Call_3_-_ACRNET.PDF

FA8650-17-S-6001

“Science and Technology for Autonomous Teammates (STAT)”

Call 003 “Autonomy Collaboration Research Network (ACRNet)”

Overview Information

NAICS Code: 541715 Federal Agency Name: Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Airman Systems Directorate Program Name: Autonomy Collaboration Research Network (ACRNet) Announcement Title: This solicitation seeks proposals from organizations interested in entering into a Cooperative Agreement or other assistance instrument for the purpose of establishing a state-of-the-art, end-to-end, sustainable collaborative research consortium for autonomy technologies for the aerospace industry. While this solicitation does not require the consortium administrator be a non-profit, any for-profit organizations must clearly show how they shall separate their interests from the administration of the consortium as well as how they will provide transparency into the consortium business processes and decisions.

Announcement Type: This is Call 003 under Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) FA8650-17-

S-6001, “STAT”

Appendices for Call 003: Attached to this document are Appendices that are provided for informational guidance only. If there are any discrepancies between the Call and the Appendices, the Call takes precedence.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s): 12.800 AIR FORCE

DEFENSE RESEARCH SCIENCES

THIS WILL BE A ONE—STEP SOLICITATION

Intent to Propose: Offerors that anticipate submitting a proposal are requested to submit an e-mail to the Agreements Officer: Elizabeth Fink, at Elizabeth.Fink.1@us.af.mil, and the Agreements Negotiator: Heather Carino, at heather.carino@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 5 June 2018, 3:00 p.m. local WPAFB time.

Proposal Due Date and Time: Proposals are due NO LATER THAN (28 June 2018, 3:00 p.m.

local WPAFB time). NOTE: Proposal receipt after the due date and time will not be accepted except at the Agreement Officer’s 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 above 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 that means may not meet the proposal due date and time. Early proposal submission is encouraged.

mailto:Elizabeth.Fink.1@us.af.mil mailto:heather.carino@us.af.mil

Submission: Proposals must be submitted via electronic mail with a matching hard copy to the Agreements Officer: Elizabeth Fink, AFRL/RQKHC Bldg 45, 2130 8th St., Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7541 (937) 713-9832, elizabeth.fink.1@us.af.mil. Email submissions should copy the Agreements Negotiator: Heather Carino, AFRL/RQKHC Bldg 45, 2130 8th St., Wright- Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7541, 937-713-9859, heather.carino@us.af.mil.

Note: Proposals for assistance instruments (Cooperative Agreement and other assistance instruments) must also be submitted through grants.gov. Refer to Attachment 7, FA8650-17- S-6001, Supplemental Instructions for Assistance Instruments Proposals, which discusses the process for electronic submission of proposals for assistance instruments.

Solicitation Request: AFRL, Airman Systems Directorate, 711 HPW/RH, Wright Patterson Air Force Base is soliciting technical and cost proposals on the research effort described below.

System for Award Management (SAM) Registration: Refer to FA8650-17-S-6001, Section B pg 3 of 35.

Type of Contract/Instrument: The Air Force reserves the right to award the instrument best suited to the nature of research proposed. Accordingly, the Government intends to award a Cooperative Agreement or other assistance instruments, if deemed in the best interest of the Government.

Estimated Program Funding: The Federal Government (including DoD) anticipates funding $195 million ($195M) for this consortium, distributed across five fiscal years (FY). It is anticipated that other government agencies may provide additional funds, particularly for projects after award. Cost sharing is not required for the consortium administrator, but will be considered favorably. On projects, cost share is anticipated and may be required. The anticipated Federal Government funding for stand-up costs is $600,000. The anticipated federal program funding, broken out by FY, is:

TABLE 1: Anticipated Federal Program Funding ($ in millions) Fiscal Year FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 Total

Start-Up Administration Funding, M $0.6 $0.6 Project Call Funding, M $8.0 $35.0 $50.0 $50.0 $51.4 $194.4

Industry/Non-Federal Government Funds $TBD Total Federal Program Funding $195M

Anticipated Number of Awards: The Air Force anticipates 1 award for this announcement.

However, the Air Force reserves the right to award zero, one, or more awards for all, some or none of the solicited effort based on the offeror’s ability to perform desired work and funding fluctuations.

Schedule: The award will be comprised of a stand-up period not to exceed 3 months followed by a period of performance of 57 months for activities associated with the consortium.

mailto:elizabeth.fink.1@us.af.mil mailto:heather.carino@us.af.mil

Brief Program Summary: This announcement is to solicit proposals to initiate a collaborative research consortium to develop and demonstrate the autonomy technologies needed for DoD applications. The intent is that this consortium will be self-sustaining in that research projects will be initiated by government (DoD as well as other government agencies), private industry, and academia and through those projects the center administration costs will be covered.

