FA9453-19-C-0001 BAA_FULL TEXT_FINAL dtd 20230522.docx

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA) Solicitation Number: FA9453-19-S-0001 Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate

FULL TEXT ANNOUNCEMENT OVERVIEW

NAICS CODE: 541715

FEDERAL AGENCY NAME: Air Force Research Laboratory, Geospace Environment Impacts and Applications Branch, 3550 Aberdeen Avenue SE, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117.

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT TITLE: Research and Development (R&D) interests for the Applications of the Space Environment Project for the Space Environment Exploitation and Mitigation (SEEM) Program

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: This is the initial FULL TEXT Announcement

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: FA9453-19-S-0001

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NUMBER(S): 12.800 Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program.

BRIEF PROGRAM SUMMARY: This is a 5-year Open Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) with individual CALLs to solicit research proposals for the United States Air Force Research Laboratory, Space Vehicles Directorate, Geospace Technologies Division, Geospace Environment Impacts and Applications Branch’s Space Environment Exploitation and Mitigation (SEEM) Program for the Applications of the Space Environment project. The Air Force Research Laboratory Geospace Technologies Division (AFRL/RV) and the Space and Missile Systems Center Remote Directorate (SMC/RS) have significant mutual concerns in mitigating space environmental impact on Department of Defense operational systems. This BAA serves as the bridge between the two organizations to collaborate on the Space Environment development efforts. This BAA is being established to conduct R&D research investigations, technology development, field campaigns, data analysis, hardware and software development, and operational demonstrations. Further, development of these technologies and capabilities for the Air Force is a significant part of the SEEM Program effort(s).

This Open BAA approach allows for proposal submittals at a specified date and time which will be posted through the issuance of CALLs at various times against this BAA. This BAA will be reviewed no less frequently than annually and updates will be published in SAM.gov for the SEEM Project, and Grants.gov, if there is a need for an Assistance Instrument at the CALL Level. Any changes or cancellation of the BAA will be posted as amendments to this BAA. This annual review and subsequent amendment to the BAA shall meet the requirement of FAR 35.016 to publish the Broad Agency Agreement, (BAA) no less frequently than annually.

As technical topic areas are identified, proposal CALL announcements (CALLs) may be issued at SAM.gov, and Grants.gov, if necessary, to request proposals for specific research efforts. If there are no assistance opportunities, the specific CALL will only be posted in SAM.gov and NOT to Grants.gov. These subsequent CALLs will contain specific descriptions of the research effort to be addressed, anticipated period of performance, information peculiar to the specific research technical topic area, and the estimated funding profile for the CALL.

PROPOSAL DUE DATE AND TIME: NO PROPOSALS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED AGAINST THIS

BASELINE BAA. Proposal due dates and times will be specified in each CALL. Proposals received after the due date and time specified in the CALL shall be governed by the provisions of FAR 52.215-1(c)(3), Instructions to Offerors – Competitive Acquisition (Jan 2017). 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 due date and time specified in the CALL 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. Early proposal submission is encouraged.

ESTIMATED PROGRAM COST: Anticipated funding for the program (not per CALL, contract or award) is $48.9M, with the following anticipated budgets: FY 19: $10.4M; FY 20: $14.1M; FY 21: $11.9M; FY 22:

$7.9M; FY 23: $4.6M with an estimated ceiling not to exceed $49.8 million. This funding profile is an estimate only and will not be a contractual obligation for funding. Each CALL may contain funding profiles specific to that effort. All funding is subject to change due to government discretion and funds availability. 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.

GENERAL INFORMATION: The applicable NAICS code for this announcement is 541715 with a size standard of 1000 employees. This acquisition is unrestricted. This BAA is issued under the provisions of Federal Acquisition Regulation paragraph 6.102(d)(2), Use of Competitive Procedures, that provides for the competitive selection of research proposals. Proposals submitted in response to CALLs issued pursuant to this BAA that are selected for award are considered to be the results of full and open competition and in full compliance with the provisions of the Competition In Contracting Act of 1984. There will be no other announcement issued for this requirement. Offerors must monitor SAM.gov: and/or Grants.gov only if specified in a particular CALL.

TYPE OF CONTRACTS/INSTRUMENTS: The Air Force reserves the right to award the instrument best suited to the nature of research proposed. Accordingly, the Government may award any appropriate contract type under the Federal Acquisition Regulation, Grant, Cooperative Agreement, or Other Transactions for Research. Other Transactions for Research (See 10 U.S.C. §2371) are assistance instruments that, with the exception of a funds recovery provision, will generally be similar in format to a Cooperative Agreement, if and only if specified in a particular CALL. It is anticipated that awards under this BAA will generally be cost reimbursable, which require successful offerors to have an accounting system considered adequate for tracking costs applicable to the contract, and meet the criteria outlined in FAR 16.301-3, Limitations; othewise, a Fixed-Price contract may be considered based upon a determination by the contracting officer per FAR Subpart 16.2.

