DARPA-BAA-16-37.pdf

Broad Agency Announcement Intense and Compact Neutron Sources Phase Two (ICONS2)

Defense Sciences Office

DARPA-BAA-16-37

April 28th, 2016

DARPA-BAA-16-37 ICONS2 2

Table of Contents I. Funding Opportunity Description II. Award Information

A. Awards B. Fundamental Research

III. Eligibility Information A. Eligible Applicants B. Procurement Integrity, Standards of Conduct, Ethical Considerations, and Organizational Conflicts of Interest C. Cost Sharing/Matching

IV. Application and Submission Information A. Address to Request Application Package B. Content and Form of Application Submission C. Submission Dates and Times D. Funding Restrictions E. Other Submission Requirements

V. Application Review Information A. Evaluation Criteria B. Proposal Review and Selection Process

VI. Award Administration Information A. Selection Notices B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements C. Reporting

VII. Agency Contacts VIII. Other Information

A. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) APPENDIX A: Section I of DARPA-BAA-14-62, ICONS (Phase I)

ATTACHMENT 1: ABSTRACT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SLIDE TEMPLATE

ATTACHMENT 2: FULL PROPOSAL SUMMARY SLIDES TEMPLATE

ATTACHMENT 3: MILESTONE & DELIVERABLE TABLE TEMPLATE

ATTACHMENT 4: PROPOSAL TEMPLATE – TECHNICAL & MANAGEMENT VOLUME

ATTACHMENT 5: PROPOSAL TEMPLATE – COST VOLUME

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PART I: OVERVIEW INFORMATION

Federal Agency Name: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Defense Sciences Office (DSO)

Funding Opportunity Title: Intense and Compact Neutron Sources Phase Two

(ICONS2)

Announcement Type: Initial Announcement

Funding Opportunity Number: DARPA-BAA-16-37

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s): 12.910 Research and Technology Development

Dates (All times listed herein are Eastern Time.)

o Posting Date: April 28, 2016 o Abstract Due Date: May 13, 2016, 4:00 p.m.

o FAQ Submission Deadline: June 16, 2016, 4:00 p.m. See Section VIII.A.

o Full Proposal Due Date: June 23, 2016, 4:00 p.m.

Anticipated Individual Awards: Multiple awards are anticipated.

Types of Instruments that May be Awarded: Procurement contracts, cooperative agreements, other transactions.

Agency contacts o Technical POC: Vincent Tang, Program Manager, DARPA/DSO o Solicitation Email: ICONS@darpa.mil o Solicitation Mailing Address:

DARPA/DSO

ATTN: DARPA-BAA-16-37

675 North Randolph Street Arlington, VA 22203-2114 o DARPA/DSO Solicitation Website: http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/opportunities

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): FAQs for this solicitation may be viewed on the DSO Solicitation Website. See Section VIII.A for further information.

http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/opportunities?tFilter=&oFilter=2&sort=name http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/opportunities?tFilter=&oFilter=2&sort=name

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PART II: FULL TEXT OF ANNOUNCEMENT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) is being issued, and any resultant selection will be made, using procedures under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 35.016. Any negotiations and/or awards will use procedures under FAR 15.4 (or 32 CFR 22 for cooperative agreements).

Any amendments to this BAA will be posted to the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website (http://www.fbo.gov/) and, as applicable, the Grants.gov website (http://www.grants.gov/).

A. Introduction/Background

The Intense and Compact Neutron Sources Phase Two (ICONS2) Program in DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is seeking innovative ideas and novel approaches to achieve revolutionary increases in neutron source intensity and reductions in device size, weight, and power (SWaP) for in-the-field neutron radiography and analytical techniques. Although current neutron source intensities are adequate for rapid, high-resolution imaging, the large infrastructure required to achieve these intensities limits their applications. Achieving these neutron intensities in an expeditionary package will enable concepts-of-operations (CONOPS) that are currently infeasible due to SWaP constraints. While source intensity is only one aspect of the performance of a complete neutron analytical capability, achieving orders-of-magnitude improvements in portable neutron source intensities remains critical for widespread neutron imaging and analysis.

It is envisioned that these significant advances in neutron output versus system SWaP will be transformative for specialized portable neutron sensing CONOPS in addition to portable neutron radiography.

This is the second of two BAAs released under the ICONS program, covering the final 18-month period of performance (Phase 2).

B. Program Description/Scope

The ICONS2 program is funding innovative ideas for isotropic and directional neutron sources that will reduce SWaP by orders-of-magnitude, while maintaining the intensities required for practical sensing timeframes and feature resolution. Achieving these goals within the ICONS2 period of performance requires parallel development of source component technologies as well as the rapid integration and optimization of these components within prototype systems. In Phase 1 of ICONS (DARPA-BAA-14-62), performers developed core component-level technologies and preliminary prototypes. Phase 2 is focused on rapid optimization, assembly, and demonstration of final prototype systems that achieve the desired performance metrics described in detail in Section I.D.