The vision of AFRL is to accelerate autonomy research through the development, maturation, demonstration, and transition of technologies necessary to advance the state-of-the-art of autonomy for: Command & Control; Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination (PED) of Intelligence; Intelligence, Surveillance, and Recognizance (ISR) Collection; Manned-Unmanned Combat Teams; and Manned-Unmanned Team of Teams, as well as other potential Air Force applications. Guided by technology challenge areas, the consortium activities will be expected to mature software components and incrementally demonstrate increasingly complex autonomous capabilities. Each project will advance the state of autonomy technologies. The technology demonstrations that result from this research will substantially improve the Air Force's capability to conduct missions in a variety of environments while minimizing the risks to Airmen. The overall impact of integration of autonomous systems into the mission space will enable the Air Force to operate inside of the enemy’s decision loop.

The consortium should strengthen the DoD autonomy industrial base by meeting military priorities and defense needs consistent with AFRL long term challenges; building a technology supplier base that can provide critical software, algorithms, and architectures/frameworks, and instantiate software components in an autonomous system (hardware).

The consortium should be structured to allow government, industry and academia to come together with the goal of organizing the currently fragmented U.S. capabilities into a coherent ecosystem and better position the U.S. relative to global competition.

This call seeks a proposal to stand-up the consortium, but does not seek proposals for projects.

Communication between Prospective Offerors and Government Representatives:

All questions about this Call should be directed to the Agreements Officer. If not proprietary or confidential, and the Grants/Agreements Officer deems appropriate, questions and responses will be published to FedBizOpps and grants.gov.

Address contracting and technical questions to the Agreements Officer: AFRL/RQKHC, ATTN: Elizabeth Fink, 2130 Eighth Street, WPAFB, OH 45433, (937) 713-9832, elizabeth.fink.1@us.af.mil

Note: Early submittal of questions is encouraged. Questions will be accepted no later than 19 June 2018, 3:00 PM local WPAFB time.

Full Text Announcement

I. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

AFRL, Airman Systems Directorate, 711 HPW/RH, is soliciting full technical and cost proposals on the following research effort:

A. STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE/NEEDS:

1. Introduction:

The Air Force Chief Scientist’s 2010 Science & Technology Vision, “Technology Horizons,” stated that the use of autonomy and autonomous systems will allow the Air Force to achieve capability increases and cost savings via increased manpower efficiencies and reduced manpower needs. While much investment in autonomy and artificial intelligence technologies has advanced the state-of-the-art since 2010, significant technology development and demonstration is needed before an autonomous system will find utility in the dynamic, unpredictable environment of military operations. An autonomous system is one that can: adapt its role in a team of human and/or autonomous systems, as the task or environment demands;

change its task or goal depending on the requirements of the overall mission and the situation it faces; and adapt how it carries out a task (both in the short term in response to a changing situation, as well as over the long term with experience and learning). The development and demonstration of these types of technologies requires a multi-disciplinary expertise and team that cuts across academia, small and large businesses (both traditional and non-traditional DoD industry), and government research laboratories. A consortium provides a forum to bring together a community and create an “ecosystem” for the development and demonstration of autonomy technologies.

2. Program Scope and Objectives:

The objective of this call is to establish an AFRL initiated consortium, ACRNet, for development of autonomy technologies. ACRNet will support an end-to-end ecosystem to include autonomy research that spans idea generation to facilitation of start-up companies to demonstrating products to insertion into aerospace systems. The consortium will facilitate university research, to include undergraduate and graduate student research projects, as well as enable AFRL researchers to collaborate and contribute directly and indirectly to research projects. The consortium will serve as idea accelerator and technology incubator to facilitate the maturation of autonomy technologies. As autonomy research and technology is blossoming in small businesses, the consortium will be expected to also focus on engagement and involvement from the small business community. Additionally, the consortium will have a capability to attract and connect larger companies into the research efforts such that they can contribute research but also fund research projects. Ultimately, the goal is to create a private-public partnership to enhance agility and pace of autonomy technology demonstration across a diverse ecosystem of technology “thought leaders” and developers as well as system integrators.

The main technical objective of this consortium will be to develop the autonomy technologies that enable machine intelligence across the many families-of-systems and mission profiles. In marching towards this technical objective, each project must provide value to the Air Force and to consortium members through insertions and demonstrated return-on-investment. As such, AFRL must to maintain a presence in the consortium to ensure direct interaction on technology development plans and advising on the technology challenge areas. The consortium’s ecosystem will provide guidance and serve as a transition partner to accelerate fielding of technologies.

