DPA Title III FOA Call 011 Critical Chemicals.pdf

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT (FOA) # FA8650-19-S-5010

DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT (DPA) TITLE III EXPANSION OF

DOMESTIC PRODUCTION CAPABILITY AND CAPACITY

MATERIALS & MANUFACTURING DIRECTORATE

CALL 011

“Critical Chemical Precursors for Energetic Materials”

Overview Information

NAICS Code: The NAICS Code for this acquisition is 339999 (All Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing) and the small business size standard is 500 employees.

Federal Agency Name: Air Force Research Laboratory, AFRL/RXKMT

CALL Title: Critical Chemical Precursors for Energetic Materials Effort

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Type: CALL 011

Funding Opportunity Agency Announcement Number: FA8650-19-S-5010

THIS WILL BE A ONE-STEP SOLICITATION: FOA with Calls - Refer to Funding Opportunity Announcement FA8650-19-S-5010 Section VII. FOA with Calls for more information regarding proposal submission information and proposal content and form.

Please note that any Roman Numeral Sections shown within this call references back to the FOA Announcement Section of same Roman Numeral.

Project Topic Area: Sustainment of Critical Production (Efforts to create, maintain, protect, expand, or restore industrial base capabilities essential for national defense.)

THE GOVERNMENT SUSPENDS WHITE PAPER SUBMISSIONS RELATED TO

CRITICAL CHEMICAL PRECURSORS FOR ENERGETIC MATERIALS EFFECTIVE ON

THE DATE AND TIME THAT THIS CALL IS POSTED. WHITE PAPER SUBMISSIONS

TIED TO CRITICAL CHEMICAL PRECURSORS FOR ENERGETIC MATERIALS WILL

NOT BE REVIEWED. THE GOVERNMENT WILL PROVIDE NOTIFICATION WHEN

SUSPENSION PERIOD IS LIFTED.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION: A supplemental data package has been established and includes data that will be required by potential Offerors. This data will be provided via email upon request (by email only). Interested parties must contact the individual below in order to request this data:

Susanna Back, AFRL/RXME DPA Title III Program Manager Phone: (937) 904-4366 Email: susanna.back.1@us.af.mil

The following information must be provided before the data will be provided:

• Company Name

• Company Address

• Point Of Contact

• Email Address

• Phone Number

• Signed Domestic Source Certification. Domestic Source Certification can be found in Appendix I to FOA FA8650-19-S-5010.

• Complete Company Ownership Structure

INTENT TO PROPOSE: Offerors that anticipate submitting a proposal are requested to submit an e-mail to Ms. Felicia Bibbs, Agreements Negotiator, at felicia.bibbs@us.af.mil containing the name of the Recipient, the POC, and the Recipient’s intent to submit a proposal. This “Intent to Propose” is requested by Friday, 3 September 2021, 12:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time.

PROPOSAL DUE DATE AND TIME: Tuesday 28 September 2021, no later than 12:00 PM Wright-Patterson AFB, OH local time

PROPOSAL Submission: Proposals must be submitted to the Contracting Point of Contact (POC):

Agreements Officer Mrs. Whitney Foxbower, AFRL/RXKMT 2130 8th St., Bldg. 45 Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7541

(937) 713-9877 whitney.foxbower@us.af.mil

Note: Any proposal, modification or revision received at the Government Office designated in this FOA after the exact date and time specified for receipt of offers is “late” and will not be considered except at the Agreement Officer’s (AO) discretion. It should be noted that this installation observes strict security procedures to enter the facility. These security procedures are NOT considered an interruption of normal Government processes, and proposals received after the stated date and time as a result of security delays will be considered “late.” Furthermore, note that if Offerors utilize commercial carriers in the delivery of proposals, they may not honor time-of-day delivery guarantees on military installations. Be advised, if the U.S. Postal Service is used, this building only receives U.S. Postal Mail twice a week and delivery by such means may not meet the proposal due date and time. Early proposal submission is encouraged. Proposals should be addressed to the Contracting Point of Contact (POC) stated in the Submission section.

