TA BAA 10-41 Mod2.pdf

DARPA TRANFORMATIVE APPS

Broad Agency Announcement

DARPA‐BAA‐10‐41

March 30, 2010

AMENDED

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency 3701 North Fairfax Drive Arlington, VA 22203-1714

Table of Contents

Part One: Overview Information

Part Two: Full Text of Announcement

Sec. I. - Funding Opportunity Description

Sec. II. - Award Information

Sec. III. - Eligibility Information Eligible Applicants Procurement Integrity, Standards of Conduct, Ethical Considerations, and Organizational Conflicts of Interest Cost Sharing and Matching

Sec. IV. - Application and Submission Information Address to Request Application Package Content and Form of Application Submission Submission Dates and Times Funding Restrictions Other Submission Requirements

Sec. V. - Application Review Information Evaluation Criteria Review and Recommendation Process

Sec. VI. - Award Administration Information Abstract Encourage/Discourage Award Notices Administrative and National Policy Requirements Reporting

Sec. VII. - Agency Contacts

Sec. VIII. - Other Information Intellectual Property Solicitation Web Site

DARPA TRANSFORMATIVE APPS PROGRAM – BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT – MARCH 30, 2010 2

Part One: Overview Information

• Federal Agency Name – Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

(DARPA)

• Funding Opportunity Title – Transformative Apps

• Announcement Type – Initial Broad Agency Announcement

• Funding Opportunity Number – Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)

DARPA-BAA-10-41

• Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers (CFDA) – 12.910 Research and Technology Development

• Dates o Posting Date: See announcement at www.fbo.gov o Abstracts

Due Date – 1200 noon (ET), 17 March 2010 o Proposals Initial Closing – 1200 noon (ET), 26 April 2010

Final Closing – 1200 noon (ET), 30 August 2010

• Anticipated Individual Awards – Multiple awards are anticipated.

• Types of Instruments That May Be Awarded – Procurement contract, grant, cooperative agreement or other transaction.

• Technical POC – Dr. Mari Maeda, Program Manager, DARPA o EMAIL: DARPA-BAA-10-41@darpa.mil o FAX: (703) 248-1880 o ATTN: DARPA-BAA-10-41

DARPA TRANSFORMATIVE APPS PROGRAM – BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT – MARCH 30, 2010 3

mailto:DARPA-BAA-10-41@darpa.mil

Part Two: Full Text of Announcement

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting proposals for innovative research in the area of tactical application development, evaluation, and enhancements.

Introduction

Today’s military handhelds, and the supporting network infrastructure, are designed to be highly robust and secure. Unfortunately, they are also fairly inflexible and very costly.

New applications, and modifications to existing applications, can take years to field.

Development is hampered by tight integration of hardware and software that is often generations behind commercial technology. Further complicating matters is the standard DoD practice to segregate users, requirements, and procurement in a highly disciplined process which does not permit a quick reaction in the face of rapidly changing user needs.

The goal of the Transformative Apps program is to place the right mobile software applications (“apps”) into the hands of warfighters as the apps are needed. As a result of this program, a diverse array of apps of national security relevance will be realized using an innovative new development and acquisition process. A military apps marketplace will be created to enable rapid innovation to meet user needs based on a direct collaboration between a vibrant and highly competitive development community and involved communities of end-users. The program will address all the challenges – technical, business, and operational – faced to make the new capabilities available for use in the field. The end objective is to transition the resulting systems to the end users in the Services, and to foster a new model for rapidly and effectively acquiring, introducing, maintaining, and enhancing software.

The starting point of the program will build on commercial standards and practices with military-specific modifications in order to produce secure, affordable, and rapidly deployable solutions for the warfighters. As an effort to reduce costs and expedite initial

DARPA TRANSFORMATIVE APPS PROGRAM – BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT – MARCH 30, 2010 4

development, the program will leverage existing commercial handhelds for the initial development efforts and subsequent evaluations. Total cost is a very important consideration in the program. The end goal will result in the handheld devices and apps broadly available to the lowest military echelons, a user base comprising of hundreds of thousands of individuals. Current commercial smartphone marketplaces have demonstrated several characteristics consistent and essential to meeting this goal including: a low barrier to entry for new application innovators; transparency allowing developers and users to discover and test out apps; open development environments; and a compensation model that is tied to end-user utility and adoption. Most importantly, the commercial marketplace does not rely solely on a requirement driven process, but instead rewards its developers for producing innovative applications.

A centralized marketplace for military apps will be created which will include infrastructure allowing collaboration and innovation between the development and end-user communities. Since it is of key importance that the resulting apps meet the evolving requirements of the field, the end-users will be included in the innovation process to allow them to screen the initial applications and guide the ongoing software enhancements. Some of the most successfully fielded systems have relied on this style of interactive user feedback. For example, enhancements to the DARPA-developed TIGR system are guided by direct user feedback from end-users in Afghanistan and Iraq. The marketplace infrastructure will nurture the dynamic innovation process, allowing military users to communicate new ideas easily and openly with one another and with the development community at large. We intend to support both frequent user workshops and beta testing of apps by a significant number of users both inside and outside the continental United States. Mechanisms for collecting feedback from the end-users and detailed application usage statistics will also be put in place.