Development efforts will mature technologies that enable intelligent machines to plan, command, control, and execute missions, while teaming with airmen. The intelligent machine software algorithms and supporting architectures shall:

• Ingest and understand mission taskings and commander’s intent

• Respond appropriately to human direction and orders

• Intelligently respond, independently and/or as part of a team, to dynamic threats and unplanned events to produce commander’s intent

For the Air Force, applications targeted for autonomy technology demonstrations include, but are not limited to, Multi-domain Command and Control; ISR, PED; and Manned-Unmanned Combat Teaming. The technical challenges, derived from these application areas, and the subsequent research efforts will be expected to encompass a wide range of challenges that include the algorithms and software for:

• Machine learning

• Data fusion

• Machine perception/vision/recognition

• Software assurance

• Formal methods

• Optimization techniques

• Planners (task and route)

• Course of action generators

• Collaborative autonomous agents

• Storage of data and information, both known as well as acquired through experience

• Or other general artificial intelligence technologies

ACRNet must be able to address these areas of research and provide access for various modes of demonstration to include modeling and simulation, small unmanned system, live/virtual/constructive experimentation, and/or surrogate unmanned systems or testbeds, either through a consortium facility or through member capabilities. The consortium will provide for an unprecedented tempo of autonomy capability demonstrations based on agile software development processes, when applicable, as well as developing software with an eye towards it being open, reusable with appropriate design assurances. For projects that require substantial levels of collaboration, the consortium shall provide a venue or collaboration and networking tools.

3. Conceptual Strategy for ACRNet:

ACRNet must be managed in partnership with AFRL. The consortium administrator must establish a membership and governing structure, define high-impact project calls, monitor technical progress, and ensure delivery of DoD-relevant technologies. This relevance will be ensured by DoD representation on both the governing boards and technical councils of ACRNet and with AFRL maintaining final approval to the spending of government resources. The DoD maintains at least two (2) voting members on any governing body and maintain no less than 25% of the total governing body membership. Similarly, the DoD shall maintain no less than 50% representation on the technical council. This will ensure both DoD Scientists and Engineers, and end-user communities are able to help define the technical and operational challenges to be addressed by the consortium while continuing to ensure dual-use applications.

The partnership under consideration here is intended to combine both federal investments with industry, state, and local investments to accelerate the integration of these technologies into the Air Force mission.

The offeror shall demonstrate in their proposal the ability to build collaborative relationships and teams. Key Elements necessary to facilitate the continued growth of this ecosystem include:

i. Leadership with Technical Presence and Expertise: Given that ACRNet is expected to be a strong collaboration between the Government, the consortium administrator, and consortium members, it is crucial that the consortium administrator maintain a technical expertise within the autonomy ecosystem. This includes an expertise and industry presence in support of the development efforts to mature autonomy technologies, as well as an understanding of product incubation. The consortium administrator must clearly show how they will provide transparency into the consortium business processes and decision. The consortium administrator is eligible to participate in projects. If the consortium administrator intends to participate in projects, they must clearly show how they shall separate their interests from the administration of the consortium. Refer to IV.B.3.ii.Section 3: Sub-Section A for additional information.

ii. Growth and Benefits of Membership: Members of ACRNet should include developers and integrators of autonomy, machine learning and other artificial intelligence technologies, and must demonstrate some core competency or technical capability impacting the advancement of autonomous systems. The consortium membership should reflect a diverse mix of expertise in the diverse areas of autonomy. The consortium should show the ability to continuously reach out to academia, start-up companies as well as small companies, to help drive innovation in shortened development timelines, and to grow and refresh membership throughout the life of the consortium. The consortium will provide shared assets to help companies, academia, government, and federal laboratories advance autonomy technologies while creating an unparalleled environment to keep membership informed of these advancements. To ensure the development maintains a high value to the DoD, the consortium administrator will, together with AFRL, continually engage DoD personnel that represent operational communities that will find value in autonomy technologies (e.g. Program Offices, Air Force Medical Communities, Special Operations, etc.) as active participants in the strategic and technical direction of the consortium. Refer to IV.B.3.ii.Section3: Sub-Section B and C for additional information.

iii. Requirements and Readiness Analysis Process: The ability for ACRNet members and projects to address the most vital autonomy needs of the DoD necessitates a clear requirements development process and the ability to objectively assess and communicate the technology readiness level of the project outcomes. The consortium administrator must ensure these requirements development processes are effectively accomplished throughout the duration of the program. In the development of autonomy technologies, there must be a focus on the software being open, reusable, adaptable, platform agnostic, secure, credible, affordable, enduring, and able to be integrated into various systems or platforms. There must be collaboration on various technologies developed by AFRL, academia and industry, as it is expected that software will be integrated into technology demonstrations and deliverables with all the necessary software, hardware, and documentation to support AFRL-owned modeling and simulation environments for future capability developments. Refer to IV.B.3.ii.Section 4 for additional information.

iv. Technical Project Management: The effectiveness of ACRNet will require timely delivery of research progress and technology. This will include technical and financial project updates as well as the facilitation of technology transition out of the consortium, as appropriate. A key component of this management requires an open sharing of progress through periodic technical updates within the consortium while ensuring that representatives from both AFRL and the consortium administrator are involved during this process. This communication should include frequent and iterative communication between the technical project teams and the participating DoD end users. Refer to IV.B.3.ii.Section 3: Sub-Section B for additional information.

