Amendment 10 Questions Answers - final.pdf

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT

HDTRA1-20-S-0002

AMENDMENT 10

Questions & Answers:

Thrust Areas and Research Priorities

1) Is SI-STT mostly interested in direct, peer-to-peer, Great Power Competition (GPC) considerations? Or would a broader look at third party states (adversaries, partners, and allies) also be helpful? We have regionalists who work on Russia and China, but also Turkey, Iran, North Korea, and Southeast Asia, and we are wondering whether submissions that look at third party states, and thus not directly at great powers, would be considered.

Answer: The National Defense Strategy (NDS) identifies North Korea and Iran as priorities so studies focused on emerging threats associated with these two countries will be considered under Thrust Area 2. Thrust Area 1 studies do not have to directly and singularly address peer-to-peer competition, but studies focused on third party actors should be demonstrably relevant to efforts to counter the influence and aggression of these powers in key strategic regions. SI-STT is interested in studies that address NDS Line of Effort #2 (Strengthen Alliances and Partnerships). The dialogue Thrust (3) also prioritizes engagement with third party actors.

2) Within our White Paper, do we need to address at least one Focus Area within our response, or do we need to address all three Focus Areas?

Answer: The White Papers do not need to address each Focus Area. The Focus Areas provide the basis for the Thrust Areas. It’s helpful for the researcher to reference which Focus Area(s) the White Paper addresses, but it’s imperative to identify which Thrust Area the White Paper addresses.

3) Does STRI provide funding for conferences or symposia that involve Government and Non-Government experts discussing a variety of topics (for example, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons)?

Answer: The STRI BAA encompasses studies, dialogues, and tabletop exercises, not conferences or symposia. SI-STT prioritizes those studies, dialogues, and tabletop exercises that provide operationally relevant and actionable insights and recommendations to DTRA and the Warfighter (e.g. the Joint Staff and the Combatant Commands), including those charged with capability development and planning. SI-STT does not fund strictly academic or theoretically-oriented research activities as it has limited resources that must be leveraged against priority areas to provide value added to DTRA and the Warfighter.

Dialogues

4) Can we build post-dialogue meeting engagement with Government leaders into Proposals for dialogue projects?

Answer: Researchers can build follow-on engagements into the Proposal and each will be evaluated on its own merits. All work needs to be completed within the specified period of performance.

5) Would a sample dialogue meeting agenda be accepted as an attachment to a Thrust Area

3 White Paper submission?

Answer: Yes, please include the sample agenda in the technical concept section of the White Paper.

6) Can we propose dialogues that go beyond a trilateral or quadrilateral meeting under

Thrust Area 3, or is there a limit on the number of allies and partners that can be included in the meetings?

Answer: There is no limit on the number of allies and partners that can be included in the dialogue meetings, but the proposed mix of allies and partners included should make sense. The dialogue costs and expected outcomes should also be reasonable.

White Paper Submissions

7) Does each Thrust Area require a separate White Paper or can we respond to two Thrust

Areas within one paper?

Answer: Separate White Papers are required if proposing multiple, distinct projects.

Please submit each White Paper to the Thrust Area that most closely aligns with the focus of the paper. Papers submitted to multiple Thrust Areas will not receive additional consideration.

The exception to this rule is if you are proposing a single project that has multiple components that can reasonably be separated from each other. These Papers can be submitted to multiple Thrust Areas. For example, if proposing a dialogue and a tabletop exercise that are linked with one another, but could reasonably be separated from one another if the Government so chooses (e.g. the Government wants to consider the dialogue but not the tabletop exercise because the dialogue is a higher priority), submit the Paper to both Thrust Area 3 and 4.

If you have questions about research that may straddle multiple Thrusts and where to submit it, please send an email to the appropriate Thrust Area inboxes and the SI-STT staff can provide assistance.

8) Will White Papers be shared across Thrust Area reviewers for additional consideration?

For example, if White Paper 1 is submitted to Thrust Area 1, but the Thrust Area 1 reviewers feel it better aligns with Thrust Area 2?

Answer: The technical evaluators are not assigned to specific Thrust Areas. SI-STT assigns each White Paper to a panel of SI-STT experts best suited to evaluate that specific paper. As needed, SI-STT will make the determination of whether the paper aligns better with a different Thrust Area.

9) Is there a specific format required for the White Papers?

Answer: The BAA provides a list of items that need to be included in the White Paper.

Please refer to Section 4 of the original BAA and Amendment 8.

10) Is there a limit on the number of White Papers a single organization can submit? Is it acceptable to submit White Papers for different projects that involve the same project team?

