Emergent IV BAA Amendment 21 1.pdf

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT 1. CONTRACT ID CODE

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICAITON NO. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicble)

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6) CODE

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 10-83)

Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

FACILITY CODE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICIATION NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers is extended, is not extended.

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

(a)By completing items 8 and 15, and returning copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted;

or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment your desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPIRATION DATA (If required)

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS.

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

CHECK ONE A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER

NO. IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc. ) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return copies to the issuing office.

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15C. DATE SIGNED

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

16C. DATE SIGNED

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION ( Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

PAGE OF PAGES

6. ISSUED BY CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State and ZIP Code) (X)

CODE

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

NSN 7540-01-152-8070

Previous edition unusable

1 22

21 04/19/2024

SP4701

DLA Contracting Services Office - Philadelphia 700 Robbins Ave.

Philadelphia, PA 19111 Attn: R&D CONTRACTING TEAM

SAME AS BLOCK 6

BAA0001-22

06/13/2022

See Continuation Pages.

Emergent IV BAA0001-22, dated June 14, 2022, is hereby Amended as follows:

The purpose of this modification is to re-open the Hackathon Amendment 15 window and amend the overall timeline.

1. The overall timeline for Hackathon is hereby revised as follows:

REMOVE (Amendment 18):

1. Release of Amendment 15 2/28/2024

2. TET will review White Papers as they come in.

3. Closing window to vendor responses 3/20/2024

4. Contracting Officer to submit notifications to Vendors if they are moving forward to the next phase. Full Technical and Cost proposals requested from vendor. Rejection of White Paper notifications will be sent out 4/3/2024

5. Final date for Vendors to submit the full Technical and Cost proposals 4/23/2024

6. Notification to vendor that they are moving to the demonstration phase 5/08/2024

7. Demonstrations 5/30/2024

8. Final decision and notification to vendors 6/5/2024

REPLACE:

1. Hackathon SOW is reopened for the receipt of White Papers - Friday - April 19, 2024

2. Deadline to submit questions relating to the White Paper – Tuesday – April 23, 2024

3. Deadline to submit/resubmit White Papers - Friday – April 26, 2024

4. TET review of White Papers - Monday – April 29, 2024 – Friday May

3, 2024

5. TET submits the review of White Papers to the Contracting Officer -

Monday – May 6, 2024

6. The Contracting Officer will notify new selectees to submit full

Technical and Cost Proposals - Tuesday – May 7, 2024

7. Deadline to submit questions relating to the full Technical and Cost

Proposal – Friday – May 10, 2024

8. Deadline for all selectees to submit their full Technical and Cost

Proposals - Wednesday - May 22, 2024

9. TET to submit final decision for demonstrations to the Contracting

Officer - Friday – June 7, 2024

10. The Contracting Officer will notify the selectees whether or not they are moving to the demonstration phase - Monday – June 10, 2024

11. In-person demonstrations - Wednesday – June 27, 2024

12. Contracting Officer to notify selectees whether or not they will receive an award - Thursday – July 11, 2024

2. The purpose of this Statement of Work (SOW) is to announce the re-opening of DLA’s J6 Hackathon. There is no change from the SOW posted via Amendment 15. White Papers shall be submitted in accordance with the Emergent IV BAA0001-22 as well as the requirements of this SOW. The proposed timeline for the Hackathon submission can be found in section 6.0 Proposed Timeline.

STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW)

Research and Development Enterprise Service Activity (J68)

Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) (Hackathon)

1.0 Background

As America’s combat logistics support agency, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) provides the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, other federal agencies, and partner nation armed forces with a full spectrum of logistics, acquisition, and technical services. DLA sources and provides nearly all the consumable items America’s military forces need to operate – from food, fuel and energy to uniforms, medical supplies, and construction material. More information about DLA is available online at http://www.dla.mil/.

R&D pioneers DLA’s industrial base and supply chain innovation across 13 leading-edge Logistics Research (LogTech), Manufacturing Technology (ManTech), and Small Business Innovation Program (SBIP) programs to enhance Warfighter readiness. R&D’s main focus areas are: Business and Digital Development Data Modernization, Supply Chain Resiliency, Additive Manufacturing, Rare Earth and Strategic Materials, Large Language Models, Digital Sustainment Platform, Digital Twin/Digital Thread, Nuclear Enterprise Sustainment Support, Greening and Sustainability, Artificial Intelligence, Generative Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Larning. The R&D program managers oversee more than 325 innovative projects including the Defense Manufacturing Technology Achievement Award-winning powerful, lightweight military batteries project under the Emergent IV BAA. R&D's mission is to develop and deliver new capabilities through applied technologies and innovative solutions to enhance warfighter sustainment.

The purpose of this Statement of Work (SOW) is to announce DLA’s J6 Hackathon.