Initially, at least two distinct repositories are envisioned: one holding beta apps that are queued for initial app evaluations, and a separate repository holding apps that have been vetted, certified and approved for use. While the certification process will ultimately involve government organizations, new tools and ideas are needed to streamline and effectively evaluate and mitigate security risks, network impacts etc.

As part of creating the military apps marketplace, we will be aggressively exploring business models that can support this effort and are alternatives to the traditional acquisition paradigm. While many of the apps developed for this program may have originated through a contract from the government (through this BAA or other vehicles), we are strongly encouraging participation from nontraditional sources by lowering the existing barriers to entry (e.g. long proposal writing, DOD contracting). New business arrangements and processes will be created that encourage broad participation from numerous development teams. We will explore appropriate rewards for the developers that are based on number of downloads, usage statistics or other measures of value to end-users. The program will also explore alternative models for sustaining and enhancing the software in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

DARPA TRANSFORMATIVE APPS PROGRAM – BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT – MARCH 30, 2010 5

Military use of information technology poses additional unique challenges. Tactical networks are significantly less reliable than commercial networks. Issues such as frequent link disconnections, as well as limited bandwidth availability, must be taken into consideration when designing application services and backend architectures.

Applications will not be able to connect reliably to large centralized servers, but instead will need to rely on distributed compute/storage nodes in vehicles or outposts. Critical aspects of security vulnerabilities must also be carefully examined, taking into account tradeoffs in usability, performance, and complexity. The program will leverage state-of-the-art commercial enterprise security and overlay DoD-specific security enhancements as required.

DARPA seeks proposals for new and innovative technologies in the following Areas of Interest.

Apps Marketplace Architecture A new architecture for apps marketplace and collaboration infrastructure is required. Of particular interest are: tools and processes (spanning the range from automated code validation tools to quality assurance management processes) to be used in vetting new apps, social networking platforms for promoting innovation and idea sharing between users and developers, schemes to incentivize user feedback and participation, and new business models for creating and maintaining apps.

Applications Development DARPA is seeking applications to fill a diverse set of needs, including the tactical battlefield, humanitarian missions, disaster recovery, and other mission areas. Example functionalities include command and control, reporting, mission planning, intelligence/ surveillance/ reconnaissance, real-time collaboration, geospatial visualization, analysis, language translation, training, and logistics tracking. For the initial implementation, all apps should target an open source mobile platform. Special attention must be paid to the apps’ user interfaces and usability functions, as well as striving towards general simplicity and ease-of-use. While some apps will function without network access (except for occasional synchronization or updates), other apps may require more consistent network connectivity. For apps that rely heavily on network connectivity, the emphasis must be placed on minimal bandwidth consumption and application robustness in spite of frequent network disconnection. In all cases, any server infrastructure requirements needed to support the apps should be included as part of the proposal.

Middleware Services and Libraries Middleware services and libraries are required to facilitate shared capabilities and accelerate app development. Examples technologies include map viewing, time services, data synchronization, speech recognition, information assurance, peer-to-peer services, and apps management. Of particular importance are middleware and tools to enable secure, robust operation of apps on tactical networks in spite of limited backend computing/storage resources and dynamically changing connectivity. Data compression, DARPA TRANSFORMATIVE APPS PROGRAM – BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT – MARCH 30, 2010 6 synchronization, pre-fetch and caching will play a key role in many of the applications.

Tools for monitoring, managing and analyzing individual apps and network traffic will also be developed as part of this program.

Network Infrastructure An affordable, robust, and secure mobile tactical network capability compatible with commercial smartphones will be developed. Infrastructure kits that allow for light-weight mobile base stations need to be easily deployed in multiple variants (e.g. for a large fixed site location, an outpost, a vehicle on-the-move or at- the-halt) and will be used to reach mobile dismounted users. The program will leverage, to the greatest extent possible, commercial components and standards and focus on demonstrating “good enough” solutions with appropriate security and functionality enhancements for tactical users.

Non-developmental commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware should be favored when available. The nodes must be sufficiently low-cost and affordable for wide deployment to the lowest tactical echelons and have a desired target network node cost of $5,000 per vehicle. Solutions that build on open cellular standards (3GPP) should be considered as well as open source implementations of those standards (e.g. OpenBTS). Methods to support network backhaul and beyond line-of-sight links should also be explored.

Proposals should describe the hardware and software design, trade-offs in cost/size/reach/power, and approaches in network discovery, control, provisioning and management, routing and inter-networking. Special attention must be given to the software modifications required to address key security vulnerabilities in commercial devices and wireless networks. If hardware modifications are recommended, a justification must be clearly articulated and the approach must be consistent with the program goal of affordable per-unit cost and rapid execution. The Transformative Apps program will primarily focus on the use of apps in unclassified environments and networks. Any efforts that specifically focus on enabling apps on classified networks should be described as part of options.

