HDTRA1-17-S-0002.pdf

DEFENSE THREAT REDUCTION AGENCY

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT

HDTRA1-17-S-0002

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

NEW INITIATIVES

November 2016

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION NO. PAGE NO.

1 INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE

2 PURPOSE

3 BAA APPROACH AND OVERVIEW

4 ELIGIBILITY

5 POINTS OF CONTACT

6 PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

7 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY AREAS (TAS) AND TOPICS15

8 INFORMATION TO BE REQUESTED FROM SUCCESSFUL OFFERORS

9 MILITARY RECRUITING

10 EXPORT CONTROL, ITAR NOTIFICATION

11 TECHNICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT BY NON–GOVERNMENT

PERSONNEL

12 SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (SAM)

13 CERTIFICATIONS AND REPRESENTATIONS

14 PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS

15 ANIMAL USE

16 BIOLOGICAL DEFENSE RESEARCH PROGRAM (BDRP) REQUIREMENTS:

BIOSURETY AND SELECT AGENT USE

17 LIFE SCIENCE DUAL-USE RESEARCH OF CONCERN (DURC)

18 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST (COI) ADVISORY

19 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

20 SUBCONTRACTING PLAN

21 RECOMMENDED PROCUREMENT INSTRUMENT AND PRICING

ARRANGEMENT

22 AUTHORIZED OFFEROR PERSONNEL

23 STATEMENT OF CURRENT AND PENDING SUPPORT

24 MODIFIED PRE-AWARD CHECKLIST

25 ADMINISTRATIVE AND AUDIT OFFICES

26 FORWARD PRICING RATE AGREEMENT

27 CONFIRMED PROPOSAL EXPIRATION DATE

28 LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

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ATTACHMENT 1: RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY AREAS

ATTACHMENT 2: QUAD CHART TEMPLATE

ATTACHMENT 3: TECHNOLOGY READINESS LEVEL (TRL) DEFINITIONS

ATTACHMENT 4: TECHNICAL PROPOSAL FORMAT AND PREPARATION

INSTRUCTIONS

ATTACHMENT 5: COST PROPOSAL FORMAT AND PREPARATION

INSTRUCTIONS

ATTACHMENT 6: STATEMENT OF WORK FORMAT AND PREPARATION

INSTRUCTIONS

ATTACHMENT 7: PROPOSAL SUBMISSION CHECKLIST

ATTACHMENT 8: EVALUATION CRITERIA AND SELECTION PROCESS

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1 INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE

1.1 The Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s (DTRA) mission is to safeguard America and its allies from Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosives (CBRNE)) by providing capabilities to reduce, eliminate, and counter the threat, and mitigate its effects. DTRA’s Research and Development (J9) Office of the Chief Scientist (ST) is the program office for this Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), which provides a tool to search for and execute strategic investments in innovative technologies for countering WMD.

This office will receive and coordinate on all pre-coordination and formal proposals to this announcement.

1.2 This BAA is an extramural endeavor focused on innovative research and development (R&D) activities and related study efforts that advance technical state-of-the-art or increase knowledge and understanding of overarching challenges for countering WMD.

2 PURPOSE

2.1 The purpose of this BAA is to solicit proposals for DTRA J9 program requirements.

2.2 The focus of this BAA is on discovering and accelerating innovations through three broad technical approaches that contribute to DTRA overarching research, development, technology, and engineering (RDT&E) goals. R&D Technology Areas (TAs), detailed in Attachment 1, may address one or more of the RDT&E goals outlined below:

2.2.1 Analytic investigations are studies that increase DTRA’s knowledge or understanding of emerging WMD threats and how DTRA might anticipate and counter them. The WMD threat spectrum includes: nuclear, radiological, biological, chemical and high-yield explosive (HE) weapons (including improvised threats); their up-stream acquisition, RDT&E and production; their storage, deployment and final disposition; strategic and tactical delivery systems, command and control; and their weapon effects if used.

2.2.2 Innovative capability research and development advances the state-of-the-art of DTRA’s technical capabilities and methods used to find, monitor, characterize, assess, plan against, deter, delay, disrupt, neutralize or destroy WMD at any point in their lifecycles.

2.2.3 Mission-oriented experiments are designed to model, simulate, test and/or evaluate analytic methods or technical capabilities intended to counter WMD threats, or to mitigate the risks/impacts that they pose to DTRA’s critical assets, operations or interests under operationally relevant conditions.

2.3 Projects funded under this BAA will be analytic investigations, capability developments and/or experiments at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 2 through 6. See Attachment 3 for TRL definitions. Offerors and performers must note that advancement of technology beyond TRL 6 will not be permitted during the period of performance of any award made under this BAA.

