GPD Q and A sam.gov.pdf

GPD BAA: Vendor Questions & Answers - Phase I

# Vendor Question Government Answer

Should one white paper only address one concept (mission ops, ground architecture, data dissemination/distro), or can we combine multiple concepts into a single white paper?

Offerors may submit up to two (2) white papers for each of the three (3) focus areas - one for Objective A (study) and one for Objective B (demo). NOAA will accept no more than six (6) white papers per offeror.

Offerors should present their best solutions, but if they have more than one concept for a demo/study in any given focus area, then these should be incorporated as options within one white paper. Please note that white papers are limited to five (5) pages, so it is advised to provide as much information as possible about the most viable and impressive solutions.

If an offeror has a study or demo that is expected to cover all three focus areas, they should submit a white paper specifically catering to each focus area for that study or demo. The NOAA team may be interested in the proposed solution for focus areas 1 and 2, but not focus area 3, for example.

Would a sample dataset be provided or would we need to ingest from NOAA sources? Will we be able to test our solutions against current NOAA infrastructures, policy, products, and operations?

For now, offerors should cater their white papers to what COULD BE in meeting the needs of the chosen focus area. If offerors require access to specific data sets or information in order to perform their study or demo, this should be noted in their white paper. Offerors who are invited to submit a proposal in Phase 2 of the BAA will have the opportunity to discuss what resources can be provided by NOAA to ensure successful performance of their study or demo. These resources would be provided in the event that the offeror received a contract award.

3 Is there an expectation that the study leads to a demo of capabilities?

No. There is no expectation that a study would lead to a demo. However, if you would like to provide a study for say focus area 2 and also present a different capability for focus area 2 as a demo, then that is acceptable. Just know that your study will not be considered for transition into a demo.

Present a demonstration, if that is your ultimate goal. If you are able to provide both a study and a demonstration for the same capability simultaneously, this is acceptable as well.

However, we will not be assisting a study so that it can eventually become a demonstration. We are looking for capability that is ready to be studied or demonstrated, not developing studies into demos.

Just to confirm - participating in a study will NOT prevent a team from taking the findings of the study and performing a demonstration and later full implementation? (OCI concerns)

NOAA does not envision this being a concern, as any future implementation would most likely be aggregated from the results of several studies and demonstrations. It is not anticipated that any one offeror would be responsible for creating future requirements, and exercising undue influence on the technical direction NOAA ultimately pursues.

What are the target data transmission ranges for LEO, GEO, and Deep Space missions?

The current mission data transmission rates for NOAA spacecraft are as follows:

LAGRANGE MISSIONS: 128 Kbs

GEO MISSIONS:

GOES Mission data retrieval: 75 Mb/s, GOES Rebroadcast: 31 Mb/s

LEO MISSIONS:

JPSS Mission data Retrieval 300 Mbs JPSS High Rate Data Broadcast: 25 MB/s

These figures should be multiplied by the number of spacecrafts in each category to attain the current total data rate at ingest.

These figures should be representative for future architectures as well.

Can past performance include all team members, or should it only be submitted by the Prime?

Past Performance may be submitted for other team members. However, any contracts resulting from this BAA will be issued to the Prime, so the expectation would be that the majority of past performance submitted would reflect the Prime's abilities. Please note that there is a maximum of three (3) Past Performance Questionnaires that may be submitted with each white paper, as indicated in Section 3.2 of the BAA.

Must our capability address the full scope of the requirement, or can we present partial solutions?

Partial solutions may certainly be proposed. We are going to be really open-minded about the ideas that come in. There are many parts to the Enterprise ground system, and if you got a good idea to work on one particular portion, we are certainly interested in the details of your solution.

Do you expect to leverage commercial assets to augment NOAA assets, and would that be part of the scope?

Yes, we are evaluating commercial services. We are looking to incorporate those within our ground system and enterprise where it makes sense to the government.

9 Who is the POC we should reach out to for Government to Government partnerships?

If you are referring to interest in pursuing an Interagency Agreement, this is a possible outcome of this BAA. Please submit a white paper in response to the BAA with your anticipated project, and this will be evaluated in accordance with the BAA evaluation criteria. All responses shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialists whose contact information is provided in the BAA.

For a demo, is there a preferred satellite asset or is using something fairly open like Aqua acceptable?

We have a very open mind when it comes to this BAA, and would consider looking at other assets.

What types of sensor data would be ingested into the ground processing demonstration? Would it be satellite and ground based measurements, or just satellites?

NOAA is primarily focused on the satellite data, but understands that ground data is necessary for operations.

At AMS, I believe it was contemplated that there may be four focus areas, and possibly more. Do you anticipate that there may be another round of BAAs in the future with additional focus area(s)?

This BAA specifically address 3 focus areas and two objectives. It is possible we will issue BAAs in the future that may address other areas, but there are currently no set plans to do so.

