2014_LRBAA_Announcement.pdf

Science & Technology Directorate U.S. Department of Homeland Security

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

Agency Name: Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate Washington, DC 20528

Research Opportunity Title: DHS S&T Long Range Broad Agency Announcement

Research Opportunity Number: BAA 14-02

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 97.065

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Title: Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency

Response Date: This is a five (5) year announcement and will remain open until December 31, 2018, 11:59PM, Eastern Standard Time (EST). White Papers are due by this response date;

thus, if you are encouraged to submit a Full Proposal based on your White Paper submission, please be advised that the due date of the full proposal will be the date that is specified in the notification letter; and not the response date by December 31, 2018, 11:59PM, EST.

However, if an offeror’s proposal is not encouraged based on their White Paper submission, and the offeror still opts to submit a full proposal, they may do so within 60 days of the notification letter; and not the response date by December 31, 2018, 11:59PM, EST.

Points of Contact:

Sally Harris LRBAA Coordinator Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate 245 Murray Lane, SW Mail Stop 2100 Washington, DC 20528-2100 LRBAA.Admin@hq.dhs.gov

Jenista M. Featherstone Contracting Officer Department of Homeland Security Office of Procurement Operations 245 Murray Lane, SW Mail Stop 0115 Washington, DC 20528-3051 s&t-2014-lrbaa@hq.dhs.gov

S&T BAA Website: https://baa2.st.dhs.gov

S&T BAA Website Tech Support: dhsbaa@reisys.com or (703) 480-7676

2014 Long Range Broad Agency Announcement 14-02 mailto:LRBAA.Admin@hq.dhs.gov mailto:s&t-2014-lrbaa@hq.dhs.gov https://baa2.st.dhs.gov/

2. INTRODUCTION

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate (S&T) reserves the right to reject submissions if the work proposed duplicates current S&T activities, falls outside the particular division’s current efforts, or does not comply with the submission instructions. Therefore all interested parties must read these instructions carefully.

This is a Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (LRBAA), as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016. It is not a request for information (RFI).

The LRBAA’s submission and evaluation processes are distinct from those of conventional procurements that use Requests for Proposals (RFPs) or Requests for Quotes (RFQs).

S&T’s mission is to “support basic and applied homeland security research to promote revolutionary changes in technologies; advance the development, testing and evaluation, and deployment of critical homeland security technologies; and accelerate the prototyping and deployment of technologies that would address homeland security vulnerabilities.” This Announcement declares S&T’s general interest in competitively funding R&D projects across a spectrum of science and engineering disciplines. S&T will focus on areas where risk inhibits mission or operational investments, and where significantly improved or increased capability payoffs can be expected.

S&T seeks R&D projects for revolutionary, evolving, and maturing technologies that demonstrate the potential for significant improvement in homeland security missions and operations. The unique contribution of your proposed research or technical concept, and how it differs from similar efforts or solutions, must be clearly articulated in your White Paper. Offerors should read the descriptions of the research topic areas of interest and identify the specific topic for which their concept will have the maximum impact. Offerors are encouraged to select the one division that most directly corresponds to their proposed subject matter.

It cannot be emphasized too strongly that all submissions must indicate significant advancement in the evolution of a topic area identified in this Announcement. The Government reserves the right to reject submissions that do not clearly articulate such advances or innovations.

This announcement is restricted to work relating to basic and applied research and that portion of advanced technology development not related to a specific system or hardware procurement.

This announcement does not cover support services, such as technical services, engineering services, or other types of support services to include “contracting”-type services (e.g., quasi-directed subcontracting) or contracts to “evaluate” another contractor’s performance/program.

Such submissions are considered non-compliant with this LRBAA and will be rejected without evaluation.

Fully developed products are not normally considered under this LRBAA, unless the Offeror is proposing a totally different application for the product or a modification is needed, which requires substantial research. Purchase of capital equipment will only be allowed under a given proposal if S&T deems it reasonable and necessary to conduct the particular project. No LRBAA award shall be primarily for the purchase of capital equipment.

Offerors who seek, through this LRBAA, to extend work previously completed must clearly articulate where the old work ended, where the new work begins, and what new advances are expected from the work contemplated under this LRBAA. Please ensure it is clear that the work now being submitted is independent of previous work (i.e. the next logical step in the research, or investigating a subject that was discovered and not funded under the previous award).

Submitting existing Statements of Work and indicating which steps have been completed is not sufficient justification for an independent award under the LRBAA.

DHS S&T will not issue paper copies of this Broad Agency Announcement. Oral presentations are not permitted at any point during the LRBAA process.

3. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

All responsible Offerors are eligible to submit White Papers under the LRBAA, but DHS S&T particularly encourages submissions from small businesses. However, no set aside of any kind will be made.

