FY25_NGA_DoDMPP_PhaseI_Solicitation White Paper 24 SEP 2025.docx

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Mentor-Protégé Program (MPP)

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Description: The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Mentor-Protégé Program (MPP) is seeking eligible Mentor firms for participation in the Department of Defense (DoD) MPP, in accordance with Department of Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) subpart 219.71 and DFARS Appendix I. White Papers are currently being accepted. White Papers will be accepted for 30 Days after the date of this announcement.

B. Objective: The purpose of the DoD MPP is to provide incentives to major DoD contractors to assist Protégé firms and increase the Protégé’s overall participation as prime contractors and/or subcontractors. This is accomplished through technical and developmental assistance from the Mentor to the Protégé. Approved Mentor firms will enter into Mentor-Protégé Agreements (MPA) with an eligible Protégé. A complete description of the DoD program and eligibility requirements is provided in Appendix I of the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS). In addition, you can visit the DoD Office of Small Business Program (OSBP) website at Mentor-Protégé Program and for additional information.

C. Goals: The goal of the DoD MPP is to engage industries to shape and expand the Small Business (SB), Defense Industrial Base (DIB) and in particular, the geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) supplier base, to support DoD missions. We are seeking MPAs that will assist Protégés in enhancing their GEOINT capabilities to provide value-added support to the DIB and contribute to its growth in terms of capacity and capability. Successful completion of this program will encompass meeting the following mission objectives:

1. Shape and expand the DIB’s capacity and capability to support the Secretary of Defense and administration priorities

2. Enabled transition of eligible Protégés to prime contractors

3. Increased subcontracting opportunities under DoD and other federal agency contracts

4. Increased revenue of subcontracts awards by the Mentor and other prime contractors to the Protégé

5. Increased contractor opportunities for non-traditional defense subcontractors to include Small Businesses (SB) and Authorized Subcontractors

D. Benefit to the Government: The DoD MPP provides incentives to assist eligible Protégés in enhancing their capabilities to support the President’s and Secretary of Defense’s priority areas as well as DoD capability gaps and technology emphasis areas.

Developmental assistance is expected to contain a strong technical component or focuses on innovative, state of the art technology, consistent with the capability and technology emphasis areas. Development assistance plans for this solicitation will be considered if the development plans contain enhancements for SB’s or address technical gaps the following NGA mission areas:

MAJOR TECHNICAL CATEGORIES

Information Technology/Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning

Information Assurance/Information & Cyber Security

Geographic Information System (GIS)/Remote Sensing& Imagery Training

High End Systems & Hardware Development

GIS Support, SPECIFIC TECHNICAL CATEGORIES

Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT)

Visualization

Tasking, Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination of the Electromagnetic Spectrum

Persistent Surveillance

Compressing timelines

Horizontal Integration

Forward Deployment of Technologies

Multi-INT exploitation, etc.

Development plans should also align with the strategy and focus areas of DoD leaders considered critical to the future of the department. Mentors and Protégés are invited to review the following resources to learn more about the DoD technology emphasis areas:

· National Defense Strategy: National Defense Strategy

· Presidential and Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) Memos: DoD Critical Technology Area Roadmaps

E. Approach: The NGA DoD MPP is funded by the DoD OSBP and awards Cost Reimbursable no fee contracts for approved MPA’s. All MPA’s shall be invoiced and paid monthly and must include a Monthly Status Report (MSR). The total period of performance for any proposal cannot exceed three-years (36-months). The Government intends to approve MPA’s per solicitation. The Government reserves the right to make multiple awards or no awards. In addition to the evaluation criteria discussed below, Mentors will be selected based on funding availability.

F. Questions: Questions may be submitted via email to the MPP Program Manager at MPP@nga.mil, (Subject: MPP Questions – Insert Business Name).

II. OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Opportunity Name: FY25 NGA Mentor-Protégé Program (MPP) Agreement Call B. Opportunity Number: BAANGAMPPI25001 C. Opportunity Type: This is a 2-phase submission.

Phase 1: As of this announcement on September 24, 2025 (Announcement Date), White Paper submission must be received no later than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), 30 days after the announcement date.

