Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO)_RFI DRAFT.pdf

DRAFT

Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO)

N66604-26-9-XXXX

Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC)

SECTION 1 – INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background and Authority

The Naval Undersea Warfare Center is responsible for delivering undersea warfare (USW) capability that enables decisive warfighting advantage to the Fleet. NUWC is expanding Tactical Oceanography (TAC-O) prototyping efforts that include the development of new onboard and offboard environmental sensors and devices that build operator situational awareness and information systems that enable operators to increase performance of existing systems through expert use of the environment. NUWC requires technical expertise and support in the areas of oceanography, ocean acoustics, non-acoustics, USW system simulation, experimentation, prototype sensor and device development, systems engineering, operations research and analysis, and submarines tactics. These technical expertise and services are required to support research and development efforts associated with improving USW with existing systems, informing the next generation attack submarine and enabling the hybrid Fleet. The TAC-O team will conduct research and development that spans from concept development through experimentation and prototypes fully integrated into Navy platforms and tested at sea.

NUWC utilizes Other Transaction Agreements (OTA or Agreements) under the authority of 10 U.S.C. § 4022 to partner with nontraditional and traditional defense contractors and non-profit research institutions to carry out prototype projects that are directly relevant to enhancing the mission effectiveness of military personnel and the supporting platforms, systems, components, or materials proposed to be acquired or developed by the DoD, or the improvement of platforms, systems, components, or materials in use by the armed forces. The information provided in this Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) is intended to ensure that to the maximum extent practicable, competitive procedures are used when entering into agreements to carry out these prototype projects.

The Government intends to award OTA Agreements of up to $20,000,000

1.2 CSO Procedure

This CSO is a competitive solicitation seeking proposals for commercial technologies and the modeling, simulation and data analysis that would lead to viable commercial technologies that accelerate attainment of defense capabilities. This CSO will result in the award of prototype projects, which include not only commercially-available technologies fueled by commercial or strategic investment, but also concept demonstrations, pilots, and agile development activities that can incrementally improve commercial technologies, existing Government-owned capabilities, or concepts for defense application.

The CSO is soliciting Solution Briefs in response to the attached Statement of Work (SOW).

The award decision will be determined based on the Government's evaluation of each Offeror's Solution Brief against the evaluation factors identified below in Section 3. Solution Briefs submitted in response to the SOW shall be submitted as specified in Section 3 of this CSO. The Government will not pay Companies for the costs associated with Solution Brief submissions.

Those Companies whose Solution Brief are evaluated to be of merit will be awarded a Prototype OTA, if funding is available.

SECTION 2 – DEFINITIONS

“Commercial Solutions Opening” (CSO) is a method for employing the prototyping authority under 10 U.S.C. § 4022.

"Other Transaction for Prototype Projects” refers to the type of Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) that may be awarded as a result of this CSO. This type of OTA is authorized by 10 U.S.C.

§ 4022 for prototype projects directly relevant to enhancing the mission effectiveness of military personnel and the supporting platforms, systems, components, or materials proposed to be acquired or developed by the DoD, or for the improvement of platforms, systems, components, or materials in use by the armed forces. This type of OTA is treated by DoD as an acquisition instrument, commonly referred to as an "other transaction" for a prototype project or a Section 4022 "other transaction".

“Prototype Project” can generally be described as a proof of concept, model, reverse engineering to address obsolescence, pilot, novel application of commercial technologies for defense purposes, agile development activity, creation, design, development, demonstration of technical or operational utility, or combinations of the foregoing. A process, including a business process, may be the subject of a prototype project. Although assistance terms are generally not appropriate in OTA, ancillary work efforts that are necessary for completion of the prototype project, such as test site training or limited logistics support, may be included in prototype projects. A prototype may be physical, virtual, or conceptual in nature. The quantity should generally be limited to that needed to prove technical or manufacturing feasibility or evaluate military utility.

“Nontraditional Defense Contractor” is defined in 10 U.S.C. § 2302(9) as an entity that is not currently performing and has not performed, for at least the one-year period preceding the solicitation of sources by the DoD for the procurement or transaction, any contract or subcontract for the DoD that is subject to full coverage under the cost accounting standards prescribed pursuant to 41 U.S.C. § 1502 and the regulations implementing such section. This includes all small business concerns under the criteria and size standards in 13 C.F.R. § 121).

“Nonprofit Institution” means a nonprofit institution, as defined in 15 U.S.C. § 3703 as an organization owned and operated exclusively for scientific or educational purposes, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.