Foreign or foreign-owned Offerors are advised that their participation is subject to foreign disclosure review procedures, applicable export control laws, and other applicable federal laws, regulations, and policies pertaining to U.S. Government business with foreign entities.

Offerors may include independent organizations, single entities, or teams from private sector organizations, Government laboratories, airport authorities, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), and academic institutions. FFRDCs, including the Department of Energy National Laboratories and Centers, are eligible to respond to this LRBAA individually or as team members with eligible principal Offerors, as long as they are permitted to respond to such announcements under their applicable sponsoring agreements.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Minority Institutions (MIs), small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, women-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran owned small businesses, and HUBZone small businesses are encouraged to submit proposals and to join other entities as team members in submitting proposals.

Offerors must be prepared to cooperate and exchange data and technical information as requested by DHS S&T. Data rights and intellectual property terms and conditions will be addressed after Full Proposal evaluation.

The cost of preparing White Papers and Full Proposals in response to this Announcement is not considered an allowable direct cost. Offerors should consult FAR 31.205-18 when considering whether these costs may be allocated as indirect costs. The Contracting Officer will determine allowability and allocability. The Offeror may be required to submit certified cost and pricing data if the value of a prospective award exceeds the Truth in Negotiations Act threshold.

4. AWARD INFORMATION

The S&T technical subject matter expert personnel shall coordinate with the Contracting Officer to identify White Papers that present “particular value” to S&T. The Division Contracting Officer will encourage the Offerors of these White Papers to submit Full Proposals consisting of detailed technical and cost information. Please note that any such encouragement does not assure an award.

The primary basis for selecting proposals for acceptance shall be technical, importance to agency programs, and funding availability. Cost realism and reasonableness shall also be considered to the extent appropriate. Therefore, DHS S&T reserves the right to select for negotiation of a potential award to fund all, some, or none of the Full Proposals received in response to this Announcement. The amount of resources made available under this BAA will depend on the quality of the proposals received and the availability of funds. A proposal may be selected, but only specific portions may be of interest. The award value and period of performance of each selected Full Proposal will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Proposal development costs will not be reimbursed. Technical and cost proposals (or any other material) submitted in response to this BAA will not be returned. However, depending on the markings on the proposal, DHS S&T will adhere to FAR policy on handling source selection information and proprietary proposals. It is the policy of DHS S&T to treat all proposals as proprietary information and to disclose their contents only for the purposes of evaluation.

Multiple awards are anticipated through this LRBAA. Award decisions will be based on a competitive selection of proposals resulting from a scientific and cost review. Awards may take the form of Time-and-Materials/Labor Hour or Cost-Reimbursement type contracts. However the Government also reserves the right to award grants, cooperative agreements, Other Transaction Agreements (OTA) (if authorized by law at time of award), or interagency agreements to appropriate parties should the situation warrant.

The applicable laws and regulations governing a particular award will depend on that award vehicle. S&T will also facilitate access to laboratory and operationally relevant test and evaluation facilities, where reasonably available. In the event that an Offeror or subcontractor is an FFRDC, Department of Energy National Laboratory, or other federal entity, DHS S&T will work with the appropriate sponsoring agency to issue an interagency agreement pursuant to the Economy Act (31 USC 1531) or other appropriate authority.

In many cases, other elements of the U.S. Government are pursuing related technologies. In such cases, S&T will leverage those technology development efforts wherever it is practicable and efficient to do so.

5. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Communication During Evaluation: Once a White Paper or Full Proposal has been submitted, the evaluation becomes active until the LRBAA Contracting Officer issues an official notification letter to the Offeror. During the evaluation (White Paper or Full Proposal), no communication shall occur between S&T personnel and the Offeror regarding the submission or its general subject matter, except as noted below.

During the evaluation period, the LRBAA Contracting Officer must be the focal point of any exchange with Offerors. After receipt of a Full Proposal, no discussion regarding the scope of work, resources required to execute the scope, etc., will be allowed during the Source Selection process. However, a Contracting Officer may initiate communications if and when specific facts in the submission require further clarification from the Offeror (such as confirmation of a delivery date).

Conflict of Interest: Per HSAR 3025.209-72, Organizational Conflict of Interest issues will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis as outlined below:

(a) Disclosure. In a Full Proposal submission Offerors must represent to the best of their knowledge: (1) whether any of their current employees were previously employed by DHS S&T, and whether any of their former employees are now DHS S&T employees;

(2) full disclosure of any actual, potential, or perceived organizational conflicts of interest. The Offeror shall include a mitigation plan for any actual or potential conflicts of interest, in accordance with paragraph (d) of this provision.

(b) Determination. The Contracting Officer may determine that this effort may result in an actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest.

