CSO Submittal Instructions.docx

PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE (AFB)

Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) Solicitation Number FA2521-20-S-C001

Introduction Patrick Air Force Base, near Cocoa Beach, FL, is conducting a commercial solutions opening authorized by Section 879 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Pub. L. 114-328). Under a CSO, the Space Force may competitively award proposals received in response to a general solicitation, similar to a broad agency announcement (BAA), to acquire innovative commercial items, technologies, and services, based on a review of proposals by scientific, technological, or other subject-matter expert peers within the Space Force. Under this CSO, all items, technologies, and services shall be treated as commercial items.

The Space Force intends to obtain "innovative" solutions or potential new capabilities that fulfill requirements, close capability gaps, or provide potential technology advancements. Solutions may include existing technologies or procedures, not currently in use by the Space Force, that would enhance or streamline Space Force mission capabilities. "Innovative" is defined as any technology, process or method that is new as of the date of submission of a proposal. It also includes any new application of an existing technology, process, or method. Based on available funding, the Space Force is targeting solutions priced less than $100,000. However, the Space Force will still evaluate proposed solutions priced greater than $100,000. The total for all awarded proposed solutions will not exceed $500,000.

This CSO contains broadly defined areas of interest and interest in more specific requirements. While these areas of interest are geared towards meeting Patrick AFB requirements, the Government reserves the right to award contracts from this CSO to meet Space Force requirements outside of Patrick AFB with similar areas of interest and mission requirements.

Patrick AFB will utilize an open, two-step CSO evaluation process. In step 1, offerors must submit a white paper and a pitch deck for evaluation. Once the evaluations are complete, all offerors will be notified as to whether they will be invited to pitch their proposal at a Pitch Day event.

In step 2, offerors that are selected will receive an invitation to make a live pitch to the Patrick AFB team during a Pitch Day event to be held March 4, 2020 in Cocoa, FL. Offerors will pitch their solution to evaluators and will be notified at the event if they are selected for an award.

In order to expedite funds, the Government intends to pay for these contracts with the Government Purchase Card (GPC), a credit card, which will require you to have the ability to accept a credit card payment during the event. Additionally, companies must verify they are registered in System for Award Management (SAM) to receive contracts (not just grants), that your SAM address matches your proposal, and that you are able to accept Government Purchase Card payments.

Further information on Patrick AFB Pitch Day will be made available as the event date gets closer. Information can also be found at https://patrick.usaf.afpims.mil/Units/Wing-Staff-Agencies/Small-Business-Office/Space-Force-Pitch-Day

Pitch decks and white papers should be e-mailed to 45CONS.Acquistion_Support@us.af.mil.

Ask Me Anything Instructions Questions, comments, and concerns about any of the challenges can be submitted via email at 45CONS.Acquistion_Support@us.af.mil from January 6, 2020 through January 24, 2020, 4:30 PM EST.

Responses will be posted via Beta.SAM.gov not later than January 29, 2020.

Instructions for Preparation and Submission of Proposals

The following section outlines the proposal requirements. It also includes timelines for submissions and information about Pitch Day.

All contracts will be firm-fixed price. All supplies or services procured via this CSO are treated as commercial items. The Space Force must determine the price fair and reasonable prior to award. Patrick AFB is conducting this CSO as a Total Small Business Set-Aside. The Space Force intends to evaluate the Small Business status of each offeror based on the NAICS of the proposed solution. The Space Force intends to award FAR Part 12 contracts as a result of the CSO but reserves the right to Award agreements if deemed in its best interest.

** NOTE: Submitted documents shall not contain classified data or sensitive information and proprietary information shall be clearly marked **

Technical Volume For step 1, the technical volume shall include a white paper that shall not exceed 5 pages and a pitch/slide deck not to exceed 15 slides. The technical volume will be reviewed holistically and there is no set format requirements for the two documents. It is recommended (but not required) that more detailed information is included in the technical volume and higher level information is included in the pitch deck.

The technical volume should address how the proposed solution is innovative and the feasibility of the solution solving the unit’s challenge(s), including examples demonstrating possible application of the proposed innovation.

Technology Concept and Company Capability Offerors shall provide the following information in sufficient detail to allow the Government to make an assessment of the offerors’ capabilities to support the proposed solution.

· Offerors shall describe the unique aspects of their proposed solution as it “relates” to the Area of Interest.

· The pitch shall not repeat the Areas of Interest/Topics or contain the contents of the white paper pasted into slides, but rather provide convincing evidence that the proposed solution will meet the Government’s need.

The following examples of convincing evidence are strongly encouraged –

(a) Authentic company URL or web address.

Note: The Government may elect to use the information provided as part of its continuous market research. However, the government is not obligated to use the URL or web address as part of its evaluation process to determine the Selectee or Awardee.