13 What is the order of importance in evaluation?

Please refer to Section 3.2 of the BAA for more details about the evaluation criteria. The Technical Merit factor is more important than the Past Performance factor. Price is the least important evaluation factor.

14 Is NOAA considering any space to ground communications?

Yes. Many options are being considered.

Can we submit a past performance reference that is an organic capability with no customers attached to it (essentially submit a past performance document without any past performance references)?

i.e. We have made an item but do not yet have any customers.

Past Performance information shall be submitted by way of the Past Performance Questionnaire provided as Attachment 1 to the BAA posting on SAM.gov. If your company does not have any customers who are able to provide a past performance reference, NOAA would assign a past performance rating of "neutral."

Are there any program dependencies that the enterprise ground solution must accommodate? For example, NESDIS Common Cloud Framework (NCCF), Operations, Maintenance and Sustainment (OMS), LEO Ground Sustainment Services

(LGSS)?

If offerors require access to specific data sets or information in order to perform their study or demo, this should be noted in their white paper.

Offerors who are invited to submit a proposal in Phase 2 of the BAA will have the opportunity to discuss what resources can be provided by NOAA to ensure successful performance of their study or demo. These resources would be provided in the event that the offeror received a contract award.

Are there any vendors that our solutions must accommodate - cloud providers, existing ground providers (Raytheon, L3H, etc.)?

If offerors require access to specific data sets or information in order to perform their study or demo, this should be noted in their white paper.

Offerors who are invited to submit a proposal in Phase 2 of the BAA will have the opportunity to discuss what resources can be provided by

NOAA to ensure successful performance of their study or demo. These resources would be provided in the event that the offeror received a contract award.

Are we expected to propose a cost in the Phase 1 white paper, or only in Phase 2?

Are there any limitations on what can be proposed for cost (e.g. FFP, CP, T&M)?

Yes, Price is one of the three evaluation factors listed in Section 3.2 of the BAA. White paper submissions that do not include a proposed price for the study or demo described therein will be considered unresponsive. In addition, NOAA requests that a ROM cost for the long-term implementation and sustainment of the proposed solution be provided, as it would be helpful for consideration. As stated in the BAA, NOAA anticipates that each contract award resulting from this BAA will be firm-fixed-price.

Can NOAA Expand on the NESDIS Ground Enterprise Study (NGES) to describe their findings in more detail? Is there a final report NOAA can provide to industry?

The Executive Summary for the NGES report should be published in June.

Is the NESDIS Common Cloud Framework (NCCF) that is being operationalized for data management late in this decade aligned with an existing cloud provider?

Does NESDIS prefer an existing cloud provider?

We are seeking Cloud provider-agnostic concepts.

Does NOAA/NESDIS prefer Objective A or Objective B or both for each focus area of the BAA responses, assuming 6-10 awards?

Either approach (study vs demo) has merit.

With the recent success of POES handover in a commercial "as a service" model, is NESDIS willing to consider an all commercial "as a service approach" for their NESDIS Ground Enterprise for 2035- 2050?

We would like to hear about such a solution. It would be a "high-bar" to meet our mission assurance needs.

To meet the proliferated constellations of the future, is NESDIS willing to consider lower Mission Assurance requirements when validating and delivering on orbit assets?

Yes. We are interested in exploring the trade space including mission assurance through a study or demo.

For Focus Area 2, does NESDIS believe that the Wideband vs Single Band Phased Arrays are the future for their mission needs? What Bands does NESDIS foresee they will need for the future?

We have no preconceived preferences or biases for phased array technology. White papers should address frequency allocations needs.

Does NOAA have a projected number of awards that you would like to see to evaluate?

As stated in the BAA, NOAA envisions making 6- 10 awards as a result of this BAA. However, the actual number of awards will be determined by the quality of the technical solutions received in the white papers, the proposed prices, and availability of funds. NOAA reserves the right to issue zero, one, or multiple contract awards.

26 Are there any limitations to partnering with foreign affiliate companies?

NOAA requires that the Prime be a U.S.-based entity. No contractual agreements are being entered into with sub-contractors or partners to the Prime, and thus NOAA will not place limitations on Prime's working with foreign affiliate companies.

For the studies or the demonstrations, is it required to consider NOAA's international partnerships?

Yes. Studies and demos should recognize NOAA's use of foreign data sources.

Are you looking at solutions where you're going to aggregate from all your commercial suppliers and then pick one?

Some of your assets are using the DSN which can require six months advanced planning. Six months in advance versus, in the next hour, are two pretty wide apart scheduling domains. Is that the kind of thing you're looking for?

We are open to all potential concepts for study or demo.

29 Is it understood that your awards are not going to be any earlier than September?

Correct. Any awards resulting from this study are anticipated to be issued in September 2023.

