SAM Synopsis FA8750-23-S-7005 20230831.docx

NAICS CODE: 541715

FEDERAL AGENCY NAME: Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, AFRL - Rome Research Site, AFRL/Information Directorate, 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome, NY, 13441-4514

BAA or ARA ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: Initial announcement

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA) TITLE: Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) Solutions for Evolving Scenarios (SSES)

BAA NUMBER: FA8750-23-S-7005

PART I – OVERVIEW INFORMATION

This announcement is for an Open, 2 Step BAA which is open and effective until 25 SEP 2028. Only white papers will be accepted as initial submissions; formal proposals will be accepted by invitation only. While white papers will be considered if received prior to 2pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on 25 SEP 2028, the following submission dates are suggested to best align with projected funding:

FY24 by 15 NOV 2023 FY25 by 15 AUG 2024 FY26 by 15 AUG 2025 FY27 by 14 AUG 2026 FY28 by 13 AUG 2027

Offerors should monitor the Contract Opportunities on the SAM website at https://SAM.gov in the event this announcement is amended.

CONCISE SUMMARY OF TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENT: Seeking innovative research to develop emerging Cyber and SIGINT real-time processing solutions to improve tactical information collection, geolocation, extraction, identification, analysis, simulation and reporting in support of the Intelligence Community. Overall program goals include providing situational awareness for worldwide signals and network intelligence sources; provide sensor data collection and processing with a network-centric approach; understand the adversarial battlespace; provide multi-platform/multi-intelligence support to both protect and increase the blue coalition warfighting capabilities. A key objective is to advance the state-of-the-art capabilities by providing the warfighter with real-time tools to quickly assess and precisely pinpoint the right decision to mitigate the tactical threat and ensure battlespace dominance.

This BAA is a follow-on to BAA FA8750-21-S-7002, titled “Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) Solutions for Evolving Scenarios (SSES)”.

BAA ESTIMATED FUNDING: Total funding for this BAA is approximately $99.9M. Individual awards will not normally exceed 36 months with dollar amounts normally ranging from $.25M to $15M. There is also the potential to make awards up to any dollar value as long as the value does not exceed the available BAA ceiling amount.

ANTICIPATED INDIVIDUAL AWARDS: Multiple Awards are anticipated. However, the Air Force reserves the right to award zero, one, or more Procurement Contracts, assistance agreements, or Other Transactions (OT), for all, some, or none of the solicited efforts based on the offeror’s ability to perform desired work and funding fluctuations. There is no limit on the number of OTs that may be awarded to an individual offeror.

TYPE OF INSTRUMENTS THAT MAY BE AWARDED: FAR based Procurement contracts, DODGARS based grants and cooperative agreements or other transactions (OT) under 10 USC 4021, 10 USC 4022 and 10 USC 4023( previously 10 USC 4002, 2371, 10 USC 4003, 2371b and 4004, 2373) depending upon the nature of the work proposed.

In the event that an Other Transaction for Prototype agreement is awarded as a result of this competitive BAA, and the prototype project is successfully completed, there is the potential for a prototype project to transition to award of a follow-on production contract or transaction. The Other Transaction for Prototype agreement itself will also contain a similar notice of a potential follow-on production contract or agreement.

AGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION: All white paper submissions and any questions of a technical nature shall be directed to the cognizant Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) as specified below (unless otherwise specified in the technical area):

BAA PROGRAM MANAGER:

Todd Howlett

AFRL/RIGC

525 Brooks Rd Rome, NY 13441-4505 Telephone: (315)330-4592 Email: todd.howlett@us.af.mil

Questions of a contractual/business nature shall be directed to the cognizant contracting officer, as specified below (email requests are preferred):

Amber Buckley Telephone (315) 330-3605 Email: Amber.Buckley@us.af.mil

Emails must reference the solicitation (BAA) number and title of the acquisition.

Pre-Proposal Communication between Prospective Offerors and Government Representatives: Dialogue between prospective offerors and Government representatives is encouraged. Technical and contracting questions can be resolved in writing or through open discussions. 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 Officers are legally authorized to commit the Government.

Offerors are cautioned that evaluation ratings may be lowered and/or proposal rejected if proposal preparation (Proposal format, content, etc.) and/or submittal instructions are not followed.

PART II – FULL TEXT ANNOUNCEMENT

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA) TITLE: Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) Solutions for Evolving Scenarios (SSES)

BAA NUMBER: BAA FA8750-23-S-7005

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) Numbers: 12.800 and 12.910

I. TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS:

The Air Force Research Laboratory is soliciting white papers under this Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for research, development, integration, test and evaluation of technologies/techniques that provide for the development of real-time processing technology to improve the extraction, identification, analysis and reporting of tactical information and to research and develop advanced Cyber and SIGnals INTelligence (SIGINT) communications collection techniques and support the development of systems that perform these operations. The processed information will support the command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) and cyber, science, technology, research and development vision, protect blue coalition forces with command, control, computer and intelligence applications, and support battlespace awareness for the warfighter. The Government is not looking for point solutions, but rather solutions which are focused on versatile multi-agency systems that rely on an open architecture with scalable technologies. The breadth of the technology timeline ranges from quick reaction capabilities to critical near-term shortfalls to proof-of-concept for heretofore undemonstrated technical capabilities based on warfighter needs and requirements.