ON-LINE REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS: The provisions at FAR 52.204-7 System for Award Management (OCT 2018) and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 252.204-7007 Alternate A, Annual Representations and Certifications (MAY 2021) are incorporated into this announcement and FAR Clause 52.204-13, System for Award Management Maintenance (OCT 2018) will be part of any award resulting from this BAA. Potential offerors are notified that to be eligible for an award under this announcement they must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) and submit annual representations and certifications via SAM at https://www.sam.gov. These FAR and DFARS level representations and certifications are required in addition to the representations and certifications specific to this announcement and the associated Calls. By submission of an offer, the offeror acknowledges the requirement that a prospective awardee shall be registered in the SAM database prior to award, during performance, and through final payment of the contract. SAM replaces the Central Contractor Registration (CCR)/FedReg, On-line Representations and Certifications (ORCA) and the Excluded Parties Lists System (EPLS).

TYPE OF CONTRACT: The Air Force reserves the right to award the contract type under the FAR that is best suited to the nature of research proposed. Contract type determination will be made by the Contracting Officer at the CALL level; however, it is anticipated that any awards based on this announcement will be cost reimbursable (which requires successful offerors to have an accounting system considered adequate for tracking costs applicable to the contract). Currently, there are NO OPPORTUNITIES for assistance instruments, including grants, cooperative agreements, or technology investment agreements exist under this FULL TEXT announcement as specified by a particular CALL.

ANTICIPATED NUMBER OF AWARDS: The Air Force anticipates awarding a minimum of one (1) or more contract(s) per CALL and/or assistance instrument per a specific CALL. However, the Air Force reserves the right to make multiple awards for any part(s) or whole of the Offeror’s proposal(s) for the R&D effort(s) stated in a CALL submitted by offerors or no awards at all.

POINTS OF CONTACT:

SEEM Program Management at AFRL/RVBX, Technical Points of Contact (TPOC) are:

Primary Technical Manager: Primary Technical Manager: Captain Colton Mott, AFRL/RVBX, Kirtland AFB, NM Phone: 505-846-2147, Email: colton.mott.1@us.af.mil

Alternate Point of Contact: 2d Lt Sharjeel Hyder, AFRL/RVBXC, Kirtland AFB, NM Phone: 501-416-0272, Email: sharjeel.hyder.1@spaceforce.mil Contracting Points of Contact:

Contracting Officer: Jessica Perez, AFRL/RVKB, E-mail: jessica.perez.23@spaceforce.mil

Contract Specialist: Hanna Flatow, AFRL/RVKB, E-mail: Hanna.flatow@spaceforce.mil

Specific Technical and Contracting Points of Contact will be identified in each CALL. The aforementioned POCs should be used only for this BAA Full Text Announcement.

BAA Solicitation Number: FA9453-19-S-0001 5

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA) FA9453-19-S-0001

Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate

FULL TEXT ANNOUNCEMENT

NAICS CODE: 541715

FEDERAL AGENCY NAME: Air Force Research Laboratory, Geospace Environment Impacts and Applications Branch, 3550 Aberdeen Avenue SE, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT TITLE: Research and Development (R&D) interests for the Application of the Space Environments Project in the Space Environment Exploitation and Mitigation (SEEM) Program

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: This is the initial FULL TEXT Announcement.

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: FA9453-19-S-0001

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NUMBER(S): 12.800 Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program.

I. REQUIREMENT DESCRIPTION

1. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Space Vehicles Directorate (RV) Geospace Technologies Division (RVB) Geospace Environment Impacts and Applications Branch’s (RVBX) Space Environment Exploitation and Mitigation (SEEM) program is interested in receiving proposals that advance the state-of-the-art and scientific knowledge in space and environmental impacts technologies. Additionally, the program is interested in understanding and quantifying the impact of the Earth’s space environment on Air Force (AF) systems and in achieving a capability to specify, predict, mitigate, and exploit the effects of the space environment that can disrupt or degrade operational systems. Of particular interest to the USAF are effects on operational systems that enable communication, command, and control; positioning, navigation, and timing; and radio frequency (RF) remote sensing capabilities. Proposals that will enable future operational systems to meet performance, reliability, maintainability, supportability, and affordability goals, or which enhance performance or significantly reduce cost, schedule, or risk of existing technologies, are of particular interest.

2. This is a 5-year Open Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) describing the research areas of interest for the AFRL/RVBX Geospace Environment Impacts and Applications Branch’s Space Environment Exploitation and Mitigation (SEEM) program. This open BAA approach allows for proposal submittals at a specified date and time, which will be posted through the issuance of CALLs at various times against this BAA. Periodically over the 5-year period (calculated from the baseline BAA publication date), proposal call announcements (CALLs) under the BAA may be issued at SAM.govs and Grants.gov to request proposals for specific research efforts in the technical topic areas identified below. These subsequent CALLs will contain specific descriptions of the research effort to be addressed, anticipated period of performance, information peculiar to the specific research technical topic area, and the estimated funding profile for the CALL. Each CALL will specify a proposal due date and time. Proposals received after the stated due date and time will be governed by FAR 52.215-1(c) (3). Multiple subsequent CALLs are anticipated and may be announced sequentially or concurrently on SAM.govs and/or Grants.gov, if assistance opportunities are available as identified by a specific CALL. The Government reserves the right to re-issue a previously announced CALL area with a second subsequent proposal period. The Government also reserves the right to issue no CALLs for any given technology area.