3 BAA APPROACH AND OVERVIEW

3.1 This BAA is in effect from November 2016 through October 2021 and is open continuously for submissions to the R&D TAs during this time. The Government reserves the right to amend the BAA at any time to capture, but not limited to, ongoing, new or emerging requirements with new or

HDTRA1-17-S-0002 Page 5 different R&D TAs. On a limited basis, Addendums to this BAA may be published that detail more specific or urgent topics. Offerors should note that the topics posted in Addendums are likely to have formal proposal deadlines and be available for a limited time. The Government reserves the right to cancel or suspend the BAA at any time during the effective period of the BAA. Changes to the core content of this BAA will be made via amendments. This BAA, all Addendums to this BAA, and all amendments issued in conjunction with this BAA, will be posted to the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website (www.fbo.gov) and for informational purposes on the DTRA website (www.dtra.mil). It is the responsibility of the Offerers and interested parties to be aware of BAA amendments by regularly checking the FedBizOpps website and registering at www.fbo.gov to receive notifications and updates to this specific solicitation.

3.2 The Government encourages proposals that span a wide spectrum of solutions and approaches in response to the specific TAs detailed in Attachment 1, or topics, if available. The Government reserves the right to award any combination of approaches that offer the best overall value to the Government, and to oversee any and all processes and approaches once initiated.

3.3 DTRA is issuing this BAA under provisions of the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984, Public Law Number (Pub. L. No.) 98-369, § 2701-2753, 98 Statute (Stat.) 1175 (1984), as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 35.016.

3.4 The Government actions under this BAA shall adhere to the requirements of the FAR and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) depending on type of instrument awarded. However, Offerers should note that DTRA executes awards to Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) via interagency orders (IOs) and military interdepartmental purchase requests (MIPRs).

3.5 This BAA will be conducted via a single phase of a formal proposal submission. See Section 6.

3.6 To reduce the administrative burden on Offerers and the Government and mitigate unnecessary costs associated with the generation of proposals that are not of interest to DTRA, Offerers are strongly encouraged to engage in pre-coordination of their ideas. Pre-coordination may be accomplished by submitting a quad chart and white paper narrative to the email address detailed in Section 5 PRIOR to submitting a formal proposal. Pre-coordination is, however, not mandatory. The goal of pre-coordination is to provide an opportunity for an Offerer to gauge interest in an idea and receive informal feedback from a DTRA Program Manager (PM) prior to an Offerer taking the time to construct and submit a formal proposal.

3.6.1 All pre-coordination communications, including the quad chart and the white paper narrative, shall specify the TA to which it most closely applies.

3.6.2 While Section 6.5 details guidance on submitting proprietary information in response to this BAA, Offerers should note that proprietary pre-coordination will not be accepted.

3.6.3 While Section 6.6 details guidance on classified communications with DTRA in response to this BAA, Offerers should note that classified pre-coordination will not be accepted.

3.6.4 Quad charts shall conform to the template included in Attachment 2.

3.6.5 The white paper shall be limited to five (5) pages. It shall include the project title at the top of the page and must cite the TA (refer to Attachment 1) or topic, as appropriate, along with http://www.fbo.gov/ http://www.dtra.mil/ http://www.fbo.gov/

HDTRA1-17-S-0002 Page 6 the organization (Offerer’s institution, company, etc.). If the Offerer is from an FFRDC, the narrative must specify how the project falls within the mission of the FFRDC. Beyond that, the content of the white paper must be limited only to further explain, as deemed necessary by the Offerer, the information conveyed in the quad chart. The Offerer may briefly detail personnel qualifications in the white paper. Do NOT include corporate qualifications, past experience, or any supplemental information.

3.6.6 Offerors who choose to participate in pre-coordination by submitting a quad chart with a white paper narrative will receive a response from DTRA. This response will indicate whether a DTRA PM has interest in the research or concept detailed during the pre-coordination. Specific feedback or opportunities for discussion may also be offered.

3.6.7 Regardless of the Offerer’s participation in the pre-coordination process and any response to pre-coordination, DTRA will review all formal proposals submitted using the published evaluation criteria (detailed in Attachment 8).

3.6.7.1 Offerors who choose not to participate in pre-coordination are eligible to submit a formal proposal; however, pre-coordination is highly recommended.

3.6.7.2 Offerors who do not receive indication of positive interest from DTRA after a white paper with quad chart response remain eligible to submit a formal proposal; however, Offerers should carefully weigh the cost of proposal preparation with the response from

DTRA.

3.6.8 Once a formal proposal has been submitted, additional technical discussions between DTRA PMs and the Offerer will not be allowed.

3.7 Offerors choosing to use the services of Government Laboratories in the performance of work proposed may be required to enter into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Laboratory. A CRADA is not a FAR-based agreement; it is authorized by 15 United States Code (U.S.C.) Section (§) 3710(a). A CRADA will be separate from the DTRA procurement instrument, with its own unique terms, in particular related to Intellectual Property. It would be prudent for the Offerer to discuss those unique terms with the Laboratory prior to submitting a formal proposal under this BAA. DTRA will not facilitate, nor be involved in, the negotiation of the agreements with Government Laboratories.

3.8 The full range of acquisition-related statutory authority arrangements available to DTRA are possible resultants from this announcement including contracts and other transaction agreements (OTAs); awards to FFRDCs will be via IOs and MIPRs, as appropriate. Grants and Cooperative Agreements will not be awarded via this BAA. Periods of performance for each award may be up to five (5) years.

3.8.1 Each procurement instrument offers different advantages, liabilities and responsibilities for Offerers and the Government.

