HR001117S0039_Attachment_4_Proposal_Technical_&_Management_Volume.docx

HR001117S0039 Lagrange BAA Attachment 4 Technical and Management Volume Template

The Technical and Management Volume must address the full 18-month program.

Use of this template is mandatory for all proposal submissions to this BAA. Proposals not meeting the format prescribed herein may not be reviewed.

This document must include all components described herein and must be submitted in .pdf, .odx, .doc, or .docx formats. The slides described herein (Executive Summary, Technical Concept, Schedule and Milestones, Cost Summary) must be in .ppt or .pptx format and should be attached as a separate file to this document (i.e., combine all 4 slides into a single PowerPoint slide deck).

All submissions must be written in English and all pages shall be formatted for printing on 8-1/2 by 11-inch paper with 1-inch margins and font size not smaller than 12 point. Font sizes of 8 or 10 point may be used for figures, tables, and charts.

Proposers are encouraged to submit concise, but descriptive, proposals. Specific examples of problems, approaches, or goals are preferred to qualitative generalities. The Government will not consider pages in excess of the page count limitations, as described herein. Proposals with fewer than the maximum number of pages will not be penalized. Additional information not explicitly called for in the Technical and Management Volume must not be submitted with the proposal, but may be included as links in the bibliography. Such materials will be considered for the reviewers’ convenience only and not evaluated as part of the proposal.

Technical and Management Volumes shall not exceed a maximum of 25 pages.

Table of Contents

Slides: Executive Summary, Technical Concept, Schedule and Milestones, Cost Summary

Bibliography (While not included in the overall page limit, the bibliography should not exceed 5 pages.)

<PRIME ORGANIZATION LOGO>

HR001117S0039 Lagrange Volume 1: Technical and Management Volume

Proposal Title

Proposer Organization

Proposer Reference Number, if any

Mailing Address:

Telephone:

Email:

Mailing Address:

Telephone:

Email:

Year 2: $ Total: $

Place(s) of Performance

Period of Performance

Organization:

Organization Type:

Date Proposal was Prepared

Proposal Validity Period (minimum 120 days)

Table of Contents

Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

HR001117S0039 Volume 1 5 Official Transmittal Letter [Attach the official transmittal letter from the prime proposer organization.]

Executive Summary

a. Discussion [Provide a synopsis of the proposed project, including answers to the following questions:

· What problem area is going to be addressed?

· What are the current challenges in the stated optimization problem?

· How general is the problem space within the existing optimization divisions?

· Does the problem have the potential of broader applicability?

The summary should include a description of the key technical challenges, a concise review of the technologies proposed to overcome these challenges and achieve the project’s goal, and a clear statement of the novelty and uniqueness of the proposed work.]

b. Slide [Using the slide template provided as Slide 1 of Attachment 3 to the BAA, provide a summary in PowerPoint that effectively and succinctly conveys the main objective, key innovations, expected impact, and other unique aspects of the proposed project.]

Goals and Impact

a. Discussion [Describe what you are trying to achieve and the difference it will make (qualitatively and quantitatively), if successful. Describe the innovative aspects of the project in the context of existing capabilities and approaches, clearly delineating the uniqueness and benefits of this project in the context of the state of the art, alternative approaches, and other projects from the past and present. Describe how the proposed project is revolutionary and how it significantly rises above the current state of the art. Describe the deliverables.]

b. Slide [Using the slide template provided as Slide 2 of Attachment 3 to the BAA, provide graphics, plots, conceptual diagrams and/or process flows to highlight the discussion in the Goals and Impact section of the proposal.]

Technical Plan [Outline the optimization and modeling strategy. Describe the approach for dealing with high-dimensionality and computational cost of the proposed problem space. Provide a comparison of the proposed approach to the state of the art in terms of metrics such as computational advantages in scalability, convergence, and provable bounds in optimality. Justify the applicability of methodologies across a broad range of problems beyond the proposed applications. Describe possible speed-up strategies for the proposed algorithms (e.g., parallelizability, use of alternative computing substrates, etc.). Outline how the computational gains are going to be realized (e.g., by advancement in algorithmic, hardware or both).

Describe potential risks within the proposed methods (e.g., difficulty obtaining data, incompatibility of data from different sources, applicability of methods to special circumstances only, etc.).