3. Technical Topic Areas:

The main objective of this research area is to define the impact of the Earth’s space environment on Air Force systems and to achieve a capability for specifying, predicting, mitigating, modifying, and exploiting the effects of the space environment that can disrupt or degrade Air Force operational systems. Our research efforts generally fall into three main technology topic areas: (1) Solar, solar wind, and ionospheric effects; (2) thermosphere and satellite drag and the reentry environment; and (3) plasma physics and chemistry. Current activities include forecasting of solar and interplanetary conditions which cause electromagnetic interference and geomagnetic disturbances; understanding, specifying, and ultimately predicting the state of the Earth's ionosphere and thermosphere, including the associated electric fields and field-aligned currents; quantifying environmentally induced effects on space and ground systems; and developing and applying active techniques for space environment mitigation, modification, or exploitation. Detailed knowledge of the space environment impacts have important implications for issues of radio frequency (RF) wave transmission, propagation, and remote sensing; positioning, navigation, and timing; and satellite orbits and reentry.

Thus, given the inherent uncertainties in research and development and, in particular, the type of integrated effort described above and per the topics stated below, the Government fully expects that various approaches and efforts will advance at different rates, or fail to advance in the manner originally envisioned. It is further recognized that by the nature of any Research and Development effort, work attempted to include this requirement, could change and/or advance through new discoveries or by the use of differing methodologies to arrive at an acceptable/usable solution. Additionally, be advised that through the advancements and new directions of the work encountered, additional work, time and funding may be utilized to continue and mature the research and development of this requirement to a level where it is acceptable and functional to the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Government. It is anticipated that substantial Government-contractor communication and flexibility will be needed to fully achieve the goals of this effort, and that specific objectives or tasks may require alteration, extension or elimination as the state of the art advances.

Additional details on these main research areas are as follows, 3 a), 3 b), and 3 c):

a) Solar, Solar Wind, and Ionospheric Effects

The solar energetic emissions that impact Department of Defense (DoD) systems include both quasi- continuous sources, such as the solar wind, as well as sudden violent eruptions such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections. The objectives for the Solar and Solar Wind Effects research effort are to (1) provide improved solar models, including electromagnetic radiation, energetic particles, and plasma, that impact the space environment and support operational end user products and tools; and (2) develop and improve space- and ground-based solar and heliospheric instrumentation and data products necessary to drive the models research thrusts which include: improved radiation (F10.7, EUV) modeling and forecasts; development of an operational state-of-the-art 3-D Magneto-Hydrodynamic (MHD) coronal/solar wind model and a coronal mass ejection (CME) propagation model; development of solar activity, flare, and CME specification and prediction tools; development of specialized solar instrumentation to observe solar signals from ground and space; analysis of solar ground and space data from imagers and spectroscopic probes; numerical and physics based modeling of solar processes and assimilation of data into the models; and development of models of the near- and far-term solar impacts on space weather including solar specification models and predictive and forecast physics-based models.

The fundamental concern underlying RVBX’s ionospheric research is the geospace environment’s effects on space systems and services, since the state of the ionosphere affects the degree to which an operational system can meet requirements for assured delivery of communications or for robust positioning, navigation, timing, surveillance, or reconnaissance information, or whether the transmissions will be degraded or disrupted. System operators or users must determine whether poor or aberrant system function is due to environment effects or other causes. Meeting this need requires capabilities to: (1) determine and demonstrate the detailed association between environmental conditions and specific impacts on space systems and services; (2) establish the utility of environmental models to specify or forecast specific conditions, or proxies for those conditions, that cause impacts on space systems and services; and (3) quantitatively characterize the occurrences of specific environmental effects on space systems and services. An important aspect of the research focuses on improvements in diagnostic technologies that allow ionospheric properties related to impacts to be detected, measured, and studied.