In the area of information extraction for Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), new and innovative methods and processing techniques will provide decision-makers with C4I information in as near real-time as possible. SIGINT technologies process information on various communications mediums, operate in environments in low signal-to-noise ratio areas and conduct operations against uncooperative targets where the noise types and channel conditions are frequently varying from message to message. As time is critical and mission analysts' workload is high, the automation of the SIGINT collection, processing and exploitation capabilities in both tasking and training is a major goal.

The SIGINT research and development is grouped into three broad technology areas: Information Extraction, Signal Processing, and Automation Enhancements. The first, Information Extraction, extracts information from signals to identify and catalog Signals of Interest (SOI). Information extraction refers to deriving important information from RF signals. This could include myriad details about a signal, ranging from general collection information to specific signal data type. Information derived from SIGINT can be useful as an end intelligence product for mission commanders and strategic leaders, or for further tasking and queuing of collection systems. Identifying known information as well as discovering new data are key components to full information extraction from SIGINT. The second area, Signal Processing, processes the signal to improve signal processor performance for the derivation of accurate signal related information, as mentioned previously for above information extraction capabilities. This represents research in removing noise and interference in a channel or in multiple channels from signals. The third broad area, Automation Enhancements, uses signal processing and exploitation techniques to automate the manual processes that are current practice, or create entirely new automated processes enabled by new technology. This automation may be used to manipulate the SOI for storage and transmission or to synthesize the signal for a variety of purposes.

Another component of this BAA is to research unique and innovative techniques and algorithms that provide the identification, collection, processing, and exploitation of electronic communication signals in a moderate to dense co-channel environment with potentially significant Doppler effects. The goals for this component are to develop methods for the detection, identification, characterization, and geolocation of emerging communications and low radiated power level signals of interest; advance digital signal processing software methodologies to provide new and existing systems and waveforms; develop new and innovative software and hardware architectures for standoff collection systems; develop and integrate these capabilities into information operations and collection systems; and develop the ability to characterize cognitive, software-defined radios from either airborne or ground-based platforms operating in dense signal environments. As part of this objective, the Government wishes to leverage existing technology in the areas of Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and cyber operations developed by academia and industry as well as from other organizations. Automated signal processing is a key component for net-centric warfare. Areas of interest include: researching potential solutions to deficiencies in fielded systems; discovering and improving novel capabilities on commercial and personal communications platforms; and developing an automated Government-Off-The-Shelf (GOTS) signal processing framework that provides rapid signal processing and cyber operations capabilities to enable the warfighter to respond in near real-time to threats in hostile areas of operation.

IMPORTANT NOTES REGARDING:

FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH. It is DoD policy that the publication of products of fundamental research will remain unrestricted to the maximum extent possible. National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) 189 defines fundamental research as follows:

‘Fundamental research’ means basic and applied research in science and engineering, the results of which ordinarily are published and shared broadly within the scientific community, as distinguished from proprietary research and from industrial development, design, production, and product utilization, the results of which ordinarily are restricted for proprietary or national security reasons.

As of the date of publication of this BAA, the Government cannot identify whether work proposed under this BAA may be considered fundamental research and may award both fundamental and non-fundamental research. Proposers should indicate in their proposal whether they believe the scope of the research included in their proposal is fundamental or not. While proposers should clearly explain the intended results of their research, the Government shall have sole discretion to select award instrument type and to negotiate all instrument terms and conditions with selectees. Appropriate clauses will be included in resultant awards for non-fundamental research to prescribe publication requirements and other restrictions, as appropriate.

For certain research projects, it may be possible that although the research being performed by the awardee is restricted research, a sub-awardee may be conducting fundamental research. In those cases, it is the awardee’s responsibility to explain in their proposal why its sub-awardee’s effort is fundamental research.

CLOUD COMPUTING. In accordance with DFARS Clause 252.239-7010, if the development proposed requires storage of Government, or Government-related data on the cloud, offerors need to ensure that the cloud service provider proposed has been granted Provisional Authorization by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) at the level appropriate to the requirement.