v. Intellectual Property & Information Sharing: Appropriate intellectual property (IP) considerations must be made to ensure that members are confident that they are protected during the pre-competitive research and development stages of the consortium. However, it is expected that clear strategies be in place to ensure appropriate information is efficiently shared across various DoD organizations conducting autonomy research and development – for example, between ACRNet, AFWERX, DIUx, and other outreach centers. Refer to IV.B.3.ii.Section 3: Sub-Section C for additional information.

vi. Pathways to Commercialization: In order for the Air Force to derive benefit from the ACRNet, the consortium should show the ability to reach out to small and large companies, either already DoD contractors or non-traditional DoD partners, to help drive innovation and shorten development timelines. ACRNet will be expected to serve as idea accelerator and technology incubator to facilitate the maturation of autonomy technologies to commercially viable products. The consortium administrator should provide their strategy and approach to facilitate start-up companies from incubation to commercialization of a product. Refer to IV.B.3.ii.Section 5 for additional information.

vii. Clear Communication Strategies: ACRNet must be a research and development consortium made up of a diverse membership, and as such, requires clear and transparent communication with the governing and technical bodies. Frequent communication is expected between not only AFRL and the consortium administrator, but also within the leadership and membership of the consortium. The consortium administrator should provide a strategy and approach to enhance networking among and between its members, as well as idea exchange between AFRL researchers and consortium members, leadership, and administrators. The consortium administer must provide an approach as to how they will provide transparency into the consortium business processes and decisions. Any for-profit organization, serving as the consortium administrator, must clearly show how they shall separate their company interests from the administration of the consortium. Refer to IV.B.3.ii.Section 3: Sub-Section B and C for additional information.

viii. Self-Sustainment: ACRNet must be self-sustaining within 18 to 24 months, without reliance on federal funding for administration costs. Research projects will be initiated by government (DoD as well as other government agencies) and private industry consortium members, and through those projects and annual membership fees, the center administration costs will be covered. Refer to IV.B.3.ii.Section 3: Sub-Section B for additional information.

ix. Hub-and-Node Structure: ACRNet must have a hub and node structure. The location of the hub will not be specified by the government, however the hub must be easily accessible to the government and members. There shall, at a minimum, be nodes in the vicinity of Wright- Patterson AFB, Eglin AFB, AFRL’s Rome Research site and Kirtland AFB to allow AFRL researchers to team with members on projects. Nodes may also be established at technology hotbed locations allowing government access to new start-ups, academia, autonomy thought leaders and other researchers to collaborate within the ACRNet. The nodes do not need to be actual free-standing facilities, but rather a means to promote the presence and accessibility of the consortium to researchers developing groundbreaking technologies. The consortium administrator shall provide a strategy and plan, that could be time-phased, to establish the nodes, locations for the nodes, and how to link them to the hub to foster collaboration and information sharing. Refer to IV.B.3.ii.Section 3: Sub-Section B for additional information.

B. REPORTING AND DELIVERABLE ITEMS:

1. Reporting Items (Including, but not limited to):

i. Funds and Man-hour Expenditure Report (Quarterly)

ii. Consortium Performance Report (Quarterly) to include:

- Membership Progress, Engagement and Status

- Consortium Management Metrics

- Strategic Business and Marketing Plan

iii. Presentations from Program Reviews (as required)

iv. Technical Projects Reports (quarterly, and final)

v. Final Report (at the conclusion of the agreement)

2. Deliverable Items:

i. Software: To be determined on a project by project basis.

ii. Hardware: To be determined on a project by project basis.

C. OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

1. Program Security Classification: Unclassified.

2. Program Protection Plan (PPP): The Government will address any critical program information with a potential requirement for a PPP generated as part of this effort as needed.

3. Operations Security (OPSEC): The awardee shall participate in the organization’s OPSEC program, following appropriate OPSEC measures during the performance of this award. OPSEC requirements are required in an effort to reduce program vulnerability from successful adversary collection and exploitation of critical information. The awardee shall ensure that research projects conform as required to the OPSEC and marking requirements as necessary, based on the project sensitivity level.

4. Export Control: Export Control (International Traffic In Arms Regulation 22 CFR 120-131, or Export Administration Regulations 15 CFR 710-774) may apply. The consortium lead and consortium members must ensure measures that properly protect Export Controlled information.

The offeror must submit a Certified DD Form 2345, Militarily Critical Technical Data Agreement with the applicable project proposals.

D. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY (GFP) / GOVERNMENT FURNISHED

INFORMATION (GFI) AVAILABILITY: GFP will be determined on a project basis. See Appendix C for anticipated GFI for sample projects.

E. RIGHTS IN TECHNICAL DATA AND COMPUTER SOFTWARE: The rights in technical data and computer software for any resulting award will be in accordance with Article 6.01, Data Rights, of the Model Cooperative Agreement (FA8650-17-S-6001, Attachment 8).