The Hackathon is planned to be an interactive event which will solicit White Papers (WP) to obtain the necessary services of qualified vendors to support the DLA’s missions of researching and developing, testing, and evaluating capabilities through a simulation and modeling approach and process engineering improvements using advanced and disruptive technologies. In addition, to providing support to the R&D Strategic Integrator in prototyping, piloting, testing, evaluating, implementing, and sustaining the cloud research and development environments.

2.0 Objective

DLA J68 understands Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) as a form of artificial intelligence that uses machine learning models to generate new content or data. It relies on statistical patterns and structures learned from training on large datasets to predict outputs in response to user inputs. Gen AI describes an emerging set of computational statistical models able to autonomously produce diverse and contextually relevant content, particularly text and imagery. Gen AI’s expanding capabilities and ease of use can result in automation of time-consuming knowledge work and improved organizational efficiency when designed and applied effectively.

The Logistics R&D Emergent IV Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) area of interest H, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI/ML) application subtopics related to Gen AI are included as listed below:

1. Content Generation: The capability to generate text, image, content, code, video, or audio based on some given parameters or examples.

2. Data Manipulation: The capability to enhance or modify existing content or data (grammar, proofreading, tone change, style of image), data augmentation, anomaly detection, or model training.

3. Content Assistance: The capability of leveraging conversational agents, interactive design, or retrieval of documentation.

As the objective of the Hackathon Event, Gen AI will encompass various key aspects in different phases. See below for the description of each phase:

Phase 1: In this initial phase, the vendor is required to explain and provide a practical simulation of their data scraping methodologies and approaches. This should include insights into strategies and the potential introduction of innovative techniques. Additionally, the vendor should thoroughly showcase their Gen AI capabilities, particularly emphasizing the utilization of Large Language Models (LLM). These models should be applied for constructing a knowledge base, generating new content, enhancing existing content, and providing content assistance.

Phase 2: Building upon the initial phase, the exploration extends to evaluating the scalability of the Gen AI solution. This involves a comprehensive assessment of integration capabilities with diverse tools, ensuring the solution’s compatibility with various cloud environments maintaining cloud agnosticism, and demonstrating proficiency to adeptly updating Gen AI model parameters.

Additionally, vendors are encouraged to demonstrate their capability to seamlessly transition the Gen AI solution to the DLA cloud hosting environment.

Phase 3: In this final phase, the Gen AI solution is required to leverage the knowledge and insights acquired in the previous phases. This entails incorporation of DLA approved data, utilization of preliminary use cases provided by the organizer. Vendors must not only refine and enhance the Gen AI solution but also demonstrate its’ practical application in the preliminary use cases. This collaborative approach aims to contribute to a clear understanding of DLA’s business and supply chain dynamics. The goal is to showcase the adaptability of the Gen AI solution to specific use cases and to contribute to a comprehensive and well – informed approach in the development and application of Gen AI models.

In summary, the overall objectives seek to identify vendors with advanced data scraping capabilities, innovative methodologies, and the potential to create impactful Gen AI solutions tailored to DLA’s domains.

3.0 Service Work Areas

The vendor will support the following service work areas/tasks as detailed in section 4.0 Scope:

1. Research, Development, Testing and Implementation Strategy

2. Development Methodology

3. Use Case Implementation

4. Cybersecurity and DoD Compliance

5. Technical Requirements and Software Listing

6. Licensing and Software Distribution Independence

7. Government and Policy Compliance

8. Gen AI Methodologies and Cloud Compatibility

9. Gen AI Solution Scalability, Sustainability, and Model Maintenance Assurance

10. Data Integration, Interoperability and Management Framework

11. API Integration and Management Support

12. Gen AI Solution Transition to DLA Cloud Hosting

13. Multi-Cloud Deployment and Hosting Flexibility

14. Source Code Management and Ownership

4.0 Scope

This Statement of Work (SOW) encompasses various interconnected support functions, all integral to the requirements of DLA’s Gen AI desired solution. The vendor will select specific area(s) from the listing below to respond to the SOW via the White Paper (WP) submission, in accordance with the Emergent IV BAA0001- 22, which can be found via the following link:

https://sam.gov/opp/dcd2060566e2407d88a3296e2d78a968/view.

Additionally, the vendor is required to furnish comprehensive documentation in English pertaining to the Gen AI model, tool, or algorithm associated with the solution. This documentation should include, for instance, README file, textual descriptions, diagrams, screen captures of the application, user interface, data, technical design, database concepts, interfaces with other applications, data, and application security, as well as the architecture for the solution ensuring a thorough description of the underlying Gen AI components that integrate with the vendors capabilities.

1. Research, Development, Testing, and Implementation Strategy:

a) The solution must describe approach, spanning researching and developing, prototyping, piloting, testing, evaluating, implementing, and sustainment in cloud research and development environments.

b) The vendor shall describe their process epics, user story(ies) identification, prioritization, planning, collaboration, refinement, implementation, testing, and implementing lessons learned.

c) The vendor, solution must implement the use cases provided by DLA.

d) The solution must meet the goals and objectives of the of the SOW set forth by

DLA.