(c) If an Offeror with an actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest believes it can be mitigated the Offeror may submit a mitigation plan to the Contracting Officer. The Contracting Officer may approve a mitigation plan; reject a mitigation plan and ask for revisions; or reject a mitigation plan, determine that the conflict of interest cannot be resolved or avoided, and find the Offeror ineligible for award.

(d) Other Relevant Information. In addition to the mitigation plan, the Contracting Officer may require additional relevant information from the Offeror. The Contracting Officer will use all information submitted by the Offeror, and any other relevant information known to DHS, to determine whether an award may be made and whether the mitigation plan adequately mitigates the conflict.

(e) Corporation Change. The successful Offeror shall inform the Contracting Officer, within 30 calendar days of the effective date of any corporate mergers, acquisitions, or divestitures that may affect this provision.

(f) Flow-down. The contractor shall insert the substance of this clause, paragraphs (a) through (f), in each subcontract that exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold.

Offerors who have existing contract(s) with DHS S&T for scientific, engineering, technical or administrative support will receive particular scrutiny.

Note also that FAR-based awards will incorporate Homeland Security Acquisition Regulation (HSAR) clause (deviation) 3052.209-70 Prohibition on Contracts with Corporate Expatriates.

6. PRE-SUBMISSION INQUIRIES

A pre-submission inquiry is optional. The LRBAA webpage has a submission portal specifically for pre-submission inquiries. Through this portal only, you may submit a brief statement of your idea and receive general feedback on if the idea meets the mission of DHS. Inquiries emailed directly to divisions will not be considered. S&T personnel can indicate whether an idea appears to be within the scope of the division’s interests and this LRBAA. S&T personnel cannot assist in the preparation of a White Paper, nor can they propose any ideas they would like Offerors to address. However, regardless of the feedback you receive, you may still submit a White Paper.

Go to https://baa2.st.dhs.gov and click on the following links: (1) Current Solicitations; (2) LRBAA 14-02; (3) Pre-Submission Inquiry. This will take you to the online pre-submission inquiry portal. You will be asked to identify a topic area to ensure it is routed to the correct division and individual(s).

7. RESEARCH TOPICS

Below are brief treatments of the topic areas of interest. In your White Paper submission, you will be asked to identify the division and/or specific topic area that best fits your proposed research.

BORDER AND MARITIME SECURITY

The Borders and Maritime Security division is interested in the development and evaluation of security technologies and pilot testing new surveillance, tracking, and response capabilities that cover vast expanses of remote border territories. Our focus is on technologies that improve the security of our Nation’s borders and waterways without impeding the flow of commerce and travelers.

Border and Maritime Security’s overarching goals are as follows:

Goal 1: Develop advanced detection, classification, and locating technologies that will enhance law enforcement officers’ ability to secure the border and respond to border threats.

Goal 2: Develop advanced detection, identification, interdiction, and enforcement technologies for rapid, coordinated response to maritime threats.

BMD.01 Land Border Security

Detection of, tracking of, classifying of, and responding to all threats along the terrestrial and maritime border – specifically, technologies that can perform one of the following functions:

• Noninvasive, minimally disruptive sensors and systems that can detect and locate clandestine, unknown subterranean threats (tunnels and other buried objects of interest to law enforcement) within varied geologies of the southwest border.

• Cost-effective airborne sensors for better land border security to assist in locating illicit activities, materials, or their means of conveyances, including:

o Runway-agnostic unmanned aerial systems that could be evaluated on their ability to provide ground operators with situational awareness and airborne imagery of areas of interest o Unmanned systems development and demonstration for detecting, responding to, characterization or classification of threats to include illicit border crossings, drug trafficking, severe weather, and natural disasters; and o Persistent wide area ground and aerial surveillance capabilities for long duration monitoring of border areas

BMD.02 Maritime Border Security

The technologies and concepts described under Maritime Border Security will be evaluated under the concepts that define the DHS S&T Coastal Surveillance System (CSS) Project for FY 14 through FY 2018. The CSS project fields a new enterprise-grade information sharing system, new information sources, and new information analytics for DHS and other federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local partners. The project seeks to expand and enhance CSS by adding new data sources/capabilities to detect/track maritime vessels. Promising capabilities defined in the following categories will be required to demonstrate suitability of use including ease of connectivity and operational effectiveness. The categories are:

• Improved systems – enhancements to the common operating picture and intelligence capabilities to incorporate new capabilities and provide better cross-domain support;

• Improved situational awareness by tracking small boat activity, detecting anomalous and/or illegal behavior, and providing timely and actionable information in support of law enforcement and port security efforts.

• Improved sensor performance to enable improved detection and tracking of small and large vessels by overcoming environmental clutter issues within the port/harbor as well as in coastal environments as well as improved dissemination of radar, video, and other information;

• Concepts, methodologies, and/or technologies that utilize public as well as private databases, data sets, data collection devices, or sensors of opportunity to increase detection/tracking accuracy and/or the field of regard surrounding inland waterways, ports, harbors, and coastal regions.