Phase 2: Final Proposal requests will only be issued to selected White Paper submissions based on the evaluation criteria. Selected submitters will receive a Statement of Work (SOW) for their Phase 2 response.

D. Dates: White Paper submissions must be submitted by e-mail to the NGA MPP Program Manager and must be received no later than 5 p.m. ET, October 23, 2035, 30 calendar days from the announcement date.

E. Submissions received after this deadline will not be considered until future evaluation periods. Final Proposals requests (Phase 2) may be issued at a later only to those White Papers selected for continued consideration

F. Submission Address: All White Papers are to be submitted by email to NGA MPP Program Manager at MPP@nga.mil, (Subject: NGA MPP Mentor-Protégé Agreement – Insert Mentor & Protégé Name). All submissions will be acknowledged with an email confirmation from NGA within 24 hours of receipt. If a confirmation email is not received within 48 hours, please follow up to ensure delivery. NGA is not responsible for email system malfunctions or undeliverable email.

III. MENTOR-PROTÉGÉ PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

A. Mentor Firm Eligibility: Mentor eligibility criteria can be found in DFARS Appendix I paragraph I-102(a) details Mentor Firm eligibility. I-102 Participant eligibility. | Acquisition.GOV

Any Mentor firm approved by the DoD OSBP under the MPP is eligible to apply. Any firms not approved by DoD OSBP as a Mentor may still submit a White Paper, however, Mentor approval must be obtained prior to submitting a Final Proposal. To apply for Mentor status visit the Mentor-Protégé Program website for the application and submission instructions.

B. Protégé Firm Eligibility: Protégé eligibility criteria can be found in DFARS Appendix I paragraph I-102(b) Protégé Firm eligibility. I-102 Participant eligibility. | Acquisition.GOV\

In addition, a Mentor and Protégé may not be engaged in an active SBA Joint Venture (JV) at the time of a DoD MPP solicitation submission. If such an SBA JV previously existed, it must be resolved prior to submission of the MPA and a period of at least 24 months must lapse before the same Mentor and Protégé may enter into an MPA under the DoD MPP.

C. Developmental Assistance From Authorized Subcontractors: Reference DFARS Appendix I paragraph I-106(d) (6) I-106 Development of mentor-protege agreements. | Acquisition.GOV for details on allowable developmental assistance from the following subcontractors: Historically Black College or University (HBCU) Minority Institution (MI), APEX Accelerators (formerly Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC)), Women’s Business Centers (WBC), Manufacturing Innovation Institutes (MIIs), and/or Small Business Development Center (SBDC) are the only authorized resources to be utilized to provide the required developmental assistance in support of the MPA. This must equate to an amount equal to or greater than 5% of the proposed MPA annual costs.

D. Cyber Security: Cyber security requirements (NIST SP 800) on DoD contracts are being significantly strengthened, and compliance may be particularly challenging for SBs. To assist SBs with this challenge, the DoD OSBP has launched Project Spectrum (http://www.projectspectrum.io) as the definitive platform for cybersecurity information, resources, tools, and training for SBs that are part of the defense and national security supply chain.

While Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is not a requirement for participation in the DoD Mentor-Protégé Program, companies should be aware of the evolving CMMC self-certification process and anticipated C3PAO (Certified Third-Party Assessment Organization) assessment timelines, as these may impact eligibility for future DoD contracts.

Tasks to meet NIST SP 800-171 evaluation requirements or to conduct CMMC self-assessments will not be reimbursed under the DoD MPP. However, costs associated with obtaining the final CMMC certification through a C3PAO are eligible for reimbursement. If a proposed development plan includes additional CMMC-related cyber training and development resources, a waiver must be obtained from the DoD Mentor-Protégé Program Office. Absent the waiver, such CMMC-related training will not be reimbursed.

E. Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI). FOCI Is when a foreign interest has the power to direct or decide issues affecting the entity's management or operations in a manner that could either result in unauthorized access to proprietary or classified information; or adversely affect performance of a contract or agreement. Additionally, if a foreign interest or government has the ability to control or influence the election or appointment of members of the entity's governing board, the entity may be considered to be under FOCI. DoD is making a concerted effort to minimize participation of companies owned or controlled by foreign adversaries in its science and technology, research and development, and manufacturing programs. Due to increasing FOCI concerns, the Director, DoD OSBP is collecting information to limit the influence from countries that “desire to exploit” US technology. All MPP participants must complete the attached FOCI questionnaire (APPENDIX A (Certificate Pertaining To Foreign Interests SF328_2025). If the answer to any question is “yes”, further discussion of mitigation strategies must occur.