Accordingly, research activities cover a broad range; general areas of effort include: (1) basic and applied research into ionosphere and thermosphere coupling during quiet and disturbed conditions; (2) basic and applied research into the stability of the equatorial, subauroral, auroral, and polar ionosphere during quiet and disturbed conditions; (3) space environment impacts on positioning, navigation, timing, and communication systems and radars; (4) improved high frequency (HF) Geolocation capabilities as well as modeling of HF skywave propagation; (5) the causes of electromagnetic interference on RF systems; and (6) data collection, analysis, and data archiving supporting the technical efforts. In addition to the science/technical activities cited above, topics for potential CALLs include: development of a real-time monitoring system for equatorial ionospheric plasma drifts, incorporating data from a variety of sensors; development of a model of global ionospheric scintillation based on ground and satellite measurements; development of a forecast model for equatorial plasma bubbles and irregularities; development of a first-principles model for nowcasting and forecasting global ionospheric electrodynamics; development of ionospheric modeling techniques specifically designed to increase the accuracy and timeliness of bottomside ionosphere profile specification and forecast; development of multi- model ensemble techniques applied to ionospheric specification and forecast; physics based and/or phenomenological modeling of traveling ionospheric disturbances; development of automated techniques for extracting the characteristics of transient ionospheric features, such as traveling ionospheric disturbances, from existing measurement networks; full wave or ray-based modeling of point-to-point RF propagation, especially efforts directed towards enhanced implementation on modern computational systems; development or improvement of ionospheric specification sensors including, but not limited to, low cost and/or low power ionosondes, scintillation receivers, beacons and/or beacon receivers, GPS receivers, and optical systems; development of low cost Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar (AMISR) components to help support a global AMISR network; development of tools for ionospheric phase screen reconstruction using available ionospheric sensor data including, but not limited to, SATCOM receivers, LEO (Low Earth Orbit) beacon receivers, and GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receivers. The latter includes development of a frequency scaling capability based on empirical models and/or phase screen reconstructions.

b) Thermosphere and Satellite Drag and the Reentry Environment

The primary objective of this research area is to develop empirical and physics-based models, sensors, and data products to accurately specify and forecast the neutral atmosphere and satellite drag in order to identify space objects that orbit the Earth, to provide precision orbit determination and prediction, including re-entry predictions, and to assess the likelihood of collisions. Meeting these needs requires an accurate climatology of the various orbital regimes, knowledge of present and forecast conditions, and expected impacts on operations.

A major source of error for orbital determination and prediction for satellites operating below about 600 km is aerodynamic drag. The two most important influences on satellite drag are thermospheric neutral densities and neutral winds, but at satellite altitudes the density and wind models do not adequately account for dynamic changes in these fields, leading to significant errors in predicted satellite positions. Relevant research activities in this area include: 1) quantifying the energy input into the thermosphere during both quiet and active solar conditions; 2) developing empirical, physics-based, and data assimilative methods for global specification and forecast of the thermosphere/ionosphere system; 3) developing satellite- and ground-based instrumentation for sensing the neutral and ionized upper atmosphere; 4) predictive modeling of space weather conditions and events impacting the thermosphere/ionosphere system; and 4) developing an orbital propagator and orbital drag error estimator.

c) Plasma Physics and Chemistry

The plasma physics and chemistry investigations cover a variety of plasma states, from collisional to magnetized, as well as a variety of compositions, including typical atmospheric species as well as exotic neutral and ionized species and their reactions. Work is also done on plasmas of interest to the greater DoD mission, e.g., we are looking into plasma chemistry relating to the fundamentals of catalysis and energetic materials. Research areas of particular interest include theoretical and computational modeling of natural and man-made ionospheric perturbations, including self-consistent development and evolution, chemistry and transport effects, and impacts on and interactions with the background ionospheric plasma and electrodynamics; development of coherent radar systems for ionospheric sensing and measurement in the HF – VHF range, including near-vertical incidence, near- horizontal incidence, and long-range systems, as well as identification and interpretation of various echo types/sources and propagation paths/effects; high-resolution array-based HF imaging of ionospheric structure to include advanced imaging techniques, long baselines, and active or passive operations; development of ionospheric modification technologies and delivery systems to include non-traditional platforms, new materials, and advanced techniques; compact modular low-power HF ionospheric sounding systems including arbitrary waveform capability, automated synchronization to allow oblique reception, automated trace recognition, scaling of vertical-incidence and oblique modes, and advanced portable antennas; and theoretical and numerical modeling of kinetic and plasma processes affecting energy interchange in the magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere system, including plasmaspheric boundary layer phenomena such as diffuse electron and proton aurora, Sub-Auroral Ion Drifts (SAIDs), Sub-Auroral Polarization Streams (SAPS), Stable Auroral Red (SAR) arcs, the Sub-Auroral density trough, ion outflows, and artificial ionosphere perturbations.

4. Deliverable Items: Hardware, software, or data will be identified in the CALL. The following data deliverables are representative of the types of data that may be required: (a) a Program Plan with updates as needed; (b) Monthly Status/Financial Reports; (c) a Final Report, in both draft and final form; (d) Presentation Materials; and (e) Patent Reports. Data deliverables are subject to negotiations on each individual CALL.

5. Schedule: The period of performance will be stated in the CALL.

II. AWARD INFORMATION

1. Anticipated Funding: Anticipated funding for the program (not per CALL, contract or award) is $48.9M, with the following anticipated budgets: FY 19: $10.4M; FY 20: $14.1M; FY 21: $11.9M; FY 22:

$7.9M; FY 23: $4.6M with an estimated ceiling not to exceed $49.8 million. This funding profile is an estimate only and will not be a contractual obligation for funding. Each CALL will contain funding profiles specific to that effort. All funding is subject to change due to government discretion and availability of funds. Due to unanticipated budget fluctuations, funding in any or all areas may change with little or no notice.