Type of Contract/Instrument: The Government intends to utilize the Department of Defense Grant and Agreement Regulations (DoDGARs)-based Technology Investment Agreement (TIA) for any awards made off of this Call. However, the Government may consider award of a Cooperative Agreement in rare situations if it is a better fit for the requirement.

Estimated Program Cost: Total program cost $20 million ($10 million Government funding plus $10 million Recipient(s) cost share). Estimating up to four awards with each award between approximately $2.5 and $10.0 million Government share each. Program budget is subject to funding availability. This is a funding profile, it is an estimate and is subject to change.

Anticipated Number of Awards: The Government anticipates making up to four awards with each between approximately $2.5 and 10.0 million Government Share each for this Call. The Government reserves the right to make multiple awards, a single award, or no award based on technical solutions proposed and funding availability.

Communication between Prospective Offerors and Government Representatives: All exchanges with Offerors shall include the Agreements Officer.

After Call release, questions and answers will be posted if warranted.

Discussions with any of the points of contact shall not constitute a commitment by the Government to subsequently fund or award any proposed effort. Only Contracting / Grants / Agreements Officers are legally authorized to commit the Government.

Address all questions to the following Agreement POCs:

Agreements Officer Mrs. Whitney Foxbower, AFRL/RXKMT 2130 8th St., Bldg. 45 Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7541 whitney.foxbower@us.af.mil

(937) 713-9877

CALL FULL TEXT ANNOUNCEMENT:

I. Program Description:

1. Topic Areas: The DPA Title III Program has derived three broad Topic Areas for potential projects. The Topic Areas are: Sustainment of Critical Production, Commercialization of Research and Development Investments, and Scaling of Emerging Technologies. This Call fits within the Topic Area expanded on below:

a. Sustainment of Critical Production: Efforts to create, maintain, protect, expand, or restore industrial base capabilities essential for national defense.

c. Export Control: Information involved in this project is not anticipated to be subject to Export Control. However, recipients shall comply with all U.S.

export control laws and regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), 22 CFR Sections 121 through 128.

6. Other Information:

a. Government Furnished Property (GFP): Not anticipated

b. Government Furnished Information and/or Software: Not Anticipated

c. Base Support/Network Access: Not anticipated

d. Data Rights Desired:

(1) Technical Data: Government Purpose Rights desired. Recipients may bring IP to the individual projects

(2) Non-Commercial Software (NCS): Not Applicable (N/A)

(3) NCS Documentation: N/A

(4) Commercial Computer Software Rights: N/A

e. Human or Animal Subject Use: Not anticipated

f. Hazardous Materials: Anticipated. Awardee(s) are required to comply with all federal, state, and local safety and environmental regulations.

g. Radioactive Materials: Not anticipated

h. Ozone Depleting Substances: Not anticipated

i. On-base Testing: Not anticipated

j. Military Equipment Valuation: N/A

k. Recipient Acquired Property: Anticipated; Acquired plant equipment will be tagged and maintained by the Recipient with the expectation that the government may transfer the equipment to the Recipient at some point during a potential no-cost monitoring phase.

l. Option(s): No options are anticipated.

m. No Cost Monitoring Phase: A No Cost Monitoring Phase (NCMP) may be added after the end of the technical effort. A NCMP allows a continued partnership that provides the Government with additional business, marketing, and business viability insight with the Recipient. At the end of a NCMP, if applicable, an equipment disposition strategy for any GFP and/or CAP will be developed and implemented. In this arrangement the

Military Information (CMI) and/or Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) to foreign entities pursuant to the Department of State’s ITAR or Department of Commerce’s EAR.

Public Domain information is defined as information that is releasable to the general public and sometimes referred to as open source material. Examples include but are not limited to newspapers, magazines and information posted on the internet.

b. Offerors may be ineligible for award if all requirements of the FOA and this Call are not met by proposal due date.

IV, V. and VI Sections: Not Applicable to Calls

VII. FOA with Calls (One-Step Process)

1. Call Announcement Information (Also referred to as a Call):

a. Overview: See FOA.

b. Requirements:

Domestic Source Requirement: The proposal submitter must provide proof of meeting the Domestic Source requirement IAW DPA Law or the proposal will not be reviewed.