Given the possible cost sharing for this agreement, the mixed funding for the projects developed under this agreement will provide, at a minimum, the following rights in technical data and computer software:

1. Technical Data: Government Purpose Rights

2. Non-Commercial Software (NCS): Government Purpose Rights

3. NCS Documentation: Government Purpose Rights

4. Commercial Computer Software Rights: Customary License

AFRL is engaged in the discovery, development, and integration of warfighting technologies for our air, space, and cyberspace forces. As such, rights in technical data and NCS developed or delivered under this award are of significant concern to the government. The Government will therefore carefully consider any restrictions on the use of technical data, NCS, and NCS documentation which could result in transition difficulty or less-than full-and-open competition for subsequent development of this technology.

Technical data, NCS, and NCS documentation developed with mixed funding are expected to be delivered with at least Government Purpose Rights. Offers that propose delivery of technical data, NCS, or NCS documentation subject to Government Purpose Rights should fully explain what technical data, NCS, or NCS documentation developed with costs charged to indirect cost pools and/or costs not allocated to a Government contract will be incorporated, how the incorporation will benefit the program, and address whether those portions or processes are segregable. The Government expects that delivery of technical data, NCS, and NCS documentation subject to Government Purpose Rights will fully meet program needs.

Offerors that propose delivery of technical data, NCS, or NCS documentation subject to Limited Rights, Restricted Rights, or Specifically Negotiated License Rights will be considered.

Proposals should fully explain what technical data, NCS, or NCS documentation developed with costs charged to indirect cost pools and/or costs not allocated to a government contract will be incorporated and how the incorporation will benefit the program.

II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. TYPE OF AWARD: The Government intends to award a Cooperative Agreement or other assistance instrument. Offerors should propose the type of award that will enable administration of the consortium, per the proposed approach.

If a Cooperative Agreement is awarded, it will be done under the authority of 10 USC 2358 and will governed by the Department of Defense Grant and Agreement Regulations (DoDGARS) at 32 CFR 22. The complete version of the DoDGARS can be found online at the link below:

Under the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations website, use "DoDGARS" as simple search under:

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&rgn=div5&view=text&node=32:1.1.1.3.16&idno=32

B. ANTICIPATED AWARD DATE: On or about October 2018. Offerors may be ineligible for award if they do not meet all requirements of this call by the award date.

C. ANTICIPATED FUNDING FOR THE PROGRAM: See Table 1, Overview Section.

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS: This is an unrestricted solicitation. While this solicitation does not require the administrator organization be a non-profit, any for-profit organizations must clearly show how they shall separate their interests from the administration of the consortium as well as how they will provide transparency into the consortium business processes and decisions.

B. COST SHARING OR MATCHING: Cost share is not required for the consortium administrator, but will be considered favorably. On projects, cost share is anticipated and may be required. The Government will consider state and local funding (not originating from Federal funds), as well as private-sector investment provided in support of an Institute as qualifying cost sharing. Cost sharing includes cash and third-party in-kind such as equipment, facilities, and manpower. For more detailed information on cost sharing, refer to 2 C.F.R 200.306 and Appendix IC.2.

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&rgn=div5&view=text&node=32:1.1.1.3.16&idno=32 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&rgn=div5&view=text&node=32:1.1.1.3.16&idno=32

C. FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTERS: Federally Funded Research & Development Centers (FFRDCs) are not eligible to be administrators under this solicitation or team with an offeror prior to award. However, FFRDCs are encouraged to enter into collaborative teaming arrangements with the consortium following the award, provided they are permitted to do so by charter, statute, and their government sponsor. Several FFRDCs under DOE, NASA, and DOD possess unique research and development capabilities that have demonstrated significant applicability to autonomy development. Once launched, the consortium is encouraged to seek collaborations to transition technology from FFRDC research laboratories to autonomous demonstration.

D. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS: The Air Force recognizes that the participation of federal government organizations may be very valuable in the planning and execution of the product design and demonstration process. In cases where there are unique facilities, capabilities, and expertise, federal organizations may partner with the ACRNet on specific technical projects. Federal government laboratory personnel may not, however, participate in the development of the consortium administer proposal or be involved in the management or administration of the consortium, prior to award.

After award, the consortium will interact with federal government organizations in a manner compatible with their respective purposes/missions. These interactions will include membership on Governing Boards and Technical Council, potential technical project leads with industry, and technical collaborators when appropriate for a projects. The consortium is encouraged to leverage federal government laboratories to support the program goals. The consortium is anticipated to work with DoD organizations to support pre-commercial technology transitions to DoD Program Offices from consortium results.

E. GOVERNMENT AGENCIES: If a Government agency is interested in performing work, contact the Program Manager identified in the STAT BAA. If those discussions result in a mutual interest to pursue your agency's participation, the effort will be pursued independent of this announcement.