Anticipated Number of Awards: The Air Force anticipates awarding a minimum of one (1) contract or more contract(s) per CALL, and an assistance instrument(s) per a specific CALL. However, the Air Force reserves the right to make multiple awards for any part(s) or whole of an Offeror’s proposal(s) for the R&D effort(s) stated in a CALL or no awards pursuant to a CALL.

III. POINTS OF CONTACT

1. The SEEM Program Management at AFRL/RVBX, Technical Points of Contact (TPOC) are:

Primary Technical Manager: Primary Technical Manager: Captain Colton Mot AFRL/RVBX, Kirtland AFB, NM Phone: 505-846-2147, Email: colton.mott.1@us.af.mil

Alternate Point of Contact: 2d Lt Sharjeel Hyder, AFRL/RVBXC, Kirtland AFB, NM Phone: 501-416-0272, Email: sharjeel.hyder.1@spaceforce.mil

2. Contracting Points of Contact:

Contracting Officer: Jessica Perez, AFRL/RVKB, E-mail: jessica.perez.23@spaceforce.mil

Contract Specialist: Hanna Flatow, AFRL/RVKB, E-mail: Hanna.flatow@spaceforce.mil

Specific Technical and Contracting Points of Contact will be identified in each CALL. The aforementioned POCs should be used only for this BAA.

3. Ombudsman: Air Force Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (AFFARS) clause 5352.201-9101 Ombudsman is hereby incorporated into this BAA and will be made a part of any awards based on this solicitation. An Ombudsman has been appointed to hear and facilitate the resolution of concerns from offerors, potential offerors, and others for this acquisition announcement. Before consulting with an ombudsman, interested parties must first express their concerns, issues, disagreements, and/or recommendations to the contracting officer listed above for resolution.

IV. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Offeror/Applicants: All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit a proposal. Small Businesses, Historically Black Colleges (HBCU), Minority Institutions (MI), Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), Woman-Owned Businesses, and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses are encouraged to submit proposals; however, NOTE, no part of this announcement will be a set-aside. Foreign or foreign-owned offerors are advised that their participation is subject to foreign disclosure review procedures. Foreign or foreign-owned offerors should immediately contact the contracting office point of contact identified in the CALL for information if they contemplate responding. All correspondence must reference the BAA number, the BAA title, and the CALL number.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: Cost sharing is NOT a requirement unless stated in the CALL.

3. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs): DoD-sponsored FFRDCs that function primarily as research laboratories (C3I Laboratory operated by the Institute for Defense Analysis, Lincoln Laboratory operated by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Software Engineering Institute operated by Carnegie Mellon) may respond to solicitations and announcements (Section 217, Pub. L. 103-337) (DFARS 235.017-1).

The following guidance is provided for other DoD sponsored and non-DoD sponsored FFRDCs contemplating submitting a proposal, as either a prime or subcontractor, against this BAA. FAR 35.017-1(c)

(4) prohibits an FFRDC from competing with any non-FFRDC concern in response to a Federal agency request for proposal for other than the operation of an FFRDC. There is no regulation prohibiting an FFRDC from responding to a solicitation or announcement. However, the FFRDC’s sponsoring agency must first make a determination that the effort being proposed falls within the purpose, mission, general scope of effort, or special competency of the FFRDC and that determination must be included in the FFRDC’s proposal. In addition, the non-sponsoring agency must make a determination that the work proposed would not place the FFRDC in direct competition with domestic private industry. Only after these determinations are made would the FFRDC’s eligibility to receive an award be considered.

4. Government Agencies: If a Government agency is interested in performing work it should contact the Program Office and Contracting Office identified in the CALL. If those discussions result in a mutual interest to pursue the agency's participation, the effort will be pursued independent of this Broad Agency Announcement.

5. Export Control: Research areas may involve technology that is subject to U.S. Export Control Laws. Therefore, only offerors who are certified by the Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS) may submit proposals. For questions, contact DLIS online at http://www.dla.mil/HQ/InformationOperations/Offers/Products/LogisticsApplications/JCP/ContactUs.aspx or at DLIS, US/Canada Joint Certification Center, Federal Center, 74 North Washington, Battle Creek MI 49017-4312, Phone: 800-352-3572. DFARS 252.225-7048, Export Controlled Items (June 2013), is incorporated into this announcement and any contracts resulting from the CALLs.

6. Security Requirement: If a Contract Security Classification Specification per FAR 52.204-2 is required, it will be identified in the CALL.

V. COMMUNICATIONS

1. It is highly recommended, that prospective offerors are reminded to contact the technical point of contact(s) to verify interest in the effort to be proposed and the funding availability PRIOR to committing any resources to the preparation of any proposals in response to a CALL.