3.8.2 Offerors must specify in their formal proposal submittal their recommended procurement instrument; however, the Government reserves the right to negotiate and award the types of procurement instruments determined most appropriate under the circumstances.

3.8.3 If warranted, portions of resulting awards may be segregated into pre-priced options.

3.8.4 Except for other transaction agreements, the Government actions under this BAA shall adhere to the requirements of the FAR and DFARS.

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3.8.5 R&D contracts are typically Cost Reimbursement contracts. In accordance with FAR 16.301-3(a)(3), Cost Reimbursement contracts require that the contractor’s accounting system is adequate for determining costs applicable to the contract. Therefore, DTRA will request that the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) perform an audit on your formal proposal and accounting system prior to entering into contract negotiations. Failure to have an adequate accounting system will preclude the Offerer from receiving a cost-type contract and instead will require a non-cost reimbursable award, e.g. a firm-fixed price contract, etc., if appropriate.

3.9 DTRA intends to create an environment where potential Offerers are willing to share commercially generated R&D with the Government. The Government will negotiate terms and conditions to leverage the successful Offerers’ advances. The Government seeks to ultimately acquire the best commercial products and technology in addition to offering the appropriate level of protection of corporate and institutional intellectual property rights, thus encouraging participation by a broad spectrum of leading-edge technology developers.

3.10 Official coordination and communication between Offerers and the Government will be conducted using the e-mail address associated with this BAA as specified in Section 5.

3.11 Participation in this program is highly competitive. Awards resulting from this BAA will be made based on the evaluation results of the formal proposal process described in Attachment 8.

3.12 The Government reserves the right to fund all, some, one, or none of the proposals received in response to this announcement. In all cases, the Program Office will have the ultimate authority and responsibility to make final scope determinations for selections of formal proposals that will not be totally funded to ensure the portion selected meets the requirements. The Government reserves the right to incrementally fund any or all awards and/or fund proposals in phases with options for continued work at the end of one or more of the phases.

3.13 In addition, the Government reserves the right to create and maintain a reserve list of proposals for potential funding, in the event that sufficient funding becomes available. The Government may offer funding for any formal proposals or portions of proposals at any time during the lifetime of this BAA. If a proposal is selected for funding at a date beyond the confirmed expiration date, the Government will verify with the Offerer that the originally proposed approach, costs, and capability, as well as the interest to perform the work remains valid. If an updated technical and/or cost proposal is required, DTRA reserves the right to review the submissions in accordance with this BAA and to rescind the selection of the proposal based on this review.

3.14 All awards are subject to the availability of funds.

3.15 Offerors that are not responsive to Government requests for information in a timely manner, defined as meeting Government deadlines established and communicated with the request may be removed from award consideration.

4 ELIGIBILITY

4.1 Proposals submitted for this BAA will be considered from the following U.S. and Foreign Enterprises:

• Industrial/commercial entities including small businesses

• Accredited degree granting colleges and universities

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• Not-for-profit organizations

• Foreign research organizations (e.g. UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory)

• University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs), provided that it is permitted by the UARC's Department of Defense (DoD) sponsor

• DoD-sponsored FFRDCs specified in DoD FAR Supplement 235.017-1 (http://farsite.hill.af.mil/vfdfara.htm and click on ‘DFARS Part 35’). DoD-sponsored FFRDCs shall review FAR 35.017(a)(2) to ensure compliance with the requirement for an Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) Risk Mitigation Plan that shall accompany the proposal submission.1

• Department of Energy (DoE)-sponsored FFRDCs provided that authorization is obtained from the DoE sponsor. DoE-sponsored FFRDCs shall review FAR 35.017(a)(2) to ensure compliance with the requirement for an Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) Risk Mitigation Plan that shall accompany the proposal submission.1 In accordance with FAR 17.503(e), DoE Order 481.1C and DoE Acquisition Regulation DEARS 970.1707-3, DoE-sponsored FFRDCs must provide a copy of the written certification from the DoE sponsor authorizing its performance of the proposed effort. The DoE sponsor must provide written certification that the proposed work:

1) is consistent with or complimentary to missions of DoE and the facility to which the work is to be assigned,

2) will not adversely impact programs assigned to the facility, and

3) will not create a detrimental future burden on DoE resources.

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-sponsored FFRDCs provided that authorization is obtained from the NASA sponsor. NASA-sponsored FFRDCs shall review FAR 35.017(a)(2) to ensure compliance with the requirement for an Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) Risk Mitigation Plan that shall accompany the proposal submission.1

4.2 Proposals are encouraged from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (as determined by the Secretary of Education to meet requirements of Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended, 20 U.S.C. § 1061) and from Minority Institutions defined as institutions “whose enrollment of a single minority or a combination of minorities…exceeds 50 percent of the total enrollment,” 20 U.S.C. § 1067k(3) and 10 U.S.C. § 2323(a)(1)(C).

4.3 The following entities may not participate as prime contractors nor furnish principal investigators in awards made under this BAA, but may act as subcontractors:

• Federal laboratories (including FFRDCs) other than those DoD-, DoE-, and NASA-sponsored FFRDCs specified in Section 4.1. In accordance with FAR 17.503(e), 35.017(a)(2) and 35.017- 3, FFRDC participants must provide documentation from the FFRDC sponsor authorizing its performance of the proposed effort.