2. Development Methodology:

a) The vendor will describe their understanding of Gen AI models, their process (es) and methodology(ies) for building, refining, tuning, maintaining, and implementing their models.

b) The vendor must be able to scrape data, specifically publicly releasable / open-source data, from various data sources (e.g. websites), not simulated or synthetic data, to develop Gen AI models.

3. Use Case Implementation:

a) The vendor must provide recommendations to enhance Government insights through improvements in data collection.

4. Technical Requirements and Software Listing:

a) The vendor must provide a listing of software that the application or solution requires in order to function, including embedded software. Example software categories include Operating System, Database, Web Server, etc.

5. Cybersecurity and DoD Compliance:

a) The vendor must describe how the solution will accomplish or enable data privacy and security.

b) The vendor must describe how the solution will comply with DoD cyber-security, can be secured in a DoD environment, and show awareness for specific requirements (i.e., FEDRamp certified).

c) The vendor must ensure appropriate Cybersecurity/IA for all IT program/projects, especially during research and development, prototyping, piloting, testing, evaluating, implementing, and sustaining the cloud research and development environments.

6. Licensing and Software Distribution Independence:

a) The rights attached to the solution must not depend on the program being part of a particular software distribution.

b) The licensed software cannot place restrictions on other software that is distributed with it.

7. Government and Policy Compliance:

a) The vendor will demonstrate and describe an understanding of DLA and relevant

DLA policy, the process, data sources, and technology used (i.e. data scraping) by which the information was extracted or collected for the DLA description.

b) The vendor must provide recommendations to enhance Government insights on ensuring the application or solution complies with Federal and DoD AI Ethical Principles.

c) The vendor will describe an understanding of DevSecOps, Agile, other methodologies and processes used for development and maintenance of their application or solution.

d) The vendor must describe how the application or solution will comply with DoD and DLA policy, and implement Identity, Credential, Access Management (ICAM)/Zero-Trust (ZT) in addition Role Based Access Control (RBAC), Attribute Based Access Control (ABAC).

e) The vendor explains how their solution complies with the Section 508 accessibility requirements. If the solution does not currently comply, the vendor must understand that this compliance is required in order to progress to later stages of the Gen AI project. The vendor affirms that its’ Electronic Information Technology (EIT) supplies and services are accessible as outlined in the law, the standard, and FAR Subpart 39.2. Vendors shall complete the current revision of the Voluntary Product Accessible Template (VPAT) Rev 508 at https://www.itic.org/policy/accessibility/vpat.

8. Gen AI Methodologies and Cloud Compatibility:

a) The vendor shall explain their Gen AI methodologies.

b) The solution must be capable of being hosted in Google Labs and be flexible to be hosted in other cloud environments provided or supported by sponsor (i.e., AWS, Commercial Technology Maintenance Activity, etc.).

c) The vendor will demonstrate how solution utilizes DoD approved toolsets in multi-cloud and Commercial off-the Shelf (COTS) products.

d) The solution must be capable of automating synthesis of supply networks from informal documents and data, identify key manufacturing steps, detect when these steps can be repurposed, and automate discovery of patches in the supply network.

e) The solution must be capable of performing manufacturing steps and analyze large supplier data in DoD systems using large language models to parse and learn ontology and process flow for manufacturing of multiple systems.

f) The vendor will demonstrate how solution will utilize subgraph isomorphism computations for computing replaceable steps in production.

g) The solution must be capable of building a novel supply network system that will be able to discover latent capabilities and capacities for production of critical items.

h) The vendor will describe how the solution will identify alternate suppliers/supply chains and additional capabilities within the domestic Industrial base.

i) The solution must be capable of translating natural language to formal languages without any training for a formal tool using corresponding formal verification methods.

j) The solution must be capable of detecting consistency and ambiguity errors in the large language model response to avoid hallucinations of large language models.

k) The solution must be capable of decomposing the problem into subproblems for abstraction insights using large language models and formal tools.

l) The solution must be capable of using formalized queries with formal tools that accept specific domain specification languages learned by large language models.

9. Gen AI Solution Scalability, Sustainability, and Model Maintenance Assurance:

a) The vendor must describe how the solution can scale to support DLA (or a large agency) and transition to full operational capacity and production, covering all phases including start-up/launch, ramp-up/expansion, steady-state operations, and project transition.

b) The solution must be made available free of charge and without any restriction for testing and evaluation during the Hackathon event.

c) The vendor must be able to support and maintain models associated with deployed Gen AI use cases.

