DARPA_PS_26_137_Firefox_Attch_F_OPP_Guidelines_and_Instructions.docx

PS DARPA-PS-25-34

Firefox Attachment F – Oral Presentation Proposal (OPP) Package Guidelines and Instructions *Failure to follow the following guidance may result in an OPP package being deemed “non-conforming” and removed from consideration.*

1. OPP Submission Guidelines

All OPP packages are required to be submitted via DARPA’s Broad Agency Announcement Tool (BAAT). Please visit Proposer Instructions: General Terms and Conditions - Submission Instructions for how to submit your OPP through BAAT. Note: This is the same submission portal used for abstract submission.

2. Important Dates Important Dates:

· OPP Questions Due Date: November 2, 2026 (anticipated)

· OPP Submission Due Date: November 9, 2026, by 4:00pm ET (anticipated)

· Oral Presentation Date: By Government request, estimated one (1) week after OPP submission

3. OPP Packages All OPP packages must include the followings:

a. Title Page (.pdf):

Title page must include Proposer Name, Title, Date, Point of Contact (POC) Name, E-Mail Address, Phone, and Address. (The title page does not need to be briefed).

The proposer shall include a statement on the title page that no people on the proposer’s team(s) work for DARPA as scientific, engineering, and technical assistance (SETA), advisory and assistance services (A&AS), or similar support services on an active contract or subcontract (including those awarded through DARPA agents), as DARPA policy prohibits support contractor individuals and entities from concurrently working as research and development performers.

The proposer shall also include a statement that identifies and substantiates which of the following condition(s) are met to permit use of OTs for Prototypes in accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 4022(d)(1):

i. There is at least one nontraditional defense contractor or nonprofit research institution participating to a significant extent in the prototype project;

ii. All significant participants in the transaction other than the Federal Government are small businesses (15 U.S.C. § 638) or nontraditional defense contractors;

iii. At least one third of the total cost of the prototype project is to be paid out of funds provided by sources other than the Federal Government; or

iv. The senior procurement executive for the agency determines in writing that exceptional circumstances justify the use of a transaction that provides for innovative business arrangements or structures that would not be feasible or appropriate under a contract, or would provide an opportunity to expand the defense supply base in a manner that would not be practical or feasible under a contract.

4. Oral Presentation File (.pptx) Oral presentations should include the following information, addressed in any order: (20 minutes, slides submitted in advance):

· Facilities and teaming/personnel qualification – Describe how your prior experience and qualifications of key personnel will contribute to the technical approach. Identify and explain efforts of similar scope and complexity.

· Firefox technical approach – Provide detailed description of innovative claims and how they will achieve Firefox objectives and metrics.

· Detailed risks and mitigation plan – Demonstrate that you have clearly considered the technical risks and have well thought out mitigation plans.

· Examples of prior experience or projects in the relevant (i.e. TA1 or TA2) technical domain, and regulatory and translation experience (if any) following prototype development.

· Use Attachment G Risk Matrix to document the program risk and mitigation plan for those foreseen risks.

The oral presentation must be developed using Microsoft Powerpoint. Presentation slides are due with the rest of the required documents for OPP submission and by the due date referenced above and in the OPP invitation letter. The oral presentation slides will be briefed during oral presentation timeframe (anticipated one (1) week after OPP submission), and the briefing will not exceed 20 minutes plus 20 minutes for Q&A. A separate notification will be sent out for oral presentation registration. The Government reserves the right to record the oral presentations.

5. Other Transaction (OT) for Prototype Agreement Proposers must complete and submit the Model Other Transaction (OT) for Prototype (Attachment C) as part of the OPP. DARPA has provided the model OT in order to expedite the negotiation and award process.

The Model Other Transaction (OT) for Prototype is representative of the terms and conditions that DARPA intends to award for FIREFOX and includes the following nine (9) attachments:

· Attachment 1 Task Description Document

· Attachment 2 Report Requirements

· Attachment 3 Schedule of Milestones and Payments (DARPA will use information from Attachment E Schedule of Milestones and Payments to populate this document)

· Attachment 4 Agreement Officer’s Representative Appointment Memo

· Attachment 5 Certifications for Agreement

· Attachment 6 Property and Equipment list (applicable for assets over $10K)

· Attachment X Performer Attestation (DARPA will work with Performer to populate.)

· Attachment X Associate Performer Agreement (as applicable)

· Attachment X Intellectual Property Assertions (as applicable)

Proposers may suggest edits to the model OT for consideration by DARPA by providing a copy of the model OT with tracked changes as part of their proposal package. Please note that suggested edits may not be accepted by DARPA.

It is expected that the effort will leverage all available relevant prior research in order to obtain the maximum benefit from the available funding.

The Government reserves the right to remove a proposal from award consideration should the parties fail to reach agreement on OT award terms and conditions. If edits to the model OT are not provided as part of the proposal package, DARPA assumes that the proposer has reviewed and accepted the award terms and conditions as written. If so, proposers should indicate agreement (in principle) with the listed terms and conditions applicable to the specific award instrument. DARPA explicitly reserves the right to terminate awards if negotiations are not completed in a timely manner.

6. Determination of Process Improvements, Creating Value via OT for Prototype Agreement Vehicle:

Proposers are required to provide answers to all of the following questions as part of the Oral Presentation Package (Please note these will not be presented during the oral presentation and will be reviewed whether presented or not. Further, the answers to the questions are not subject to any oral presentation evaluation criteria). Questions to be answered are as follows:

1. Please provide your understanding of current technology in this space, and how it has informed or influenced your proposed technical solution.