• U.S. Government agencies and organizations

• Academic institutions that are U.S. Government organizations (e.g., Naval Postgraduate School) 1 The conflict of interest policy in DFARS 235.017-1 pertains to personal conflicts of interest by board members of FFRDCs and not organizational conflicts of interest.

http://farsite.hill.af.mil/vfdfara.htm

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4.4 All Offerers must be registered in the DoD System for Award Management (SAM) database.

For additional information, see Section 12.

5 POINTS OF CONTACT

Questions regarding the technical and administrative content of this BAA must be sent to the following e-mail address: DTRAInnovation@mail.mil. All questions must include the BAA number (and TA, if relevant) in the subject line. DTRA will post questions and answers to the FedBizOpps website (www.fbo.gov) that are relevant to all potential Offerers. It is the Offerer’s responsibility to check periodically the FedBizOpps website to view postings of questions and answers, in addition to any applicable amendments to the BAA.

6 PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

6.1 Submission Overview.

6.1.1 This BAA will be conducted via a single phase: formal proposal submission. Offerors may choose to pre-coordinate a white paper and quad chart as detailed in Section 3.6. Pre-coordination, while strongly encouraged, is not mandatory.

6.1.2 Unclassified proposals must be submitted electronically through the DTRA proposal submission website, http://www.dtrasubmission.net. Unclassified proposals submitted by any means other than the proposal submission website (e.g., hand-carried, postal service, commercial carrier, and e-mail) will not be considered. See Section 6.6 for guidance on classified communications with DTRA in response to this BAA.

6.1.3 All information provided in the documents submitted to the DTRA proposal submission website, http://www.dtrasubmission.net, that is marked appropriately will be considered proprietary information, as indicated in Section 6.5.

6.2 All applicants must register on the DTRA proposal submission website, http://www.dtrasubmission.net, prior to proposal submission. Each institution may establish procedures for the management of registration and submission of proposals, but all submissions from an institution shall be coordinated and submitted by a single responsible party.

6.2.1 Detailed registration instructions are available at the website stated above.

6.2.2 Failure to register in accordance with instructions will prevent submission of the required documents and render Offerers ineligible for participation in this BAA.

6.2.3 Prior registration at any proposal submission site other than http://www.dtrasubmission.net does not fulfill registration requirements for participation in this BAA.

6.2.4 IMPORTANT: Registration at the DTRA proposal submission website is NOT the same as registering at SAM (https://www.sam.gov) or FedBizOpps (www.fbo.gov) websites. Failure to compliantly register at the DTRA proposal submission website will prevent an Offerer’s submission of documents required and thus render them ineligible for participation in this BAA. Additional details regarding SAM registration may be found in Section 12.

6.3 Using the DTRA proposal submission website, http://www.dtrasubmission.net, all Offerers must prepare a coversheet to include basic identifying information for the institution and the Offerer points of contact. The Offerer will be required to submit the proposal to the most applicable TA.

mailto:DTRAInnovation@mail.mil http://www.fbo.gov/ http://www.dtrasubmission.net/ http://www.dtrasubmission.net/ http://www.dtrasubmission.net/ http://www.dtrasubmission.net/ https://www.sam.gov/ http://www.fbo.gov/ http://www.dtrasubmission.net/

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All data point requirements must be completed in every cover sheet. Once the cover sheet is saved, the system will assign a unique tracking number for each proposal submission. Cover sheets may be edited as often as necessary until the proposal is submitted.

6.3.1 If multiple proposals are being submitted by the same institution, separate cover sheets must be generated for each submission as the required documents must be uploaded with the associated cover sheet.

6.3.2 All documents submitted to the DTRA proposal submission website, http://www.dtrasubmission.net, are considered works in progress and are not eligible for evaluation until the applicant submits the final proposal package for consideration.

Applicants are responsible for ensuring compliant and final submission of their proposals;

applicants can verify the submission of the proposal package with the electronic receipt that appears on the screen following submission to the DTRA proposal submission website.

6.4 Proposal Submission and Content. The proposal must be prepared in three separate volumes:

Volume I – Technical Proposal; Volume II – Cost Proposal; and Volume III – Supplemental Information, to include a Statement of Work (SOW) and a Quad Chart. A checklist of required information is included in Attachment 7 for informational purposes.

6.4.1 Volume I – Technical Proposal. The technical proposal must not exceed 25 pages. A page is defined as 8½ x 11 inches, single-spaced, with one-inch margins in type not smaller than Times New Roman, 12 point font. Technical proposals that do not conform to these requirements will not be reviewed. The technical proposal must include the components included in the template as shown in Attachment 4 of this BAA.

Technical proposals submitted via the website must be UNCLASSIFIED.

See Section 6.6 for guidance on classified communications with DTRA in response to this BAA. All information provided that is marked appropriately will be considered proprietary information, as indicated in Section 6.5.

6.4.2 Volume II – Cost Proposal. The cost volume shall contain cost estimates sufficiently detailed for meaningful evaluation. The proposal must include the total cost of the project, and the cost proposal must provide a breakdown of the amount(s) by task. The cost proposal must include the components as detailed in Attachment 5 of this BAA. The same level of detail shall be provided and incorporated into Volume II for any subcontracts or consultants.

