FA8684-20-S-C001 Call 0003.pdf

RSO Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) Call 0003

1.0 Introduction

The Rapid Sustainment Office (RSO) seeks to leverage technological advances to further its mission to reduce Air Force sustainment and operational cost and/or improve mission readiness.

The RSO seeks to work with companies who can deliver innovative sustainment and operational solutions to Air Force end users.

This announcement is for a Technology Focus Area (TFA)/Area of Interest (AoI) under the RSO Commercial Solutions Opening FA8684-20-S-C001. Interested parties are highly encouraged to visit the Government Point of Entry (www.beta.sam.gov) or the RSO website (www.AFRSO.com) to review the RSO CSO special posting in its entirety to obtain more information on the process for submission and evaluation of the CSO solution white papers and proposals.

This Call seeks to solicit innovative solutions that meet the objectives detailed in Section 2.0.

The term innovative is defined as any technology, process, or method, including research and development that is new as of the date of proposal submission; or any new application of an existing technology, process or method as of the proposal date.

The RSO is not obligated to extend a request for proposal or make an award as a result of this Call; all awards are subject to the availability of funds and successful negotiations. This Call is not an authorization to begin performance, and in no way obligates the Government for any costs incurred by the Offeror associated with developing a White Paper. Prior to commencement of any activities associated with performance under this Call, the Government will issue a written directive or contractual document signed by the Contracting Officer with appropriate consideration established. The RSO reserves the right to modify the requirements of this Call.

The authority to issue this Two-Step, Closed Call is derived from ALCMC/RSO Commercial Solutions Opening, FA8684-20-S-C001, dated 17-Jul-2020. The CSO authority is Section 879 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2017, Public Law 114-328, and Class Deviation 2018-O0016.

Federal Agency: Air Force Program Office: AFLCMC/RO “Rapid Sustainment Office (RSO)” Call Title: Technology Integration NAICS: 541715, R&D in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences Call Type: Two-Step, Closed Call Call Number: FA8684-20-S-C001, Call 0003 Call Release Date: March 3, 2021 White Papers Due: March 23, 2021 at 5:00 PM ET http://www.beta.sam.gov/ http://www.afrso.com/

2.0 Technology Focus Area/Area of Interest: Sustainment Modernization for Obsolescence/Technology Integration As defined in the RSO CSO, the RSO publishes calls that seek to fund innovative technologies that propose new solutions to expand Air Force capabilities as it relates to the RSO Technology Focus Areas (TFA). Each TFA identifies an area where prospective Contractors can bring substantial value to meet the RSO’s mission.

The sustainment modernization for obsolescence TFA is described as: Sustainment modernization seeks technologies that impact sustainment readiness, costs or obsolescence issues within the sustainment enterprise. RSO will assess technologies to validate and verify the utility of the solution in a USAF sustainment environment.

This call seeks an innovative solution designed to leverage the RSO portfolio of discreet technology solutions to develop an innovative pilot of interconnected emerging and disruptive technologies at a single location. The effort will develop an approach to integrate existing and new RSO technologies to determine the multiplier effect of collocating them with one user. The target location for this effort is a CONUS Air Force base in partnership with the resident Aircraft Maintenance Unit. The technology solutions leveraged for this effort specifically target aircraft maintenance operations.

This call is intended to solicit innovative solutions that address the AoI objectives listed below.

Objectives:

• Demonstrate an innovative approach to integrating up to 10 Rapid Sustainment Office (RSO) technologies to create a first-of-its kind Air Force proving ground for concentrating emerging technologies at a single location to generate a greater impact to performance targets. The successful innovation will leverage the RSO’s technology pipeline to organically identify and fill capability gaps, but the initial technology targets include: streamlined data entry for flight line maintainers, digital work management tools for maintainers and supervisors (task assignments and real time work status), digitally enabled situational awareness (encompassing both maintenance activity status and asset location), digitally enabled kitting, smart toolboxes, virtual reality training, augmented reality job assistance for maintainers, condition based maintenance enhancement, advanced analytics for supply stock, advanced manufacturing (to include 3D printing), mobile wi-fi for the flight line, and improved ear protection/communication.