II. AWARD INFORMATION:

1. FUNDING: Total funding for this BAA is approximately $99.9M. The anticipated funding to be obligated under this BAA is broken out by fiscal year as follows:

FY24 - $0.75M

FY25 - $25M

FY26 - $25M

FY27 - $25M

FY28 - $24.15M

a. Individual awards will not normally exceed 36 months with dollar values normally ranging from $.25M to $15M. There is also the potential to make awards up to any dollar value as long as the value does not exceed the available BAA ceiling amount.

b. The Government reserves the right to select all, part, or none of the proposals received, subject to the availability of funds. All potential Offerors should be aware that due to unanticipated budget fluctuations, funding in any or all areas may change with little or no notice.

2. FORM. Awards of efforts as a result of this announcement will be in the form of contracts, grants, cooperative agreements or other transactions depending upon the nature of the work proposed. Primarily contracts are expected.

3. BAA TYPE: This is a two-step open broad announcement. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation.

As STEP ONE – The Government is only soliciting white papers at this time. DO NOT SUBMIT A FORMAL PROPOSAL. Those white papers found to be consistent with the Government intent of this BAA may be invited to submit a technical and cost proposal. See Section VI of this announcement for further details regarding the proposal.

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION:

1. ELIGIBILITY: All qualified offerors who meet the requirements of this BAA may apply.

2. FOREIGN PARTICIPATION/ACCESS:

a. This BAA is closed to foreign participation. This includes both foreign ownership and foreign nationals as employees or subcontractors.

b. Exceptions.

1. Fundamental Research. If the work to be performed is unclassified, fundamental research, this must be clearly identified in the white paper and/or proposal. See Part II, Section I for more details regarding Fundamental Research. Offerors should still identify any performance by foreign nationals at any level (prime contractor or subcontractor) in their proposals. Please specify the nationals’ country of origin, the type of visa or work permit under which they are performing and an explanation of their anticipated level of involvement. You may be asked to provide additional information during negotiations in order to verify the foreign citizen’s eligibility to participate on any contract or assistance agreement or other transaction issued as a result of this announcement

2. Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) companies who have mitigation plans/paperwork in place. Proof of approved mitigation documentation must be provided to the contracting office focal point, Amber Buckley, Contracting Officer, telephone (315) 330-3605, or e-mail Amber.Buckley@us.af.mil prior to submitting a white paper and/or a proposal. For information on FOCI mitigation, contact the contact the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA). Additional details can be found at: https://www.dcsa.mil/mc/ctp/foci/

3. Foreign Nationals as Employees or Subcontractors. Applicable to any effort not considered Fundamental Research. Offerors are responsible for ensuring that all employees and/or subcontractors who will work on a resulting contract are eligible to do so. Any employee who is not a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident will be restricted from working on any resultant contract unless prior approval of the Department of State or the Department of Commerce is obtained via a technical assistance agreement or an export license. Violations of these regulations can result in criminal or civil penalties.

c. Information Regarding Non-US Citizens Assigned to this Project

1. Contractor employees requiring access to USAF bases, AFRL facilities, and/or access to U.S. Government Information Technology (IT) networks in connection with the work on contracts, assistance instruments or other transactions awarded under this BAA must be U.S. citizens. For the purpose of base and network access, possession of a permanent resident card ("Green Card") does not equate to U.S. citizenship. This requirement does not apply to foreign nationals approved by the U.S. Department of Defense or U.S. State Department under international personnel exchange agreements with foreign governments. It also does not apply to dual citizens who possess US citizenship, to include Naturalized citizens. Any waivers to this requirement must be granted in writing by the Contracting Officer prior to providing access. Specific format for waiver request will be provided upon request to the Contracting Officer. The above requirements are in addition to any other contract requirements related to obtaining a Common Access Card (CAC).

2. For the purposes of Paragraph 1, if an IT network/system does not require AFRL to endorse a contractor's application to said network/system in order to gain access, the organization operating the IT network/system is responsible for controlling access to its system. If an IT network/system requires a U.S. Government sponsor to endorse the application in order for access to the IT network/system, AFRL will only endorse the following types of applications, consistent with the requirements above:

a) Contractor employees who are U.S. citizens performing work under contracts, assistance instruments or other transactions awarded under this.

b) Contractor employees who are non-U.S. citizens and who have been granted a waiver.

Any additional access restrictions established by the IT network/system owner apply.

3. FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTERS AND GOVERNMENT ENTITIES: Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and Government entities (e.g., Government/National laboratories, military educational institutions, etc.) are subject to applicable direct competition limitations and cannot propose to this BAA in any capacity unless they meet the following conditions:

1. FFRDCs: FFRDCs must clearly demonstrate that the proposed work is not otherwise available from the private sector; and FFRDCs must provide a letter on official letterhead from their sponsoring organization citing the specific authority establishing their eligibility to propose to Government solicitations and compete with industry, and their compliance with the associated FFRDC sponsor agreement’s terms and conditions. This information is required for FFRDCs proposing to be prime contractors or sub-awardees.