The exception is any proprietary subcontract or consultant cost data (e.g., indirect rates) that may be submitted directly to the Government at time of negotiation.

A cost summary must be prepared and submitted in conjunction with the detailed cost proposal. The cost summary is not to exceed two (2) pages; however, the cost proposal does not have a page limit.

Additionally, each Offerer must prepare and submit details on Equipment and Government Property in conjunction with the other cost proposal files.

6.4.3 Volume III – Supplemental Information. This volume contains required supplemental data.

More information about the specific information to include is summarized in Table 1 with specific information included in the referenced sections. If any particular item is not relevant to the proposed effort, include a reference to the requested information and state that the particular information is not applicable in order to confirm a negative response.

http://www.dtrasubmission.net/

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TABLE 1

Item Required? Reference ✓ Quad Chart Yes Attachment 2 SOW (separate, stand-alone document) Yes Attachment 6 For FFRDCs , written certification from the sponsor authorizing the performance of the proposed effort

If applicable Section 4

For FFRDCs, OCI Risk Mitigation Plan If applicable Section 4 System for Award Management (SAM) Yes Section 12 Certifications and Representations Yes Section 13 Human Subjects If applicable Section 14 Animal Use If applicable Section 15 BioSurety and Select Agent Use If applicable Section 16 Life Science Dual-Use Research of Concern If applicable Section 17 Organizational Conflict of Interest Advisory Yes Section 18 Intellectual Property Yes Section 19

List of Patents Yes Section 19.2 Data Rights Assertion Table Yes Section 19.3

Subcontracting Plan If applicable Section 20 Recommended Procurement Instrument and Pricing Arrangement

Yes Section 21

Authorized Offeror Personnel Yes Section 22 Statement of Current and Pending Support Yes Section 23 Modified Pre-Award Checklist (SF 1408) Yes Section 24 Administrative and Audit Offices Yes Section 25 Forward Pricing Rate Agreement Yes Section 26 Confirmed Proposal Expiration Date Yes Section 27

Table 1: Summary of required supplemental data for Volume III – Supplemental Information, with section references.

6.4.4 Other Submission Information.

6.4.4.1 The Volume I – Technical Proposal and Volume III – Supplemental Information must each be submitted as a separate Portable Document File (PDF) compatible with Adobe Acrobat®. The quad chart and the SOW are exceptions; the SOW shall be submitted as a stand-alone Microsoft Word document and the quad chart shall be submitted as a stand-alone PDF compatible with Adobe Acrobat®.

The files for the Volume II – Cost Proposal shall be submitted as three separate files. The cost summary and detailed cost proposal shall be submitted as individual Microsoft Excel files. The third file detailing equipment and Government property shall be submitted as a PDF compatible with Adobe Acrobat®.

6.4.4.2 Each individual file will not exceed 10 Mbytes of storage space.

6.4.4.3 Movie and sound file attachments, or other additional files, will not be accepted.

6.4.4.4 Perform a virus check before uploading any proposal files. If a virus is detected it

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6.4.4.5 Do not encrypt any files you upload.

6.4.4.6 All quad charts must be prepared and submitted in landscape format. See Attachment 2 for additional instructions. All other files within the three volumes of the proposal must be provided in portrait layout.

6.4.4.7 Formal proposal submissions that do not adhere to the requirements detailed may be rejected without further consideration.

6.4.5 Notification to Offerors. Offerors submitting a proposal will receive a notification from DTRA with a statement as to whether the project is selected, placed on a reserve list, or non-selected for funding; notifications may be received within 120 days. A debriefing summary will be included in notification emails to Offerers. Additional details may be provided upon written request (to the e-mail address in Section 5), at DTRA’s discretion.

6.5 Marking of the Proposal and Disclosure of Proprietary Information.

6.5.1 The quad chart (either the pre-coordination quad chart or the quad chart submitted as part of a formal proposal) must not contain information deemed trade secret, confidential, or proprietary by the Offerer.

6.5.2 Pre-coordination white papers must not contain information deemed trade secret, confidential, or proprietary by the Offerer.

6.5.3 The SOW must not contain information deemed trade secret, confidential, or proprietary by the Offerer.

6.5.4 Any document(s) other than the white paper, quad chart, and SOW submitted in response to this BAA may contain technical and other data that the Offerer does not want disclosed to the public or used by the Government for any purpose other than proposal evaluation. Public release of information submitted will be subject to existing statutory and regulatory requirements.

6.5.5 If proprietary information that constitutes a trade secret, proprietary commercial or financial information, confidential personal information, or data affecting the national security is provided by an Offerer in any document submitted in response to this BAA, it will be treated in confidence to the extent permitted by law, provided that the following legend appears and is completed on the front of the document:

“For any purpose other than to evaluate the white paper/proposal, this data shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed in whole or in part, provided that if an award is made to the Offerer as a result of or in connection with the submission of this data, the Government shall have the right to duplicate, use or disclose the data to the extent provided in the agreement. This restriction does not limit the right of the Government to use information contained in the data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction is contained in page(s) _____ of this white paper/proposal.”