2. FOA with Calls (One-Step Process) Proposal Submission Information:

a. General Instructions:

(1) Offerors shall submit a technical and cost proposal within timeframe shown in Proposal Due Date and Time Section (Overview Information, page 2). After receipt, proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the award criteria stated below. Proposals will be categorized and potentially selected for negotiations. The Government intends to evaluate proposals and award one, some, all or none of the proposals received without negotiation/discussion; however, the Government reserves the right to negotiate with those offeror(s) whose proposal is selected for funding.

(2) Proposals must reference the announcement number FA8650-19-S- 5010; the Call, the relevant Topic Area shown in Project Topic Area Section (Overview Information, page 1); and, if applicable, the project title.

3. FOA with Calls (One-Step Process) Proposal Content & Form:

Note: Refer to Funding Opportunity Announcement FA8650-19-S-5010 Section VII. FOA with Calls for more information regarding proposal submission information and proposal content and form.

a, b, d thru f: See FOA for Guidance

c. Domestic Source Proof: Include proof of domestic source. This will not count toward the page limit.

g. Technical/Management Proposal:

(1) Page Limitations: The following describes the page limitations on the proposal submittal for this Call:

i. Technical Discussion: up to 30 pages

ii. Summary Business Plan: up to 20 pages

iii. Statement of Work: up to 10 pages

iv. Tech Proposal Total: up to 60 pages

(2): See FOA

(3): Technical Discussion and Information: In addition to the information outlined in the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number FA8650-19-S-5010, the proposal shall include:

1. Proposals should address the planned supply chain for sub-components and/or feedstock materials and identify any known risks or gaps in that supply chain in meeting Government requirements and mitigation options. Projected cost per unit should also be included in the proposal. The Government understands that unit cost will be affected by a change in source material, so unit cost will not be the primary factor for award. However, the Government seeks to limit unit cost as much as possible, so proposals that include methods to contain/reduce unit cost are preferred.

2. Target Product(s): Proposals should identify which precursor materials are being addressed. *Note: Chemical materials under consideration for this award are listed in Table 1 of the Requirements Document which shall be provided separately upon request and Government approval to disseminate. Submission of a Domestic Source Certification and complete company ownership structure will allow Requirements Document to be disseminated. Reference Page 1, “Supplemental Information.”

* Government reserves the right to refuse providing the requirements package if after reviewing aforementioned information it is determined doing so is not in the best interest of the Government.

(4) thru (6), (8) & (9): See FOA

(7) Summary Business Plan: In addition to the information outlined in the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number FA8650-19-S- 5010, issued on 12 July 2019, include the following information in the Summary Business Plan:

1. Provide complete company ownership structure, including all holding companies or intermediary operating companies. If applicable, identify all foreign ownership/investments in your company.

Foreign ownership/investments are any non-US citizens or non-US based organizations, possessing any type of financial investment, passive or active, in your company.

Note: The table of contents, cover page, and Domestic Source Proof will not be included in the page count referenced above.

Note: The Government will check the proposal and SOW for conformance to the stated requirements. Any pages in excess of the stated page limitation after the format check will not be considered.

h. Cost/Business Proposal: See FOA

(3) Cost proposals Page Limitations: See FOA

i. Proposal Content Summary: You may be ineligible for award if all requirements of this solicitation are not met on the proposal due date.

VIII. FOA with Calls (One-Step Process) Proposal Review Information

Note: Offeror must provide proof of meeting the Domestic Source requirement IAW DPA Law or the proposal will not be reviewed.