IV. The White Paper White Paper Submission: White Papers may be submitted for consideration during open solicitations only.

A. Submission of White Papers:

1. Mentor Firms shall email the White Paper to NGA MPP Program Manager at MPP@nga.mil, (Subject: NGA MPP Mentor-Protégé Agreement – Insert Mentor & Protégé Name)

2. The White Papers shall not exceed 15 pages. Pages shall be 8 ½” x 11”, single sided, one-inch margins with no font smaller than 12 point (unless formatted differently in attached templates). Less than 12-point font is allowable for diagrams. You may delete the instructions on the template for your submittal.

3. The purpose of the White Paper is to ensure that the proposed developmental assistance is strategically aligned with the objectives of the DoD MPP. It provides an opportunity to validate the scope and intent of the effort before full proposal development, helping to avoid misalignment and minimize unnecessary investment by all parties, including the Mentor, Protégé, and sponsoring agency.

4. The White Papers shall be valid for 180 calendar days.

5. Movie and sound file attachments, URL Links, or other additional files, will not be accepted.

6. Notification to Offerors: All Offerors will receive an email acknowledging receipt of their White Paper submissions. Debriefings for White Paper submissions will not be provided.

B. Content of White Papers (15-page limit) See Attachment: NGA White Paper Template (NGA-2025DoDMPP_Phase1_WhitePaperTemplate): The White Paper shall contain ten (10) sections: Each Mentor shall submit one file with all 10 sections included. In addition, complete and include the Pricing ROM Template, a MS Excel file. The Mentor must ensure the files are properly marked before transmission.

Section 1 –Mentor and Protégé Primary Information Mentor and Protégé Information: Provide Mentor and Protégé corporate, and primary contact information (POC, phone, and email); Cage Code, Unique Identity Identifier (UIE) Number, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes, etc.

Section 2 – Description of the Mentor Firm Provide proposed Mentor-Protégé Agreement (MPA) type; Mentor eligibility (to include Mentor approval letter and/or status); Mentor Firm Background to include volume of DoD contracts, accomplishments under the Mentor Firm’s Small Business programs, and whether the Mentor currently holds one or more DoD contracts, including active or prior contracts with NGA. Indicate whether the Mentor Firm currently has an active Small Business Sub-Contracting Plan. Describe the Mentor Firm's qualifications, capabilities, experience with small business assistance, expertise in related technical areas, and capacity to achieve the proposed agreement objectives.

Section 3 - Description of Protégé Firm Provide Protégé Firm Historical Background to include a brief summary about the company, including number of employees, year established, currently or previously admitted into the SBA 8(a) program. historical and recent activities, and accomplishments within federal contracting.

Include a description of the company’s ability to participate in the DoD Mentor-Protégé Program without impairing the company’s day-to-day operations (i.e., business management, revenue stream).

Include current and previous participation in a Mentor Protégé Program if applicable. For each engagement specify the sponsoring agency, Mentor, Period of performance, active, or concluded, and any early terminations.

Section 4 - Description of Mentor Current and past relationship with the Protégé Provide a summary of the Mentor’s current and past relationship with the Protégé, including any prior collaborations or engagements. Describe the Mentor’s vision for the Protégé company following participation in the Mentor Protégé Program and outline the anticipated benefits for both Mentor and Protégé through participation in the program.

Section 5 - Description of Approach Describe the overall philosophy of the development plan for the Protégé including the functional expertise of the Mentor development team, and how the business and technology transfer assistance taskings, development resources, and infrastructure are organized in a proposed work breakdown structure (WBS) and timeline. Engineering and technical assistance from the Mentor to the Protégé must be greater than 50% of the total proposed effort. Provide the proposed WBS structure and definitions as an attachment (does not count against page count).

Proposed agreements consisting primarily of General Business Development Assistance will not be considered for approval.