Other Considerations DARPA is also interested in proposals outside the Areas of Interest described above, including vulnerability analysis, security architecture, and other topics related to apps development and deployment. The following are additional considerations for the proposers:

• Proposed schedules should be very aggressive, with initial proof-of-concept demonstration targeted within the first 6 months, and iterative enhancements thereafter.

• Proposers should submit separate proposals if they are interested in more than one Area of Interest.

• Proposals with efforts involving development of multiple apps (or multiple services) should describe each of the apps (or services) in separate tasks that are individually costed out or, alternatively, write separate proposals.

DARPA TRANSFORMATIVE APPS PROGRAM – BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT – MARCH 30, 2010 7

• An organization that is proposing to implement an apps store will be expected to maintain full fairness and impartiality, and hence are strongly discouraged from developing apps under this BAA.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) often selects its research efforts through the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) process. This BAA is being issued, and any resultant selection for negotiation and/or award will be made, using procedures under FAR Part 35.016. Proposals received as a result of this BAA shall be evaluated in accordance with evaluation criteria specified herein through a scientific review process. The BAA will appear on the Federal Business Opportunities website, http://www.fedbizopps.gov/, and the Grants.gov website at http://www.grants.gov/. The following information is for those wishing to respond to the BAA.

II. AWARD INFORMATION

Multiple awards are anticipated. The amount of resources made available under this BAA will depend on the quality of the proposals received and the availability of funds.

The Government reserves the right to select for negotiation all, some, one, or none of the proposals received in response to this solicitation, and to make awards without discussions with proposers. The Government also reserves the right to conduct discussions if it is later determined to be necessary. If warranted, portions of resulting awards may be segregated into pre-priced options. Additionally, DARPA reserves the right to accept proposals in their entirety or to select only portions of proposals for award.

In the event that DARPA desires to award only portions of a proposal, negotiations may be opened with that proposer. The Government reserves the right to fund proposals in phases with options for continued work at the end of one or more of the phases.

Awards under this BAA will be made to proposers on the basis of the evaluation criteria listed below (see section V - Application Review Information), and program balance to provide overall value to the Government. Proposals identified for negotiation may result in a procurement contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or other transaction depending upon the nature of the work proposed, the required degree of interaction between parties, and other factors. The Government reserves the right to request any additional, necessary documentation once it makes the award instrument determination. Such additional information may include, but is not limited to, Representations and Certifications. The Government reserves the right to remove proposers from award consideration should the parties fail to reach agreement on award terms, conditions and cost/price within a reasonable time or the proposer fails to timely provide requested additional information.

As of the date of publication of this BAA, DARPA expects that program goals for this BAA may be met by proposers intending to perform 'fundamental research,' i.e., basic and applied research in science and engineering, the results of which ordinarily are published and shared broadly within the scientific community, as distinguished from proprietary research and from industrial development, design, production, and product

DARPA TRANSFORMATIVE APPS PROGRAM – BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT – MARCH 30, 2010 8

http://www.fedbizopps.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ utilization the results of which ordinarily are restricted for proprietary or national security reasons. Notwithstanding this statement of expectation, DARPA is not prohibited from considering and selecting research proposals that, while perhaps not qualifying as 'fundamental research' under the foregoing definition, still meet the BAA criteria for submissions. In all cases, the contracting officer shall have sole discretion to select award instrument type and to negotiate all instrument provisions with selectees.

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Applicants

All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit a proposal that shall be considered by DARPA. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Small Businesses, Small Disadvantaged Businesses and Minority Institutions (MIs) are encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals; however, no portion of this announcement will be set aside for these organizations’ participation due to the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable areas of this research for exclusive competition among these entities.

Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and Government entities (Government/National laboratories, military educational institutions, etc.) are subject to applicable direct competition limitations and cannot propose to this BAA in any capacity unless they meet the following conditions. FFRDCs must clearly demonstrate that the work is not otherwise available from the private sector AND they also provide a letter on letterhead from their sponsoring organization citing the specific authority establishing their eligibility to propose to government solicitations and compete with industry, and compliance with the associated FFRDC sponsor agreement and terms and conditions. This information is required for FFRDCs proposing to be prime or subcontractors. Government entities must clearly demonstrate that the work is not otherwise available from the private sector and provide written documentation citing the specific statutory authority (as well as, where relevant, contractual authority) establishing their ability to propose to Government solicitations. At the present time, DARPA does not consider 15 U.S.C. 3710a to be sufficient legal authority to show eligibility. While 10 U.S.C. 2539b may be the appropriate statutory starting point for some entities, specific supporting regulatory guidance, together with evidence of agency approval, will still be required to fully establish eligibility. DARPA will consider eligibility submissions on a case-by-case basis; however, the burden to prove eligibility for all team members rests solely with the Proposer.