1. Government Entities: Government entities must clearly demonstrate that the work is not otherwise available from the private sector and provide written documentation citing the specific statutory authority and contractual authority, if relevant, establishing their ability to propose to Government solicitations. While 10 U.S.C.§ 2539b may be the appropriate statutory starting point for some entities, specific supporting regulatory guidance, together with evidence of agency approval, will still be required to fully establish eligibility.

FFRDC and Government entity eligibility will be determined on a case-by-case basis; however, the burden to prove eligibility for all team members rests solely with the proposer.

Government agencies interested in performing work related to this announcement should contact the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC). If resulting discussions reveal a mutual interest, cooperation may be pursued via other vehicles.

4. ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST (OCI): In accordance with FAR 9.5, offerors are required to identify and disclose all facts relevant to potential OCIs involving the offerors organization and any proposed team member (subawardee, consultant). Under this Section, the offeror is responsible for providing this disclosure with each proposal submitted to the solicitation. The disclosure must include the offerors, and as applicable, proposed team member’s OCI mitigation plan. The OCI mitigation plan must include a description of the actions the offeror has taken, or intends to take, to prevent the existence of conflicting roles that might bias the offerors judgment and to prevent the offeror from having unfair competitive advantage. The OCI mitigation plan will specifically discuss the disclosed OCI in the context of each of the OCI limitations outlined in FAR 9.505-1 through FAR 9.505-4.

a. Agency Supplemental OCI Policy: In addition, AFRL has a supplemental OCI policy that prohibits contractors/performers from concurrently providing Scientific Engineering Technical Assistance (SETA), Advisory and Assistance Services (A&AS) or similar support services and being a technical performer. Therefore, as part of the FAR 9.5 disclosure requirement above, an offeror must affirm whether the offeror or any proposed team member (subawardee, consultant) is providing SETA, A&AS, or similar support to any AFRL office(s) under: (a) a current award or subaward; or (b) a past award or subaward that ended within one calendar year prior to the proposal’s submission date. If SETA, A&AS, or similar support is being or was provided to any AFRL office(s), the proposal must include:

. The name of the AFRL office receiving the support;

. The prime contract number;

. Identification of proposed team member (subawardee, consultant) providing the support; and . An OCI mitigation plan in accordance with FAR 9.5.

b. Government Procedures: In accordance with FAR 9.503, 9.504 and 9.506, the Government will evaluate OCI mitigation plans to avoid, neutralize or mitigate potential OCI issues before award and to determine whether it is in the Government’s interest to grant a waiver. The Government will only evaluate OCI mitigation plans for proposals that are determined selectable under the solicitation evaluation criteria and funding availability. The Government may require proposers to provide additional information to assist the Government in evaluating the offerors OCI mitigation plan. If the Government determines that an offeror failed to fully disclose an OCI; or failed to provide the affirmation of AFRL support as described above; or failed to reasonably provide additional information requested by the Government to assist in evaluating the proposer’s OCI mitigation plan, the Government may reject the proposal and withdraw it from consideration for award.

5. S&T PROTECTION. In accordance with AFRLI 61-113, S&T Protection, Contractors/Recipients are required to submit with their proposal a Standard Form 424, "Research and Related and Senior and Key Person Profile (Expanded), as well as a Security Program Questionnaire, which are included in the RI-Specific Proposal Preparation Instructions and can be accessed at:

https://sam.gov/opp/e628c811fafe041accdddf55fb8539bf/view?keywords=AFRL-BAA-GUIDE&sort=-relevance&index=&is_active=true&page=1. Always reference the newest versions of these documents. Complete and submit the required forms with your proposal to the technical point of contact (TPOC) listed in Section VII-Agency Contacts AND AFRL.RIOF@us.af.mil.

Contractors will be required to provide documentation of their Security Program Plan for initial Institution S&T Protection Program Review. The purpose of requesting the plan is to evaluate the offeror’s capacity for protecting the Government’s S&T and failure to demonstrate a plan adequate to meet the needs of the requirement may be grounds for considering the proposal unawardable. In the event a security risk is identified and the Government has determined the security risk exceeds the acceptable threshold, the Contractor/Recipient will be notified and informed of the termination/decline of award. The Government will be only required to provide a general statement of the reasoning due to Government OPSEC measures.

After award, the Contractor/Recipient will be required to re-submit the Standard Form 424 as an annual requirement to the points of contact listed above.

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION:

All responses to this announcement must be addressed to the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) listed in SECTION VII. DO NOT send white papers to the Contracting Officer.

All responsible sources may submit a bid, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency.

1. SUBMISSION DATES AND TIMES:

It is recommended that white papers be received by 2 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the following dates to maximize the possibility of award:

FY24 by 15 NOV 2023 FY25 by 15 AUG 2024 FY26 by 15 AUG 2025 FY27 by 14 AUG 2026 FY28 by 13 AUG 2027

White papers will be accepted until 2:00 PM EST on 25 SEP 2028, but it is less likely that funding will be available in each respective fiscal year after the dates cited. This BAA will close on 25 SEP 2028.