Although research and development (R&D) tasks are not normally included in MPP agreements, any proposed R&D effort must be clearly described, including objectives, approach and expected outcomes. All associated budgets must be strictly tracked, and all inventions or intellectual property projected to result from the R&D effort must be identified.

The Protege Pilot Incentive (PPI) is not a requirement for Phase 1 White Paper submissions. The PPI is a separate application that may be pursued during Phase II (Statement of Work submission). The PPI provides limited funding for R&D tasks (e.g., software development, manufacturing, or engineering), and must accompany the MPA in the Phase II Final Proposal.

Section 6 - Developmental effort by Authorized Subcontractors Provide name and POC of the participating Authorized Subcontractor(s) as well as a description of the developmental assistance tasks to be performed. At least one HBCU, MI, APEX Accelerator (formerly PTAC), SBDC, MIIs, and/or WBC must be a part of the development team for each agreement. The proposed cost allocated must be 5% or greater of the total agreement cost for each year of the MPA. This is a requirement and failure to comply will result in disqualification.

Section 7 - Benefit of Technology Transfer to NGA and the DoD Identify and describe how the overall anticipated developmental assistance (engineering and technical assistance (technology transfer) and general business development assistance) to the Protégé Firm will benefit NGA and the DoD’s priority areas (identify specific programs of record that reasonable could be positively impacted through this agreement).

Section 8 - Anticipated Mentor subcontracting to Protégé Provide the number and total dollar amount of DoD subcontract awards the Mentor Firm anticipates awarding to the Protégé Firm during each option year of the agreement.

Section 9 – Pricing Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) Complete the attached Cost estimate spreadsheet (Pricing ROM Template, a MS Excel File) and include a copy of the Mentor’s Defense Contract Audit Agency’s (DCAA) rate approval. The Approval letter is not included in the 15-page count. Do not change any formulas in the MS Excel spreadsheet.

1. Provide a rough order of magnitude (ROM) cost estimate breakout for each year. The cost estimate shall identify the corresponding period of performance for the proposed sections include:

a. The Developmental Assistance Type shall at a minimum include:

· Engineering and Technical Assistance (Technology Transfer)

· General Business Development Assistance

b. Costs Other than Developmental Assistance shall include:

· Mentor labor cost rolled up (all cost elements without fee/profit),

· Travel/Other Direct Costs (ODCs), including an estimate for hosting one Mentor Protégé workshop per agreement

c. Authorized Subcontractor total for each proposed contract year within each section

2. Developmental assistance provided under an approved Mentor-Protégé Agreement is distinct from, and must not duplicate, any effort that is the normal and expected product of the award and administration of the Mentor firm’s subcontracts. Mentor firm costs that are eligible for reimbursement are set forth in DFARS Appendix I.

a. The Minimum amount of engineering and technical assistance (technology transfer) is greater than 50%

b. The Minimum amount of Authorized Subcontracts is equal to or greater than 5% of the annual contract amount.

3. The monetary value of individual awards will vary according to the complexity of the effort and cannot exceed the regulatory yearly amount ($1M) as set forth in the DFARS, Appendix I without waiver from the Director, DoD Office of Small Business Programs.

4. White Papers more than $650,000 total per year are required to submit additional justification and demonstrate that the return on investment and value-added benefit to DoD.

5. The monetary value of individual awards will vary according to the complexity of the effort and cannot exceed the regulatory yearly amount ($1M) as set forth in the DFARS, Appendix I without waiver from the Director, DoD Office of Small Business Programs.

Section 10 - Mentor Firm Past Performance Identify and describe the Mentor Firm’s past performance, if any, in the DoD Mentor-Protégé program or relevant activity. Provide a list of all past and active DoD Mentor Protégé Agreements and proposed agreements currently being considered (indicate agency). Identify any past Nunn-Perry awards and/or any significant mentoring accomplishments.

C. Evaluation of White Papers: The following information will be used to determine whether the White Paper is consistent with the intent of the program, and of interest to NGA and DoD. Each Offeror’s White Paper will be evaluated based on the following criteria. Sub-criteria listed under any criterion are of equal importance. White Paper evaluation will consist of a 2-step process.