Foreign participants and/or individuals may participate to the extent that such participants comply with any necessary Non-Disclosure Agreements, Security Regulations, Export Control Laws, and other governing statutes applicable under the circumstances.

Applicants considering classified submissions (or requiring access to classified information during the life-cycle of the program) shall ensure all industrial, personnel, DARPA TRANSFORMATIVE APPS PROGRAM – BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT – MARCH 30, 2010 9 and information system processing security requirements are in place and at the appropriate level (e.g., Facility Clearance (FCL), Personnel Security Clearance (PCL), certification and accreditation (C&A)) and any Foreign Ownership Control and Influence (FOCI) issues are mitigated prior to such submission or access. Additional information on these subjects can be found at: www.dss.mil.

1. Procurement Integrity, Standards of Conduct, Ethical Considerations, and

Organizational Conflicts of Interest

Current federal employees are prohibited from participating in particular matters involving conflicting financial, employment, and representational interests (18 USC 203, 205, and 208.). The DARPA Program Manager for this BAA is Dr. Mari Maeda.

Once the proposals have been received, and prior to the start of proposal evaluations, the Government will assess potential conflicts of interest in regards to the DARPA Program Manager, as well as those individuals chosen to evaluate proposals received under this BAA, and will promptly notify the proposer if any appear to exist. (Please note the Government assessment does NOT affect, offset, or mitigate the proposer’s own duty to give full notice and planned mitigation for all potential organizational conflicts, as discussed below.)

All proposers and proposed subcontractors must affirm whether they are providing scientific, engineering, and technical assistance (SETA) or similar support to any DARPA technical office(s) through an active contract or subcontract. All affirmations must state which office(s) the proposer supports and identify the prime contract numbers.

Affirmations shall be furnished at the time of proposal submission. All facts relevant to the existence or potential existence of organizational conflicts of interest (FAR 9.5) must be disclosed. The disclosure shall include a description of the action the proposer has taken or proposes to take to avoid, neutralize, or mitigate such conflict. In accordance with FAR 9.503 and without prior approval or a waiver from the DARPA Director, a Contractor cannot simultaneously be a SETA and Performer. Proposals that fail to fully disclose potential conflicts of interests and/or do not have plans to mitigate this conflict will be rejected without technical evaluation and withdrawn from further consideration for award.

If a prospective proposer believes that any conflict of interest exists or may exist (whether organizational or otherwise), the proposer should promptly raise the issue with DARPA by sending the proposer's contact information and a summary of the potential conflict by email to the mailbox address for this BAA at DARPA-BAA-10- 41@darpa.mil, before time and effort are expended in preparing a proposal and mitigation plan. If, in the sole opinion of the Government after full consideration of the circumstances, any conflict situation cannot be effectively mitigated, the proposal may be rejected without technical evaluation and withdrawn from further consideration for award under this BAA.

DARPA TRANSFORMATIVE APPS PROGRAM – BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT – MARCH 30, 2010 10

B. Cost Sharing/Matching

Cost sharing is not required for this particular program; however, cost sharing will be carefully considered where there is an applicable statutory condition relating to the selected funding instrument (e.g., for any Technology Investment Agreement under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2371). Cost sharing is encouraged where there is a reasonable probability of a potential commercial application related to the proposed research and development effort.

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. Address to Request Application Package

This solicitation contains all information required to submit a proposal. No additional forms, kits, or other materials are needed. This notice constitutes the total BAA. No additional information is available, nor will a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) or additional solicitation regarding this announcement be issued. Requests for same will be disregarded.

B. Content and Form of Application Submission

1. Security and Proprietary Issues

NOTE: If proposals are classified, the proposals must indicate the classification level of not only the proposal itself, but also the anticipated award document classification level.

The Government anticipates proposals submitted under this BAA will be unclassified. However, if a proposal is submitted as “Classified National Security Information” as defined by Executive Order 12958 as amended, then the information must be marked and protected as though classified at the appropriate classification level and then submitted to DARPA for a final classification determination.

Proposers choosing to submit a classified proposal from other classified sources must first receive permission from the respective Original Classification Authority in order to use their information in replying to this BAA. Applicable classification guide(s) should also be submitted to ensure the proposal is protected at the appropriate classification level.

Classified submissions shall be appropriately and conspicuously marked with the proposed classification level and declassification date. Submissions requiring DARPA to make a final classification determination shall be marked as follows:

DARPA TRANSFORMATIVE APPS PROGRAM – BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT – MARCH 30, 2010 11

CLASSIFICATION DETERMINATION PENDING - Protect as though classified (insert the recommended classification level: e.g., Top Secret, Secret, or Confidential)

Classified submissions shall be in accordance with the following guidance:

Confidential and Secret Collateral Information: Use classification and marking guidance provided by previously issued security classification guides, the Information Security Regulation (DoD 5200.1-R), and the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (DoD 5220.22-M) when marking and transmitting information previously classified by another Original Classification Authority. Classified information at the Confidential and Secret level may be mailed via appropriate U.S.