The CSS employs open standards and necessary information will be provided to selected technologies/capabilities/concepts at no cost to facilitate connectivity to the CSS enterprise architecture and will undergo an interoperability assessment. Interoperability assessments are planned to occur at a minimum of two activities each year at various venues and selected technologies will be invited to participate. Participation at these events will not be limited to capabilities that are selected via this LRBAA process. Other avenues will also be pursued to discover and evaluate technologies for potential connection to the CSS enterprise and interoperability assessments.

CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL DEFENSE DIVISION

The Chemical and Biological Defense (CBD) Division works to increase the Nation’s preparedness against chemical and biological threats through improved threat awareness, advanced surveillance and detection, and responsive countermeasures. The division works with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Infrastructure Protection (OIP) and the Office of Health Affairs (OHA), along with other DHS Components, to increase public and governmental awareness of potential chemical and biological threats and to strengthen the Nation's response against these threats.

CBD.02: New or improved rapid diagnostic tests that facilitate public health and/or disease outbreak surveillance, response, and recovery. Use cases include continuous health surveillance and mass triage scenarios

(1) New laboratory-based high throughput, molecular-based detection platforms with improved sensitivity and time to answer

(2) New field deployable/point of need diagnostic tests with improved sensitivity and time to answer

(3) Non-culture based diagnostic tests to determine exposure or early symptomatic infection

CBD.03: Facility protection: Integration of sensors into building systems (e.g. HVAC, Security) and development of associated Concepts of Operations to enable rapid and adaptive responses to chemical and biological releases in order to protect occupants and mitigate the impact of the release.

CBD.04: CBRN Threat Characterization: Supports research and development of next generation and novel methodological approaches to terrorism risk analysis, intentional attack analysis, scenario modeling and simulation to support the following needs:

(1) Risk Management;

(2) Cost Benefit Analysis and Resource Allocation;

(3) Development and evaluation of deterrence, preparedness, response and mitigation strategies;

(4) Behavioral modeling of adversary intentions and public response to CBRN terrorism events.

CBD.13 – New, cost-effective, biological-based countermeasures for foreign animal disease (FAD) and zoonotic pathogens affecting major domestic livestock species. Specific areas of interest are cattle and swine product candidates based on molecular vaccine platforms previously shown to be safe and effective against other infectious or human biodefense disease targets, and novel biological-derived agents with an established immune-based mechanism of action.

Influenza countermeasure proposals will not be considered:

(1) New, molecular-based vaccine candidates that improve the onset of immunity and can differentiate infected from vaccinated animals.

(2) Novel immunostimulants, adjuvants, or agents with an immune-based mechanism of action that can improve vaccine efficacy and/or vaccine potency.

(3) New vaccines that can increase spectrum of cross-protection against related strains.

(4) New vaccines based on novel state-of-the-art technologies (e.g., nanovaccines, VLPs).

(5) New biological-based anti-viral therapeutics (small molecule drugs excluded) that can be used in combination with vaccines.”

CBD.15 - Apply new and rapid methods to collect and analyze statistically relevant livestock premises, movement networks, and population datasets from local, state, and private industry sources to support development and validation of Foreign Animal Disease models at the local regional and national scale. Priority livestock data of interest includes cattle, domestic swine, sheep, and poultry.

CYBER SECURITY

The Cyber Security Division focuses on research for advanced cyber security and information assurance solutions to secure the Nation’s current and future cyber and critical infrastructures against persistent threats and dynamic attacks. This research is guided by the President’s National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace and Comprehensive National Cyber Security Initiative. These solutions include secure protocols, end system security, user identity and data privacy technologies, research infrastructure, law enforcement forensic capabilities, competitions, and education.

CSD.01 – Internet Infrastructure Security – including secure internet protocols including Domain Name System Security (DNSSEC) and Secure Protocols for Routing Infrastructure (RPKI and

BGPSEC).

CSD.02 – National Research Infrastructure – mimicking real-life conditions, systems and infrastructure, to enable the cyber security research community to discover, test, and analyze state-of-the-art tools, technologies and software in a scientifically rigorous and ethical manner.

CSD.03 – Homeland Open Security Technology – Open Source Security Technology to enable implementation and deployment of open source security technologies in Federal, State, and Local environments.

CSD.04 – Forensics support to law enforcement – including the research and development of tools and technologies that will allow investigators to visualize, analyze, share and present data derived from cell phones, GPS devices, computer hard drives, networks, and other digital media.