10. Data Integration, Interoperability and Management Framework:

a) Vendors must describe how and the type of databases and storage (i.e., data warehouse, data lakes, hubs, mess, etc.) the application will interface or support.

b) The solution must use the Government Furnished Data.

c) The vendor must describe how the application can leverage, interface, and/or integrate with other data analytic, Gen AI tools, and platforms.

d) The solution must include documentation of all data sources used.

e) The solution must include a description of how the it can be updated with additional data from other agencies across DLA.

f) The vendor must provide the sources of all data obtained and/or used.

g) The vendor must identify any Personal Identifiable Information (PII) data that is obtained.

h) The vendor will demonstrate how the solution will integrate and analyze different data sets in the DLA environment to improve existing model or develop new models.

i) The vendor must describe how the solution can leverage, interface, and/or integrate with other data analytic, Gen AI tools, and platforms.

j) The solution must include a description of how it can be updated with additional data from other agencies across DLA.

11. API Integration and Management Support:

a) The vendor must describe how the solution can leverage an API Management

Platform (i.e., Mulesoft, etc.).

b) The solution may integrate Software Development Kit (SDKs) and Application

Programming Interface (APIs), provided the participant is authorized to use.

12. Gen AI Solution Transition to DLA Cloud Hosting:

a) The application must be able to support the transition of Gen AI solution to DLA cloud hosting environment and adoption of Gen AI.

b) The solution must run on one of the following:

i. A web browser (mobile or desktop)

ii. A desktop computer (windows PC)

13. Multi-Cloud Deployment and Hosting Flexibility:

a) The solution must be capable of being hosted in Google Labs and be flexible to be hosted in other cloud environments provided or supported by sponsor (i.e., AWS, Azure, Commercial Technology Maintenance Activity, etc.).

b) The vendor must describe how the solution can be deployed or interface in a multi-cloud environment.

c) The solution must be developed using Gen AI tools available on the sponsor’s hosting environment.

14. Source Code Management and Ownership:

a) If the solution runs on proprietary or third-party software, the sponsor or administrator reserves the right, at their sole discretion, to require the participant to provide the source code.

Due to the BAA0001-22 instructions, submitters are not required to include all work areas in the White Paper submission ( since White Papers are limited to 6 pages); however, for those requested to submit a Technical and Cost Proposals, all of the above work areas are required to be included within the proposal.

5.0 Demonstration of Gen AI Capabilities

It is DLA’s high priority to protect vendors’ capabilities; therefore, the BAA is structured to protect each vendor’s ideas and information from being stolen or shared with competitors or third parties.

When the vendor’s White Paper is accepted and approved to move forward, DLA may request a Technical Proposal to move to the next phase. All Technical Proposals will be reviewed by the Technical Evaluation Team (TET), those vendors that move forward will be requested to conduct a demonstration. The vendor will be given one (1) week to prepare for the demonstration. All demonstrations will be conducted utilizing the same Use Case which will be provided by DLA. The demonstration to the TET will be in person and the agenda will be as follows:

1. Power Point presentation describing how the vendor will accomplish the project and key features of their capabilities described in Amendment 15 – 10 minutes

2. Demonstration of the Gen AI capabilities – 20 minutes

3. Q&A (from DLA to the vendor)– 10 minutes

Once all demonstrations have been completed, the TET will discuss the original White Paper, proposal and notes/summaries from the capabilities’ demonstration.

At the point that a selection is made by the TET the Contracting Officer (KO) will contact the vendor to inform them of the selection. Those that are not selected will also be notified by the KO. All contact from DLA will come from the KO.

6.0 Proposed Timeline

The general proposed timeline for the Hackathon submission, evaluation and selection process is as follows:

1. Hackathon SOW is reopened for the receipt of White Papers - Friday - April 19, 2024

2. Deadline to submit questions relating to the White Paper – Tuesday – April 23, 2024

3. Deadline to submit/resubmit White Papers - Friday – April 26, 2024

4. TET review of White Papers - Monday – April 29, 2024 – Friday May

3, 2024

5. TET submits the review of White Papers to the Contracting Officer -

Monday – May 6, 2024

6. The Contracting Officer will notify new selectees to submit full

Technical and Cost Proposals - Tuesday – May 7, 2024

7. Deadline to submit questions relating to the full Technical and Cost

Proposal – Friday – May 10, 2024

8. Deadline for all selectees to submit their full Technical and Cost

Proposals - Wednesday - May 22, 2024

9. TET to submit final decision for demonstrations to the Contracting

Officer - Friday – June 7, 2024

10. The Contracting Officer will notify the selectees whether or not they are moving to the demonstration phase - Monday – June 10, 2024

11. In-person demonstrations - Wednesday – June 27, 2024

12. Contracting Officer to notify selectees whether or not they will receive an award - Thursday – July 11, 2024

3. The following is a conformed list of questions and answers that were published in Amendment 16, Amendment 17, Amendment 19, and Amendment 20.

1. What are the project deliverables for each task and/or phase?

Answer: Deliverables: 1. White Paper (see guidance under the Emergent IV); 2.

Tech / Cost Proposals (in the event the vendor is selected to do so see guidance under the Emergent IV); 3. Demonstration (in the event the vendor is selected to do so see guidance under the Emergent IV Amendment 15).