Postal Service methods (e.g., (USPS) Registered Mail or USPS Express Mail). All classified information will be enclosed in opaque inner and outer covers and double wrapped. The inner envelope shall be sealed and plainly marked with the assigned classification and addresses of both sender and addressee. The inner envelope shall be addressed to:

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

ATTN: TCTO

Reference: DARPA-BAA-10-41

The outer envelope shall be sealed with no identification as to the classification of its contents and addressed to:

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Security & Intelligence Directorate, Attn: CDR

All Top Secret materials: Top Secret information should be hand carried by an appropriately cleared and authorized courier to the DARPA CDR. Prior to traveling, the courier shall contact the DARPA CDR at (571) 218-4842 to coordinate arrival and delivery.

Special Access Program (SAP) Information: SAP information must be transmitted via approved methods. Prior to transmitting SAP information, contact the DARPA SAPCO at 703-526-4052 for instructions.

Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI): SCI must be transmitted via approved methods. Prior to transmitting SCI, contact the DARPA Special Security Office (SSO) at 703-248-7213 for instructions.

DARPA TRANSFORMATIVE APPS PROGRAM – BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT – MARCH 30, 2010 12

Proprietary Data: All proposals containing proprietary data should have the cover page and each page containing proprietary data clearly marked as containing proprietary data. It is the proposer’s responsibility to clearly define to the Government what is considered proprietary data.

Security classification guidance via a DD Form 254 will not be provided at this time since DARPA is soliciting ideas only. After reviewing the incoming proposals, if a determination is made that the award instrument may result in access to classified information, a DD Form 254 will be issued and attached as part of the award.

Proposers must have existing and in-place prior to execution of an award, approved capabilities (personnel and facilities) to perform research and development at the classification level they propose. It is DARPA’s policy to treat all proposals as competitive information, and to disclose their contents only for the purpose of evaluation. Proposals will not be returned. The original of each proposal received will be retained at DARPA and all other non-required copies destroyed. A certification of destruction may be requested, provided the formal request is received at this office within five days after unsuccessful notification.

2. Abstract and Proposal Information

Proposers are strongly encouraged to submit an abstract (white paper) in advance of a full proposal (see also sections B.3 and B.4 below). This procedure is intended to minimize unnecessary effort in proposal preparation and review. The time and date for submission of proposal abstracts is specified in Section C on page 23. DARPA will acknowledge receipt of the submission and assign a control number that shall be used in all further correspondence regarding the abstract.

DARPA will respond to abstracts with a statement as to whether DARPA is interested in the idea. DARPA will attempt to reply to abstract submissions via email within seven (7) calendar days of receipt. However, the exact time for response will depend on a variety of circumstances, including the number of abstracts received. Should a proposer be discouraged from submitting a full proposal, the email shall contain feedback for the proposer regarding the rationale for the decision not to recommend that a full proposal be submitted. Abstracts will be reviewed in the order they are received. Early submissions of abstracts and full proposals are strongly encouraged because selections may be made at any time during the period of the solicitation. Regardless of DARPA’s response to an abstract, proposers may submit a full proposal. DARPA will review all full proposals submitted using the published evaluation criteria and without regard to any comments resulting from the review of an abstract.

Proposers are required to submit full proposals by the time and date specified in the BAA in order to be considered during the initial round of selections. DARPA may evaluate proposals received after this date for a period up to 180 days from the date of posting on FedBizOpps and Grants.gov. Ability to review late submissions remains contingent on availability of funds.

DARPA TRANSFORMATIVE APPS PROGRAM – BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT – MARCH 30, 2010 13

Restrictive notices notwithstanding, abstracts/proposals may be handled, for administrative purposes only, by a support contractor. This support contractor is prohibited from competition in DARPA technical research and is bound by appropriate non-disclosure requirements. Abstracts and proposals may not be submitted by fax or e-mail; any so sent will be disregarded.

Submissions not meeting the format described in the BAA may not be reviewed.

All administrative correspondence and questions on this solicitation, including requests for information on how to submit an abstract or full proposal to this BAA, should be directed to the administrative addresses below; e-mail or fax is preferred.

o EMAIL: DARPA-BAA-10-41@darpa.mil o FAX: (703) 248-1880 o ATTN: DARPA-BAA-10-41

DARPA will employ an electronic upload submission system (T-FIMS) for all unclassified responses to this BAA. Unclassified abstracts and proposals sent in response to DARPA-BAA-10-41 must be submitted through T-FIMS. See https://www.tfims.darpa.mil/baa/ for more information on how to request an account, upload abstracts and proposals, and use the T-FIMS tool. Because proposers using T- FIMS may encounter heavy traffic on the web server, and T-FIMS requires a registration and certificate installation for all proposers, proposers should not wait until the day the abstract/proposal is due to create an account in T-FIMS and submit the proposal. All proposers using T-FIMS must also encrypt the abstract/proposal, as per the instructions below.