Answer: There is no limit on the number of White Papers a single organization can submit. It is acceptable to submit Papers for different projects that involve the same personnel. Please keep in mind that if both projects are accepted, the contractor can only bill 40 hours per week for each full time staff member.

11) Can White Papers be submitted ahead of the FY2021 priority review periods in January

2021? For example, do papers that are submitted on November 27, 2020 get reviewed before the ones that are submitted on January 3, 2021?

Answer: White Papers can be submitted ahead of the specified priority review periods, but they will not be reviewed until the specified review period. The technical evaluation panel scheduled its review time for January 2021 and therefore will review all papers received by the specified January 2021 due dates at the same time.

12) Can we propose a research project that involves two organizations partnering with one another?

Answer: Yes, partnerships are acceptable. Cross-organizational teaming and partnerships may be necessary to conduct research that addresses multiple science and technology areas or countries. All proposed partnerships should be fully explained in the White Paper. The Paper should include sufficient detail about the proposed division of roles and responsibilities.

Proposal Submissions

13) When is the Proposal due for an approved White Paper and how much time is provided to submit the Proposal after the White Paper is approved?

Answer: The Proposal due date will be included in the White Paper approval email.

Typically, researchers that submit successful white papers will have 2.5 weeks from the date of the approval email to prepare a full proposal that includes the technical proposal, cost spreadsheet, and budget narrative.

Awards

14) How many awards were provided in the first round of BAA submissions (in FY2020) and are they being made public?

Answer: DTRA has awarded 18 contracts with FY2020 funding from the SI-STT BAA and Government Call. The list of awards is not available to the public.

15) What is the start date for contracts?

Answer: Awards resulting from successful submissions during the first (January 2021) review period will be awarded in FY2021. Given that this is a federal procurement, the timeline will depend on the DTRA procedures and Federal Acquisition Regulations

(FAR).

16) Are contract option periods limited to only tabletop exercises and dialogues, or will option periods for studies also be considered?

Answer: SI-STT is currently limiting the option period approach to dialogues and tabletop exercises. However, you can discuss future ways to develop the study (if funded) in your White Paper as part of the discussion about the benefit to DTRA.

17) What is the general range of funding for the awards? In other words, what is the upper limit for research projects involving larger, multi-person teams that would receive consideration?

Answer: DTRA does not provide this information. Each White Paper and Proposal will be evaluated based on the cost reasonableness of the particular effort being proposed, including proposed labor costs. In instances where the proposed research team includes multiple, top level experts commanding high salaries, the technical evaluation panel will make a determination of acceptability based on the proposal cost and proposed outcome benefit to the Agency.

18) What kind of interaction is required between the research performer and DTRA once a contract is awarded?

Answer: These awards are partnerships and the communication should be open and consistent. The contractor will continuously interact with SI-STT through monthly reports, in-progress reviews, and email communications as the research develops throughout the period of performance. SI-STT will provide input on the research. If the project falls under Thrust Area 3, this includes providing input on the dialogue topics and agenda, as well as participants.

Other

19) Can the period of performance for studies be shorter than nine months (e.g. six months)?

Answer: Yes, the period of performance for studies can be shorter than nine months. We set nine months as the maximum time in order to maximize the operational relevancy of each study output.

20) Should we reference remote options to complete the research project tasks (e.g.

workshops, dialogue meetings, or tabletop exercises) considering the current environment (i.e. COVID-19)?

Answer: Yes, researchers are encouraged to reference COVID-19 contingency plans in White Papers and Proposals for all dialogue meetings and tabletop exercises, as well as studies that include roundtables, workshops, or any form of travel for interviews, etc.

Once the COVID-19 situation has resolved, we will revisit the status of each project on a case-by-case basis.

21) Are iterative activities within the contract’s specified period of performance acceptable?

Answer: Yes, iterative activities are acceptable, but each project must culminate in the core, mandatory deliverables referenced in the BAA.

22) Are there any Organizational Conflicts of Interest challenges that we need to be aware of as we submit White Papers and Proposals for consideration?

Answer: Organizational Conflicts of Interest are situation-specific. Please send the details of your specific situation to the administrative email (dtra.belvoir.si.mbx.hdtra1-stri-adm@mail.mil) and we will engage the DTRA Legal Office to review the details.

23) Can the STRI funding cover salary (e.g. summer salary for academics)?

Answer: STRI funds cover labor hours (direct and subcontract) during the contract’s period of performance to perform the specified research tasks. Requested labor hours should be reflected in the White Paper cost estimate. If invited to submit a Proposal, these labor hours will be reflected in the cost spreadsheet and budget narrative.

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