Proposals to ICONS2 should clearly explain the research and development required to achieve the program goals and how the proposed technologies exceed the state-of-the-art and advance source development. Proposals should also identify the risks involved and clearly describe how those risks are mitigated early on in the proposed effort.

http://www.fbo.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/

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The ICONS program aims to demonstrate two highly portable prototypes at the technological readiness level (TRL) 5, capable of high resolution neutron radiography on timescales of minutes to tens of minutes: (1) a tool-box size isotropic source; and (2) a human-portable directional neutron source. These two prototypes form the two technical areas of this BAA. Proposers may propose to one or both technical areas.

C. Program Structure

ICONS is broken into two 18-month phases. The initial phase (Phase 1), addressed by DARPA- BAA-14-62, consisted of R&D focused on core component technologies within notional design parameters and metrics, as well as design tools to achieve and optimize component and overall integrated system performance.

Phase 2, addressed by this BAA, focuses on component integration and refinement within the context of the overall system, culminating in the assembly of functional neutron source prototypes. Final prototypes are expected to meet or outperform yield, SWaP, and spot size requirements at TRL 5 or higher. Proposals to ICONS2 should clearly communicate the status of key components in terms of metrics and what remaining work, if any, is needed before final integration. Integration tasks and schedule should be clearly described for the final prototype device. The proposed schedule must allow for testing, including the production of radiographs, in or before the final month of the program.

Only proposals for integrated systems will be accepted in Phase 2; proposals that address components or partial systems will be deemed non-conforming.

Using the evaluation criteria set forth in Section V, the Phase 2 proposals will be evaluated based upon merit and technical feasibility of achieving the final ICONS system metrics. Phase 1 participation is not required to be eligible to propose to Phase 2; however, a credible path and strong supporting evidence that the overall system metrics will be achieved over 18 months must be presented. The funding opportunity description of DARPA-BAA-14-62 can be used as a reference (see Appendix A).

Phase 2 proposals must discuss the risks in the proposed effort, ordered from highest to lowest, and the associated R&D path to address these risks along with mitigation strategies that reduce them early in the program. Proposals must also clearly describe prior and ongoing efforts that will be leveraged for the proposed work.

If successful, the program will demonstrate a path towards robust, human-portable, neutron sources for defense, industrial, and scientific applications, as well as the development of transformational technologies and design optimization techniques.

The following sections provide more information on the overall prototype system metrics.

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D. Technical Areas

The ICONS program targets a TRL of 5 for two separate transformational integrated prototypes.

The proposed systems and metrics are as follows:

Prototype 1: A tool-box sized Deuterium-Tritium (D-T) neutron source, with the following primary performance objectives: average output of 1e10 neutrons/second/steradian at SWaP: 8 liters, 30 lbs, 400 watts, and an effective spot size of 2 millimeters Full-Width-Half-Maximum (FWHM). The neutron output can be isotropic. For the purposes of this program, use of deuterated targets as surrogates for tritiated targets is acceptable. However, the system must be capable of sealed operation in order to demonstrate tritium compatibility and future capability. If primary objectives are met, additional desirable secondary objectives include:

a. Ability for the source to produce thermalized neutrons for radiography, likely through a coupled moderator that produces a collimated beam able to resolve ~millimeter-scale features on an imaging system with no magnification. The collimator size and weight should be minimized but would not be considered as part of the source SWaP above. It might be possible for part of the source structure to additionally serve as a moderator.

b. Ability for pulsed operation. The proposal should state clearly anticipated pulse widths, pulse rise and fall times, and duty cycle.

c. Ability to produce x-rays viable for x-ray radiography, preferably with minimum to no re-configuration of the device. Proposers should clearly state the expected x-ray production performance in terms of x-rays yield, energy spectrum, and angular emission, along with expected spot size.

Prototype 2: A human-portable, directional neutron source capable of neutron production via the Deuterium-Deuterium (D-D) reaction with 4 MeV deuteron beams onto a deuterated target, with the following performance: average output of 2e10 neutrons/second/steradian at 0 degrees with thick target and SWaP: 250 liters, 80lbs, 2 kilowatts, and an effective spot size of 3 millimeters (FWHM). If primary objectives are met, additional desirable secondary objectives include:

d. The capability of using the same system, or a system based on the same architecture but preferably with a smaller SWaP, to produce low energy neutrons that are completely collimated within a defined, small forward angle. For example, ~60 keV neutrons confined to a forward emission angle of 30 degree along the z-axis of the accelerator can be produced via the endothermic proton-lithium-7 reaction using proton beam energies of ~1.93 MeV.

e. Ability for pulsed operation. The proposal should state clearly anticipated pulse widths, pulse rise and fall times, and duty cycle.

f. Ability for the source to produce thermalized neutrons for radiography, likely through a coupled moderator that produces a collimated beam able to resolve ~millimeter-scale features on an imaging system with no magnification. The collimator size and weight should be minimized but would not be considered as part of the source SWaP above. It might be possible for part of the source structure to additionally serve as a moderator.