2. Dialogue between prospective offerors and Government representatives is highly recommended and encouraged until submission of proposals. Discussions with any of the points of contact shall not constitute a commitment by the Government to subsequently fund or award any proposed effort. Offerors are advised that only contracting officers are legally authorized to contractually bind or otherwise commit the Government. Any dialogue that takes place will not be taken into consideration during the evaluation of the proposals.

VI. PROPOSAL/APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. General Information:

a) NO PROPOSALS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED AGAINST THIS BASELINE FULL TEXT BAA. Proposal due dates and times will be specified in each CALL. Proposals received after the due date and time specified in the CALL shall be governed by the provisions of FAR 52.215-1(c) (3).

b) DO NOT SUBMIT CLASSIFIED INFORMATION IN THE PROPOSAL.

c) There will be no other announcement issued for this requirement. Offerors MUST monitor SAM.govs and/or Grants.gov in the event this announcement is amended or CALLs are issued. Monitoring these websites will ensure that offerors receive the maximum time for proposal preparation for subsequent CALLs or amendments as these are the official notification vehicles to request proposals.

d) Future Broad Agency Announcement CALLs for research that may result in grants or assistance instruments issued by this office will invite electronic proposal submission through the Grants.gov government-wide portal, if specified by a particular CALL.

e) Potential offerors are requested to advise the contracting officer if they intend to submit a proposal in response to a CALL. In writing is the preferred method. Such notification is merely a courtesy and does not commit the offeror to submit a proposal.

f) This BAA and associated CALLs are expressions of interest only and do not commit the Government to pay for proposal preparation cost. The cost of preparing proposals in response to CALLs placed pursuant to this BAA is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting contract or to any other contract. However, it may be an allowable indirect expense as specified in FAR 31.205-18.

g) DoD policy, per DFARS 227.7103-1, is to acquire only the technical data and the rights to that data necessary to satisfy government needs. The Government anticipates receiving, at a minimum, “Government Purpose Rights” to technical data developed under contracts awarded based on proposals received in response to this announcement. Data rights offered other than “Unlimited Rights,” as defined in DFARS 227.7103-5, should be identified in accordance with DFARS clause 252.227-7017, Identification and Assertion of Use, Release, or Disclosure Restrictions, and addressed in the business section of the cost proposal.

h) There are no limits to the number of proposals an offeror may submit for any given CALL unless otherwise specified in the CALL.

i) Offerors may be ineligible for award if all requirements of this announcement and requirements in the CALL are not met by the proposal due date and time identified in each CALL.

2. Proposal Submission:

a) Offerors should apply the restrictive notice prescribed in the provision of FAR 52.215-1(e) Instructions to Offerors—Competitive Acquisition. Properly marked proprietary information will be treated in accordance with DFARS 252.227-7016, Rights in Bid or Proposal Information.

b) Technical/management and cost volumes should be submitted in separate volumes, and shall be valid for 180 days. Proposals must reference the BAA announcement number, the CALL number, and include a unique contractor generated proposal identification number. Unnecessarily elaborate brochures or presentations beyond that sufficient to present a complete and effective proposal are not desired.

c) Submit with a cover letter, an original, three paper copies, and one electronic copy of the technical proposal and the cost/business proposal. The original and paper copies of technical and cost/business proposals must be in separate volumes. The electronic copy must be submitted on a compact disk (CD-R) in a PC compatible file format and must be readable by Microsoft Office. The electronic copy of the cost proposal worksheets must be in Microsoft Office Excel 2003 or later version and must contain all cell formulas, and the government must be able to effectively and efficiently use this Excel worksheet to develop an objective without any significant modifications required.

d) Proposals for FAR type contracts should be submitted to the address identified in the CALL. Proposals sent to any inappropriate address are ineligible for award. Proposals for FAR contracts sent via facsimile means WILL NOT be accepted.

e) Offerors are advised that data included in the technical and cost/business proposals submitted to the Government in response to this BAA may be released to non-Government advisors for technical advice. Any non-Government advisor will strictly serve in an advisory capacity only to the Government evaluators. Non-Government advisors will have appropriate Organizational Conflict of Interest clauses in their contracts with AFRL and will initiate any required Non-Disclosure Agreements. The use and identification of non-Government advisors will be identified in the CALL. All offerors must clearly indicate in their proposals if they have any objections or concerns regarding the use of non-Government advisors.

f) Special Instructions for Applications for Federal Assistance (Grants and Cooperative Agreements): If there are no Assistance Opportunities, at this time; however, it will be stated in a particular CALL.

1) If specified by a CALL, Proposal Cover Page: SF 424 (R&R) Form: All proposals, both electronic and hard copies, for grants or assistance must include SF 424 (R&R) as a cover page. Forms are available on Grants.gov. To access the forms, go to: http://www.grants.gov

2) Proposals for Grants or Assistance Instruments: Proposals for grants or assistance instruments may be submitted either (1) directly with a hard copy to the contracting POC listed in the CALL or (2) electronically through the Grants.gov government-wide electronic portal.