(b) Summary of product commercialization currently used in the open market.

(c) Pictures, diagrams, models or figures to depict the essence of the proposed solution.

SAM Registration It is critical offerors are registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), https://www.sam.gov/.

You will not be eligible for an award if not registered in SAM at the time your proposal is submitted.

Additionally, verify that you are registered to receive contracts (not just grants), that your address matches between your proposal and SAM, and that you are able to accept Government Purchase Card payments.

· When registering in SAM.gov, be sure to select ‘YES’ to the question ‘Do you wish to bid on contracts?’ in order to be able to compete for CSO. If you are only registered to compete for grants, you will be ineligible for this topic.

· We are working to move fast, please double check your CAGE codes and DUNS numbers to be sure they line up, if they are not correct at time of submission, you will be ineligible for this topic.

Proposal Submission In order for your proposal to be evaluated for a possible invitation to the March 4, 2020 Pitch Day, it must be submitted via email to 45CONS.Acquistion_Support@us.af.mil before February 5, 2020, 1:00 pm EST. A hardcopy will not be accepted. If your proposal is received after 1:00 pm EST, Patrick AFB will consider the proposal for a separate Pitch Day on a later date to be specified under this open CSO.

Patrick AFB recommends that you complete your submission early, as computer traffic gets heavy near the announcement closing and could slow down the system. Do not wait until the last minute. Patrick AFB will not be responsible for proposals received late due to servers being “down” or inaccessible.

Offerors may submit proposal amendments any time prior to the proposal deadline (February 5, 2020) specified on Beta.SAM.gov, however the Government will ONLY review the final amended proposal that is submitted.

Please ensure that your e-mail address listed in your proposal is current and accurate. Patrick AFB is not responsible for ensuring notifications are received by firms changing mailing address/e-mail address/company points of contact after proposal submission without proper notification to Patrick AFB. Changes of this nature shall be annotated in the FBO submittal or amendments.

A proposal is acceptable if it conforms to all material requirements of the CSO, otherwise it is unacceptable and may be ineligible for award.

**Note: Offerors are responsible for ensuring that ALL Amendments to this solicitation are reviewed carefully prior to submitting a proposal.

Pitch Day Offerors that are selected for step 2 will receive an invitation to make a live pitch to the Patrick AFB team of evaluators during a Pitch Day event to be held March 4, 2020 in Cocoa, FL. Offerors selected for Pitch Day will have an opportunity to pitch their solution submitted during step 1 to evaluators. To the greatest extent practicable, offerors will be immediately notified if they are selected for an award during Pitch Day on March 4, 2020. The Space Force reserves the right to award to offerors who do not attend the Pitch Event, but most awards will be made in person at the Pitch Event.

In order to expedite funds, selectees must be able to accept an initial payment under the contract through a Government Purchase Card (GPC) as part of the conditions of award.

Further information on Patrick AFB Pitch Day will be made available as the event date gets closer.

Procedures and Criteria for Selecting Proposals Patrick AFB will utilize a two-step evaluation process. In step 1, offerors submit a cover letter, white paper and a pitch deck. In step 2, offerors will make a live pitch to the Patrick AFB team.

After receipt of step 1 proposals, the Space Force will conduct an evaluation based on three factors: technical, importance to agency programs, and funds availability.

· The technical factor will assess how innovative the solution is (as defined in this announcement) and the feasibility of the solution solving the unit’s challenges.

· The importance to agency programs factor will assess the solution’s potential to enhance the mission effectiveness of the unit.

· The funds availability factor will assess the availability of funding to purchase the solution at Pitch Day.

Price shall be considered to the extent appropriate, but at a minimum, to determine that the price is fair and reasonable. The Space Force must determine the price fair and reasonable prior to award using the procedures at DFARS subpart 212.209. The contracting officer will use market research as the primary method to determine the price fair and reasonable. In rare circumstances, the contracting officer may request information from the offeror regarding recent purchase prices paid by the Government and/or commercial customers for the same or similar commercial items.

At the conclusion of step 1 and based on the results of the evaluations, the Space Force will select offerors to participate in step 2, a Pitch Day. All offerors will be notified as to whether they will be invited to pitch their proposal at a Pitch Day event. The evaluation criteria for step 2 is the same as step 1: technical, importance to agency programs, and funds availability.

During any step of the CSO, the Space Force may send questions or comments for the offerors to address via email or during Pitch Day. The Space Force reserves the right to award to an offeror if it is unable to pitch due to unexpected circumstances or circumstances beyond its control.

The Government may elect to use external market research in the evaluation of the proposals.

Areas of Interest PAFB20-001 TITLE: Installation Support PAFB20-001 TITLE: Space Operations Support