F. FOREIGN PARTICIPATION: The recipient of the award shall be registered as a U.S.

organization. U.S. incorporated companies that are wholly owned subsidiaries of foreign companies may become eligible to be members of the consortium, and sub-awardees of federal support if they are able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the ACRNet and the DoD that: 1) their participation is in the best interest of the consortium, U.S. industry, and U.S. economic development; 2) adequate IP and data protection protocols exist between the U.S. subsidiary and its foreign parent organization; 3) the work is conducted within the U.S.; 4) other conditions that may be deemed necessary by the consortium and the Government to protect U.S. government interests are met, and 5) The consortium and its members are in compliance with 8 U.S.C. 1324a and 8 CFR 274a.2.

Some projects within the consortium may be subject to export control laws and regulations.

Under no circumstances may foreign entities (organizations, companies or persons) receive access to export controlled information unless proper export procedures and statutes have been satisfied. ACRNet and DoD will address participation by foreign entities (organizations, companies or persons) on a case-by-case basis, and the consortium lead and consortium members will ensure measures that properly protect Export Controlled information.

G. OTHER:

1. You may be ineligible for award if all requirements of this solicitation are not met on the due date as identified above.

2. Offerors are advised that one and only one proposal may be submitted as the consortium administrator, but proposed administrator partners or formal collaborators may team on multiple proposals.

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. OVERVIEW: Proposals submitted shall be in accordance with this announcement. There will be no other solicitation issued in regard to this requirement.

Offerors should be alert for any BAA amendments that may change proposal requirements or permit extensions to the proposal submission date.

For additional information, a copy of the BAA Guide for Industry is located at http://www.wpafb.af.mil/Portals/60/documents/afrl/AFRL-broad-agency-announcement-guide.pdf?

Note: Proposals for assistance instruments (Cooperative Agreement and other assistance instruments) must be submitted through grants.gov in addition to the electronic mail submission with matching hard copy. Electronic submissions shall be sent to the Agreements Officer: Elizabeth Fink, elizabeth.fink.1@us.af.mil, and to the Agreements Negotiator:

Heather Carino, heather.carino@us.af.mil.

Refer to Attachment 7 BAA FA8650-17-S-6001, Supplemental Instructions for Assistance Instruments Proposals, which discusses how to find the assistance opportunity, prepare the cover page, and complete the certification. This attachment also provides the process for electronic submission of proposals for assistance instruments that may be submitted.

B. CONTENT AND FORMAT OF PROPOSAL SUBMISSION: The paragraphs below identify proposal format and content.

1. General Instructions:

i. Offerors should consider proposal instructions contained in the BAA Guide for Industry, which can be accessed on line at:

http://www.wpafb.af.mil/Portals/60/documents/afrl/AFRL-broad-agency-announcement-guide.pdf?

This guide is specifically designed to assist the offeror in understanding the BAA proposal process.

http://www.wpafb.af.mil/Portals/60/documents/afrl/AFRL-broad-agency-announcement-guide.pdf http://www.wpafb.af.mil/Portals/60/documents/afrl/AFRL-broad-agency-announcement-guide.pdf http://www.wpafb.af.mil/Portals/60/documents/afrl/AFRL-broad-agency-announcement-guide.pdf http://www.wpafb.af.mil/Portals/60/documents/afrl/AFRL-broad-agency-announcement-guide.pdf

ii. The technical volume and cost volumes should be submitted in separate volumes and must be valid for 180 days.

iii. Proposals must reference BAA FA8650-17-S-6001 Call 003.

iv. Offerors must submit one electronic copy of their proposal to the Agreements Officer and to the Agreements Negotiator. A hard copy must be submitted to the Agreements Officer.

Hard copies must match electronic copies. Proposals for assistance instruments must

v. Offerors must submit documents in Microsoft Word or Adobe format containing all electronic versions of required submittals. The cost file(s) spreadsheets must be in Microsoft Excel and include the formulas for calculating cost element bases (i.e., G&A, O/H, etc.) Also, .ZIP files, other compressed archive files, or password-protected files will not be accepted.

vi. Offerors are advised that only Agreements Officers are legally authorized to contractually bind or otherwise commit the Government.

vii. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this BAA is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting or any other agreement. However, it may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost as specified in 2 CFR 200.460, which applies to non-profits and universities.

viii. No classified technical volumes or cost volumes will be accepted.

2. The full proposal must consist of the following parts, as summarized in Table 2:

3. Volume I - Technical:

i. General Instructions:

a). The Technical Volume shall be limited to 30 pages (See Table 1 for page count exclusions). Technical/Management proposals and Statements of Work (SOW) must be provided in Microsoft Word. Signed pages may be submitted in Adobe.

b). Font shall be standard 10-point business font Arial.

c). Character spacing must be “normal,” not condensed in any manner.

d). Pages shall be double-spaced (must use standard double-space function in Microsoft Word), double sided (each side counts as one page), 8.5 by 11 inches, with at least one-inch margins on both sides, top and bottom.

e). All text, including text in tables and charts, must adhere to all font size and line spacing requirements listed herein. Font and line spacing requirements do not have to be followed for illustrations, flowcharts, drawings, and diagrams. These exceptions shall not be used to circumvent formatting requirements and page count limitations by including lengthy narratives in such items.