All offerors submitting white papers will receive notification of their evaluation results within 45 days of submission. Offerors should email the TPOC and the Contracting Officer listed in Section VII, for status of their white paper(s) after 45 days, if no such correspondence has been received.

2. CONTENT AND FORMAT: Offerors are required to submit (3) copies of a 3 to 5 page white paper summarizing their proposed approach/solution. The purpose of the white paper is to preclude unwarranted effort on the part of an offeror whose proposed work is not of interest to the Government.

The white paper will be formatted as follows:

a. Section A: Title, Period of Performance, Estimated Cost, Name/Address of Company, Technical and Contracting Points of Contact (phone and email)(this section is NOT included in the page count)

i. if proposing an OT, one of the following must be met (COTR will specify in the RFP if an OT is anticipated):

· At least one Nontraditional Defense Contractor is a significant participant in the prototype project; or

· ALL significant participants in the transaction other than the Federal Government are Small Businesses or Nontraditional Defense Contractors; or

· A Cost Share of at least 1/3 of the Total Cost of the prototype project is to be paid out of funds provided by parties to the transaction other than the Federal Government.

ii. If the offeror does not meet the definition of a nontraditional defense contractor, nonprofit research institution or small business, they must state if they plan to subcontract with entitites who meet these definitions (see Section IV.4.h).

iii. this section is NOT included in the page count;

b. Section B: Task Objective; and

c. Section C: Technical Summary and Proposed Deliverables.

All white papers shall be double spaced with a font no smaller than 12 point. Please note that less than 12 point font is acceptable for graphics and illustrations (as in labels and short descriptions) as long as it is readable when printed out on standard 8x11 paper. In addition, respondents are requested to provide their Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code, their unique entity identifier and electronic funds transfer (EFT) indicator (if applicable), an e-mail address and reference BAA FA8750-23-S-7005 with their submission.

Multiple white papers within the purview of this announcement may be submitted by each offeror. If the offeror wishes to restrict its white papers, they must be marked with the restrictive language stated in FAR 15.609(a) and (b).

3. HANDLING AND MAILING INSTRUCTIONS:

a. CLASSIFICATION GUIDANCE. All Proposers should review the NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL SECURITY PROGRAM OPERATING MANUAL (NISPOM), 32 CFR Part 117, as it provides baseline standards for the protection of classified information and prescribes the requirements concerning Contractor Developed Information under paragraph §117.13. Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) Site for the NISPOM is: http://www.dcsa.mil/.

In the event of a possible or actual compromise of classified information in the submission of your white paper or proposal, immediately but no later than 24 hours, bring this to the attention of your cognizant security authority and AFRL Rome Research Site Information Protection Office (IPO):

Information Protection Office (contact only if a security compromise has occurred)

b. CLASSIFIED SUBMISSIONS. AFRL/RIGC will accept classified responses to this BAA when the classification is mandated by classification guidance provided by an Original Classification Authority of the U.S. Government, or when the offeror believes the work, if successful, would merit classification.

Security classification guidance in the form of a DD Form 254 (DoD Contract Security Classification Specification) will not be provided at this time since AFRL is soliciting ideas only.

Offerors that intend to include classified information or data in their white paper submission or who are unsure about the appropriate classification of their white papers should contact the technical point of contact listed in Section VII for guidance and direction in advance of preparation.

c. MAILING INSTRUCTIONS.

Email Unclassified electronic submission to the TPOC identified in Section VII. Encrypt or password-protect all proprietary information prior to sending. Offerors are responsible to confirm receipt with the TPOC. AFRL is not responsible for undelivered documents. If electronic submission is used, only one copy of the documentation is required.

In addition to the electronic submission, please also mail a response. Any mailed responses, unclassified/classified, to this announcement must be sent U.S. Postal Service, registered mail or similar service and addressed to AFRL/RIGC, 525 Brooks Road, Rome NY 13441-4505, and reference BAA FA8750-23-S-7005. When mailing follow the directions regarding the number of copies required.

Secret and Top Secret/SCI electronic submissions may be accepted. Contact the TPOC for a classified email address.

Questions can be directed to the TPOC listed in Section VII.