3) For Hard Copy Submission: The original proposal and the number of copies specified in this announcement must be delivered directly to the contracting POC and address identified in the CALL at the time and date specified in the CALL.

4) If specified by a CALL, For Electronic Submission:

i. Advance Preparation – Electronic proposals must be submitted through Grants.gov. There are several one-time actions your organization must have completed. Long before the proposal submission deadline, you should verify that the persons authorized to submit proposals for your organization have completed these actions. If not, it may take them up to 21 days to complete the actions before they will be able to submit proposals.

ii. Electronic Submission Process: The process your organization must complete includes obtaining a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, registering with the Central Contract Registry (CCR), registering with the credential provider, and registering with Grants.gov). To register as an individual or an organization go to the grants.gov website; applicants tab.

iii. Your organization’s E-Business POC, identified during CCR Registration, must authorize someone to become an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). This safeguards your organization from individuals who may attempt to submit proposals without permission. Note: In some organizations, a person may serve as both an E-Business POC and an AOR.

iv. Should you have questions relating to the registration process, system requirements, how an application form works or the submittal process, call Grants.gov at 1-800-518-4726 or: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/support.html.

5) If specified by a CALL, Submitting the Electronic Proposal:

i. Application forms and instructions are available at Grants.gov. To access these materials, go to: http://www.grants.gov. Select “Apply for Grant” under the Applicants tab, and then select “Download Application Package”. Enter the CFDA number identified in the CALL. You should also enter the BAA number and CALL number, and then follow the prompts to download the application package.

ii. The applicant will receive a confirmation page upon completing the submission to Grants.gov. This confirmation page is a record of the time and date stamp that is used to determine whether the proposal was submitted by the deadline. A proposal received after the deadline is “late” and will not be considered for an award.

3. Specific Proposal Preparation Instructions for a BAA,

a) Cover letter - A cover letter shall accompany each proposal with a Proposal Number that Identifies the Offeror(s). The cover letter should identify the BAA number, CALL number, and technology area under which the proposal is submitted, a statement that the proposal is valid for 180 days from the due date specified in the CALL, provide technical and contracting points of contact, CAGE code, and include statement indicating if the firm is a small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUB Zone small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a), or women-owned small business concern. The proposal must be signed and dated by an authorized official of the organization.

b) Technical Proposal

1) Page Limitation: The Technical Proposal shall be limited to 30 pages unless stated otherwise in the CALL. The proposal will be prepared and submitted in Word format. Font shall be an easy to read font no smaller than 12 pitch or proportional font size 10 or larger. Character spacing must be normal, not condensed in any manner. Pages shall be single-spaced, double-sided (each side counts as one page), 8.5 by 11 inches, with at least one-inch margins on all sides. Smaller type may be used in figures and tables as long as it is clearly legible. Pages shall be numbered starting with the cover page being Page

1. The page limitation covers all information including indices, photographs, foldouts (counted as 1 page for each 8.5 by 11 portion), tables, charts, appendices, attachments, resumes, etc. Blank pages, title pages, tables of content, lists, tabs, or cover sheets are not included in the page count. The proposal page limit does not include the offeror’s proposed non-proprietary Contractor Statement of Work (C-SOW); however, the same formatting rules apply to the C-SOW. A CD-R with the Microsoft Word version of the Technical/Management Proposal and the C-SOW must be submitted with the hard copies of the proposal and must match the hard copy. Please note: The Government will check the proposal and C-SOW for conformance to the stated requirements. Any pages in excess of the stated page limitation after the format check will not be considered.

2) Content: The proposal shall include a discussion of the nature and scope of the research and the technical approach. The technical proposal must convey an understanding of the problems or limitations of the general technology area and the intended application(s). The technical proposal shall include the following items:

i. Executive Summary: Describe the proposed project, objectives, and approach. Provide a vision of what will ultimately be achieved and what solution this effort will produce. Summarize the technical issues addressed without repeating the objectives. Discuss the innovation and benefits of the proposed approach and its relationship to previous efforts.

ii. Project/Program Description: Describe the techniques, methods, materials, or ideas that will be addressed in this proposal, their innovation, and to what degree they advance the state-of- the-art.

iii. Project/Program Plan: Describe in detail the planned approach and how the plan will be executed. This section should include all technical aspects of the approach. Provide technical detail and analysis necessary to support the technical approach proposed. Clearly identify the core of the intended approach. The “new and creative” solution to the problem(s) should be developed and analyzed in this section. Include a risk assessment of key technical, schedule, or cost areas and their potential impact on the project. If subcontractors are involved, identify why the proposed subcontractors were selected and what tasks they are to perform.