f). Pages shall be numbered starting with the cover page being Page 1, and the last page being no greater than Page 30. The page limitation covers all information including indices, photographs, foldouts (counted as 1 page for each 8.5 by 11 portion) tables, TABLE 2 – Full Proposal Format VOLUME I/TECHNICAL (Maximum = 30 Pages) SECTION 1 – Cover Page, Table of Contents (Excluded from page count) SECTION 2 – Executive Summary SECTION 3 – Business Plan SUB SECTION A – Consortium Leadership SUB SECTION B – Operational Processes SUB SECTION C – Partnership Model (Partner/Member Letters of Commitment and/or Draft Partnership

Agreements are excluded from page count, and should be provided in an appendix)

SECTION 4 – Technology Development Plan SECTION 5 – Commercialization

SECTION 6 – Example Quarterly Consortium Performance Report (Excluded from page count)

SECTION 7 – Statement of Work (Excluded from page count - limited to 10 pages) SECTION 8 – Technical References (Excluded from page count) SECTION 9 – Qualifications of Key Personnel (Excluded from page count – limited to 2 pages each)

VOLUME II/Cost (No Page Count Limitation) SECTION 1 – Cover Page, Table of Contents SECTION 2 – Business SECTION 3 – Cost Breakdown SECTION 4 – Cost Spreadsheet charts, appendices, attachments, etc. except for those excluded from the page count as noted in Table 2.

g). The proposal page limit does not include the offeror’s proposed SOW; however, the same formatting rules apply to the SOW, which is limited to 10 pages.

Please 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 for review purposes.

h). Any questions concerning the technical volume shall be referred to the Agreements Officer.

ii. A brief description of Technical Volume Sections follows:

Note: Appendix A, Sample Research Topics, and Appendix B, Example Project Write-Up Information from AFRL, provide information pertinent to the Technical Volume Sections described below. Example Project Write-ups are only provided to be illustrative of the approach and how AFRL envisions soliciting research through ACRNet. A technical proposal is not desired on the examples in Appendices at this time.

SECTION 1 – Cover Page, Table of Contents (Excluded from Page Count)

SECTION 2 – Executive Summary

SECTION 3 – Business Plan: At a minimum, three elements are required to enable a robust public-private partnership to advance autonomy technologies. These three elements include consortium leadership, operational processes and management structure, and a partnership model/plan.

SUB-SECTION A: Consortium Leadership: A consortium director or Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and a supporting leadership team is considered essential to the success of the consortium and to create a robust autonomy research ecosystem. Refer to Section I.A.3.i., Leadership with Technical Presence and Expertise, for additional information.

a). Provide a vision for the consortium director/CEO and leadership team structure that executes the consortium’s operations and the consortium relationships to the government management team. Identify the leadership selection-criteria and anticipated qualifications.

b). Detail the leadership and management strategy and vision for execution processes of the consortium including, but not limited to: overall direction of the consortium, project selection (including how they will be competed, approved, and awarded), and other related technical decisions. Address how these technical decisions shall engage the consortium partnership including government (federal, state, and local), industry, and academic stakeholders.

c). Provide a vision to engage government, industry and academia stakeholders beyond the core program.

d). Detail a consortium vision and corresponding structure (research thrusts, roadmaps, challenge areas, or other constructs) that would be used to organize and track projects with membership input as well as across the potential various funding sources.

SUB-SECTION B: Operational Processes: Technical project management, Hub-and- Node structure, clear communication strategies, and growth and benefits of membership are considered important elements of this consortium’s operations structure to facilitate a self-sustaining autonomy ecosystem. Refer to Sections I.A.3.ii, I.A.3.iv, I.A.3.vii, I.A.3.viii, and I.A.3.ix for additional information.

a). Detail the processes and structure for project announcement, selection and execution, based on project calls happening on an ad hoc basis.

1. Provide an example of how the project call process will work, to include sample project call(s), anticipated timelines to project award, and engagement of ACRNet leadership and membership. Appendix A and/or Appendix B may be utilized as an example project or offeror can define their own.

2. Detail the process for project selection.

3. Address approach to project start-up, progress assessment, and completion of technology efforts the consortium undertakes.

b). Address a vision to integrate non-Government funded research into the consortium.

Identify mechanisms to leverage other funding resources and/or industry funded projects.

c). Explain the vision to establish or leverage physical location(s) for ACRNet and the integration of project calls with partners as described in Section I.A.3.ix, Hub-and- Node Structure.

d). Explain the envisioned impact for DoD needs in autonomy technologies and identify ways to work with DoD agencies and support technology transitions to DoD Program Offices.

e). Explain how ACRNet will attain self-sufficiency within the goal of 18-24 months as described in Section I.A.3.viii, Self-Sustainment.

f). Explain the financial program management that will execute, track, and report obligation and disbursement rates.

g). Provide a communications plan that outlines how intra-member interactions will be facilitated, as well as interactions with the government and government researchers.