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g. Ability to produce x-rays viable for x-ray radiography, preferably with minimum to no re-configuration of the device. Proposers should clearly state the expected x-ray production performance in terms of x-rays yield, energy spectrum, and angular emission, along with expected spot size.

h. Further reduction in size to 80 liters enabling neutron source volumes comparable to commercially available x-ray tubes designed for field operation.

Although a specific lifetime metric has not been identified for the system at this early stage of the research and development process, it is anticipated that any deployable system would require minimum lifetimes on the order of tens to hundreds of hours. Proposers should clearly describe if there are expected and/or potential limitations to system lifetimes based on their approaches.

For TRL 5, the integrated prototypes should be laboratory devices tested in realistic operating conditions. For example, if the planned SWaP is not to be explicitly met or demonstrated in the prototype, a feasible and clear path to meet the ultimate SWaP must be shown and discussed in the proposal. All fundamental or foreseeable challenges must be addressed. For example, for sealed tube operation, although it would be preferable for the sealed tube with the ultimate envisioned SWaP of a deployed system to be constructed and demonstrated, this might be prohibiting for a TRL 5 device. It would therefore be acceptable to demonstrate the required neutron performance of the integrated components in a larger valved-off vacuum vessel, as long as the results of the experiment make clear that no fundamental challenge remains for further integration. More specifically, this might mean that within the sealed chamber, grounded plates that would represent the contours of a seal tube would be placed to ensure a realistic electric field profile for the components. It is preferred, however, that the integrated prototypes be as close to the envisioned final device as possible.

E. Schedule/Milestones

ICONS2 will be a single 18-month period of performance.

This solicitation describes various deliverables and milestones with notional estimated due dates.

Proposals should include a detailed schedule that incorporates these deliverables/milestones and is consistent with the development status of the proposed approaches. A template (Attachment

3) is provided to succinctly capture this information.

A target start date of October 3rd, 2016 may be assumed for planning purposes.

A Principal Investigator (PI) meeting will be held in approximately month nine of the Phase 2 program. The location for the meeting will be specified by the Government sometime after the Phase 2 start date. Assume the location to be within the continental U.S. The goals of the PI meeting will be to review system architecture, integration progress, and other accomplishments of each performer.

Regular teleconference meetings will be scheduled with the Government team for progress reporting as well as issue identification and mitigation. Teleconferences will be held approximately monthly and performers are expected to present technical content such as slides or

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other media as appropriate. A monthly written report is also expected to be submitted concurrent with the teleconference, which will communicate programmatic information such as risk items and mitigations, schedule progress, and financial status. A template for a monthly written report will be provided after contract award. In addition to the PI meeting, proposers should be prepared to support at least one site visit by DARPA during the course of the Program.

Near the end of Phase 2, performers are expected to use their newly-developed sources to produce radiographs. The Government will coordinate appropriate test objects and imaging detectors as needed with performers.

F. Deliverables

All performers are required to provide the following deliverables:

Monthly written report, submitted concurrent with the teleconference Quarterly technical report describing progress made, resources expended, and any issues requiring the attention of the Government team shall be provided within ten days after the end of the quarter

Intermediate and final versions of design documents and software as requested Final report. The final report shall concisely summarize the effort conducted Final prototype at the end of Phase 2 Test object radiographs.

II. Award Information A. Awards

Multiple awards are anticipated. The level of funding for individual awards made under this solicitation has not been predetermined and will depend on the quality of the proposals received and the availability of funds. Awards under this solicitation will be made to proposers whose proposals are determined to be the most advantageous and provide best value to the Government, all factors considered, including the potential contributions of the proposed work, overall funding strategy, and availability of funding. See Section V for further information.

The Government reserves the right to:

select for negotiation all, some, one, or none of the proposals received in response to this solicitation;

make awards without discussions with proposers;

conduct discussions with proposers if it is later determined to be necessary;

segregate portions of resulting awards into pre-priced options;

accept proposals in their entirety or to select only portions of proposals for award;

fund proposals in increments with options for continued work at the end of one or more phases;

request additional documentation once the award instrument has been determined (e.g., representations and certifications); and remove proposers from award consideration should the parties fail to reach agreement on

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award terms within a reasonable time or the proposer fails to provide requested additional information in a timely manner.