All abstracts and proposals submitted electronically through T-FIMS must be encrypted using Winzip or PKZip with 256-bit AES encryption. Only one zipped/encrypted file will be accepted per proposal and proposals not zipped/encrypted will be rejected by DARPA. Proposers are reminded that there should be no more than three files placed into the zipped/encrypted file that will eventually be uploaded to DARPA’s T-FIMS proposal submission system. Enclosed in the encrypted file should be the technical proposal (.pdf file), the cost proposal (.pdf file), and one file containing the video, see page 17. An encryption password form must be completed and emailed to DARPA- BAA-10-41@darpa.mil at the time of submission. See https://www.tfims.darpa.mil/baa/ for the encryption password form.

Note the word “PASSWORD” must appear in the subject line of the above email and there are minimum security requirements for establishing the encryption password.

Failure to provide the encryption password may result in the abstract/proposal not being evaluated. For further information and instructions on how to zip and encrypt proposal files, see https://www.tfims.darpa.mil/baa/.

DARPA TRANSFORMATIVE APPS PROGRAM – BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT – MARCH 30, 2010 14 https://www.tfims.darpa.mil/baa/

For proposers seeking a grant or cooperative agreement, you may elect to use the Grants.gov APPLY function, which replaces the proposal submission process that other proposers follow. The APPLY function does not affect the proposal content or format.

The APPLY function is electronic; proposers do not submit paper proposals in addition to the Grants.gov APPLY electronic submission. As a reminder, DO NOT submit abstracts through Grants.gov.

Proposers must complete the following steps before submitting proposals on Grants.gov (these steps are also detailed at www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp):

• Proposers must obtain a DUNS number

• Proposers must register their organization in the Central Contractor Registration

(CCR) (https://www.bpn.gov/CCRSearch/Search.aspx)

• Proposers must obtain a user name and password with an E-Authentication provider

• Proposers must register the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) in

Grants.gov

• Proposers must have the organization’s E-BIZ point of contact authorize the AOR to submit applications.

Grant or cooperative agreement proposals may be submitted to DARPA through Grants.gov, or through T-FIMS. If proposers intend to use Grants.gov as their means of submission, then they must submit their entire proposal through Grants.gov; applications cannot be submitted in part to Grants.gov and in part through T-FIMS or hard copy.

3. Abstracts

Initial proposer submissions to the Government should be a 9-page abstract. The submission of the abstract is intended to avoid unnecessary effort and expense in proposal generation for ideas that will not be selected within this BAA. The purpose of the abstract is to give the proposer the opportunity to solicit early feedback from the Government as to whether or not the research proposed is of interest to DARPA/TCTO.

It is thus in the proposer’s best interest to clearly articulate the innovative concept and technology development needed with respect to demonstrable metrics. Proposers should avoid using proprietary information or data not critical to the idea being presented.

Abstracts must describe the problem that will be solved, evidence that the proposed solution will be successful, and quantitative assessment of the impact of such a solution, should it prove successful.

4. Abstract Preparation and Format

Abstracts should contain the following parts: Cover Sheet of the offeror's planned proposal (see Proposal Section 1.1 below for details), a Technical Summary of the proposer's planned proposal (in presentation slides and Text); and a Cost Summary as summarized below.

DARPA TRANSFORMATIVE APPS PROGRAM – BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT – MARCH 30, 2010 15 https://www.bpn.gov/CCRSearch/Search.aspx

SECTION PAGE

LIMIT

TOPICS

Cover Sheet 1 Proposer Identification

Technical Summary 3 slides Summary of key aspects of the proposal.

Technical Summary 4 Summary of Technical Proposal Cost Summary 1 Summary of Cost and Schedule

Table 1 - Summary of Required Abstract Contents

The abstract shall include the sections above, each starting on a new page (where a "page" is 8-1/2 by 11 inches with type not smaller than 12 point, margins not smaller than 1 inch, and line spacing not smaller than single-spaced). The overall page limit of the abstract must not exceed 9 pages. All submissions must be in English.

5. Proposal Preparation and Format

The proposal shall be delivered in two volumes, Volume 1 (technical proposal) and Volume 2 (cost proposal). Proposers are reminded that there should be no more than three files placed into the zipped/encrypted file that will eventually be uploaded to DARPA’s T-FIMS proposal submission system. Enclosed in the encrypted file should be the technical proposal (.pdf file), the cost proposal (.pdf file), and one file containing the video, see page 17. Proposals not meeting the format described in this BAA may be rejected without review.

The technical proposal shall include the following sections, each starting on a new page (where a "page" is 8-1/2 by 11 inches with type not smaller than 12 point, charts may use 10 pt font, margins not smaller than 1 inch, and line spacing not smaller than single-spaced). All submissions must be in English. Individual elements of the proposal shall not exceed the total of the maximum page lengths for each section as shown in braces { } below.