2. How does your proposed solution deliver increased capability beyond what is possible today?

3. How would your proposed solution, if successful, enable federal entities to do that they cannot already?

a. How much time and money could the DoD / Federal Government save when compared to the current state of technology?

b. What future value does this technology offer to the DoD / Federal Government?

c. What commercial best practices or processes do you plan to instantiate to deliver value to the Government?

4. How would your proposed solution, if successful, enable the commercial markets to do that they cannot already?

a. What future value does this technology offer to the commercial sector?

b. Is your solution disruptive to the market, or does it provide incremental improvements to current practices?

5. Detail the technical risks in your proposal to be solved under the DARPA program. How does DARPA engaging in this program accelerate the timeline for value, schedule, technical debt, and transition to commercial or DoD marketplaces?

6. Proposers are free to provide further detail outside of the answers to the above questions as to why and how an OT allows for the Government to realize cost savings and thereby create added value.

7. Cost Spreadsheet and Milestone Schedule

a. Cost Spreadsheet: Proposers must fully complete the DARPA Cost Spreadsheet (Attachment D) for FIREFOX for all phases (Phases 1, 2 and 3) and must include the following:

· All Prime AND subcontractors must fill out a cost spreadsheet for all three (3) phases. Ensure that totals for subcontractor cost spreadsheets match the associated costs in the Prime’s cost spreadsheet.

· Proposed costs for each phase must be delineated and provide sufficient details for DARPA to conduct cost assessment for reasonableness. Support documentation are required to support 100% of ODC and equipment, and 60% of materials and supplies.

· For proposals that contain cost share, the proposer should provide sufficient rationale as to the appropriateness of the cost share arrangement relative to the objectives of the proposed solution (e.g. high likelihood of commercial application, etc.).

b. Milestones: The milestone tabs provide instructions and document the core payable milestones for FIREFOX Program, and they are included under Attachment E Schedule of Milestones and Payments. Per the PS, proposers may recommend additional milestones as deemed necessary to inform programmatic decisions to accomplish the program’s goals, which will be negotiated for award. Review the instructions under Attachment E carefully if additional payable milestones are being proposed.

In an Other Transaction (OT) for Prototype awards, milestones represent a complete event. Milestone schedule is based on key observable events on the critical path to accomplish program objectives. Payable milestones are technically, relevant, tangible events/tasks/items (a report, completion of a task, reaching an intermediate or final metric) on the critical path for which there is a deliverable and payment is rendered by DARPA. Fixed payable milestones are payments based on successful completion of the payable milestones as agreed to within the milestone plan and documented within the Schedule of Milestone and Payment (Attachment E: Schedule of Milestones and Payments).

8. OPP Evaluation

a. Evaluation Criteria: OPP/oral presentation evaluation criteria are listed in descending order of importance and will remain unchanged in the formal invitation to submit a OPP. Individual presentations will be evaluated against the evaluation criteria described below:

· Technical Approach: The proposed technical approach is innovative, feasible, achievable, and complete. The proposal demonstrates an innovative yet feasible approach to address the identified technical risks and challenges to meet program metrics.

· Relevant Qualifications: Personnel and/or company demonstrate the ability to meet the technical goals of the program, provide examples of past performance or projects in the relevant technical domain (i.e. TA1 or TA2), and key personnel must have established records of executing complex hardware/software prototype development.

· Budget: The proposed solution is reasonable, realistic, and practical use of the allotted funding. The proposed payment milestone structure must align with logical technical gates and physical deliverable handoffs.

The Government reserves the right to record presentations. The Government will rely on information provided in the oral presentation, attachments, and Q&A session as basis for evaluation. Oral presentation will be evaluated by the Firefox Program Manager with support from SETA subject matter experts (SMEs). Oral presentation slides that are not orally presented by the proposer within the allocated time interval will not be evaluated. There is no formal page limit on the number of slides or attachments.

After completing evaluation of oral presentations, DARPA will: 1) negotiate a 12-month award for Phase 1 of the program and options for Phases 2 and 3; or 2) inform the proposer that its proposed concept/solution is not of continued interest to the Government, and they are no longer considered for the program. If DARPA does not intend to issue an award for the effort to a proposer, DARPA will provide feedback to the proposer regarding the rationale for this decision.

b. Review and Selection: DARPA’s policy is to ensure impartial, equitable, and comprehensive proposal evaluations based on the evaluation criteria listed above and to select the source (or sources) whose proposal meets the Government's technical, policy, and programmatic goals. DARPA will conduct a review of each conforming OPP. All OPP evaluations will be based solely on the evaluation criteria.

Using the applicable evaluation criteria, the Government will evaluate each OPP in its entirety, documenting the strengths and weaknesses relative to the evaluation criteria. Based on the identified strengths and weaknesses, DARPA will determine whether an OPP is selectable. DARPA will not evaluate individual submissions against each other during the scientific review process, but rather evaluate each individual submission on its own merit to determine how well the proposal meets the criteria stated in this PS.

DARPA may make an award to a proposer whose OPP is determined to be selectable by the Government, consistent with applicable instructions and evaluation criteria and based on availability of funding. Given the limited funding available, not all proposals considered selectable may be selected for a potential award.

For the purposes of this proposal evaluation process, DARPA defines a “selectable” OPP as follows:

• Selectable: A selectable OPP is one that the Government has evaluated against the OPP evaluation criteria, and the positive aspects outweigh the negative aspects.

For the purposes of this proposal evaluation process, DARPA defines a “non-selectable” OPP as follows:

• Non-Selectable: A non-selectable OPP is one that the Government has evaluated against the OPP evaluation criteria, and the positive aspects do not outweigh the negative aspects.