DARPA-PS-26-123-Attachment-B-Full-Proposal-Instructions-and-Template.docx

DARPA-PS-26-123

Distribution with Agreements Officer’s authorization only Attachment B – Full Proposal Instructions and Template

A complete Full Proposal submission consists of an “Encourage Full Proposal” Letter and written proposal. Proposers must submit a letter signed by a Government official on DARPA letterhead encouraging the proposer to submit to the TTO Office-Wide Solicitation (DARPA-PS-26-123).

Use of this template is mandatory for all written proposals.

Proposers are encouraged to submit concise but descriptive written proposals. Specific examples of problems, approaches, or goals are preferred to qualitative generalities. Additional information not explicitly called for in the proposal template 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 submissions must be written in English, and all pages shall be formatted for printing on 8.5” by 11” paper with 1” margins. Font size no smaller than 12-point shall be used; 8- or 10-point may be used for tables, figures, and charts.

Written proposals shall not exceed a maximum of 25 pages. DARPA will not consider pages in excess of the page limitations. Proposals with fewer than the maximum number of pages will not be penalized.

Table of Contents

Resumes (Optional)

References / Bibliography (Optional)

Technical Papers (Optional)

COVER SHEET

[PRIME ORGANIZATION LOGO]

Proposal Title

Proposer Organization

Proposal Focus Area

Proposer Reference Number, if any

Address:

Telephone:

Email:

Address:

Telephone:

Email:

Place(s) / Period(s) of Performance

Months

Organization:

Organization Type:

Estimated Total Cost (Base + Options) by Contractor Fiscal Year Year:

Base:

Option(s):

Total:

SAM.gov Unique Entity ID (UEI)i

Taxpayer identification number (TIN)ii

Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) codeiii

Name, address, and telephone number of the proposer’s cognizant Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) administration office (if known)

Name, address, and telephone number of the proposer’s cognizant Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) audit office (if known)

Table of Contents

1. Official Transmittal Letter Attach the official transmittal letter from the prime proposer organization.

2. Proposal Summary Provide a top-level synopsis of the proposed project, including answers to the following questions:

What is the proposed work attempting to accomplish or do?

How is the work performed today (what is the state of the art or practice), and what are the limitations?

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

What is new in your approach, and why do you think it will be successful?

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.

3. Goals and Impact Describe what you are 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 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 the sustainment of the technology over its entire lifecycle, assuming the technology transition plan is successful.

4. 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. List Government-furnished materials or data assumed to be available.

5. Management Plan Provide a summary of the proposed team, including any subawardees/consultants and key personnel who will be executing the work (please use table below). Identify a principal investigator (PI) for the project. Provide a clear description of the team’s organization, including an organization chart that illustrates, 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/subawardees of the proposed project. Include risk management approaches. Describe any formal teaming agreements that are required to execute this project.

Prime

Subawardees / Consultants

6. 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 execute the work.

7. Requirements for teams that include Government Entities and/or Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) Are any of the team member organizations (prime or subawardee) a Government entity or FFRDC?

¨ No ¨ Yes [If yes, provide the information outlined below.]

a. Proof of Eligibility to Propose Provide documentation citing the specific authority that establishes the applicable team member’s eligibility to propose to Government solicitations; include: (1) statutory authority; (2) contractual authority; (3) supporting regulatory guidance; and (4) evidence of agency approval for applicable team member participation. For FFRDCs, this documentation must be in the form of a letter on official letterhead from their sponsoring organization and must also include a statement of compliance with the terms and conditions of the associated FFRDC sponsor agreement, as applicable.

b. Statement of Unique Capability Provide a statement that demonstrates the work to be performed by the Government entity or FFRDC team member is not otherwise available from the private sector.

8. Organizational Conflict of Interest Affirmations and Disclosure In accordance with the requirements of this solicitation, provide the following information.

a. Are any of the proposed individual team members or their respective organizations (whether prime or subawardee or consultatnt) currently providing SETA, A&AS or similar support to DARPA? ¨ No ¨ Yes

b. Did any of the proposed individual team members or their respective organizations (whether prime or subawardee or consultant) provide SETA, A&AS or similar support to DARPA? Within one calendar year of this proposal submission? ¨ No ¨ Yes

If you answered “Yes” to 8.a OR 8.b, provide the following information for each applicable team member:

· The name of the DARPA office receiving the support;

· The prime contract number;

· Identification of proposed team member (subawardee, consultant) providing the support; and

· An OCI mitigation plan

c. Are there any other potential Organizational Conflicts of Interest involving any of the proposed individual team members or their respective organizations (whether prime or subawardee or consultant)? ¨ No ¨ Yes

If you answered “Yes”, provide the following information for each applicable team member:

· Identification of applicable team member; and

· An OCI mitigation plan]

9. Capabilities Describe the organizational experience in the relevant subject area(s), existing intellectual property, or specialized facilities. Discuss any work in closely related research areas and previous accomplishments. Identify other Government 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.

10. Statement of Work / Task Description Document Provide a detailed task breakdown by Contractor Fiscal Year, citing specific tasks and their connection to the interim milestones and metrics, as applicable. Do not include proprietary information.

For each defined task and subtask, provide:

· A general description of the objective.

· A detailed description of the approach to be taken to accomplish each defined task/subtask.

· Identification of any tasks/subtasks that will involve human subjects or animals.

· Identification of any tasks/subtasks that will be performed on campus at a university.

· Identification (by name) of the primary organization (prime contractor, sub-awardee(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.

· Identification of the proposed classification for each task/subtask.

· For all tasks and subtasks proposed to be unclassified, identify if the task/subtask is proposed as fundamental research or controlled unclassified information (CUI).

· Provide a short explanation for why each task/subtask should be categorized as fundamental research or CUI.

11. 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 TDD. Measurable milestones should be clearly articulated and defined in time relative to the start of the project.

12. Novelty of Proposed Work Has the proposed work been submitted to any other Government solicitation? ¨ No ¨ Yes

If you answered “Yes”, provide the following information

· Solicitation Number _______________________

· Agency ______________________

· Proposed work has already received funding or a positive funding decision. ¨ No ¨ Yes [Decision pending]

13. Bibliography (Optional) A brief (no more than five (5) pages) bibliography may be provided with links to relevant papers, references, reports, etc.

14. Representations and Certifications

· Please download, complete, and submit within this volume “2-SAMPLE OT certifications” available at the following link: DARPA Representations and Certifications

15. Intellectual Property (IP) Please provide the following information, as applicable. Note: the Government will assume unlimited rights to all IP not explicitly identified as restricted in the proposal.

a. Technical Data and Computer Software Are you asserting any IP restrictions on any technical data or non-commercial computer software that will be delivered to the Government? ¨ No ¨ Yes

If yes, list all proprietary claims to results, prototypes, deliverables or systems supporting and/or necessary for the use of the proposed research, results, prototypes and/or deliverables. Provide a short summary for each item asserted with less than unlimited rights that describes the nature of the restriction and the intended use of the intellectual property in the conduct of the proposed research. Use the following format for these lists.

NONCOMMERCIAL

Asserted Rights Category

Name of Person Asserting Restrictions

Are you proposing any commercial software that will be delivered to the Government? ¨ No ¨ Yes

If yes, please provide licensing terms.

COMMERCIAL

Asserted Rights Category

Name of Person Asserting Restrictions

Distribution with Agreements Officer’s authorization only