• The proposed solution should address the overall management of the project, and account for the introduction of new capabilities from the RSO’s technology pipeline.

It is anticipated that management will include establishing an agile environment for RSO technologies at a CONUS Air Force base, mapping sprint capability increments across projects to align with overall objectives, and leading sprints and user evaluation sessions in partnership with RSO technology providers.

• Proposed solutions should address a plan for development of an integrated system architecture framework and maintain it as individual projects are incorporated from the RSO pipeline or off-ramped from the project.

• The proposed approach should leverage the RSO Test Lab to successfully test and validate solution functionality at the RSO lab location, to include problem solving, performance analysis, and troubleshooting. It should also incorporate a test and evaluation approach that validates performance of individual technologies and integrated capabilities, and assesses the overall impact of the project at the CONUS Air Force base.

• The solution should consider the impact of addressing the sourcing of any anticipated hardware or software tools necessary to integrate individual systems or enable the full capability of up to 10 planned technologies.

• The solution should include support of technology bed down at the CONUS Air Force base in partnership with the individual technology suppliers and the users, to include recommendations for any policy, procedure, or organizational changes necessary to successfully execute.

• The solution should allow for the Management Information System environment common to Air Force logistics and operation activities.

3.0 Call Timeline and General Information

Milestone Due Date Two-Step, Closed Call Published 03-MAR-2021 White Papers Due (Step-One) 23-MAR-2021 at 5:00 PM ET Request for Proposal (RFP) Issued or Non-Select Letter Issued 01-APR-2021 Proposals Due (Step-Two) 01-MAY-2021 Target Selection Date/Contract Award 08-JUN-2021

*The RSO reserves the right to alter or change any of the due dates listed above.

Two-Step, Closed Call Published: RSO publishes a Two-Step, Closed Call.

White Papers Due (Step-One): White Papers addressing the Area of Interest (AoI) defined in Section 2.0 are due no later than the RSO deadline listed in the table above. All White Papers submitted must adhere to instructions listed in Section 4.0 and Section 5.0 of this Call.

Request for Proposal (RFP) Issued: Offerors who submitted White Papers by the required due date and who have been favorably evaluated will be issued a Request for Proposal (RFP). The RFP will detail the requirements (e.g. required content and evaluation criteria) that prospective companies should tailor their proposal towards.

Proposals Due (Step-Two): Offerors who have received a RFP from the RSO are required to submit their proposals by the stated due date. More details and requirements that companies shall adhere to will be contained in the RFP.

Contract Award: The Government anticipates making one award, but reserves the right to award zero, one, or more Contracts for all, some, or none of the solicited effort. Details as to the negotiation and award process will be contained in the RFP.

4.0 White Paper Format Instructions

White Papers should be created using 8.5 x 11 inch portrait format pages with single spaced, Times New Roman 12 point font with 1” margins. White Papers shall not exceed the 5 pages, not including the cover page. The cover page shall be limited to and shall include the following:

Contractor Name, CAGE Code, and date.

All text, including text in tables and charts, must adhere to all font sizes and line spacing requirements listed herein. Pages submitted in excess of these limits will not be read or considered in the Government’s evaluation of the White Paper.

5.0 White Paper Contents

White Papers shall be valid for 180 days. All White Papers should include the following content:

• The White Paper shall address how the Offeror plans to provide an innovative approach to meet the objectives listed in Section 2.0.

• The White Paper shall address each of the listed objectives and should provide a brief description of how the Offeror will address the objectives.

• The White Paper shall include a rough-order-of-magnitude (ROM) price for a proposal.

Inclusion of the ROM does not imply or guarantee an RFP will be issued to the Offeror.

• The contents will be evaluated against the factors listed in Section 6.0. Offerors should strive to make clear connections between the proposed technical content and the evaluation factors.

6.0 White Paper Evaluation

The White Paper shall be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation factors listed in the CSO.