2. What are the evaluation criteria for the White Paper, Technical Proposal, and Demonstration?

Answer: The Cost and Technical Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the Emergent IV BAA and the White Paper will be reviewed the same as any other White Paper submitted under the Emergent IV BA.

3. Could the government clarify Section 6.0 Proposed Timeline?

Answer: Please see detailed timeline above.

4. “Technical Evaluation Team to review White Papers – Two week after the window of responses is closed”

i. Does this mean the Evaluation Team begins review or ends its review on 4/3/2021?

Answer: The Technical Evaluation Team will end their review and notify the vendors by 4/3/2024*.

*please see revised timeline in Section 1.

5. “Vendor requested to submit Technical proposals – One week”

i. Does this mean DLA will request proposals one week after it ends its review of the white papers? Or that vendors will be given one week to submit proposals after an RFP?

Answer: It means that the Technical Evaluation Team through the Contracting Officer on 4/3/24 will request proposals from the vendors selected to move forward to the next phase. In the event a vendor is not selected, they will receive a notification on 4/3/24* as well.

6. We have the same questions on 6e and 6f. For full timeline clarity, could the government provide representative dates for the beginning and end of each phase?

Answer: Please see answer in a*.

7. Could the government please confirm that whitepapers (and corresponding proposals) should address only one of the given subtopics (Content Generation, Data Manipulation, Content Assistance)?

Answer: Per Section 4.0 Scope, submitters are not required to include all work areas in the White Paper submissions( since White Papers are limited to 6 pages); however, for those requested to submit a Technical and Cost Proposals, all of the above work areas are required to be included within the proposal. For the White Paper, the Vendor can address one of the subtopics in the scope area according to the BAA. In the event the Vendor is selected to move forward to submit a proposal, all 14 subtopics have to be addressed.

8. For the purposes of the demonstration, could the government please confirm that it will provide one use case for each of the three subtopics (Content Generation, Data Manipulation, Content Assistance)?

Answer: In the event that the Vendor is asked to provide a full Cost and Technical Proposal (4/3/24), ONE use case will be provided. If the Vendor is selected to move forward to demonstrate their capabilities, it will be on the same use case that was previously provided on 4/3/24*.

9. Addressing all three subtopics in a single white paper (i.e., single project) may render the scope cost-prohibitive for the government.

Answer: The service work area(s)/task(s) to be addressed in the White Paper are detailed in section 4.0 Scope. For the White Paper, the Vendor can address one of the subtopics in the scope area according to the BAA. In the event the Vendor is selected to move forward to submit a proposal, all 14 subtopics have to be addressed.

10. Addressing only one of the three subtopics could render our White Paper and Proposal moot if the government selects a demonstration use case from one of the other two subtopics.

Answer: The service work area(s)/task(s) to be addressed in the White Paper are detailed in section 4.0 Scope. For the White Paper, the Vendor can address one of the subtopics in the scope area according to the BAA. In the event the Vendor is selected to move forward to submit a proposal, all 14 subtopics have to be addressed.

11. If selected for funded work, will all three project phases fall under a single J68 R&D award?

Answer: In the event that the Vendor is selected for award it will be a J68 R&D portfolio.

12. What is the scope of the contract will DLA award at the end of this hackathon?

Does DLA plan on issuing an award for an R&D project or is DLA planning on making an award for a production system?

Answer: The scope of the contract will be based on Emergent IV BAA Amendment 15, White Paper submission, and if requested Technical and Cost Proposal for demonstration. The award will be driven from the Vendor’s solutions set and ability to demonstrate transition into the DLA enterprise. The initial award will be R&D and DLA for long term sustainability.

13. What IT environment will DLA use to host this system? Can this environment support the deployment of containers? Does DLA intend to modify the existing ATO of this environment or pursue a new ATO?

Answer: DLA is cloud agnostic; therefore, the solution must be scalable for a given cloud environment. Pertaining to the containers, if your capabilities are Azure or Google cloud based then DevSecOps does support the deployment of containers. DLA will upgrade the existing ATO to support AI solutions set.

14. Is DLA willing to receive demos from more production-ready cloud environments like AWS or will they only accept demos in Google Labs?

Answer: The vendor can develop their solution in any cloud environment they prefer. DLA is cloud agnostic; therefore, allowing the vendor to use any cloud provider.

15. The latest amendment does not specifically provide details on the period of performance and then total budget for the Gen AI hackathon teams.

Answer: The dollar value and period of performance will be based on responses received from the White Paper and subsequent Cost and Technical proposal.

16. In section 3.0, DLA states that the vendor “will support the following service work areas/tasks as detailed in section 4.0 Scope”. Then, in section 4.0 “Scope”, it states that “the vendor will select specific area(s) from the listing below to respond to". Are offerors expected to respond by selecting one of the fourteen work areas, multiple, or are we required to respond to all work areas? The last paragraph of section 4.0 states that not all work areas/tasks must be responded to in initial white papers submitted due to the page constraints, so will the government provide further clarification of how it intends to effectively and equally compare white paper submissions if varying work areas/tasks are selected and responded to at the discretion of offerors? Could the government please explain if some work areas hold higher priority than others?