Proposals identified for negotiation may result in a procurement contract, cooperative agreement, or other transaction (OT), depending upon the nature of the work proposed, the required degree of interaction between parties, and other factors.

In all cases, the Government contracting officer shall have sole discretion to select award instrument type and to negotiate all instrument terms and conditions with selectees. Proposers are advised that regardless of the instrument type proposed, DARPA personnel, in consultation with the Government contracting officer, may select other award instruments, as they deem appropriate. DARPA will apply publication or other restrictions, as necessary, if it determines that the research resulting from the proposed effort will present a high likelihood of disclosing performance characteristics of military systems or manufacturing technologies that are unique and critical to defense. Any award resulting from such a determination will include a requirement for DARPA permission before publishing any information or results on the program. For more information on publication restrictions, see the section below on Fundamental Research.

B. Fundamental Research It is DoD policy that the publication of products of fundamental research will remain unrestricted to the maximum extent possible. National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) 189 established the national policy for controlling the flow of scientific, technical, and engineering information produced in federally funded fundamental research at colleges, universities, and laboratories. The Directive defines fundamental research as follows:

'Fundamental research' means 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 utilization, the results of which ordinarily are restricted for proprietary or national security reasons.

As of the date of publication of this BAA, the Government expects that program goals as described herein either cannot be met by proposers intending to perform fundamental research or the proposed research is anticipated to present a high likelihood of disclosing performance characteristics of military systems or manufacturing technologies that are unique and critical to defense. Therefore, the Government anticipates restrictions on the resultant research that will require the contractor to seek DARPA permission before publishing any information or results relative to the program.

Proposers should indicate in their proposal whether they believe the scope of the research included in their proposal is fundamental or not. While proposers should clearly explain the intended results of their research, the Government shall have sole discretion to select award instrument type and to negotiate all instrument terms and conditions with selectees. Appropriate clauses will be included in resultant awards for non-fundamental research to prescribe publication requirements and other restrictions, as appropriate.

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For certain research projects, it may be possible that although the research being performed by the prime contractor is restricted research, a subawardee may be conducting fundamental research. In those cases, it is the prime contractor’s responsibility to explain in its proposal why its subawardee’s effort is fundamental research.

The following statement or similar provision will be incorporated into any resultant non-fundamental research procurement contract or other transaction:

There shall be no dissemination or publication, except within and between the contractor and any subawardees, of information developed under this contract or contained in the reports to be furnished pursuant to this contract without prior written approval of DARPA’s Public Release Center (DARPA/PRC). All technical reports will be given proper review by appropriate authority to determine which Distribution Statement is to be applied prior to the initial distribution of these reports by the contractor. With regard to subawardee proposals for Fundamental Research, papers resulting from unclassified fundamental research are exempt from prepublication controls and this review requirement, pursuant to DoD Instruction 5230.27 dated October 6, 1987.

When submitting material for written approval for open publication, the contractor/awardee must submit a request for public release to the DARPA/PRC and include the following information: (1) Document Information: document title, document author, short plain-language description of technology discussed in the material (approx.

30 words), number of pages (or minutes of video) and document type (e.g., briefing, report, abstract, article, or paper); (2) Event Information: event type (conference, principal investigator meeting, article or paper), event date, desired date for DARPA's approval; (3) DARPA Sponsor: DARPA Program Manager, DARPA office, and contract number; and (4) Contractor/Awardee's Information: POC name, email and phone. Allow four weeks for processing; due dates under four weeks require a justification. Unusual electronic file formats may require additional processing time. Requests may be sent either via email to public_release_center@darpa.mil or by mail at 675 North Randolph Street, Arlington VA 22203-2114, telephone (571) 218-4235. Refer to the following for link for information about DARPA’s public release process: http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/contract-management/public-release.”

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.

1. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and Government Entities

Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and Government entities (e.g., Government/National laboratories, military educational institutions, etc.) are subject to mailto:public_release_center@darpa.mil

DARPA-BAA-16-37 ICONS2 11

applicable direct competition limitations and cannot propose to this BAA in any capacity unless they meet the following conditions: (1) FFRDCs must clearly demonstrate that the proposed work is not otherwise available from the private sector; and (2) FFRDCs must provide a letter on official letterhead from their sponsoring organization citing the specific authority establishing their eligibility to propose to Government solicitations and compete with industry, and their compliance with the associated FFRDC sponsor agreement’s terms and conditions. This information is required for FFRDCs proposing to be prime contractors or subawardees.

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 and contractual authority, if relevant, 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 FFRDC and Government entity eligibility submissions on a case-by-case basis; however, the burden to prove eligibility for all team members rests solely with the proposer.