The factors are as follows:

• Technical o The soundness and technical merit of the proposed solution to adequately address the AoI objectives in Section 2.0; and o The demonstrated feasibility of the proposed solution to address the AoI is mid-maturity. Mid-maturity is defined as a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of at least 5 or greater and a Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) of at least 5 or greater. The Government is the final decision authority as to a technology’s stated TRL and MRL.

TRL assessment of at least five (5) or higher as detailed at:

https://www.gao.gov/assets/710/703694.pdf .

MRL assessment of at least five (5) or higher as detailed at:

www.dodmrl.com

• Importance to Agency Programs/Commercial Innovation: The degree to which the proposed concept provides an innovative, unique and/or previously under-utilized capability for government application.

• Availability of Funds: Any award shall be subject to the availability of funds.

https://www.gao.gov/assets/710/703694.pdf http://www.dodmrl.com/

• Price: Price shall be considered to the extent appropriate, but at a minimum, to determine that the price is fair and reasonable.

White Papers will be evaluated on the basis of the merit of the proposed concept in addressing the AoI and not against other White Papers submitted in response to the AoI.

7.0 White Paper Submission Instructions

The White Paper shall be delivered electronically by the deadline stated in Section 3.0 of this Call to the Contracting Specialist listed in Section 9.0. Offerors may request the use of the DoD SAFE website to deliver the White Paper by notifying the Contracting Specialist no later than 24 hours before the deadline. If such a request is made the Contracting Specialist will provide a link for electronic delivery via DoD SAFE.

LATE WHITE PAPER SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. The RSO will not be responsible for any proposals that are late due to issues with either Offeror or Air Force email systems or the DoD SAFE. It is the Offeror’s responsibility to ensure the Air Force receives the email with all attachments at the designated email address or the DoD SAFE website (if requested) by the specific due date and time.

8.0 Projected Acquisition Particulars

As previously stated, the submission of a White Paper does not imply or guarantee that an Offeror will receive an RFP after the White Paper is evaluated. The information contained in this section is provided to allow Offerors the opportunity to make an informed business decision in determining whether to respond to this call. The Government reserves the right to change, add, remove, or modify this information in the RFP.

• The Government intends to award one contract following the evaluation of both white papers and proposals. The Government reserves the right to utilize a Pitch Day in conjunction with the proposal submission and evaluation.

• The resulting contract may be a FAR Part 12, Fixed-Price effort or an Other Transaction Agreement.

• The expected period of performance for the awarded contract is 12 months after award.

The period of performance ultimately requested in the RFP may also include an option for an additional 12 months of effort.

• The successful Offeror shall be an American entity with all work performed in the United States.

• Use of Non-Government Advisors: Offerors are advised that technical and cost/price data submitted to the Government in response to this Call may be released to non-Government advisors for white paper review and analysis. All non-Government advisors have appropriate signed non-disclosure statements.

• Government Furnished Property is not anticipated, however, it is anticipated that the RSO will provide information during the course of the effort. Additionally, the RSO will provide access to its laboratory space as required.

• Deliverables expected under the contract may include: Systems Architecture Diagram, Test Plans and Reports, Quarterly Metrics Reports, Final Report (summary metrics report, lessons learned, final system diagram, project evaluations, recommendations for next steps, Scale recommendations), and Integrated Master Schedule.

• The data rights for deliverables under the contract are expected to be provided in a manner that at a minimum allow for Government Purpose Rights. Refer to Section 9.8.1 of the Commercial Solutions Opening FA8684-20-S-C001 for additional FAR Part 12 data rights considerations.

9.0 Contact Information

The Point of Contact for this effort is the Contracting Specialist, Mr. Logan Olsen, or the Contracting Officer, Ms. Valerie Inman. The Offeror shall not contact any other Government personnel or offices regarding this Call.

Position: Name: Email:

Contracting Officer: Ms. Valerie Inman valerie.inman@us.af.mil Contracting Specialist Mr. Logan Olsen logan.olsen.1@us.af.mil mailto:valerie.inman@us.af.mil mailto:logan.olsen.1@us.af.mil