Answer: Yes, for the White Paper response the vendor can select one or multiple work areas to discuss their functional and technical approval. The task areas are interrelated, and solution should be built on AI, ML, GEN AI, guiding principles of various technology components and methodologies as listed in each task area. If the vendor is selected for the next phase, they are required to respond to all of the work areas in their technical proposal. DLA’s evaluators have a varied skill set in the work areas to align and support the selection equity.

Per the revised language in Amendment 13, White Papers will be reviewed against the topic to determine whether the proposed solution is technically feasible and viable (i.e., compatible with DoD constraints, technical environments and other organizational requirements), and whether the White Paper presents a research project whose results end users are likely to adopt and that is of sufficient interest to DLA to warrant consideration of a technical proposal.

17. The fourteen work areas/tasks detailed in section 4.0 seem to represent requirements of an intended GenAI solution. Is DLA simply looking to fund an R&D engagement to prototype the establishment of a GenAI solution that can eventually prove to meet all 14 “work areas/tasks”, and then attempt to discover the functional business problem in which the GenAI solution is expected to solve?

Answer: Yes, to both of your questions. The intent of DLA hackathon is to address all 14 work areas/tasks, applying the capability to a R&D Pilot prototype effort which identifies business problem. For the subsequent phases, the vendor will further address DLA's business capabilities and outcomes, and Enterprise Hosting and Architectural requirements.

18. In section 4.0 page 10, it mentions that the solution must be able to be “sustain[ed] in cloud research and development environments.” Does this solution need to go through the ARTET environment, or are there other R&D environments leveraging varying hyperscalers (e.g. Azure, AWS, etc.)? If so, please specify.

Answer: DLA is cloud agnostic; therefore, any selected solutions will be pilot and prototype with ARTET resources to support operational sustainment for the DLA global enterprise. The solution the vendor presents must be interoperable with the DLA technological infostructure and various cloud providers (AWS, Azure, Google, etc.).

19. In section 4.1.c, what are the use cases provided? The announcement as written seems to possibly confuse the listed work areas/tasks for the aforementioned and omitted use cases. Will DLA be providing the use cases to support white paper submission? Is the government expecting offerors to initially propose useful use cases (functional business problems) focusing around the three AI/ML GenAI subtopics referenced in section 2.0 (content generation, data manipulation, and content assistance), or other applications of GenAI, within initial white paper submissions while attempting to address any one of the fourteen listed requirements? The problem DLA is attempting to prove it can solve with the use of GenAI is unclear.

Answer: The initial use case will be provided to vendors who are selected to demonstrate their capabilities. The use case will be based on DLA business need and leverage the vendor’s readiness to demonstrate what was written in their proposals. Sequence of events are vendors provide their White Paper. If vendor is selected, the Contracting Officer will request proposals. After review of proposal, if vendor is selected for next phase, a use case (as mentioned above) will be provided, then the vendor will demonstrate their capabilities in person.

No, the Government is not expecting for the offerors to submit use cases. As mentioned, the Government will provide a use case for those that are selected for the demonstration phase. Furthermore, the Government hopes that the vendors have key knowledge of DLA’s mission and business domain to develop a solution (i.e. prompt) that supports our global logistics span of influence.

20. Are offerors required to provide a Technical Design Document (TDD) along with this white paper or is this only required if an offeror is requested to submit a technical proposal? If required at white paper submission, will the required format of the TDD be provided?

Answer: Our response is two-fold. The sequence of events, vendors provide their White Paper. If a vendor is selected, the Contracting Officer will request proposals. After review of the proposal, if a vendor is selected for the next phase, a use case (as mentioned above) will be provided, then the vendor will demonstrate their capabilities in person. For the initial response, only a White Paper is requested. The format for White Paper and proposals are published within the Emergent IV BAA.

21. In respect to this requirement, is DLA seeking to evaluate the current capabilities of our Gen AI platform, prior to accepting a full proposal and making an award to perform research and development of a DLA-specific solution?

Answer: Yes, we plan on leveraging a vendor’s White Paper as a clear indication of their functional and technical solution. This shall enable DLA to offer and invitation for a full proposal to execute an R&D a pilot and protype project to transition for full operational usage.

22. For clarity, is this the use Case, and only use case that will be used for the Demo?

Answer: At the demonstration, this is the only use case that would be used for vendors to demonstrate their capabilities. During the demonstration phase, vendors may be subject to prompt questions to further demonstrate technical and functional requirements noted in their technical proposal.

23. I assume we should talk about this use case in our Tech Proposal, but also broader use case capabilities as well?

Answer: Please discuss this use case as well other the other capabilities noted in the requirements to align to DoD and DLA mission sets. The use case approach should be integrated into the proposal which should illustrate the methodologies to training AI/ML/GENAi data models for product development.