iv. Contractor’s Statement of Work (CSOW): The CSOW, a stand-alone document, should detail the research to be accomplished under the technical area and should be suitable for incorporation into the award document. The proposed CSOW should summarize the technical methodology and the task description, but not to the extent to make the awarded instrument inflexible. Do not include any proprietary information in the CSOW since contractors may request copies of previously awarded contracts under the Freedom of Information Act. Consequently, it is imperative that no company-sensitive information be included in the CSOW. For assistance in preparing the CSOW, refer to the BAA Guide for Industry which can be accessed on line at https://www.wpafb.af.mil/Portals/60/documents/afrl/AFRL-broad-agency-announcement-guide.pdf?ver=2016-07-08-141724-390. The CSOW should include the anticipated deliverables (hardware, software, reports, etc.).

v. Milestone Chart: A Milestone Chart should indicate when specific objectives are expected to be met in the overall program schedule and should identify the specific accomplishments necessary to proceed to the next task. Provide a schedule of when the deliverable items identified in the CALL are to be delivered.

vi. Facilities and Equipment description: Describe the facilities that will be used to achieve the goals of the project in terms of manufacturing capability, testing facilities, and/or any relevant specialized equipment as appropriate.

vii. Description of Relevant Prior Work: Provide a list of related previous or current government, commercial, or internally funded work during the past five years. For each such effort, provide the principal investigator, title of effort, contract number, a brief summary of results, the dollar value, and a technical and contracting point of contact, including phone numbers, for the funding organizations.

viii. Management Plan: Offerors should provide an approach that demonstrates the ability to effectively and efficiently manage and administer the research project to a successful conclusion.

ix. Resumes of Key Individuals: Include brief summaries of resumes of relevant key individuals including any consultants or subcontractors that might be proposed.

c) Cost/Business Proposal:

Separate the proposal into a business section and cost section.

1) Business Section: The business section should contain all business aspects of the proposed contractual arrangement, such as type of contract/instrument, any exceptions to the terms and conditions of the announcement or the CALL, including a rationale for the exception, any information not technically related, etc. Include the completed representations and certifications and any specific representations and certifications identified in a CALL. There is no page limit for this section; however, offerors are requested to limit the business section to 20 pages. Include the completed representations and certification and any specific representations and certification identified in a CALL and the completed proposal content checklist. It is requested that the Offeror provide the Offeror’s complete mailing address, both Contracting and Program Management POCs, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, DCAA, DCMA, ONR ACO complete address, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, the Offeror’s DUNS #’s; CAGE Code(s); SAM Certification, and any other information requested by the Contracting Officer or Contract Specialist.

2) Cost Section: Cost proposal instructions will be provided with each CALL.

d) Proposal Content Summary: A proposal may be ineligible for award if all requirements of this announcement and the requirements specific to a CALL are not met by the proposal due date. Failure to provide a complete proposal may result in a determination that the proposal is non-responsive and may be eliminated from consideration for award.

e) Submission Dates, Times and Address: Will be posted in the CALL.

VII. PROPOSAL REVIEW and EVALUATION PROCEDURES:

1. Criteria: The selection of one or more sources for award will be based on an evaluation of each proposal to determine its overall merit in response to a CALL. Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with FAR 35.016, Broad Agency Announcement. The evaluation will utilize a peer or scientific review process and shall be based on the following criteria that are listed in descending order of importance:

Overall scientific and technical merits of the proposal

Importance to AFRL/RVBX’s SEEM program

Funds availability

Once selected for possible award, the price will be evaluated for realism and reasonableness. The government reserves the right to change the evaluation criteria for a specific CALL. If the evaluation criteria differ from the above it will be stated in the CALL.

2. Review and Selection Process: Proposals will be categorized as follows:

a. Highly Recommended: Proposals are recommended for acceptance if sufficient funding is available; the overall scientific and technical merits exceed the requirements; and the technology/development path is directly applicable to AFRL/RVBX’s SEEM program and is highly important to this program.

b. Selectable: Proposals are recommended for acceptance if sufficient funding is available; the overall scientific and technical merits meet the requirements; and the technology/development path is applicable to AFRL/RVBX’s SEEM program. However, these proposals are at a lower priority than Highly Recommended proposals and the proposals may require additional development. To ensure a diversity of approaches, a Selectable proposal may be prioritized over a Highly Recommended proposal if the Selectable proposal presents a unique approach unlike any of the Highly Recommended proposals.

c. Not Selectable: Proposals are not recommended for acceptance even if sufficient funding is available; the overall scientific and technical merits do not meet the AFRL/RVBX’s SEEM program requirements.

VIII. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

1. Award Notices: Offerors will be notified in writing whether their proposal is recommended for award. An award recommendation does not mean that an award is assured since availability of funds and successful negotiations are prerequisites to any award.

2. Debriefings: When requested, a debriefing will be provided. The debriefing process will follow the guidelines set out in FAR 15.505 and 15.506, but the debriefing content may vary to be consistent with the procedures that govern BAAs (FAR 35.016).

IX. OTHER INFORMATION

1. Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI): Organizational Conflict of Interest may apply to this action but cannot be determined prior to issuance…