2. Foreign Participation Non-U.S. organizations and/or individuals may participate to the extent that such participants comply with any necessary nondisclosure agreements, security regulations, export control laws, and other governing statutes applicable under the circumstances.

B. 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 U.S.C. §§ 203, 205, and 208). Once the proposals have been received, and prior to the start of proposal evaluations, the Government will assess potential conflicts of interest and will promptly notify the proposer if any appear to exist. The Government assessment does NOT affect, offset, or mitigate the proposer’s responsibility to give full notice and planned mitigation for all potential organizational conflicts, as discussed below.

Without prior approval or a waiver from the DARPA Director, in accordance with FAR 9.503, a contractor cannot simultaneously provide scientific, engineering, technical assistance (SETA) or similar support and also be a technical performer. As part of the proposal submission, all members of the proposed team (prime proposers, proposed subawardees, and consultants) must affirm whether they (their organizations and individual team members) are providing 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, subawardees, consultant, or individual supports and identify the prime contract number(s). All facts relevant to the existence or potential existence of organizational conflicts of interest (FAR 9.5) must be disclosed. The disclosure must include a description of the action the proposer has taken or proposes to take to avoid, neutralize, or mitigate such conflict. If in the sole opinion of the Government after full consideration of the circumstances, a proposal fails to fully disclose potential conflicts of interest

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and/or any identified conflict situation cannot be effectively mitigated, the proposal will be rejected without technical evaluation and withdrawn from further consideration for award.

If a prospective proposer believes a conflict of interest exists or may exist (whether organizational or otherwise) or has questions on what constitutes a conflict of interest, the proposer should send his/her contact information and a summary of the potential conflict via email to the BAA email address before time and effort are expended in preparing a proposal and mitigation plan.

C. Cost Sharing/Matching Cost sharing is not required; however, it will be carefully considered where there is an applicable statutory condition relating to the selected funding instrument (e.g., OTs under the authority of 10 U.S.C. § 2371).

IV. Application and Submission Information Prior to submitting a full proposal, proposers are strongly encouraged to first submit an abstract as described below. This process allows a proposer to ascertain whether the proposed concept is: (1) applicable to the ICONS2 BAA and (2) currently of interest. For the purposes of this BAA, applicability is defined as follows:

The proposed concept is applicable to the technical areas described herein.

The proposed concept investigates an innovative approach that enables revolutionary advances, i.e., will not primarily result in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice.

The proposed work has not already been completed (i.e., the research element is complete but manufacturing/fabrication funds are required).

The proposer has not already received funding or a positive funding decision for the proposed concept (whether from DARPA or another Government agency).

Abstracts and full proposals that are not found to be applicable to the ICONS2 BAA as defined above may be deemed non-conforming1 and removed from consideration. All abstracts and full proposals must provide sufficient information to assess the validity/feasibility of their claims as well as comply with the requirements outlined herein for submission formatting, content and transmission to DARPA. Abstracts and full proposals that fail to do so may be deemed non-conforming and removed from consideration. Proposers will be notified of non-conforming determinations via letter.

A. Address to Request Application Package This document contains all information required to submit a response to this solicitation. No additional forms, kits, or other materials are needed except as referenced herein. No request for proposal or additional solicitation regarding this opportunity will be issued, nor is additional information available except as provided at the Federal Business Opportunities website

1 “Conforming” is defined as having been submitted in accordance with the requirements outlined herein.

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(http://www.fbo.gov), the Grants.gov website (http://www.grants.gov/), or referenced herein.

B. Content and Form of Application Submission

1. Abstract Information

As stated above, proposers are strongly encouraged to submit an abstract in advance of a full proposal to minimize effort and reduce the potential expense of preparing an out of scope proposal. The abstract provides a synopsis of the proposed project by briefly answering the following questions:

What is the proposed work attempting to accomplish or do?

How is it done today, and what are the limitations?

Who will care and what will the impact be if the work is successful?

How much will it cost, and how long will it take?

DARPA will respond to abstracts with a statement as to whether DARPA is interested in the idea. If DARPA does not recommend the proposer submit a full proposal, DARPA will provide feedback to the proposer regarding the rationale for this decision. 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.

While it is DARPA policy to attempt to reply to abstracts within thirty calendar days, proposers to this solicitation may anticipate a response within approximately two weeks.

Abstracts must not be submitted to DARPA via email. See Section IV.E.1 for abstract submission instructions.

a. Abstract Format All pages shall be formatted for printing on 8-1/2 by 11 inch paper with 1-inch margins and font size not smaller than 12 point. Font sizes of 8 or 10 point may be used for figures, tables, and charts. Document files must be in .pdf, .ppt, .pptx, .odx, .doc, .docx, .xls, or .xlsx formats.