24. Is this SITREP use case a change in scope from the BAA?

Answer: No, the BAA requirements are to provide the functional and technical approaches and methodologies for Ai, ML, and Gen Ai testing and development. This will derive a solution that meets the DLA missions sets, moreover, the BAA Amendment 15 sites 14 task areas that align to best practices and principals for Ai, ML and Gen Ai solutions sets. The use case provided is a culmination of those task areas.

25. What is the nature of the relationship between this SITREP use case task and the tasks and areas of interest outlined in the BAA?

Answer: Expounding on the previous questions regarding the task areas provided in the BAA Amendment 15, the SITREP targets task areas that are foundational to meet the tactical and strategic priorities of DLA. Additionally, DLA’s intent of the SITREP is to have the vendor demonstrate not only the technical capability but more importantly their functional understanding of DLA internal and external business practices.

26. Given this SITREP use case, does DLA expect that we will tailor our technical proposal to this specific task area?

Answer: DLA expects the vendor to be savvy to clearly articulate their technical capabilities not only in SITREP specific task area but their overall approach to Ai, ML, and Gen Ai domains to derive solutions that meet DLA’s Combat Logistics Global Supply Chain mission.

27. We presume that since this utilizes OS data, this effort (up to and including the hackathon demonstration) is not CUI. Are follow on tasks expected to be performed entirely at an unclassed level, or entirely at CUI and/or higher?

Answer: Yes, the initial tasks will be with unclassified/CUI and higher level.

28. Or can we provide a plan to complete work at an unclassed level with demonstrations, evaluations, integrations and support at a higher level?

Answer: Initially, DLA will provide data unclassified/CUI data sources.

Additionally, DLA welcomes the vendor to provide a future state of how their

Ai, ML, Gen Ai solution can adjust to classified data sources to include data demonstration and evaluation in classified environments.

29. Just to confirm, our understanding is that DLA is not funding the hackathon demonstration; all cost scoping is for the technical solution proposed in our technical and cost proposal.

Answer: That is correct

30. Can you help contextualize this SITREP use case within the most recent DLA strategic plan; is this more in-line with LOE 5 and CC-C or LOE 4 and CC-B, or does DLA have a different envisioned context for this use-case?

Answer: It encompasses all LOEs and encourages the vendor to leverage public facing data sources to obtain for additional sourcing for the SITREP.

31. Can we be provided with current SITREP samples to ensure our demonstrated solution aligns with DLA best practices and existing training, workflow and decision structures? Alternatively, are there DLA staff who currently produce SITREPs with whom we can speak to assess and discuss workflow, practices and output?

Answer: No, DLA SITREP contains sensitive data based on our mission;

however, the goal is not about the SITREP data but how your capabilities create content based on the guidance and intent provided for the criteria as well as your understanding of the DLA domain.

32. Can you describe or outline the data sources, providers or clarify the types of data that DLA currently employs and/or expects to employ to support this SITREP use case task. Does this differ from the data sources or providers associated with the tasks and areas of interest outlined in the BAA?

Answer: The data derived from the task areas outline in the BAA are a solid source of data to support SITREP development, in addition to DoD and DLA public facing sites (EG, webpages, OPM, SAM.gov, etc.). Please note, our expectations is that the vendor has an understanding of DoD and DLA web scrapping sources and binoculars.

33. Can the government clarify if the provided use case is meant for the Hackathon demo, the funded prototype (if awarded a contract), or both?

Answer: Yes, it will be utilized for both, the Hackathon demo and if awarded a funded prototype.

4. The following are new questions and answers that were not answered in previous Amendments.

34. Question: Section 2.0 of SOW outlined 3 phases. Can you confirm that the technical and cost proposal are related to Phase 1?

Answer: No, the technical and cost proposal are related to all three phases and should reflect your technical and functional approaches to address each areas of those phases in totality.

35. Question: We are not clear on the technical proposal contents as there are potentially conflicting requirements. The technical proposal instructions are to provide the following sections:

• Part 1 — Proposal Cover Sheet

• Part 2 — Executive Summary

• Part 3 — Overall Scientific and Technical Merit (Feasibility)

• Part 4 — Viability

• Part 5 — Desirability

• Part 6 — Past Performance

How do these parts map or align to the following 14 Service Scope Areas in the SOW? The instructions indicate that the technical proposal must address each of these 14 scope areas as well and we are not clear on which Part of the technical proposal covers these scope areas.

1. Research, Development, Testing and Implementation Strategy

2. Development Methodology

3. Use Case Implementation

4. Cybersecurity and DoD Compliance

5. Technical Requirements and Software Listing

6. Licensing and Software Distribution Independence

7. Government and Policy Compliance

8. Gen AI Methodologies and Cloud Compatibility

9. Gen AI Solution Scalability, Sustainability, and Model Maintenance Assurance

10. Data Integration, Interoperability and Management Framework

11. API Integration and Management Support

12. Gen AI Solution Transition to DLA Cloud Hosting

13. Multi-Cloud Deployment and Hosting Flexibility

14. Source Code Management and Ownership

Answer: The 14 Service Scope Areas in the SOW shall contain best approaches to feasibility, viability, and desirability.