CSD.05 – Identity Management (IdM) - seeking tools, technologies, credential vulnerability studies, and other efforts that improve the security of access control in both cyber and physical environments. The mission of the IdM research projects is to develop, test, and evaluate interoperable tools, technologies, standards, and protocols for the purpose of controlling user access within and outside of organizational boundaries. The foundational goal is to increase security and productivity while decreasing cost and security risks.

CSD.06 – Data Privacy Technologies - seeking to develop a set of technologies and associated business processes, which help organizations responsibly manage personally identifiable information (PII) in a manner that protects individual privacy consistent with applicable law, policy, and mission. Data Privacy tools that inherently provide privacy are critical enablers of information sharing as they automate control of privacy data and foster confidence that personal information is being used appropriately while minimizing privacy risk. Data Privacy projects support the application of technologies to the transfer, management, and accountability of privacy data for federal, state, local, and critical infrastructure and key resource information sharing missions by exploring, refining and integrating technologies and techniques, and piloting the results.

CSD.07 – Software Assurance – The CSD objective in the area of Software Assurance is to develop and improve Software Analysis technologies, tools, and techniques to reduce the exposures and vulnerabilities in software. The nation's critical infrastructure (energy, transportation, telecommunications, banking and finance, and others), businesses, and services are extensively and increasingly controlled and enabled by software. Vulnerabilities in software put the nation’s critical resources at risk. To address this objective, CSD is seeking research in areas such as:

a) The integration of Static Application Security Testing (SAST) with Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) tools and techniques to create a hybrid approach to reduce exposures and vulnerabilities in the software environments.

b) Vulnerability correlation engine to reduce false-positives and improve detection capabilities for false-negatives.

c) Comprehensive remediation workflow analysis

d) Vulnerability mapping and correlation (DISA STIGS, NIST, CWE, OWASP and PCI).

e) Integration and support with DHS Software Assurance Market Place (SWAMP)

f) Threat and attack model simulations to cover areas such as business logic flaws, system environment, OS related exposures

CSD.08 – The CSD objective in the area of cyber security education is to develop, demonstrate and help implement comprehensive and dynamic cyber security education models that impact our homeland and national cyber security education condition for the better. These models and associated technologies need to support cyber security competitions and education and curriculum development. To address this objective, CSD anticipates cyber security research in areas such as:

a) the coupling of operations with education and training;

b) abstract learning versus learning with context;

c) Bayesian learning (prior knowledge) and where and how it might be applicable.

CSD.09 – Cyber-physical control and Critical Infrastructure Systems and Security – The intersections of cyber security and critical infrastructure is a growing vulnerability for the American homeland, characterized by tight coupling, coordination, and interconnections among sensing, communications, computational, control, information and physical resources. Their interconnections in particular form a complex system of systems, and the complexity of these systems and interconnections will continue to grow. The complexity of systems poses challenges in resiliency, vulnerability, threat, and recovery assessment. To address this area, CSD is interested in applied research addressing areas such as:

Models, theories, methods, and tools to fully address the cyber security of cyber-physical systems, in a unified and integrated way;

Analysis, understanding and control approaches at the intersection of security analysis and operations analysis, i.e. possible overlaps between control and critical infrastructure systems and their cyber security, industrial security and operations security capabilities;

The interplay of control, business and consumer-facing systems, and the interplay between different critical infrastructure systems;

Security architectures, in particular how different security approaches might best work to protect critical infrastructure systems.

CSD.10 – Internet Measurement and Attack Modeling Techniques: Security focused measurement and attack modeling for all aspects of cyberspace. This includes the Internet (e.g., ASNs, routers) as well as other devices (e.g. medical devices) or networks (e.g. ICS) that may connect to the Internet, via a static or dynamic (possibly intermittent) connection.

CSD.11 – Securing the mobile workforce: technologies to support flexible client side security.

CSD.12 - Research and Development to build upon security in cloud based systems - including secure protocols to protect data flow to, within and out of the cloud; data integrity; user privacy constraints; forensics analysis to preserve digital evidence; and measurement systems to identify unauthorized activity.

CSD.13 – Experiments and Pilots – Technologies developed through federally funded research requiring test and evaluation in experimental operational environments to facilitate transition.

CSD.14 –Research Data Repository – Cyber security datasets of interest to the research community.

CSD.15 – Cyber Security Economic Incentives – Research into the areas of:

a) Cyber insurance and insurability,

b) Defining the boundaries between service provider empowerment and law enforcement involvement, within the context of their global legal abilities and partnerships, and

c) The legal and technical issues and barriers involved in data sharing among service providers, both domestic and global, and developing improved models for domestic and international collaboration and cyber security data sharing.

CSD.16 – Data Analytics – The exponential increase in the volume of data created daily worldwide creates new challenges for cyber security. S&T is interested in technologies and tools to support the analysis of datasets whose size is beyond the ability of commonly used software tools to capture, manage and process. These include but are not limited to:

a) Data discovery,

b) automated analysis techniques,

c) machine and self-learning algorithms and

d) data visualization.