1. Proposal Evaluation Criteria:

a. See FOA.

b. The selection of one or more sources for award will be based on an evaluation of the recipient’s proposal (technical and cost) to determine the overall merit of the proposal in response to the Call, SOO and funding availability.

c. The evaluation criteria are comprised of five factors ranked in descending order of importance:

(1) Manufacturing Capability and Experience

(2) Quality of Technical Approach

(3) Business Viability

(4) Merchant Supplier Orientation

(5) Cost/Price

d. These criteria will be used to evaluate the proposal once it is determined that the offeror has met all of the FOA Project Requirements (Refer to Section I, Program Description).

e. See FOA.

f. Risk is to be assessed as part of each of the above criteria.

g. See FOA.

h. The offeror must provide proof of meeting the domestic source requirement IAW DPA Law or the proposal will not be evaluated.

i. The evaluation criteria are expanded upon below:

(1) Manufacturing Capability and Experience – Proposals will be evaluated on the recipient’s degree of capability and experience in producing critical chemical precursors for energetic materials. Priority will be given to addressing multiple materials using the same flexible manufacturing process versus separate individual lines for each material. Evidence may include, but is not limited to, intellectual property, documented manufacturing capability and experience, technical specifications, and dossiers of key personnel.

(2) Quality of Technical Approach – Proposals will be evaluated on the recipient’s credibility and how reasonable their approach is for production of critical chemical precursors for energetic materials, also to include whether the proposed approach identifies major technical risks and clearly defines feasible mitigation efforts.

(3) Business Viability – Proposals will be evaluated on the recipient’s business, technical and financial credibility, demonstrated experience, willingness and a credible business plan to become or remain a competitive, economically viable, responsive, supplier of critical chemical precursors for energetic materials for government and commercial markets.

(4) Merchant Supplier Orientation – Proposals will be evaluated on the extent to which the recipient demonstrates a commitment to being, or explanation of resources to be employed in establishing acceptance as, a merchant supplier for critical chemical precursors for energetic materials.

(5) Cost/Price – Proposals will be evaluated on the realism of the proposed cost, amount of recipient cost share, and consideration of proposed budgets and funding profiles. Cost sharing, unless waived, will be viewed favorably by the US Government in the proposal evaluation process (which will indicate a strong commitment to and self-interest in the success of the project).

IX. FOA with Calls (One-Step Process) Proposal Selection Information

1. Categories: Based on the evaluation, proposals will be categorized as Selectable or Not Selectable (see definitions below). The selection of one or more sources for award will be based on the evaluation, as well as importance to agency programs and funding availability.

(1) Selectable: Proposals are recommended for acceptance if sufficient funding is available.

(2) Not Selectable: Even if sufficient funding existed, the proposal should not be funded.

Note: The Government reserves the right to award one, some, all or none of the proposals. When the Government elects to award only a part of a proposal, the selected part may be categorized as Selectable, though the proposal as a whole may not merit such a categorization.

Note: Prior to award of a potentially successful offer, the Agreements Officer will make a determination regarding budget reasonableness.

X. Award Administration Information (FOA with Calls)

1 thru 8: See FOA.

9. Ombudsman: The Ombudsman article 5.020 entitled “Ombudsman” shall be contained in any Agreement resulting from this Solicitation.

Please note the following Ombudsman information.

The AFRL Ombudsman is AFRL/PK Director

Alternate Ombudsman is AFRL/PK Deputy Director 1864 Fourth St.

Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-7130

(937) 904-9700 email: AFRL.PK.OfficeAccount@us.af.mil

10. Proposal Reminders: a. thru c, and e thru j - see FOA

d. Completed Title III Certifications and Representations are due with the proposal. Certifications & Representations can be found at Appendix I of FOA.

In addition, recipients are also required to execute completed the Financial Assistance Certifications and Representations: https://beta.sam.gov. SAM is the central repository for common Government-wide financial assistance certifications and representations. Registration in SAM includes the acceptance of Certifications and Assurances. The Financial Assistance Certifications Report is an attestation that the entity will abide by the requirements of the various laws and regulations; therefore, as applicable, you are required to submit any documentation, including the SF LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if applicable), and informing DoD of unpaid delinquent tax liability or a felony conviction under any Federal law.

FOA Appendices: See FOA for Appendices I thru V

Attached for this CALL:

Appendix II - Addendum TIA Attachment

Appendix VI - Statement of Objectives (SOO), “Critical Chemical Precursors for Energetic Materials” dated 28 Jul 2021