36. Question: Section E of the BAA solicitation requires “Proposals shall include a technical plan for each proposed project, using active voice to describe the tasks to be performed, in sufficient detail to establish the methodology and feasibility of accomplishing the technical approach.” Which proposal Part should the “technical plan” be included within?

Answer: Per page 10 of the Emergent IV BAA, “Technical Proposals consist of six parts:

Technical proposals shall consist of six parts:

Part 1 — Proposal Cover Sheet Part 2 — Executive Summary Part 3 — Overall Scientific and Technical Merit (Feasibility) Part 4 — Viability Part 5 — Desirability Part 6 — Past Performance”

All six (6) of these parts make up a complete Technical Proposal.

37. Question: Section E of the BAA solicitation requires a Technical Plan that includes 13 sections. We are not clear how the 13 sections of the technical plan fit within the following required parts of the Technical Proposal:

Part 1 — Proposal Cover Sheet Part 2 — Executive Summary Part 3 — Overall Scientific and Technical Merit (Feasibility) Part 4 — Viability Part 5 — Desirability Part 6 — Past Performance

Answer: The 13 elements on page 12 of the Emergent IV BAA that the technical plan must, at a minimum include, should be intertwined within the responses to each of the 6 parts of the Technical Proposal.

38. Question: Are resumes included in the 20-page technical proposal page count?

Answer: Per page 10 of the Emergent IV BAA, “Résumés and certifications for technical data and computer software will not be counted as part of the 20-page limit.”

39. Question: Is the past performance section included in the 20-page technical proposal page count?

Answer: Per page 10 of the Emergent IV BAA, “Technical proposals must address the evaluation factors provided in Section IV, Technical Proposal Evaluation, of this BAA.”

Factor 1 - Overall Scientific and Technical Merit (Feasibility) Factor 2 – Viability Factor 3 – Desirability Factor 4 - Past Performance, Capabilities, and Related Experience

Per page 10 of the Emergent IV BAA, “Technical proposals shall consist of six parts:

Part 1 — Proposal Cover Sheet Part 2 — Executive Summary Part 3 — Overall Scientific and Technical Merit (Feasibility) Part 4 — Viability Part 5 — Desirability Part 6 — Past Performance”

Yes, the past performance section is included in the 20-page technical proposal page count.

40. Question: The Technical Plan requires a “Performance Schedule.” Please provide more details on the level of detail required for the schedule.

Answer: Per page 12 of the Emergent IV BAA, “Performance Schedule:

Detailed realistic schedule and milestones with confirmation of realism to include a Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) chart, Gantt chart or other appropriate format that displays all major tasks, their schedule and dependency relations.” The level of detail should answer the requirements of this section.

41. Question: Please confirm that the Performance Schedule is not included in the 20-page technical proposal page count.

Answer: Per page 12 of the Emergent IV BAA, “The technical plan must, at a minimum, include the following:… 11. Performance Schedule.” Per the Proposal Instructions on page 10 of the Emergent IV BAA, “Technical Proposals must meet the following format requirements: B. No more than twenty (20) single-sided pages including, body, appendices, and attachments;.”

Therefore, the Performance Schedule is included in the 20-page technical proposal page count.

42. Question: Section E of the BAA solicitation requires “Proposals shall include a technical plan for each proposed project, using active voice to describe the tasks to be performed, in sufficient detail to establish the methodology and feasibility of accomplishing the technical approach.”

Please explain the concept of the project. Is the technical proposal submission for a single project or can there be multiple projects within a technical proposal?

Answer: Page 12 of the Emergent IV BAA defines the project as “The improved technologies to be established, expressed in terms of outcomes that are important to the Warfighter, DLA, or another DoD Component.” The proposed project is what your firm detailed in their White Paper and should further address in the Technical Proposal. The Technical Proposal Submission should be based on the information provided in the White Paper, which was accepted by the Government, and should adhere to the requirements of the Emergent IV BAA as well as the Emergent IV BAA Amendments, specifically Amendment 15 which relates directly to Hackathon.

43. Question: Please confirm that the cost proposal is required as a part of the technical proposal. The instructions imply that the cost proposals will be requested if the technical proposal is accepted.

Answer: Per page 10 of the Emergent IV BAA, “No cost or pricing information may be contained in the technical proposal.” On April 3, 2024, the Government requested a full Cost and Technical Proposal based on the White Paper submitted under Amendment 15. The Cost Proposal and the Technical Proposal are two separate documents that are required to be submitted on April 23, 2024.

Amendment 18 also states that the final date for Vendors to submit the full Technical and Cost proposal is April 23, 2024. Therefore, a Cost Proposal is required and must be submitted in accordance with Section F. Cost Proposal Information starting on Page 15 of the Emergent IV BAA.

5. All other Terms and Conditions remain unchanged.