Any other legend may be unacceptable to the Government and may constitute grounds for

HDTRA1-17-S-0002 Page 13 removing the proposal from further consideration without assuming any liability for inadvertent disclosure. The Government will limit dissemination of properly marked information to within official channels. In addition, the pages indicated as restricted must be marked with the following legend:

“Use or disclosure of proposal data on lines specifically identified by asterisk (*) are subject to the restriction on the front page of this proposal.”

6.5.6 The Government assumes no liability for disclosure or use of unmarked data and may use or disclose such data for any purpose.

6.5.7 In the event that properly marked data contained in documents submitted in response to this BAA is requested pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C 552, the Offerer will be advised of such request and, prior to such release of information, will be requested to expeditiously submit to DTRA a detailed listing of all information in the proposal documents that the Offerer believes to be exempt from disclosure under the Act. Such action and cooperation on the part of the Offerer will ensure that any information released by DTRA pursuant to the Act has been properly identified.

6.5.8 By submission of a proposal, the Offerer understands that proprietary information may be disclosed in accordance with Section 11 for the sole purpose of technical evaluation.

6.6 Security Information. Classified submissions at the level of Secret or Confidential shall be transmitted in accordance with the guidance contained herein.

6.6.1 ***Top Secret, Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) or Special Access Program (SAP) submissions are not allowed in this BAA.***

6.6.2 Additional information on the subjects discussed in this section may be found at http://www.dss.mil/. If a submission contains Classified National Security Information as defined by Executive Order 13526, the information must be appropriately and conspicuously marked with the proposed classification level and declassification date. Similarly, when the classification of a submission is in question, the submission must be appropriately and conspicuously marked with the proposed classification level and declassification date.

Submissions requiring DTRA to make a final classification determination shall be marked as follows:

“CLASSIFICATION DETERMINATION PENDING. Protect as though classified____________________________ (insert the recommended classification level, e.g., Secret or Confidential).”

NOTE: Classified submissions must indicate the classification level of not only the submitted materials, but also the classification level of the anticipated award.

6.6.3 Offerors submitting classified information must have, or be able to obtain prior to contract award, cognizant security agency approved facilities, information systems, and appropriately cleared/eligible personnel to perform at the classification level proposed. All Offerer personnel performing Information Assurance (IA)/Cybersecurity related duties on classified Information Systems shall meet the requirements set forth in DoD Manual 8570.01-M (Information Assurance Workforce Improvement Program).

6.6.4 Offerors choosing to submit classified information from other collateral classified sources http://www.dss.mil/

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(i.e., sources other than DTRA) must ensure (1) they have permission from an authorized individual at the cognizant Government agency (e.g., Contracting Officer, Program Manager); (2) the proposal is marked in accordance with the source Security Classification Guide (SCG) from which the material is derived; and (3) the source SCG is submitted along with the proposal.

6.6.5 DTRA anticipates that submissions received under this BAA will be unclassified. Security classification guidance and direction via a SCG and/or DD Form 254, “DoD Contract Security Classification Specification,” will not be provided at this time since DTRA is soliciting ideas only. After reviewing the incoming proposals, if a determination is made that an award instrument may result in access to classified information, a SCG and/or DD Form 254 will be issued and attached as part of the award.

6.6.6 Classified submissions shall be transmitted in accordance with the following guidance:

Confidential and Secret Information

6.6.6.1 Offerors must use transmission, classification, handling, and marking guidance provided by previously issued SCGs, the DoD Information Security Manual (DoDM 5200.01, Volumes 1 - 4), and the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual, including the Supplement Revision 1, (DoD 5220.22-M and DoD 5200.22-M Sup. 1) when submitting Confidential and/or Secret classified information.

6.6.6.2 Confidential and Secret classified information may be submitted via U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Registered Mail or USPS Express Mail. All classified information will be enclosed in opaque inner and outer covers and double wrapped. The inner envelope shall be sealed and plainly marked with the assigned classification and addresses of both sender and addressee.

The inner envelope shall be addressed to:

Defense Threat Reduction Agency ATTN: J9 ST Office of the Chief Scientist Reference: HDTRA1-17-S-0002 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Stop 6201 Ft Belvoir, VA 22060-6217

The outer envelope shall be sealed with no identification as to the classification of its contents and addressed to:

(if sending via U.S. Postal Service) Defense Threat Reduction Agency J9 ST Office of the Chief Scientist 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Stop 6201 Ft Belvoir, VA 22060-6217

(if sending via commercial parcel carrier, e.g. UPS, FedEx) Defense Threat Reduction Agency J9 ST Office of the Chief Scientist 6200 Meade Road Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-5264

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6.7 Withdrawal of Proposals. Proposals may be withdrawn by written notice received at any time before award. Withdrawals are effective upon receipt of notice via the e-mail address listed in Section 5.

6.8 The Government may reject formal proposal submissions that are deemed non-compliant, i.e., those that significantly deviate from the instructions in this BAA.

7 R&D TAs AND TOPICS

7.1 Attachment 1 presents the list of R&D TAs with associated requirements for which proposals are sought. On a limited basis, topics that align to the TAs may be published via Addendums to this BAA. Offerors should note that topics are likely to have formal proposal deadlines and be available for a limited time.

