office is able to provide support for only a limited number of the proposals received. We realize that the preparation of a research proposal often represents a substantial investment of time and effort by the offeror. Therefore, in an attempt to minimize this burden, we strongly encourage organizations and individuals interested in submitting research proposals to first submit white papers as to the general need for the type of research effort contemplated before expending extensive effort in preparing a detailed research proposal or submitting proprietary information. Organizations may submit white papers in electronic form. (See Part II.)

Eligibility:

All responsible sources submitting a responsive proposal will be considered by the Government. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) are encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals.

Post Employment Conflict of Interest:

There are certain post-employment restrictions on former federal officers and employees, including special government employees (Section 207 of Title 18, U.S.C.). If a prospective offeror believes a conflict of interest may exist, the situation should be documented and forwarded by mail or e-mail to the contracting officer prior to expending time and effort in preparing a proposal.

Statement of Disclosure Preference:

Please complete the appropriate statement of disclosure form stating your preference for release of information contained in your proposal. Copies of these forms are provided in PART V of this BAA.

Reporting Requirements:

Each award shall include the required technical and financial reporting requirements in its terms and conditions.

Subcontracting:

Pursuant to Section 8(d) of the Small Business Act [15 U.S.C. 637(d)], it is the policy of the Government to enable small business concerns to be considered fairly as subcontractors under all contracts awarded to prime Contractors.

Equipment:

Normally, title to equipment or other tangible property purchased with contract funds vests with nonprofit institutions of higher education or with nonprofit research organizations if vesting shall facilitate scientific research performed for the Government. Commercial organizations are expected to possess the necessary plant and equipment to conduct the proposed research. Deviations shall be made on a case-by-case basis.

Types of Awards:

The Government has the authority to award a variety of instruments and reserves the right to use the type of instrument most appropriate for the effort proposed. Offerors should familiarize themselves with these instrument types and the applicable regulations before submitting a proposal. Following are brief descriptions of the possible award instruments.

1. Contracts (Research & Development): A legal instrument which, consistent with 31 U.S.C. 6303, reflects a relationship between the Federal Government and a State, a local government, or other recipient when the principal purpose of the instrument is to acquire property or…