Metrics and Milestones Provide appropriate measurable metrics and milestones (quantitative if possible) at intermediate stages of the project to demonstrate progress, and a plan for achieving them. Proposed metrics must be appropriate for the chosen application area. Metrics should include clearly described tasks and milestones that go beyond the state of the art. Use of the following questions as guidelines in determining metrics and milestones is recommended:

· How will the performance, accuracy, and stability of the proposed methods be quantified and demonstrated throughout the program? Are there quantifiable benchmarks against which methods can be compared?

· What are the application-dependent metrics to gauge progress towards solving the specific proposed problem?

· What are the application-independent metrics to demonstrate generalizability of proposed methodologies across a wider class of optimization problems?

· What will be the end product of the project, and how will the individual components fit together as they are developed?

· What are the milestones and goals of each task in the project?

· What are the major milestones (e.g., theorems, codes, algorithms, software, results, etc.) for each quarter of the program?

· What is a major milestone and demonstration of progress at both 6 and 12 months that will indicate overall progress and successes?]

Management Plan [Provide a summary of the proposed team, including any subawardees/consultants and key personnel who will be executing the work. Identify a principal investigator (PI) for the project. Provide a clear description of the team’s organization including an organization chart that illustrates, as applicable, the relationship of team members; unique capabilities of team members; task responsibilities of team members; teaming strategy among the team members; and key personnel with the amount of effort to be expended by each person during the project. Provide a detailed plan for coordination including explicit guidelines for interaction among collaborators/subawardees of the proposed project. Include risk management approaches. Describe any formal teaming agreements that are required to execute this project.]

Personnel, Qualifications, and Commitments [List key personnel showing a concise summary of their qualifications, discussion of previous accomplishments, and work in this or closely related research areas. Describe organizational experience in relevant subject area(s), existing intellectual property, or specialized facilities. Indicate the level of effort in terms of hours to be expended by each person during each contract year and other (current and proposed) major sources of support for them and/or commitments of their efforts. DARPA expects all key personnel associated with a proposal to make substantial time commitment to the proposed activity and the proposal will be evaluated accordingly. It is DARPA’s intention to put key personnel conditions into the awards, so proposers should not propose personnel that are not anticipated to execute the work.]

Statement of Work (SOW) [Provide a detailed task breakdown by Government fiscal year (GFY), citing specific tasks and their connection to the interim milestones and metrics, as applicable. Do not include proprietary information. For each defined task/subtask, provide:

· A general description of the objective.

· A detailed description of the approach to be taken to accomplish each defined task/subtask.

· Identification of any tasks/subtasks that will involve human subjects or animals.

· Identification of any tasks/subtasks that will be performed on campus at a university.

· Identification (by name) of the primary organization (prime contractor, subawardee(s), consultant(s)) responsible for task/subtask execution.

· Measurable milestones (e.g., a deliverable, demonstration, or other event/activity that marks task progress or completion).

· A definition of all deliverables (e.g., data, reports, software) to be provided to the Government in support of the proposed tasks/subtasks.]

Schedule

a. Discussion [Provide a detailed schedule showing tasks (task name, duration, work breakdown structure element as applicable, performing organization), milestones, and the interrelationships among tasks. The task structure must be consistent with that in the SOW. Measurable milestones should be clearly articulated and defined in time relative to the start of the project.]

b. Slide [Using the slide template provided as Slide 3 of Attachment 3 to the BAA, provide the above information in graphic form (e.g., Gantt chart). Include the PowerPoint slide as a separate attachment to this document.]

Cost Summary [Using the template provided as Slide 4 in Attachment 3 to the BAA, provide a summary of total effort costs broken down in 6 month increments by major cost items. This slide should be identical to that requested in the Cost Volume template (Attachment 5 to the BAA.).]

Novelty of Proposed Work Has the proposed work been submitted to any other Government solicitation?

No Yes [If yes, provide the following information]

· Solicitation number ________________________

· Agency _________________________

· Proposed work has already received funding or a positive funding decision.

No Yes Decision pending Bibliography [Provide a brief (no more than 5 pages) bibliography with links to relevant papers, references, reports, resumes of key team members, etc.]