4. OTHER SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS/CONSIDERATIONS:

a. COST SHARING OR MATCHING RELATED TO FAR BASED AWARDS. Cost sharing is not a requirement. Cost sharing may be proposed and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Cost share will not be a factor in selection for award. For OT awards, see Section IV.4.h.3.

b. . SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (SAM). Offerors must be registered in the SAM database to receive a contract award, and remain registered during performance and through final payment of any contract or agreement. Processing time for registration in SAM, which normally takes forty-eight hours, should be taken into consideration when registering. Offerors who are not already registered should consider applying for registration before submitting a proposal. The provision at FAR 52.204-7, System for Award Management (Oct 2018) applies.

c. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION AND FIRST-TIER SUBCONTRACT/ SUBRECIPIENT AWARDS: Any contract award resulting from this announcement may contain the clause at FAR 52.204-10 - Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards (Jun 2020). Any grant or agreement award resulting from this announcement may contain the award term set forth in 2 CFR, Appendix A to Part 25 which can be viewed at: https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/CFR-2012-title2-vol1/CFR-2012-title2-vol1-part25-appA.

d. ALLOWABLE CHARGES: The cost of preparing white papers/proposals in response to this announcement is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting contract or any other contract, but may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost specified in FAR 31.205-18. Incurring pre-award costs for ASSISTANCE INSTRUMENTS ONLY are regulated by 2 CFR part 200.458, Pre-Award Costs.

e. GOVERNMENT APPROVED ACCOUNTING SYSTEM: An offeror must have a government approved accounting system prior to award of a cost-reimbursement contract per limitations set forth in FAR 16.301-3(a) to ensure the system is adequate for determining costs applicable to the contract. The acceptability of an accounting system is determined based upon an audit performed by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA). IMPORTANT: If you do not have a DCAA approved accounting system access the following link for instructions: https://sam.gov/opp/e628c811fafe041accdddf55fb8539bf/view?keywords=AFRL-BAA-Guide&sort=-relevance&index=&is_active=true&page=1

f. HUMAN USE: All research involving human subjects, to include the use of human biological specimens and human data, selected for funding must comply with Federal regulations for human subject protection. Further, research involving human subjects that is conducted or supported by the DoD must comply with 32 CFR 219, “Protection of Human Subjects” found at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_07/32cfr219_07.html, and DoD Instruction 3216.02, “Protection of Human Subjects and Adherence to Ethical Standards in DoD-Supported Research” found at: http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/321602p.pdf.

1. Institutions awarded funding for research involving human subjects must provide documentation of a current Assurance of Compliance with Federal regulations for human subject protection, for example a Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Human Research Protection Federal Wide Assurance found at: http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp.

2. All institutions engaged in human subject research, to include subcontractors, must have a valid assurance. In addition, personnel involved in human subject research must document the completion of appropriate training for the protection of human subjects.

3. For all research that will involve human subjects in the first year or phase of the project, the institution must submit evidence of a plan for review by an institutional review board (IRB) as part of the proposal. The IRB conducting the review must be the IRB identified on the institution’s Assurance of Compliance. The protocol, separate from the proposal, must include a detailed description of the research plan, study population, risks and benefits of study participation, recruitment and consent process, data collection, and data analysis. The designated IRB should be consulted for guidance on writing the protocol. The informed consent document must comply with 32 CFR 219.116. A valid Assurance of Compliance and evidence of appropriate training by all investigators should accompany the protocol for review by the IRB.

4. In addition to a local IRB approval, an AFRL-level human subject regulatory review and approval is required for all research conducted or supported by the DoD. The Air Force office responsible for managing the award can provide guidance and information about the AFRL-level review process. Confirmation of a current Assurance of Compliance and appropriate human subjects protection training is required before AFRL-level approval can be issued.

5. The time required to complete the IRB review/approval process will vary depending on the complexity of the research and/or the level of risk to study participants; ample time should be allotted to complete the approval process. The IRB approval process can last between 1 to 3 months, followed by a DoD review that could last 3 to 6 months. No funding may be used toward human subject research until all approvals are granted.

g. SUPPLIER PERFORMANCE RISK SYSTEM (SPRS). Offerors should have a BASIC NIST SP 800 171 DoD Assessment in the SPRS (https://www.sprs.csd.disa.mil/). Basic assessment is to be conducted by the offeror.

V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION:

1. CRITERIA: The following criteria, which are listed in descending order of importance and will be used to determine whether white papers and proposals submitted are consistent with the intent of this BAA and of interest to the Government:

a. Overall Scientific and Technical Merit -- The soundness of approach for the development and/or enhancement of the proposed technology. White papers/proposals should document the potential quantifiable benefits (i.e., increased capability, increased efficiency, etc.) of their proposed solution,

b. Related Experience - The extent to which the offeror demonstrates relevant technology and domain knowledge,

c. Openness, Maturity and Assurance of Solution - The extent to which existing capabilities and standards are leveraged and the relative maturity of the proposed technology, and

d. Reasonableness and realism of proposed costs and fees (if any).

No further evaluation criteria will be used to select white papers for proposal invitation. Proposals will be evaluated IAW this evaluation criteria only and categorized/selected for award as detailed in Section V.2.b.2. White papers and proposals submitted will be evaluated as they are received.

2. REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS:

1. Only Government employees on the BAA team will evaluate the white papers/proposals for selection. The Air Force Research Laboratory's Information Directorate has contracted for various business and staff support services, some of which require contractors to obtain administrative access to proprietary information submitted by other contractors. Administrative access is defined as "handling or having physical control over information for the sole purpose of accomplishing the administrative functions specified in the administrative support contract, which do not require the review, reading, and comprehension of the content of the information on the part of non-technical professionals assigned to accomplish the specified administrative tasks." These contractors have signed general non-disclosure agreements and organizational conflict of interest statements. The required administrative access will be granted to non-technical professionals. Examples of the administrative tasks performed include: a. Assembling and organizing information for R&D case files; b. Accessing library files for use by government personnel; and c. Handling and administration of proposals, contracts, contract funding and queries. Any objection to administrative access must be in writing to the Contracting Officer and shall include a detailed statement of the basis for the objection.

1. WHITE PAPER/PROPOSAL REVIEW PROCESS:

1. FIRST STEP – White Paper Reviews: The Government will review White Papers to identify those with the greatest potential to meet the Air Force’s needs based on the criteria above. If funding is available for an identified white paper, AFRL/RI will request a formal technical and cost proposal from the Offeror. For white papers not of interest to the Government, or for which funding is not available, those Offerors will receive letters from the Government indicating the basis for non-selection.

1. SECOND STEP – Proposal Review and Selection Process

a) Categories: Based on the evaluation, proposals will be categorized as Selectable or Not Selectable (see definitions below). The selection of one or more offerors 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.

* Selectable proposals will be designated as funded or unfunded. Letters will be sent to the unfunded offerors. These proposals may be funded at a later date without reevaluation, if funding becomes available.

b) The Government reserves the right to award 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.

c) In parallel with the technical evaluation, the Government will review the SF424 and Security Program Questionnaire submitted by the Contractor in order to satisfy the S&T protection requirements IAW AFRLI 61-113. In the event a security risk is identified and the Government has determined the security risk exceeds the acceptable threshold, the Offeror will be notified and informed of the declination of award.

d) Proposal Risk Assessment: Proposals’ technical, cost, and schedule risk will be assessed as part of the above evaluation criteria’s application. Proposal risk relates to the identification and assessment of the risks associated with an offeror's proposed approach as it relates to accomplishing the proposed effort. Tradeoffs of the assessed risk will be weighed against the potential scientific benefit. Proposal risk for schedule relates to an assessment of the risks associated with the offeror's proposed number of hours, labor categories, materials, or other cost elements as it relates to meeting the proposed period of performance.

e) Prior to award of a potentially successful offer, the Contracting Officer will make a determination regarding price reasonableness and realism.

3. RESPONSIBILITY/QUALIFICATION (R/Q) (FORMERLY FAPIIS) PUBLIC ACCESS: The Government is required to review and consider any information about the applicant that is in SAM.gov before making any award in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold (currently $250,000) over the period of performance. An applicant may review and comment on any information about itself that a federal awarding agency previously entered. The Government will consider any comments by the applicant, in addition to other information in SAM.gov in making a judgment about the applicant's integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under federal awards when completing the review of risk posed by applicants as described in 2 CFR § 200.205 Federal Awarding Agency Review of Risk Posed by Applicants and per FAR 9.104-6.

4.ADEQUATE PRICE COMPETITION: As this BAA is an Open BAA, adequate price competition is not anticipated since there is no set response time, and proposals are evaluated at the time of receipt. Offerors whose proposals are selected for award will be expected to submit certified cost and pricing data on contracts exceeding $2M (the threshold is $7.5M for small businesses or nontraditional defense contractors).

VI. STEP TWO INFORMATION – REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL & AWARD:

1. PROPOSAL FORMATING: When developing proposals, reference the AFRL "Broad Agency Announcement (BAA): Guide for Industry," Mar 2020, and RI-Specific Proposal Preparation Instructions, MAY 2023, which may be accessed at: https://sam.gov/opp/e628c811fafe041accdddf55fb8539bf/view?keywords=AFRL-BAA-GUIDE&sort=-relevance&index=&is_active=true&page=1. Always reference the newest versions of these documents.

Please note that less than 12 point font is acceptable for graphics and illustrations (as in labels and short descriptions) as long as it is readable when printed out on standard 8x11 paper.

2. AWARD NOTICES: Those white papers found to be consistent with the research areas of interest and expected results within the broad topic areas as described in the Technology Requirements section of this BAA and of interest to the Government may be invited to submit a technical and cost proposal. Notification by email or letter will be sent by the TPOC. Such invitation does not assure that the submitting organization will be awarded a contract. Those white papers not selected to submit a proposal will be notified in the same manner. Prospective offerors are advised that only Contracting Officers are legally authorized to commit the Government. All offerors submitting proposals will receive notification of their evaluation results within 45 days of submission. Offerors should email the TPOC and the Contracting Officer listed in Section VII, for status of their proposal after 45 days, if no such correspondence has been received.