Is NOAA considering any space-to-ground or ground-to-space optical communications?

Yes, it is a possibility.

So, the duration of the study will be two years upon a successful short listing of all the white papers you receive. Is that a true statement?

Studies are expected to have a period of performance of anywhere from 12-24 months, and demo duration may be up to 24 months. The period of performance is to be specified by each offeror, as stated in the BAA.

32 What TRL are we expected to provide?

You may propose to study or demo concepts of various TRLs. However, white papers should address the path to TRL 7.

Should the focus of studies or demos be catered to existing technologies, or technologies that could serve the future missions?

Focus should be on the future, within the 2030- 2050 timeframe. You may propose to study or demo concepts of various TRLs. However, white papers should address the path to TRL 7.

34 Do you plan on going to a blackout period after submissions?

Yes.

Can NOAA and other Government agencies collaborate on this and other BAAs in the future?

If you are referring to interest in pursuing an Interagency Agreement, this is a possible outcome of this BAA. Please submit a white paper in response to the BAA with your anticipated project, and this will be evaluated in accordance with the BAA evaluation criteria.

Can government owned / operated antennae be made available for use in a proposed demo?

We are open to your ideas. As long as all security requirements are met, government equipment may be accessed on a non-interference basis to support a demo once a contract has been awarded.

In the past, NOAA has been risk-averse in awarding contracts to those that would go beyond legacy capabilities. Are these submissions going to be stunted by a desire to avoid risk?

No. We accept more risk in the Joint Venture program. Just know that we are also looking for viability within the proposed capability.

How is this BAA related to NOAA NESDIS Cloud-based Telemetry Processing RFI? Is this a result of the RFI or completely unrelated?

This BAA and the NOAA NESDIS Cloud-Based Telemetry Processing RFI are unrelated.

How is this BAA related to the NESDIS Common Cloud Framework (NCCF) Digital Ground Radio Processing BAA?

This BAA and the NCCF Digital Ground Radio Processing BAA are unrelated.

40 For estimating the implementation ROM, are antennas assumed to be GFE?

Any assumptions are dependent upon the offeror's proposed solution and should be outlined as such in the response.

For estimating the implementation ROM, is it acceptable to have one centralized ground processing center?

ROM costs should be predicated upon the offeror's proposed solution.

Table 3 in the solicitation references security requirements in section 2.4. Is this intended to be Section 2.2.4 Cybersecurity Requirements?

The incorrect Security Requirements section was referenced in Tables 1, 2, & 3 for the Security Requirements. Security Requirements can be found in Section 2.2.5. Please refer to Amendment 001 to the BAA, which provides these revisions in redline.

We request clarification on details of the Past Performance information submission.

The government requirements for past performance information are stated as Offerors may submit up to three (3) Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQ) for relevant projects that are in progress or completed in the past five (5) years.

Offerors shall use the PPQ template provided as Attachment 1 to this BAA.

This PPQ form includes content from both the offeror and the reference. The instructions in these questionnaires specify that the person providing the reference is required to submit the fully completed form directly to the government directly by May

22. As is standard, the “evaluator” does not send their evaluation to the offeror.

Section A of the Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) is to be completed by the offeror, as indicated on the template provided as Attachment 1 to the BAA. Once this is filled in, the PPQ should be sent to the company/individual from whom the offeror is requesting the reference, and that company/individual completes Section B of the PPQ and submits it directly to the NOAA Contract Specialists and Contracting Officer for evaluation. The evaluator does not return the PPQ to the offeror.

Can you confirm that a Past Performance submission from a commercial entity to whom our company has provided relevant services is permitted and would be considered by the Government?

Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQ) may be submitted for up to three (3) relevant projects that are in progress or have been completed in the past five (5) years.

For a government program where we are a subcontractor, is it permitted for us to request the evaluation from a government employee who oversees our activities rather than our immediate prime contractor?

Yes, that would be permitted.

46 Do our studies or demos need to be Section 508 compliant?

Rehabilitation Act Section 508 Compliance is stated as a requirement in the success criteria for the GPD Demo. Since the objective of the demonstration is a prototype, is it permitted to show that Section 508 compliance is built into the fundamental design and to demonstrate compliance features in key elements of the design? In addition, a Section 508 compliance plan would be developed. This is consistent with the definition of a prototype. A prototype does not require full compliance with all features, but rather is used to burn down risk towards the final implementation.

47 Do you anticipate a maximum team size on the engineering studies?

No.

Do you anticipate the demos to have support from NOAA, or will they be completely a solo endeavor?

If offerors require support from NOAA in order to perform their study or demo, this should be noted in their white paper. Offerors who are invited to submit a proposal in Phase 2 of the BAA will have the opportunity to discuss what resources can be provided by NOAA to ensure successful performance of their study or demo. These resources would be provided in the event that the offeror received a contract award.