“Small Business” is defined under Section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)

SECTION 3 - GUIDELINES FOR SOLUTION BRIEFS

3.1 General Guidelines

1. Unnecessarily elaborate proposals are not desired.

2. Use of a diagram(s) or figure(s) to depict the essence of the proposed solution is strongly encouraged.

4. The period of performance for any Solution Brief or proposal submitted under this CSO should generally be no greater than 5 years.

5. Technical data with military application may require appropriate approval, authorization, or license for lawful exportation.

6. The attached SOWs specify work at three (3) different classification levels: Unclassified/CUI, Secret, and TS/CSI. Solution Briefs submitted at the appropriate level. Please reference the attached corresponding form DD-254.

7. Solution Briefs containing data that is not to be disclosed to the public for any purpose or used by the Government except for evaluation purposes shall include the following sentences on the cover page:

“This Solution Brief includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government, except to non-Government personnel for evaluation purposes, and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed -- in whole or in part -- for any purpose other than to evaluate this submission. If, however, an agreement is awarded to this Company as a result of --or in connection with – the submission of this data, the Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent agreed upon by both parties in the resulting agreement. This restriction does not limit the Government's right to use the information contained in this data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained in sheets [insert numbers or other identification of sheets]”

Each restricted data sheet should be marked as follows:

“Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject to the restriction on the title page of this proposal.”

7. Foreign-Owned businesses may independently submit a solution or do so as part of a teaming arrangement with one or more United States-Owned businesses. However, the ability to obtain an agreement based upon a submission may depend upon the ability of the Foreign-Owned business to obtain necessary clearances and approvals to obtain proscribed information.

8. Submissions must be submitted electronically via email to the following Government Point of Contact (POC): Julianna Ricci – julianna.b.ricci.civ@us.navy.mil.:

9. Submissions sent through other channels or after the solicitation period has ended will not be reviewed nor evaluated.

SOLUTION BRIEF CONTENT

Solution Briefs should not exceed five (5) written pages using 11-point font or, alternatively, Solution Briefs may take the form of briefing slides which should not exceed fifteen (15). These limits are not requirements but are strongly recommended.

Title Page (does not count against page limit)

Company Name, Title, Date, Point of Contact Name, E-Mail Address, Phone, and Address.

Executive Summary (one page)

Provide an executive summary of the technology.

Technology Concept

Describe the unique aspects of your technology, the modeling and data analysis methodology to arrive at a technology, and the proposed work. Identify how it will improve the performance of USW system(s) through use of the ocean environment and the proposed technology. Describe the Navy standard oceanography models, data, tools, and USW simulation tools that will be used to either inform the technology or as part of the technology itself. Identify whether the effort includes the pilot or demonstration of existing commercial technology (identified as commercially ready and viable technology), or the development of technology for potential defense application. If development or adaptation is proposed, identify a suggested path to mature the technology. Identify aspects which may be considered proprietary.

Company

Provide a brief overview of the company, including facilities to complete the proposed work.

PHASE 1: SOLUTION BRIEF BASIS OF EVALUATION

All solution briefs correctly submitted will be evaluated against the stated criteria below.

Solution Briefs will be evaluated on the basis of the merit of the proposed concept in addressing the SOW, not against other Solution Briefs submitted in response to this CSO.

1) Technical merit and feasibility of the solution to address the requirements in the SOW.

Describe the background and objectives of the proposed work, the approach, deliverables, and the resources needed to execute it. Include the nature and extent of the anticipated results.

Identify the type of support, if any, the Company requests of the Government in general such as facilities, equipment, data, and information or materials.

2) Past Performance.

The Offeror shall provide at least one (1) past performance reference, if available, that reflect recent relevant experience performed within the last three (3) years of the closing date of the solicitation. The past performance reference shall demonstrate the Offeror’s ability to manage and execute the scope and breadth of the tasking in the SOW.

Each past performance reference shall not exceed two (2) pages per reference, for a total of six

(6) pages. This page count is not included in the 5-page limit. If none or fewer than (3) recent, relevant references are available, the Offeror shall submit a statement indicating as such.

3) Potential impact of data rights assertions. The Solution Brief will identify any IP involved in the effort and associated restrictions on the Government’s use of that IP.

4) Facilities.

5) Offerors are encouraged to provide a rough order of magnitude (ROM) price. However, price will not be considered as an evaluation factor for the Solution Briefs.

During the evaluation phase the Government may request the Company provide additional information/detail with respect to the Solution Brief.