3. DEBRIEFINGS: If a debriefing is requested in accordance with the time guidelines set out in FAR 15.505 and 15.506, a debriefing will be provided, but the debriefing content may vary to be consistent with the procedures that govern BAAs (FAR 35.016) and OTs (10 USC 4021 (previously 10 USC 4002, 2371) , 10 USC 4022 (previously 10 USC 4003, 2371b) and 10 USC 4023 (previously 10 USC 4004, 2373). Debriefings will not be provided for white papers.

4. ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS:

a. FACILITY CLEARANCE. Depending on the work to be performed, the offeror may require a SECRET or TOP SECRET/SCI facility clearance and safeguarding capability; therefore, personnel identified for assignment to a classified effort must be cleared for access to SECRET or TOP SECRET/SCI information at the time of award. In addition, the offeror may need to be eligible for SCI access and be required to have, or have access to, a certified and Government-approved facility to support work under this BAA.

b. EXPORT CONTROL LAWS. Awards under this solicitation may require access to, or generation of, data subject to export control laws and regulations. Only contractors who are registered and certified with the Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS) and have a legitimate business purpose may participate in this solicitation. For questions, contact DLIS on-line at http://www.dla.mil/HQ/InformationOperations/LogisticsInformationServices.aspx or at the DLA Logistics Information Service, 74 Washington Avenue North, Battle Creek, Michigan 49037-3084, and telephone number 1-800-352-2255 (24/7). You must submit a copy of your approved DD Form 2345, Militarily Critical Technical Data Agreement, with your white paper/proposal.

c. SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION. The Government encourages the best sources from the scientific and industrial communities to propose, including small business concerns, large businesses, academia and non-profit entities. Non-small businesses are encouraged to team with small business concerns to come up with the best technical solutions and obtain the best mix of cost, performance and schedule.

d. ACTIONS FOR THE PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, CONTROLLED INFORMATION, KEY PERSONNEL AND CRITICAL TECHNOLOGIES. Offerors who are requested to submit a proposal under this solicitation of grants, cooperative agreements, Technology Investment Agreements, and other non-procurement transactions only shall submit specific information for all key personnel, whether or not the individuals’ efforts under the project are to be funded by the DoD. Specific requirements will be detailed in the Request for Proposal (RFP) letter. The information shall be included in the Research and Related/Key Person Profile (Expanded) form (https://www.grants.gov/forms/r-r-family.html). This collection only applies to persons identified as key personnel. This information shall not be included in the overall proposal page limits. Failure to submit this information may cause the proposal to be returned without further review, and the DoD reserves the right to request further details before making a final determination on funding an effort. This information will be used to support protection of intellectual property, controlled information, key personnel, and information about critical technologies relevant to national security. Additionally, this information will be used to limit undue influence, including foreign talent programs, by countries that desire to exploit United States’ technology within the DoD research, science and technology, and innovation enterprise.

Certification Regarding Disclosure of Funding Sources

By submission of a white paper/proposal, you agree to abide by the following statement: "By signing this white paper/proposal, I certify the proposing entity is in compliance with Section 223(a) of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 which requires that: (a) the PI and other key personnel certify that the current and pending support provided on the proposal is current, accurate and complete; (b) the PI and other key personnel agree to update such disclosure at the request of the agency prior to the award of support and at any subsequent time the agency determines appropriate during the term of the award; and (c) the PI and other key personnel have been made aware of the requirements under Section 223(a)(1) of this Act. I am aware that any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or claims may subject me to criminal, civil, or administrative penalties. (U.S. code, Title 218, Section 1001).

e. BURDEN REDUCTION. With the exception of paragraph d. above, in order to reduce grant recipient reporting burden, effective 1 JAN 2019, use of the SF-424B is optional. Also, effective 1 JAN 2020, the SAM will become the central repository for common government-wide certifications and representations required of Federal grants recipients. As registration in SAM is required for eligibility for a Federal award and registration must be updated annually, Federal agencies will use SAM information to comply with award requirements and avoid increased burden and costs of separate requests for such information, unless the recipient fails to meet a Federal award requirement, or there is a need to make updates to their SAM registration for other purposes. (OMB Memorandum M 18-24).

5. DATA RIGHTS:

a. SBIR RIGHTS. The potential for inclusion of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or data rights other than unlimited on awards is recognized. In accordance with (IAW) the Small Business Administration (SBA) SBIR Policy Directive, Section 8(b), SBIR data rights clauses are non-negotiable and must not be the subject of negotiations pertaining to an award, or diminished or removed during award administration. Issuance of an award will not be made conditional based on forfeit of data rights. If the SBIR awardee wishes to transfer its SBIR data rights to the Air Force or to a third party, it must do so in writing under a separate agreement.