CSD.17 – Tailored Trustworthy Spaces – Technologies and tools supporting the concepts of tailored trustworthy spaces, including but not limited to:

a) trust negotiation tools and data trust models to support negotiation of policy,

b) Type-safe languages and application verification, and tools for establishment of identity or authentication as specified by the policy, and

c) Support for application-aware anonymity to allow for anonymous web access, and platform security mechanisms and trust-in-platform.

EXPLOSIVES COUNTERMEASURES DIVISION

Explosives Countermeasures include the detection, mitigation, and response to explosive threats including: all modes of transportation within the Transportation Systems Sector (Aviation, Maritime, Mass Transit, Highway, Freight Rail, and Pipeline); in checked and carry- on baggage;

Home Made Explosives (HME); improvised explosive devices (IEDs), vehicle borne (VBIED) and person borne (PBIED); and response and defeat technologies.

EXD.01 – Standoff Detection of Explosives: Technologies for the standoff detection of explosives and explosive devices related to Person and Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices. Explosives of interest include commercially available explosives (i.e. Ammonium Nitrate based), conventional military explosives (i.e. Composition C-4 and Semtex A/H) and homemade explosives (i.e., peroxide base). Standoff Detection implies that both the detection equipment and operator be located at some distance (>1 m up to tens of meters) away from the subject or object under interrogation. Subtopics include:

(1) Integration of both multimodal and multispectral technologies for improved detection and/or imaging metrics.

(2) Development of automated detection and/or identification capabilities associated with both imaging and spectroscopy based technologies.

EXD.02 – Trace Detection of Explosives: Technologies for the detection of explosives trace particle and vapor signatures in aviation security, facilities protection, and mass transit security operations. Specific interests include handheld and benchtop explosives trace detection (ETD) systems, optical methods for quickly and quantitatively measuring trace contamination on a range of surfaces, and advanced explosives trace detection system concepts.

EXD.03 – Cargo Security includes detecting intrusion or unauthorized access, positively identify cargo, and provide timely response – in particular, in containerized, palletized, parcel, or bulk/break-bulk maritime, air cargo, and freight rail.

EXD.04 – Test and Evaluation Expertise and Facilities for Counter-IED detection technologies.

Standoff, Remote, and Checkpoint based explosives detection systems, to be evaluated, most often require real explosives and local storage of said explosives. Facilities must be able to store, on-site, small amounts (< 1 pound) of various solid explosives, while achieving clean, uncontaminated facilities for equipment testing. Facilities must be able to accommodate non-eye safe laser ranges, x-ray based screening equipment, and neutron-based screening equipment.

Facilities must also be able to accommodate, in certain cases, large, outdoor vehicle borne IED screening equipment.

EXD.05 – Data Fusion and Automated Detection for aviation cargo, checked baggage, carry-on baggage, personal check points and all surface intermodal concerns. Algorithms and techniques for detection fusion and automated alerting that combines a variety of detection modalities, including but not limited to X-ray, trace chemical detection, computed tomography (CT) and video.

EXD.06 – Advanced Detection Technologies: Development of robust, enhanced explosives detection methods such as fluorescence quenching materials, bio-inspired molecular recognition techniques and advanced sampling technologies to improve selectivity and sensitivity capabilities. Detection methods should be easily deployed, low cost and require minimum training to operate. Special attention should be paid to determining better sensing mechanisms and signal amplification mechanisms to apply to future detection improvements. Advanced image processing and data collection methods are of interest.

FIRST RESPONDER GROUP

The First Responder Group identifies, validates, and facilitates the fulfillment of First Responder capability gaps through the use of existing and emerging technologies, knowledge products, and the acceleration of standards. The FRG focuses on: (1) developing tools, technologies, methodologies, standards, protocols, and guidance to enable improved communications interoperability for First Responders; (2) providing First Responder solutions for high-priority capability gaps through rapid prototyping; (3) maintaining a Web portal that enables First Responders to easily access and leverage Federal web services; and (4) overseeing the National Urban Security Technology Laboratory, which provides a test and evaluation capability for DHS-developed technologies and systems.

FRG.01 – The ability to identify trends, patterns, and important content from large volumes of information from multiple sources (including non-traditional sources) to support incident decision-making. Improvements in this Capability can: (1) Prevent incident command and general staff from being overloaded with unmanageable amounts of incident data; (2) Allow incident commanders to synthesize and analyze information to make informed operational decisions. Capability Requirements: (1) Tools to analyze incoming incident data in real-time to identify trends, patterns and anomalies; (2) Policies and standards to utilize such information to inform and improve decision making.