Submissions must be written in English.

Abstracts addressing a single technical area shall not exceed a maximum of 8 pages. If proposing to both technical areas, do not exceed a maximum of 16 pages.

Page limit includes: Page limit does NOT include:

Goals and Impact Official transmittal letter (optional) Technical Plan Cover Sheet Capabilities and Management Plan Executive Summary Slide (mandatory) Cost and Schedule Bibliography (optional)

Abstracts must include the following components:

http://www.grants.gov/

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i. Cover Sheet: Provide the following information:

(1) Label: “Abstract”

(2) BAA number (DARPA-BAA-16-37)

(3) Technical Area(s)

(4) Abstract title

(5) Lead organization name

(6) Technical point of contact (POC) including name, mailing address, telephone, and email address

(7) Administrative POC including name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address

(8) Estimated total cost

(9) Estimated period of performance

(10) Primary subcontractors (if known/applicable)

(11) Identify any other solicitation(s) to which this concept has been proposed

ii. Executive Summary Slide: Provide a one slide summary in PowerPoint that effectively and succinctly conveys the main objective, key innovations, expected impact, and other unique aspects of the proposed project. Please use the slide template provided as Attachment 1 to the BAA posted at www.fbo.gov.

iii. Goals and Impact: Describe what is being proposed and what difference it will make (qualitatively and quantitatively) if successful. Describe the innovative aspects of the project in the context of existing capabilities and approaches, clearly delineating the relationship of this work to any other projects from the past and present.

iv. Technical Plan: Outline and address all technical challenges inherent in the approach and possible solutions for overcoming potential problems. Provide appropriate specific milestones (quantitative, if possible) at intermediate stages of the project to demonstrate progress.

v. Capabilities/Management Plan: Provide a brief summary of expertise of the team, including subcontractors and key personnel. Identify a principal investigator for the project and include a description of the team’s organization including roles and responsibilities.

vi. Cost and Schedule: Provide a cost estimate for resources (e.g., labor, materials) and any subcontractors over the proposed timeline of the project.

vii. Bibliography (Optional): If desired, include a brief bibliography with links to relevant papers, reports, or resumes of key team members.

2. Full Proposal Information Proposals consist of Volume 1: Technical and Management Volume (including mandatory subsection xv. - Administrative and National Policy Requirements); and Volume 2: Cost Volume.

To assist in proposal development, various templates have been provided along with the BAA file:///C:/Users/emitchell/Downloads/www.fbo.gov

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posted at http://www.fbo.gov/. Attachment 2 is for the full proposal summary slides (append to the Technical Volume), Attachment 3 is for the milestone/deliverable table (append to the Technical Volume), Attachment 4 is for the Technical and Management Volume, and Attachment 5 is for the Cost Volume. Use of the full proposal summary slides template (Attachment 2) and milestone/deliverable table (Attachment 3) are mandatory. While proposers are encouraged to use the templates for the Technical Volume (Attachment 4) and Cost Volume (Attachment 5), they are optional; proposers may use their own format as long as all of the information requested herein is provided.

Proposers are encouraged to submit concise, but descriptive, proposals. Specific examples of problems, approaches, or goals are preferred to qualitative generalities. The Government will not consider pages in excess of the page count limitation, as described herein. Proposals with fewer than the maximum number of pages will not be penalized. Information incorporated into the Cost Volume which is not related to cost will not be considered. Additional information not explicitly called for in the Technical and Management Volume must not be submitted with the proposal, but may be included as links in the bibliography. Such materials will be considered for the reviewers’ convenience only and not evaluated as part of the proposal.

All pages in both the Technical and Management Volume and the Cost Volume shall be formatted for printing on 8-1/2 by 11-inch paper with 1-inch margins, single-line spacing, and a font size not smaller than 12 point. Font sizes of 8 or 10 point may only be used for figures, tables, and charts in the Technical and Management Volume. Document files must be in .pdf, .odx, .ppt, .pptx, .doc, .docx, .xls, or .xlsx formats. Submissions must be written in English.

Proposals not meeting the format prescribed herein may not be reviewed.

a. Volume 1: Technical and Management Proposal If proposing to one technical area, Volume 1 shall not exceed a maximum of 32 pages. If proposing to both technical areas, Volume 1 shall not exceed a maximum of 64 pages.

Page limit includes: Page limit does NOT include:

Executive Summary Cover Sheet Goals and Impact Official transmittal letter Technical Plan Table of Contents Management Plan Administrative and National Policy

Requirements (mandatory) Personnel, Qualifications, and Commitments

Full Proposal Summary Slides (mandatory)

Capabilities Milestone and Deliverable Table (mandatory) Statement of Work Cost Summary/Summaries Schedule and Milestones Bibliography (optional)

Volume 1 must include the following components:

i. Cover Sheet: Include the following information.