49 The BAA mentions small business utilization plans. Is that only for Phase 2?

Yes, if Offerors are invited to move to Stage 2 of the BAA process, they will be required to detail any plans for small business utilization in their proposal submission. As stated in the “Eligible Offerors” section of the BAA:

"Small business subcontracting plans will be required from any large business proposals selected for negotiation or further solicitation/award in accordance with the applicable Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Commerce Acquisition Regulation (CAR), Commerce Acquisition Manual (CAM) and NOAA provisions/clauses/regulations."

The BAA requires that we notify NOAA of planned teaming agreements or partnerships. Is this for Phase 1 or Phase 2?

Please identify planned and potential teaming arrangement in the White Paper response provided in Stage 1 of the BAA process.

For Demo White Papers, how would the demonstration get executed? Is there going to be a Community Session for that? In

Demos will not be executed through a "Community Session." Your White Paper should fully explain the proposed demo.

general, how can the Offerors explain the demonstration?

If there are contractors participating and working closely with the team, how should we move forward? For example, should we get NDAs?

Yes, you might be required to sign NDAs to work with other contractors if you receive an award resulting from this BAA.

Should the White Paper be about existing technologies, or technologies that could serve the future missions? Can this include hardware or software components?

Studies or demos should take current NOAA systems and capabilities into account, but the focus should be on the future (2030-2050). They can include both hardware and software components.

We are currently on track to be NIST 800- 53 compliant, but we are not there today. Is it ok to have NIST 800-53 compliance on the roadmap or will we need to be NIST 800-53 compliant today?

You must meet all IT security requirements for the specific environment prior to connecting with our systems.

Regarding the multi-cloud discussion, do you have a high-level roadmap or strategy that can be presented? Do you have a roadmap for multi-cloud solution which does not leverage the NCCF architecture but stays compatible?

There will be a very high-level Cloud roadmap as part of the NGES Executive Summary to be published this summer.

What are the technical specs of the NESDIS-managed ground stations such as location, frequency supported, antenna aperture, etc.?

If issued an award in Stage 2 of the BAA process, NOAA would provide the offeror necessary technical data to support a study or demo.

We would like to know what NESDIS is interested in pursuing. Are there certain types of arrangements under this particular BAA? And if so, how would you suggest introducing those into the white paper?

The Government does not preclude any approach in response to this BAA. It is up to the offeror to define its approach.

Suppose if we want to build a ground infrastructure model, can we have access to internal and external interface specifications? Because we would like to have our approach to the infrastructure and have the interfaces as realistic as possible.

As a part of the BAA we are focused on identifying what commercial capabilities exist today to assist in modernizing Government Interfaces. If issued an award in Stage 2 of the BAA process, NOAA would provide necessary technical data to support a study or demo.

Is it possible to have sets of raw data, and the algorithms that are used to process? If we could have the raw data, can we process them? If we need to process the data, then we need to build into our back-end algorithms in order to process that data into a kind of a query.

If issued an award in Stage 2 of the BAA process, NOAA would provide necessary technical data to support a study or demo. As a part of the BAA, we are focused on identifying what commercial capabilities exist today to assist in modernizing Government capabilities. It is up to the offeror to identify its approach and constraints to achieving the scope of the BAA for evaluation.

Can you provide more information on the NOAA Sandbox? Will government provide access to it?

The NCCF has a designated area for development and test of new cloud-based capabilities. Access may be provided to BAA awardees based on white paper responses aligned with NESDIS objectives.

Between studies and demos, is there a particular preference as far as moving things along faster with a demo?

Preference on if the capability is mature enough?

There is no preference. We are interested in all study or demos in all three focus areas.

How open is NOAA to commercial style acquisition, strategies like assessed SAS type offering compared to the traditional government acquisition?

NOAA follows the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

As stated in the BAA, “contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, interagency agreements, or other transactions and agreements may be awarded,” but it is anticipated that each project award will result in a firm-fixed-price contract.

"The contractor shall comply with the IT Security requirements of the Department of Commerce (DOC) as outlined in Commerce Acquisition Regulation (CAR) 1352.239-72, Security Requirements for Information Technology Resources (April 2010), except that development of a Security Authorization Package in accordance with CAR 1352.239-72."

Please confirm that the following is what was intended?

Yes, refer to BAA Section 2.2.5 for additional details.

Will the government approve access to the PDA for the Development Team? This is required because the objectives for the Demo include demonstration of PDA data access.

If offerors require access to specific data sets or information in order to perform their study or demo, this should be noted in their white paper.

Offerors who are invited to submit a proposal in Phase 2 of the BAA will have the opportunity to discuss what resources can be provided by NOAA to ensure successful performance of their study or demo. These resources would be provided in the event that the offeror received a contract award.