FRG.02 – The ability to share video from incident scene to medical services personnel in a remote location. Improvements in this Capability can: (1) Gather EMS color requirements for compressed video; (2) result in improved compression for video streaming in order to transmit it over the limited available wireless bandwidth. Capability Requirements: (1) applications must retain color truth throughout the video system.

FRG.03 – The ability to analyze the performance of a video system’s transport component.

Improvements in this Capability can: (1) use different types of cameras (e.g., high definition, low definition) to identify the limits of camera use for streaming video (with or without compression) on a given network; (2) help define network bandwidth requirements for a video applications.

Capability Requirements: (1) efficient use of bandwidth for a specific video application on a user’s given device.

FRG.04 – The ability to better understand how the public will respond to alert and warning messages on mobile devices. Improvements in this Capability can: (1) Improve understanding of the public’s response to alerts and warnings, including how to optimize message content, message frequency, education and training, communicating to special populations, message diffusion throughout the public, and trust and validation of messages; (2) Take into consideration current Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS) regulations proposed by the CMSAAC and supported by the FCC, including enhanced geo-targeting features; (3) Understand the use of social media and public participation in origination and dissemination of alerts and warnings including research and testing in the areas of standardization, aggregation and analysis, behavioral response, best practices, and privacy. Capability Requirements: (1) Consideration of current CMAS regulations as proposed by the CMSAAC and supported by the FCC.

FRG.05 – The ability to better determine when more granular geo-targeting (i.e. below the County level as currently implemented) is appropriate as well as how broadly targeting should be extended from the point of incident. Improvements in this Capability can: (1) Accelerate geo-targeting standardization; (2) Enable the creation and establishment of best practices and standard operating procedures for adoption; (3) Focus on areas such as addressing messages across boundaries between targeted regions, differing coverage areas across multiple mobile carrier networks, the challenges of in-building geographies such as airports, and other enhancements to improve the geo-targeting of mobile alerts and warnings using cell broadcast. Capability Requirements: (1) Geo Targeting (i.e., below the County level as currently implemented).

FRG.06 – The ability of local responders to respond to and recovery from a radiological/nuclear incident. Improvements in this capability can: (1) Assist local responders in managing the complexity of the response; (2) Allow for complete characterization of the incident, including hazard identification; (3) Provide capability to protect citizens, families, and responders in the initial response; (4) Provide initial medical care for survivors; (5) Provide long-term care for incident casualties and evacuees; (6) Allow for stabilization and control of the impacted area and infrastructure; and (7) Manage long term radiological clean-up and restoration of essential functions.

FRG.07 – The ability to monitor airborne radioactive fallout particles that have been released into the atmosphere, identifies the fallout composition/half-life, and accurately track its path and dispersion. Improvements in this Capability can: (1) Provide real-time information for decision makers responsibly for ordering evacuations and protective actions; (2) Allow for a rapid response coordination by identifying safe areas for resource staging and operations; (3) Provide citizens information about how to best protect themselves and their family; Capability Requirements (1) tracking information must be available for access by local decision makers (2) information must have the ability update in a reasonable timeframe to influence decisions being made.

OFFICE OF STANDARDS

The Mission of the Office of Standards is to support the development and promote the use of standards that meet Departmental mission needs and provide our customers with reliable, interoperable and effective technologies and processes.

STN Identifies standards needs and funds the initial standards development to ensure technologies applied across the Homeland Security Enterprise (HSE) meet minimum operational needs and do so in a safe, effective, and actionable manner. Our work supports the validation of technologies in the homeland security enterprise.

STN funds the development of measurement standards, performance standards, standard test methods, standard training protocols and supports establishing standard laboratory protocols to support standard test methods. All of these projects must be linked to user validated concepts of operation.

Biological Countermeasure Systems Standards

This portfolio supports an effective, coordinated response to biothreat incidents, supporting public safety with national operational guidance for local hazmat and law enforcement, emergency response officials, and on-scene coordinators. Working with other DHS Components and Federal agencies, this portfolio develops both validated technical methods and training curricula that encourage capability building at the jurisdiction level. This portfolio supports an integrated response to suspected biological incidents, fostering a coordinated response from first responder through law-enforcement, forensics, to eventual attribution. Through this project S&T is complying with the national strategy for chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) standards released by the White House in May 2011.

The areas of interest in this portfolio are:

STN 1.1 – Development of performance specification standards for biological detection technologies according to capability (i.e., screening tools, autonomous monitors, portable and laboratory based PCR assays)

STN 1.2 – Development of proficiency testing protocols in concert with users.

STN 1.3 – Development of standard test methods for performance of biological detection technologies – both in the laboratory and field operations.

STN 1.4 – Development of standard operational guidance and training curricula

STN 1.5 – Development of conformity assessment guidelines for validation of biological detection technologies.