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(1) Label: “Proposal: Volume 1”

(2) BAA number (DARPA-BAA-16-37)

(3) Technical Area(s)

(4) Proposal title

(5) Proposer’s reference number, if any

(6) Lead organization (prime contractor) name

(7) Type of organization, selected from the following categories: Large

Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Other Small Business, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Minority Institution (MI), Other Educational, or Other Nonprofit

(8) Technical point of contact (POC) including name, mailing address, telephone, and email address

(9) Administrative POC including name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address

(10) Total proposed cost separated by base award and any proposed option(s)

(11) Award instrument requested: procurement contract (specify type), cooperative agreement, or other transaction.

(12) Place(s) and period(s) of performance

(13) List all other team members (subcontractors and consultants), including

Technical POC name, organization and organization type

(14) Date proposal was prepared

(15) Proposal validity period

ii. Official Transmittal Letter

iii. Table of Contents

iv. Executive Summary: Provide a synopsis of the proposed project, including answers to the following questions:

What is the proposed work attempting to accomplish or do?

How is it done today, and what are the limitations?

Who or what will be affected and what will be the impact if the work is successful?

How much will it cost, and how long will it take?

The summary should include a description of the key technical challenges, a concise review of the technologies proposed to overcome these challenges and achieve the project’s goal, and a clear statement of the novelty and uniqueness of the proposed work.

v. Full Proposal Summary Slides: Provide a slide-based summary in PowerPoint that effectively and succinctly conveys the main objective, key innovations, expected impact, and other unique aspects of the proposed project. A slide template is provided as Attachment 2 to the BAA posted at www.fbo.gov.

vi. Milestone and Deliverable Table: Provide a summary table of project milestones

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and deliverables and expected completion dates. Dates can be listed as months or weeks after contract. If a contract is awarded it is expected that this table will be updated to calendar dates based on the actual contract start date. A template is provided as Attachment 3 to the BAA posted at www.fbo.gov.

vii. Goals and Impact: Describe what the proposed team is trying to achieve and the difference it will make (qualitatively and quantitatively) if successful. Describe the innovative aspects of the project in the context of existing capabilities and approaches, clearly delineating the uniqueness and benefits of this project in the context of the state of the art, alternative approaches, and other projects from the past and present. Describe how the proposed project is revolutionary and how it significantly rises above the current state of the art.

Describe the deliverables associated with the proposed project and any plans to commercialize the technology, transition it to a customer, or further the work. Discuss the mitigation of any issues related to sustainment of the technology over its entire lifecycle, assuming the technology transition plan is successful.

viii. Technical Plan: Outline and address technical challenges inherent in the approach and possible solutions for overcoming potential problems. Demonstrate a deep understanding of the technical challenges and present a credible (even if risky) plan to achieve the project’s goal. Discuss mitigation of technical risk. Provide appropriate measurable milestones (quantitative if possible) at intermediate stages of the project to demonstrate progress, and a plan for achieving the milestones.

ix. Management Plan: Provide a summary of expertise of the proposed team, including any subcontractors/consultants and key personnel who will be executing the work.

Identify a principal investigator (PI) for the project. Provide a clear description of the team’s organization including an organization chart that includes, as applicable, the relationship of team members; unique capabilities of team members; task responsibilities of team members; teaming strategy among the team members; and key personnel with the amount of effort to be expended by each person during the project. Provide a detailed plan for coordination including explicit guidelines for interaction among collaborators/subcontractors of the proposed project. Include risk management approaches. Describe any formal teaming agreements that are required to execute this project.

x. Personnel, Qualifications, and Commitments: List key personnel (no more than one page per person), showing a concise summary of their qualifications, discussion of previous accomplishments, and work in this or closely related research areas. 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 conditions into the awards, so proposers should not propose personnel that are not anticipated to

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execute the work.

xi. Capabilities: Describe organizational experience in relevant subject area(s), existing intellectual property, or specialized facilities. Discuss any work in closely related research areas and previous accomplishments. Identify other solicitation(s) to which this concept has been proposed. If applicable, state whether funding or a positive funding decision has already been received, and from which agency.

xii. Statement of Work (SOW): The SOW must provide a detailed task breakdown, citing specific tasks and their connection to the interim milestones and metrics, as applicable. Each year of the project should be separately defined. The SOW must not include proprietary information. For each defined task/subtask, provide:

A general description of the objective.

A detailed description of the approach to be taken to accomplish each defined task/subtask (including, where applicable, identifying the tasks/subtasks that will be performed on campus at a university).

Identification (by name) of the primary organization (prime contractor, subcontractor(s), consultant(s)) responsible for task/subtask execution.