Step 1: A first approval level includes (pass/fail) in the following areas:

1. Participation in the agreement by an Authorized Subcontractor White Papers must identify participation in the agreement by an Authorized Subcontractor. For this opportunity, an Authorized Subcontractor is defined as a Historically Black College & University (HBCU), Minority Institution (MI), APEX Accelerator (formerly Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC)), Small Business Development Center (SBDC), MIIs or Women’s Business Center (WBC). MPP agreements may include more than one Authorized Subcontractor in their developmental assistance plan, however, the total cost allocated to Authorized Subcontractors must equal or exceed 5% of the proposed MPA annual costs. White Papers that do not meet this requirement will not be considered eligible to receive a request for Final Proposal.

2. Amount of Engineering and Technical (Technology Transfer) Assistance The percent of engineering and technical assistance (technology transfer) from the Mentor and an authorized subcontractor(s) must be identified and greater than 50% of the total proposed effort. If the amount of assistance is not greater than 50%, the proposal will not be considered eligible to receive a request for Final Proposal.

Step 2: Then NGA will consider the following evaluation factors when selecting Mentors for MPP in descending order of importance:

1. Technical Approach for Developmental Assistance The rating will be based on how well the narrative identifies and describes the anticipated approach and timeline of the Engineering and Technical (technology transfer) assistance to be provided to the Protégé.

2. Relevance to NGA and DoD Programs The rating will be based on how well the narrative identifies and describes how the proposed developmental assistance is in alignment with current DoD requirements.

3. Subcontracting and Prime Contract Opportunity Programs a.) The rating will be based on how well the narrative identifies and describes the anticipated business development assistance to be provided to the Protégé.

b.) The rating will be based on how well the narrative identifies and supports (feasible justification) the projected opportunities for meaningful prime contracting and subcontracting opportunities from the Mentor to the Protege.

4. Authorized Subcontractor Involvement (Includes HBCU, MI, APEX Accelerator (formerly PTAC), SBDC, MIIs, and/or WBC) a.) The rating will be based on how well the narrative identifies and describes the anticipated work effort(s) by the Authorized Subcontractors within the developmental assistance plan. The description should clearly identify whether the tasks are engineering and technical (technology transfer) assistance or general business development assistance.

5. ROM Cost or Final Cost Proposal The rating will be based on whether the proposed effort appears reasonable and represents a sound use of funds for the proposed timeframe. Is the WBS logically organized and does the overall structure provide sufficient insight and fidelity into each development task to assess the appropriateness of its cost and expected impact.

The Evaluation Team will assess each agreement using the rating method shown in Table 1. Ratings for each of the above criteria will be assigned, and proposals will be ranked from the highest to the lowest based on total evaluation score. Any proposal rated Unacceptable in any evaluation criteria will receive an overall rating of Unacceptable and will not be considered eligible to receive a request for Final Proposal.

The Government will fund proposals in order of evaluations ranking, starting with the highest-rated and proceeding in descending order, and subject to the availability of funds.

Table 1 Technical Rating Method D. Restrictive Markings on White Papers:

Proposal submissions will be protected from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with FAR Subpart 15.207, applicable law and DFARS regulations. Offeror’s that include in their proposal, data that they do not want disclosed, shall mark their proposal in accordance with the instructions at FAR 52.215-1(e) (1) and (2), restricting their White Paper as appropriate.

E. Structure of White Papers:

1. White Paper shall be structured in ten sections as provided in the template. (NGA-2025DoDMPP_Phase1_WhitePaperTemplate)

2. Failure to comply may result in the rejection of the White Paper during administrative review at NGA’s discretion. Deviations in format will be considered non-responsive.

3. Submissions are limited to 15 total pages. The WBS description and definition, and DCMA approved billing rate memo are attached at the end of the template, clearly labeled, and are not included in the 15-page count.

F. Down-Select and Request for Final Proposal:

Mentor Firms with White Papers found to be consistent with the intent of the solicitation and program goals will be chosen, following the evaluation criteria listed above, to submit a Final Proposal to include a refined technical and detailed cost proposal, and signed Mentor Protégé Agreement.

Selectees will be invited to submit Final Proposals for the Mentor Protégé Program, subject to available funding within 30 calendar days of evaluation approval. The Proposed offers shall remain valid for 180 calendar days.

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