Volume 1 – Technical and Management Proposal

Proposal Section 1 - Administrative

1.1 Cover Sheet

The cover sheet should contain the following information:

• BAA number;

• Proposal title;

• Area of Interest;

• Lead organization submitting the proposal;

• Technical point of contact, including: name, telephone number, electronic mail address, fax (if available), and mailing address;

DARPA TRANSFORMATIVE APPS PROGRAM – BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT – MARCH 30, 2010 16

• Administrative point of contact, including: name, telephone number, electronic mail address, fax (if available), and mailing address;

• Total funds requested from DARPA. Summary of the costs of the proposed research, including total base cost, estimates of base cost in each year of the effort, estimates of itemized options in each year of the effort, and cost sharing if relevant;

• Contractor’s reference number (if any); and

• Contractor's type of business, selected from among the following categories:

o WOMEN-OWNED LARGE BUSINESS, o OTHER LARGE BUSINESS, o SMALL DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS [Identify ethnic group from among the following: Asian-Indian American, Asian-Pacific American, Black American, Hispanic American, Native American, or Other], o WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS, o OTHER SMALL BUSINESS, o HBCU, o MI, o OTHER EDUCATIONAL, o OTHER NONPROFIT, or o FOREIGN CONCERN/ENTITY.

• Other team members (if applicable) and type of business for each.

1.2 Official Transmittal Letter

1.3 Table of Contents {No page limit}

Proposal Section 2 - Technical Details

2.1 Multimedia Summary: Video and Presentation Slide Summary Chart {7 charts} Provide a one Quadchart slide plus up to 6 presentation slides together with a video presentation (length not to exceed 10 minutes and in .wmv or .mpeg format), summarizing key aspects of the proposal. The video presentation can be submitted as a separate supporting document.

2.2 Innovative Claims for the Proposed Research {2 pages}

This page is the centerpiece of the proposal and should succinctly describe the unique proposed approach and contributions. This section may also briefly address the following topics:

a. Problem Description - Provide a concise description of the problem areas addressed. Make this specific to your approach.

b. Research Goals - Identify specific research goals. Goals should address the technical challenges of the effort.

c. Expected Impact - Describe the expected impact of your research.

2.3 Proposal Roadmap {1 page}

DARPA TRANSFORMATIVE APPS PROGRAM – BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT – MARCH 30, 2010 17

The roadmap provides a top-level view of the content and structure of the proposal. It contains a synopsis for each of the roadmap areas defined below, which should be elaborated elsewhere. It is important to make the synopses as explicit and informative as possible. The roadmap must also cross-reference the proposal page number(s) where each area is elaborated. The required roadmap areas are:

a. Main goals of the proposed research.

b. Tangible benefits to end users (i.e., benefits of the capabilities afforded if the proposed technology is successful).

c. Critical technical barriers (i.e., technical limitations that have, in the past, prevented achieving the proposed results).

d. Main elements of the proposed technical approach.

e. Basis of confidence (i.e. rationale that builds confidence that the proposed approach will overcome the technical barriers).

f. Nature and description of end results to be delivered to DARPA. In what form will results be developed and delivered to DARPA and the scientific community?

Note that DARPA encourages experiments, simulations, specifications, proofs, etc. to be documented and published to promote progress in the field. Proposers should specify both final and intermediate products.

g. Cost and schedule of the proposed effort.

2.4 Technical Approach {16 pages}

Provide a detailed description of the technical approach. Teams may choose to allocate the pages among the program phases unequally; however, separate sections are required for each phase. This section will elaborate on many of the topics identified in the proposal roadmap and will serve as the primary expression of the proposers’ scientific and technical ideas.

2.5 Prior Work {3 pages}

Describe any ongoing work or past projects in the related space that have been successfully completed by the team members. Describe if the deliverable or products are fielded (and to what extent), and whether the technology is being marketed.

2.6 Statement of Work (SOW) {4 pages}

In plain English, clearly define the technical tasks/subtasks to be performed, their durations, and dependencies among them. For each task/subtask, provide:

• A general description of the objective (for each defined task/activity);

• A detailed description of the approach to be taken to accomplish each defined task/activity);

• Identification of the primary organization responsible for task execution

(prime, sub, team member, by name, etc.);

• The completion criteria for each task/activity - a product, event or milestone that defines its completion.

• Define all deliverables (reports, data, software, hardware, prototypes, etc.) to be provided to the Government in support of the proposed research tasks/activities. Include expected delivery date for each deliverable.

• Cost, schedule and measurable milestones for the proposed research, including estimates of cost for each major task in each year of the effort

DARPA TRANSFORMATIVE APPS PROGRAM – BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT – MARCH 30, 2010 18 delineated by the prime and major subcontractors, total cost and company cost share, if applicable. (Note: Measurable milestones should capture key development points in tasks and should be clearly articulated and defined in time relative to start of effort.)