A measurable milestone (e.g., a deliverable, demonstration, or other event/activity that marks task completion).

A definition of all deliverables (e.g., data, reports, software) to be provided to the Government in support of the proposed tasks/subtasks.

xiii. Schedule and Milestones: Provide a detailed schedule showing tasks (task name, duration, work breakdown structure element as applicable, performing organization), milestones, and the interrelationships among tasks. The task structure must be consistent with that in the SOW. Measurable milestones should be clearly articulated and defined in time relative to the start of the project.

xiv. Cost Summary: Provide the cost summary as described in Section IV.B.2.b.ii.(1).

xv. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: This section is mandatory and must include ALL of the following components. If a particular subsection is not applicable, state “NONE” (i.e., do not delete the subsection or leave it blank).

(1). Team Member Identification: Provide a list of all team members including the prime, subcontractor(s), and consultant(s), as applicable. Identify specifically whether any are a non-US organization or individual, FFRDC and/or Government entity. Use the following format for this list:

Prime Individual Name: Organization: Non-U.S. Organization: Yes No

Non-U.S. Individual: Yes No FFRDC: Yes No U.S. Government Entity: Yes No

Subcontractors/Consultants

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Individual Name: Organization: Non-U.S. Organization: Yes No Non-U.S. Individual: Yes No FFRDC: Yes No U.S. Government Entity: Yes No

Individual Name: Organization: Non-U.S. Organization: Yes No Non-U.S.US Individual: Yes No FFRDC: Yes No U.S. Government Entity: Yes No

(2). Government or FFRDC Team Member Proof of Eligibility to Propose: If any of the team member organizations are a Government entity or FFRDC, provide documentation (per Section III.A.1) citing the specific authority that establishes the applicable team member’s eligibility to propose to Government solicitations to include: (1) statutory authority; (2) contractual authority; (3) supporting regulatory guidance; and (4) evidence of agency approval for applicable team member participation.

(3). Government or FFRDC Team Member Statement of Unique Capability: If any of the team member organizations are a Government entity or FFRDC, provide a statement (per Section III.A.1) that demonstrates the work to be performed by the Government entity or FFRDC team member is not otherwise available from the private sector.

(4). Organizational Conflict of Interest Affirmations and Disclosure: If none of the proposed team members is currently providing SETA or similar support as described in Section III.B, state “NONE.”

If any of the proposed team members (individual or organization) is currently performing SETA or similar support, provide the following information:

Prime Contract Number

DARPA

Office supported

Description of any action the proposer has taken or proposes to take to avoid, neutralize, or mitigate the conflict

(5). Intellectual Property (IP): If no IP restrictions are intended, state “NONE.”

The Government will assume unlimited rights to all IP not explicitly identified as restricted in the proposal.

For all technical data or computer software that will be delivered to the Government with other than unlimited rights, provide (per Section VI.B.1) a list describing all proprietary claims to results, prototypes, deliverables or systems supporting and/or necessary for the use of the research, results, prototypes and/or deliverables. Provide documentation proving ownership or possession of appropriate licensing rights to all patented inventions (or inventions for which a patent application has been filed) to be used for the proposed project. Use the

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following format for these lists:

NONCOMMERCIAL

Technical Data and/or Computer Software To be Delivered With Restrictions

Summary of Intended Use in the Conduct of the Research

Basis for Assertion

Asserted Rights

Category

Name of Person Asserting Restrictions

COMMERCIAL

Technical Data and/or Computer Software To be Delivered With Restrictions

Summary of Intended Use in the Conduct of the Research

Basis for Assertion

Asserted Rights

Category

Name of Person Asserting Restrictions

(6). Human Subjects Research (HSR): If HSR is not a factor in the proposal, state

“NONE.”

If the proposed work will involve human subjects, provide evidence of or a plan for review by an institutional review board (IRB). For further information on this subject, see Section VI.B.2.

(7). Animal Use: If animal use is not a factor in the proposal, state “NONE.”

If the proposed research will involve animal use, provide a brief description of the plan for Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) review and approval. For further information on this subject, see Section VI.B.3.

(8). Representations Regarding Unpaid Delinquent Tax Liability or a Felony Conviction under Any Federal Law: Per Section VI.B.10, complete the following statements.

(a) The proposer represents that it is [ ] is not [ ] a corporation that has any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability.

(b) The proposer represents that it is [ ] is not [ ] a corporation that was convicted of a felony criminal violation under a Federal law within the preceding 24 months.

xvi. Bibliography: If desired, include a brief bibliography with links to relevant papers, reports, or resumes. This section is optional, and the linked materials will not be

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evaluated as part of the proposal review.

b. Volume 2 - Cost Proposal This volume is mandatory and must…