Chemical Countermeasure Systems Standards

This portfolio supports cost effective deployment of chemical countermeasure technologies at the Federal, State, and local level. Using cooperative efforts in both test method development and testing of hazardous agents, technologies developed by other agencies can transition effectively to homeland security applications. The current suite of ASTM International standards will provide manufactures, responders, and facility operators with performance specifications, testing criteria, and application guidance. Development of these standards is critical for informed procurement decisions across the entire homeland security enterprise. This portfolio plans to implement a conformity assessment program for handheld and stationary chemical detectors.

This portfolio also plans to develop standards for the next class of chemical detectors. The areas of interest in this portfolio are:

STN 2.1 – Development of performance specification standards for chemical detection technologies according to capability (i.e., screening tools, autonomous monitors, portable and laboratory based detectors)

STN 2.2 – Development of proficiency testing protocols in concert with users.

STN 2.3 – Development of standard test methods for performance of chemical detection technologies – both in the laboratory and field operations.

STN 2.4 – Development of standard operational guidance and training curricula

STN 2.5 – Development of conformity assessment guidelines for validation of chemical detection technologies.

Explosives Detection Systems Standards This portfolio enables technologies that keep explosives out of transportation systems, Federal buildings, and critical infrastructure. There currently two categories of detection technologies:

Trace and Bulk detection, and we seek standards to evaluate the performance of both.

Trace detection standards optimize screening through the development of calibration procedures and test materials for use by DHS Components and partners. Standards optimize both the screening protocols and detection technology effectiveness. This project plans to develop standard test materials and protocols for next generation deployed trace explosives detection equipment, including new and emerging explosive threats.

Bulk detection standards increase the performance reliability and ensure the radiation safety of next generation of X-ray scanners for personnel, baggage, and cargo screening applications and allows for the development of critical screening technologies in airports and other transportation modalities. The project develops standards that measure image quality, sensitivity, and contrast of imaging systems, to increase the ability to detect concealed explosives and other weapons under clothing. Additionally, these standards ensure safety of the general public and equipment operators.

Additionally, the Explosives detection systems standards portfolio supports standards and training aids for canine systems, including standards reference materials.

STN 3.1 – Standard calibration procedures and standards test materials for use by DHS components and partners. Standards optimize both the screening protocols and detection technology effectiveness.

STN 3.2 - Standard test materials and standard test protocols for next generation deployed explosives detection equipment, including new and emerging explosive threats.

STN 3.3 – Development of standard protocols for screening technology in the hands of users, development of standard training materials, training aids, stimulants and other support elements to optimize the use of technologies in the field by users.

STN 3.4 - Radiation safety standards for the next generation of X-ray scanners for personnel, baggage, and cargo screening applications.

Robotics Systems Standards This project supports urban search and rescue and explosives countermeasures through standards for response robots. This suite of standards and test methods quantify the key capabilities of the robots, ensuring performance and responder safety. These test methods address responder-defined requirements for robot mobility, manipulation, sensors, communication, mapping, human-robot interfaces, logistics, and safety. This project provides uniform test methods to evaluate critical performance parameters in support of ongoing robot procurement actions. This project plans to expand test methods development to support bomb disposal robot platforms.

STN 4.1 – Standard test methods to evaluate and measure mobility of robots in various terrains.

STN 4.2 – Standard test methods to evaluate and measure robot manipulation capabilities.

STN 4.3 – Standard test methods to evaluate and measure robot sensors, communications, and mapping.

STN 4.4 – Standard test methods to evaluate and measure human robot interfaces and operator proficiency.

STN 4.5 – Standard test methods to measure and evaluate logistics and safety parameters.

Biometrics & Credentialing Standards The Biometrics project develops image, format and data standards that enable the exchange of biometric and forensic information between and among law enforcement, intelligence, defense, and homeland security agencies. These standards support the interoperability of major biometric recognition and forensic databases and systems at the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Justice; linking biometric data to passports, visa, and border-crossing records. This program develops standards that provide the most cost effective way to integrate and coordinate biometric information collection and dissemination in support of the homeland security enterprise. This project seeks standards in biometric client technologies, latent fingerprint analysis, biometric quality, and biometric human factors and usability. This project also plans to complete standard performance specifications for multimodal biometric sensors.

The Credentialing project increases the security and reliability of sharing first responder personnel credential information through the development of standards that provide the secure and private sharing of first responder information. This project ensures the proper access control, policy enforcement mechanisms, and trusted infrastructure needed when accessing emergency management resources for preparedness, response, and recovery.

STN 5.1 – Image standards for Biometric Technologies govern the characteristics of acceptable images (e.g. face, fingerprint, and iris images)

STN 5.2 - Interchange/Exchange Standards for biometric Data, covering the sharing of biometric data between databases, agencies and…