Note: The SOW should be developed so that each phase of the program is separately defined. Do not include any proprietary information in the SOW.

2.7 Intellectual Property {No page limit}

Per section VIII - Other Information, proposers responding to this BAA must submit a separate list of all technical data or computer software that will be furnished to the Government with other than unlimited rights. The Government will assume unlimited rights if proposers fail to identify any intellectual property restrictions in their proposals.

Include in this section all proprietary claims to results, prototypes, deliverables or systems supporting and/or necessary for the use of the research, results, prototypes and/or deliverables. If no restrictions are intended, then the proposer should state “NONE”.

If the expected deliverables are to be furnished with other than unlimited rights or Government Purpose Rights, the proposal should include costing for widespread use (e.g.

DOD-wide enterprise or per-seat licensing, that the government may choose to exercise).

Because the goal of the program is large-scale adoption of military-relevant apps and services, affordability is a key concern and future licensing cost, if any, will be a factor in the proposal evaluation.

2.8 Management Plan {2 pages}

Describe any formal teaming agreements that are required to execute this program, a brief synopsis of all key personnel, and a clearly defined organization chart for the program team (prime contractor and subcontractors, if any).

2.9 Schedule and Milestones {2 pages}

Provide graphic representation of key project milestones and schedule from the date of contract award.

2.10 Personnel, Qualifications, and Commitments {10 pages}

List key personnel, in particular, key developers, showing a concise summary of their qualifications. Provide a description of any previous accomplishments or similar efforts completed/ongoing in this or closely related research area, including identification of other Government sponsors, if any.

Indicate the level of effort in terms of hours to be expended by each person during each contract year and other (current and proposed) major sources of support for them and/or commitments of their efforts. DARPA expects all key personnel associated with a proposal to make substantial time commitment to the proposed activity and the proposal will be evaluated accordingly. It is DARPA’s intention to put key personnel clauses into the contracts, so proposers should not bid personnel whom they do not intend to execute the contract.

DARPA TRANSFORMATIVE APPS PROGRAM – BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT – MARCH 30, 2010 19

Include a table of key individual time commitments as follows:

Key Individual

Project Pending/Current 2010 2011 2012

Jane Doe Program Name

Proposed ZZZ hours

UUU

hours

WWW

hours

Project 1 Current n/a n/a n/a Project 2 Pending 100 hours n/a n/a

John Deer Program Name

Proposed

2.11 Organizational Conflict of Interest Affirmations and Disclosure {No page limit} Per the instructions in section III.A.1 above, if the proposer or any proposed sub IS providing SETA support, as described, to any DARPA technical office(s) through an active contract or subcontract (regardless of which DARPA technical office is being supported), they must provide documentation: 1) stating which office(s) the proposer, sub and/or individual supports, 2) identify the prime contract numbers, AND 3) include a description of the action the proposer has taken or proposes to take to avoid, neutralize, or mitigate the conflict.

If the proposer or any proposed sub IS NOT currently providing SETA support as described, then the proposer should simply state “NONE.”

Proposals that fail to fully disclose potential conflicts of interests or do not have acceptable plans to mitigate identified conflicts will be rejected without technical evaluation and withdrawn from further consideration for award.

2.12 Human Use {No page limit}

For all proposed research that will involve human subjects in the first year or phase of the project, the institution must provide evidence of or a plan for review by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) upon final proposal submission to DARPA. For further information on this subject, see section VI.B.4 below. If human use is not a factor in a proposal, then the proposer should state “NONE.”

2.13 Animal Use {No page limit}

For submissions containing animal use, proposals must briefly describe plans for Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) review and approval. For further information on this subject, see Section VI.B.5 below. If animal use is not a factor in a proposal, then the proposer should state “NONE.”

2.14 Statement of Unique Capability Provided by Government or Government-funded Team Member {No page limit} Per section III.A. - Eligible Applicants, proposals which include Government or Government-funded entities (i.e., FFRDC’s, National laboratories, etc.) as prime, sub or

DARPA TRANSFORMATIVE APPS PROGRAM – BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT – MARCH 30, 2010 20 team member, shall provide a statement which clearly demonstrates the work being provided by the Government or Government-funded entity team member is not otherwise available from the private sector. If none of the team members belongs to a Government or Government-funded entity, then the proposer should state “Not Applicable.”

2.15 Government or Government-funded Team Member Eligibility {No page limit} Per section III.A. - Eligible Applicants, proposals which include Government or Government-funded entities (i.e., FFRDC’s, National laboratories, etc.) as prime, sub or team member shall provide documentation citing the specific authority which establishes they are eligible to propose to Government solicitations: 1) statutory authority; 2) contractual authority; 3) supporting regulatory guidance; AND 4) evidence of agency approval. If no such entities are involved, then the proposer should state “None.”

2.16 Facilities {2 pages}

Provide a description of the facilities that would be used for the…