Upon completion of evaluations, the Government will notify the Company that: (1) the proposed concept/technology/solution has been selected for possible award of a Prototype OTA; (2) the proposed concept/technology/solution is not of interest to the Government; or (3) the proposed concept/technology/solution is of interest, but not eligible for an Agreement due to availability of Government resources but will be placed in the basket for possible future award.

SECTION 4 – AWARDS

4.1 General Guidelines

Upon favorable review and available funds, the Government may choose to make an award.

Awards will be made using OTAs. The Agreements Officer will negotiate directly with the Company on the terms and conditions of the OTA, including payments, and will execute the OTA on behalf of the Government. Only an Agreements Officer has the authority to enter into, or modify, a binding agreement on behalf of the Government.

Companies must have a Dunn and Bradstreet (DUNS) number and must register in the System for Award Management (SAM) to receive an award. Companies are advised to commence SAM registration upon receipt of an RPP.

Companies must also register in the prescribed Government invoicing system (e.g. Wide Area Work Flow).

The Company must be determined to be responsible by the Agreements Officer and must not be suspended or debarred from award by the Federal Government nor be prohibited by Presidential Executive Order and/or law from receiving award.

4.2 Comptroller General Access to Information

In projects that provide for payments in a total amount in excess of $5,000,000, the Agreement will include a mandatory clause that provides for the Comptroller General the ability to examine the records of any party to the agreement or any entity that participates in the performance of the agreement.

4.3 Procurement Integrity Act (PIA)

As required by 10 U.S.C. §4022(h), all Agreements awarded under this CSO shall be treated as Federal Agency procurements for purpose of 41 U.S.C. Chapter 21. Accordingly, the CSO competitive solicitation process and awards made thereof must adhere to the ethical standards required by the PIA.

SECTION 6 - FULL PROPOSALS

After award of the Agreement, the Government may issue the Company a Request for Project Proposal (RPP) specific to a Collaborative Task Instruction (CTI). Receipt of an RPP does not guarantee that a Company will receive an award. The Government reserves the right, at any point prior to award of an OTA, to cancel the RPP.

If an RPP is provided, the Company will be invited to develop and submit a full written proposal and negotiate appropriate terms and conditions governing the prototype project. Companies may discuss ideas and details of the proposal during the proposal writing process with the Government. Each proposal submitted shall consist of two sections: Section 1 shall provide the technical proposal; Section 2 shall address the price/cost/schedule portions of the proposal.

Specifics on a CTI will be provided at the time of RPP.

These proposals will be assessed by NUWC subject matter experts. Companies may propose their own internal terms and conditions (e.g., Service License Agreements (SLA) and/or User License Agreements (ULA)) to be considered during negotiations with the Government.

Companies should note that there are certain terms and conditions the Government is unable to accept. However, projects awarded through the CSO are flexible to adopt customary industry standards where it is otherwise legal and where it meets the Government’s needs.

SECTION 5 - ITERATIVE PROTOTYPING

Prototype OTAs awarded against this CSO will allow for an iterative prototyping process.

An iterative prototyping process will allow the Government to modify, by mutual agreement, the work in a prototype project to allow the adaptation and modification of the technology being prototyped to meet additional unique and discrete purposes/mission sets. These additional unique and discrete purposes/mission sets can be generated by the original Government customer or originate with other organizations within the Federal Government.

SECTION 6 – FOLLOW-ON PRODUCTION

Upon successful completion of a prototype project under the OTA, the Government and Company may negotiate a follow-on production contract or agreement without further competition. Any concept/technology/solution successfully proven through a Prototype OTA can be transitioned to production.

The Agreement provided under this CSO and Prototype OTAs awarded includes language providing for the potential award of a follow-on production contract or agreement as authorized under 10 U.S.C. §4022(f). Individual CSO prototype OTAs will explicitly identify follow-on Prototype OTAs as a potential outcome of a successful prototyping effort.

SECTION 7 – SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION

A transaction for a prototype project is complete upon the written determination of the appropriate approving official (Agreement Officer) for the matter in question that efforts conducted under a Prototype OTA: (1) met the key technical goals of a project; (2) satisfied success metrics incorporated into the Prototype OTA; or (3) accomplished a particularly favorable or unexpected result that justifies the transition to production.

Furthermore, successful completion can occur prior to the conclusion of a prototype project to allow the Government to transition any aspect of the prototype project determined to provide utility into production while other aspects of the prototype project have yet to be completed. Any Prototype OTA shall contain a provision that sets forth the conditions under which that prototype agreement must be successfully completed.