SUB-SECTION C: Partnership Model: The Partnership Model, to include IP & information sharing, clear communication strategies, and growth and benefits of membership, is essential to developing and sustaining ACRNet. Outreach and partnering with other autonomy-focused organizations will further benefit the consortium. Refer to Sections I.A.3.ii, I.A.3.v, and I.A.3.vii for additional information.

a). Provide a vision for the partnership model including the level and role of industry partners, end users, academic institutions, other DoD institutes, silent partners, and federal and non-federal government participation as appropriate. This partnership model shall ensure that the DoD maintains at least two (2) voting members on any governing body and maintain no less than 25% of the total governing body membership. Similarly, the DoD shall maintain the opportunity for no less than 50% representation on the technical council.

b). Establish within the partnership model the IP management. Identify how the Partnership structure and IP management section will incentivize the private and government sector involvement while addressing how background IP and other related issues will be handled.

c). Provide an approach to how this consortium will leverage other DoD and Air Force Innovation Centers, like AFWERX and DIUx.

d). Provide a summary of your approach to managing any state laws pertaining to partnerships and IP ownership.

e). Provide evidence that proposed consortium partners will sign a draft partnership agreement and membership covers the diverse areas of autonomy. Please refer to Appendix A and Appendix B for breadth and depth of project topics in selection of consortium partners. Note: Partner/Member Letters of Commitment and/or Draft Partnership Agreements are excluded from the page count, and should be provided in an appendix.

f). Provide a strategy and process for partnership selection, and continual growth and retention.

SECTION 4 - Technology Development Plan: At the core of ACRNet is the development and advancement of autonomy technologies that will impact current and future AF operations. Refer to Section I.A.3.iii, Requirements and Readiness Analysis Process, for additional information.

a). Explain how the consortium will use the Business Plan to develop autonomy technologies (which align to the 8 research areas of interest identified in BAA FA8650-17-S-6001, Section I.1) that address, at least, the applications areas of:

1. Multi-domain Command and Control

2. ISR

3. PED

4. Manned-Unmanned Combat Teaming b). Explain your strategy for adding any additional autonomy thrusts that fall under the eight (8) research areas of interest identified in BAA FA8650-17-S-6001, Section I.1.

c). Describe the approach to providing the necessary collaboration and networking tools, as well as any software infrastructure, to enhance technology development within ACRNet.

SECTION 5 - Commercialization: In order for the AF to derive benefit from the ACRNet, a consortium must be able to reach out to small and large companies, either existing DoD contractors or non-traditional DoD partners, to enhance and build the autonomy ecosystem.

Refer to Section I.A.3.vi, Pathways to Commercialization, for additional information.

a). Describe the approach to serve as idea accelerator and technology incubator to facilitate the maturation of autonomy technologies to commercially viable products.

b). Provide a strategy and approach to facilitating start-up companies.

SECTION 6 - Quarterly Consortium Performance Report (Excluded from Page Count): Provide an example quarterly consortium performance report to include, at a minimum, an estimated cost allocation, health of the consortium, outreach events and activities, current project status, and outstanding calls.

SECTION 7 – SOW (Excluded from Page Count – Limited to 10 Pages): Include a SOW detailing the technical tasks proposed to be accomplished under the proposed effort and suitable for incorporation in the agreement. Do not include any proprietary information in the SOW. Refer to the BAA Guide for Industry referenced above to assist in SOW preparation.

SECTION 8 – Technical References (Excluded from Page Count): Include Technical

References, as appropriate.

SECTION 9 – Qualifications of Key Personnel (Excluded from Page Count – limited to 2 Pages Each): Provide a summary paragraph for consortium administrator Key Personnel describing technical qualifications. Also, provide minimal qualifications of board management positions.

4. Volume II - Cost Proposal:

i. General Instructions:

a). This volume, including the cost proposal spreadsheet, has no page limits, and applicants may include as appendices any cost information they feel pertinent to the proposal package.

They should note, however, that they cannot use these appendices to circumvent the page limitations in the technical sections of the proposal – that is, any information included that is not relevant to the cost proposal will be discarded.

b). If proposing a Cooperative Agreement, see Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 CFR 200. Also refer to Attachment 8 of BAA FA8650-17-S-6001 for the Model Cooperative Agreement. Note that the document awarded may include articles in addition to those in the model, and/or some of the articles in the model may be deleted, depending on the specific circumstances of the individual award. Any additions or deletions will be negotiated with the offeror prior to award.

c). Offerors should familiarize themselves with the new subaward reporting requirements set forth in the article entitled “Reporting Requirements for Subaward and Executive Compensation" Article 7.050 of the model cooperative agreement (BAA FA8650-17-S- 6001, Attachment 9). The related information should also be provided with the Cost Proposal.

ii. A brief description of the Cost Volume Section follows:

SECTION 1 – Cover Page, Table of Contents

SECTION 2 - Business: The business section should contain all business aspects to the…