FA8652279-RISE_ 2808a OT Announcement_22 Oct 2026.pdf

AFRL RISE

Umbrella Program Notice ID: FA8652279-RISE

Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Enterprise Strategies and Initiatives Division (RMZ)

BLUF Disclaimer: This is an umbrella notice issued pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 2808a – Facility construction or repair: transactions other than contracts and grants. No proposed solutions are being requested against this parent document; future Areas of Interest (AOI) will be published under this announcement to request solutions. Any resulting award will be an Other Transaction (OT) agreement for facility construction and repair NOT a procurement contract, grant, or cooperative agreement. Consequently, neither the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), nor the Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) constraints of 10 U.S.C. § 3458 apply to this notice or any resulting agreement.

SECTION 1 – INTRODUCTION & GENERAL GUIDELINES

1.1 Background and Authority

10 U.S.C. § 2808a(a), authorizes the Secretary concerned to enter into transactions (other than contracts, cooperative agreements, or grants) to carry out projects covering the planning, design, engineering, prototyping, piloting, and execution of physical facility repair, modernization or construction.

Under this statutory authority, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has implemented the Rapid Infrastructure for Science and Experimentation (“RISE”) framework (i.e. Parent Notice) to facilitate future solicitation of facility construction and repair projects. RISE is designed to leverage industry expertise, leading capabilities, and highly flexible project delivery models.

10 U.S.C. § 2808a does not require the project to be a prototype, nor does it mandate non-traditional defense contractor participation or cost-sharing requirements. It is a standalone, flexible construction and repair execution tool designed to align with modern business practices. A resultant award will be an Other Transaction (OT) agreement for facility construction and repair, not a procurement contract, grant, or cooperative agreement.

1.2 Areas of Interest (AOI)

The AFRL will periodically publish specific construction challenges, facility requirements and/or project statements as AOIs under this umbrella notice, seeking capabilities such as:

• Owner's Advisor (OA) Models: Professional oversight, engineering, and advisory services to protect the Government's interests during complex delivery.

• Progressive Design-Build (PDB): Collaborative, early-phase performer involvement to progressive pricing and risk allocation.

• Accelerated Design-Build (ADB): Overlapping design and construction phases optimized for rapid, mission-critical delivery.

• Design-Build to Budget: Target-price design and construction modeling that maximizes scope within capped funding thresholds.

• Industrialized Construction (IC): Off-site manufacturing, modular assembly, and pre-fabricated building components.

• Advanced & Emergent Technologies: 3D printing of infrastructure, automated civil engineering systems, and smart facility integrations.

Solution submissions will only be accepted in response to active, published AOIs; submissions are not requested under this umbrella notice.

1.3 Submission Request Pathways:

Both Open Aperture and Closed Signal solicitation pathways may be employed to rapidly identify and mature industry solutions.

1.3.1 Open Aperture

The AFRL will announce broad AOIs for industry response and rolling assessments.

1.3.2 Closed Signal

The AFRL will broadcast targeted AOIs for industry response with a single response date.

1.4 General Guidelines

• Potential Submission Methods: White Papers, Briefs, Pitches, Video

Presentations, and Proposals.

• Simplicity: Clear, concise, and industry-standard documentation is highly preferred.

• System Registrations: Companies must be registered in the System for Award

Management (SAM) as well as the Government electronic invoicing system (e.g., Wide Area Work Flow [WAWF], iRAPT) specified in the resulting agreement.

• Government Reservations: The Government reserves the unilateral right to cancel an AOI at any time prior to award. Solutions will only be requested, and awards made, if appropriate funding is available.

SECTION 2 - ASSESSMENT METHODS

To ensure maximum operational flexibility across diverse acquisition strategies, the specific workflows, roles and administrative parameters shall be configurable to individual actions and subject to the discretion and final determination of the cognizant Agreements Officer (AO), in coordination with the originating program office and pursuant to applicable statute. To that end, each published AOI will specify the applicable phasing, submission requirements and assessment conditions which align to specific mission requirements, organizational policies and statute.

SECTION 3 – AWARDS, LIMITATIONS, & FOLLOW-ON

TRANSACTIONS

3.1 General Award Guidelines

Only a designated and warranted AO has the authority to enter into, or modify, a binding OT agreement on behalf of the AFRL. OT agreements may be structured using any pricing or payment arrangement that best aligns with the solution, risk profile, and execution strategy. Permissible pricing structures may include, but are not limited to:

• Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP): For highly defined, lower-risk construction scopes.

• Fixed-Price Incentive (FPI) / Target Cost: To incentivize schedule acceleration or cost savings through shared incentive pools.

• Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP): Commonly utilized in Progressive Design-Build structures where design progressively matures and a cap on project costs is collaboratively established.

• Expenditure-Based or Cost-Reimbursable Equivalents: For early design, exploratory sitework, or high-uncertainty repairs where fixed pricing is not viable.

• Hybrid Milestone Structures: Combining fixed design services with incentive-based or GMP construction phases.

• Commercial Practices Proposed by the Performer: Integrates industry-standard commercial billing, payment, and risk-allocation methods (e.g., advance payments for long-lead materials, developer-led financing, or American Institute of Architects (AIA) milestone schedules) negotiated and determined fair by the AO.

3.2 Congressional Notification Requirement

Not later than 14 days before entering into an OT, the AO will submit a notification of intent to utilize the 10 U.S.C. § 2808a authority to the congressional defense committees in an electronic medium.

3.3 Follow-On Transactions

Pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 2808a(c), a transaction entered into for a project under this authority may provide for the award of a follow-on transaction or contract to the participants without further competition, if:

1. Competitive procedures were used for the selection of parties for participation in the original transaction; and

2. The participants in the original transaction successfully completed:

o (A) A complete and useable facility; or o (B) A complete and useable improvement to a facility.

This statutory mechanism allows the AFRL to scale successful projects (such as an initial PDB, ADB, or IC pilot) into full installation-wide delivery, campus modernization, or subsequent regional phases with the same participant, non-competitively, provided the initial project successfully met its completion criteria. The published AOIs will explicitly declare whether follow-on work is contemplated and outline the preliminary scope and potential value threshold of the follow-on.

3.4 Funding and Appropriation Flexibility ("Colors of Money") Pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 2808a(b), agencies may carry out projects under this authority using any funds legally available for such purposes. The specific source and type of funding will be determined by the Government for each individual project.

3.5 Statutory Labor Compliance

The applicability of statutory labor requirements (such as the payment of prevailing wages under the Davis-Bacon Act (DBA)) to OT agreements is a complex and evolving area. Each AOI will specify the particular labor standards and prevailing wage requirements, if any, that will apply to that specific project based on Government policy and the nature of the work. Respondents will be required to adhere to the labor standards specified in the AOI and resulting agreement.

SECTION 4 – Points of Contact

General questions regarding this announcement may be sent to AFRL.2808a.Inbox@us.af.mil. Questions regarding a specific AOI may be directed to the POC(s) identified in the AOI. All questions and the Government’s official responses may be made publicly available to all interested parties without attribution to the source of the inquiry.

mailto:AFRL.2808a.Inbox@us.af.mil

SECTION 4 – Points of Contact