7.2 Each proposal submitted may address one TA or Topic only. If a single submission applies to more than one TA or Topic, the Offerer should select the most appropriate TA or Topic and reference in the submitted proposal the other TAs or Topics to which this submission may also apply.

7.3 It is incumbent on the Offerer to conduct independent research to understand how the specific technology proposed can be properly applied to DTRA’s goals/objectives and associated capability areas.

7.4 Offerors are strongly encouraged to pre-coordinate a quad chart and white paper prior to submitting a formal proposal. Utilizing the quad chart and white paper submission step allows Offerers to gain an increased understanding of how their idea aligns or does not align with DTRA research and development objectives associated with the specific TA listed in Attachment 1 or with a Topic detailed in an Addendum to this BAA.

8 INFORMATION TO BE REQUESTED FROM SUCCESSFUL OFFERORS

8.1 Offerors whose formal proposals are selected for potential award may be contacted before award to provide additional information required for award. Such information may include revisions to the costs or cost explanations and other information applicable to the proposed award.

8.2 Offerors that are not responsive in a timely manner to Government requests for information (defined as meeting Government deadlines established and communicated with the requests) may be removed from award consideration.

8.3 Offerors that request significant revisions to their proposals subsequent to their selection for potential award may be removed from award consideration.

8.4 Offerors may also be removed from award consideration if the Offerer and the Government fail to negotiate mutually agreeable terms within a reasonable period.

9 MILITARY RECRUITING

9.1 Any award made under this announcement to an institution of higher education must include the following term and condition: “As a condition for receipt of funds available to the DoD under this award, the recipient agrees that it is not an institution of higher education (as defined in 32 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 216) that has a policy of denying or preventing the Secretary of

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Defense from obtaining for military recruiting purposes: entry to campuses or access to students on campuses; or access to directory information pertaining to students. Using procedures in 32 CFR Part 216, if the recipient is determined to be such an institution of higher education during the period of performance of this agreement, and therefore to be in breach of this clause, the Government will cease all payments of DoD funds under this agreement and all other DoD grants and cooperative agreements, and it may suspend or terminate such grants and agreements unilaterally for material failure to comply with the terms and conditions of award.”

9.2 The 32 CFR Part 216 may be accessed electronically at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/ cfr/index.html. If an institution has been identified under the procedures established by the Secretary of Defense to implement Pub. L. No. 103-337 § 558, then: (1) no funds available to the DoD may be provided to the institution through any grant, including any existing grant; (2) as a matter of policy this restriction also applies to any cooperative agreement; and (3) the institution is not eligible to receive a grant or cooperative agreement in response to this solicitation. This is to notify potential Offerors that each contract awarded under this announcement to an institution of higher education must include the clause: DFARS 252.209-7005, Reserve Officer Training Corps and Military Recruiting on Campus.

10 EXPORT CONTROL, ITAR NOTIFICATION

Offerors are responsible for ensuring compliance with any export control laws and regulations that may be applicable to the export of and foreign access to their proposed technologies. Offerors may consult with the Department of State with any questions regarding the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) (22 CFR Parts 120 – 130) and/or the Department of Commerce regarding the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) (15 CFR Parts 730-774). The Department of State publishes guidance on the ITAR at http://www.pmddtc.state.gov. Department of Commerce guidance on the EAR is located at http://www.bis.doc.gov.

11 TECHNICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT BY NON–GOVERNMENT

PERSONNEL

11.1 It is the intent of DTRA to use both Government and non-Government personnel to assist with the review and administration of all submittals for this BAA.

11.2 Participation in this BAA requires DTRA support contractors to have access to pre-coordination materials and formal proposal information, including information that may be considered proprietary or otherwise marked with restrictive legends. Existing DTRA contractors include but may not be limited to the following: TASC, an Engility Company (Advisory & Assistance Services) and their subcontractors, Infinity Technology, LLC, Tenica and Associates LLC, and TFAB Ground Systems LLC (contract specialist support) and their subcontractors, SBG Technology Solutions (automated solicitation proposal management system [ASPMS] support) and their subcontractors, and Terremark Worldwide Inc (ASPMS support). The contracts with these companies contain Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) provisions and include contractual specifications for non-disclosure of proprietary contractor information. The Offeror, by submitting a quad chart, white paper, or formal proposal is deemed to have consented to the disclosure of its information to the aforementioned contractors under the conditions and limitations described herein.

11.3 All individuals having access to any proprietary data shall execute non-disclosure agreements certifying that they will not disclose any information pertaining to this BAA including any submittal, http://www.gpoaccess.gov/%20cfr/index.html http://www.gpoaccess.gov/%20cfr/index.html http://www.pmddtc.state.gov/ http://www.bis.doc.gov/

HDTRA1-17-S-0002 Page 17 the identity of any submitters, or any other information relative to this BAA.

11.4 See Section 6.5 for additional information on appropriately marking proprietary information.

12 SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (SAM)

12.1 IMPORTANT: Prospective contractors must be registered in the DoD SAM database (www.sam.gov). DTRA requires that all Offerers be registered in the SAM database at the time of formal proposal submission. SAM registration information must be included in Volume III – Supplemental Information, of the formal proposal.

12.2 Offerors may register with SAM online at www.sam.gov or by calling the SAM Customer Service Center at (866) 606-8220. It is estimated that it will take approximately 45 minutes to complete registration if you already have all the necessary information on hand, depending upon the size and complexity of your entity. Note that new registrations can take an average of 7-10 business days to process in SAM.

12.2.1 SAM must send out some information for validation with outside parties before your registration can be activated; this includes Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) validation with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and CAGE validation/assignment with the DoD.

This timeframe may be longer if the information you provide is flagged for manual validation by either party.

12.2.2 If you notice your registration is labeled with a ‘Submitted’ status for longer than 10 business days and you have not otherwise been contacted to correct or update information, please contact the Federal Service Desk at 866-606-8220 or https://www.fsd.gov.

12.2.3 According to the IRS, if Offerors do not currently have an EIN and need to apply for one over the phone or internet, they will be given a tentative EIN, but the EIN may not become active for up to two weeks. Questions regarding an EIN may be directed to (800) 829-4933.

12.3 By submission of a formal proposal to this BAA, the Offerer acknowledges the requirement that a prospective contractor must be registered in the SAM database (www.sam.gov) prior to award, during performance, and through final payment of any contract/agreement resulting from this BAA.

13 CERTIFICATIONS AND REPRESENTATIONS

13.1 Certifications and representations must be completed at the time of the formal proposal submission. This information must be included in Volume III – Supplemental Information.

Additional information beyond these certifications may be required from successful Offerers and may be requested at any time.

• The SAM website (www.sam.gov) is used for entry of certifications and representations.

13.2 The certifications list below must be submitted separately (as part of Volume III – Supplemental Information) as they are not included in SAM. As applicable, the Offerer is required to complete the representation or to acknowledge in writing that they have read and understand the following:

• Information Regarding Responsibility Matters: FAR 52.209-7 (Jan 2011), Information Regarding Responsibility Matters, is a certification that is required. Review it in its entirety and acknowledge in the affirmative that you are aware of its requirement and will comply as https://www.sam.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/ https://www.fsd.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/

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• DFARS 252.203-7996, Prohibition on Contracting with Entities that Require Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements-Representation. (DEVIATION 2016-O0003)(OCT 2015)

• DFARS 252.203-7005, Representation Relating to Compensation of Former DoD Officials.

• DFARS 252.204-7008, Compliance with Safeguarding Covered Defense Information Controls.

13.3 The SOW must not contain information deemed trade secret, confidential or proprietary by the Offerer. Offerors shall submit a specific acknowledgement that should it be awarded a contract under this BAA, it consents to the potential public release of its SOW (as part of Volume III – Supplemental Information).

14 PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS

14.1 If the proposed research involves human subjects or materials, Offerers are asked to outline the human use and to include the source of the human subjects or materials involved in the research.

This information, if applicable, must be included in Volume III – Supplemental Information, of the proposal. Further information may be required if the proposal is successful.

14.2 All research under any award made under this BAA involving human subjects must be conducted in accordance with 32 CFR Part 219, 10 U.S.C. § 980, and DoD Instruction 3216.02, and, as applicable, 21 CFR Parts 11, 50, 56, GCP, the ICH as well as other applicable federal and state regulations. Contractors must be cognizant of and abide by the additional restrictions and limitations imposed on the DoD regarding research involving human subjects, specifically as regards vulnerable populations (32 CFR Part 219 modifications to subparts B-D of 45 CFR Part 46), recruitment of military research subjects (32 CFR Part 219), and surrogate consent (10 U.S.C. § 980).

14.3 DTRA Directive 3216.01 of June 9, 2010, modified March 18, 2015, established the DTRA Human Subjects Protection Program, set forth the policies, defined the applicable terms, and delineated the procedures necessary to ensure DTRA compliance with federal and DoD regulations and legislation governing human subject research. The regulations mandate that all DoD activities, components, and agencies protect the rights and welfare of human subjects of study in DoD-supported research, development, test and evaluation, and related activities hereafter referred to as “research.” The requirement to comply with the regulations applies to new starts and to continuing research.

14.4 The DTRA Directive requires that research using human subjects may not begin or continue until the DTRA Research Oversight Board (ROB) has reviewed and approved the proposed protocol.

Contractors and subcontractors are required to submit a valid federal assurance for their organization (institution, laboratory, facility) that has been issued by either the DoD or the Department of Health and Human Services, and documentation of review of proposed protocols by the local Institutional Review Board (IRB) to include consent forms for any planned research using human subjects to the DTRA ROB for its review through the contracting officer’s representative (if assigned) or the contracting officer. The ROB review is separate from, and in addition to, local IRB review.

14.5 A study is considered to involve human research subjects if: 1) there is interaction with the subject (even simply talking to the subject qualifies; no needles are required); and 2) if the study involves collection and/or analysis of personal/private information about an individual, or if material used in the study contains links to such information.

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14.6 Written approval to begin research or to subcontract for the use of human subjects under the proposed protocol will be provided in writing from the DTRA ROB, through the contracting officer.

Both the contractor and the Government must…