HR001122S0023.pdf

HR001122S0023 ROBUST OPTICAL CLOCK NETWORK 1

Broad Agency Announcement Robust Optical Clock Network (ROCkN)

Defense Sciences Office

HR001122S0023

January 27, 2022

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Table of Contents I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Introduction B. Background C. Program Description/Scope D. Program Structure E. Technical Area Descriptions F. Schedule/Milestones G. Deliverables H. Other Program Objectives and Considerations

II. Award Information A. General Award Information B. Fundamental Research

III. Eligibility Information A. Eligible Applicants B. Organizational Conflicts of Interest C. Cost Sharing/Matching D. Ability to Support Classified Development

IV. Application and Submission Information A. Address to Request Application Package B. Content and Form of Application Submission C. Submission Dates and Times D. Funding Restrictions E. Other Submission Requirements

V. Application Review Information A. Evaluation Criteria B. Review and Selection Process C. Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information (FAPIIS)

VI. Award Administration Information A. Selection Notices B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements C. Reporting

VII. Agency Contacts VIII. Other Information

A. Proposers Day B. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

BAA Attachments:

Attachment A: ABSTRACT SUMMARY SLIDE TEMPLATE Attachment B: ABSTRACT TEMPLATE Attachment C: PROPOSAL SUMMARY SLIDE TEMPLATE Attachment D: PROPOSAL TEMPLATE VOLUME 1: TECHNICAL & MANAGEMENT Attachment E: PROPOSAL TEMPLATE VOLUME 2: COST Attachment F: MS ExcelTM DARPA COST PROPOSAL SPREADSHEET Attachment G: PROPOSAL TEMPLATE VOLUME 3: ADMINISTRATIVE & NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS

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PART I: OVERVIEW INFORMATION

Federal Agency Name: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Defense Sciences Office (DSO)

Funding Opportunity Title: Robust Optical Clock Network (ROCkN)

Announcement Type: Initial Announcement

Funding Opportunity Number: HR001122S0023

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s): N/A

Dates (All times listed herein are Eastern Time.)

o Posting Date: January 27, 2022 o Proposers Day: February 3, 2022. See Section VIII.A.

o Abstract Due Date: February 10, 2022, 4:00 p.m.

o FAQ Submission Deadline: March 25, 2022, 4:00 p.m. See Section VIII.B.

o Full Proposal Due Date: April 4, 2022, 4:00 p.m.

Anticipated Individual Awards: DARPA anticipates multiple awards. See Section

II.A.

Types of Instruments that May be Awarded: Procurement contracts or Other Transactions.

Agency contacts o Technical POC: Tatjana Curcic, Program Manager, DARPA/DSO o BAA Email: ROCkN@darpa.mil o BAA Mailing Address:

DARPA/DSO

ATTN: HR001122S0023

675 North Randolph Street Arlington, VA 22203-2114 o DARPA/DSO Opportunities Website: http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/opportunities

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): FAQs for this solicitation may be viewed on the DARPA/DSO Opportunities Website. See Section VIII.B for further information.

Security: Unclassified. However, TA1 performers selected to go into Phase 2 will need to obtain a U.S. SECRET security clearance, and a Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) issued SECRET Facility Clearance (FCL). See sections (I.H., III.D, and IV.B.5.b.iii.) for more details.

mailto:ROCkN@darpa.mil https://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/opportunities?oFilter=DSO

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PART II: FULL TEXT OF ANNOUNCEMENT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) constitutes a public notice of a competitive funding opportunity as described in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016. Any resultant negotiations and/or awards will follow all laws and regulations applicable to the specific award instrument(s) available under this BAA, e.g., FAR 15.4 for procurement contracts.

A. Introduction

The Defense Sciences Office (DSO) at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative research proposals in the area of optical precision timing technologies to increase precision and holdover of robust, low size, weight, and power (SWaP) clocks. Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice.

B. Background

Precision timing is ubiquitous in this day and age and essential for many civilian and military applications. Communication systems, electrical power grids, air traffic control, and financial networks all depend on precision timing for synchronization and operational efficiency. Critical components in many military operations, such as precision navigation and sensor fusion, rely crucially on precision timing. Currently, the primary sources of precise time are global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), including the global positioning system (GPS). GPS satellites have atomic clocks onboard that disseminate precise time throughout the world and reference regularly to the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) master clock. All state-of-the-art atomic clocks in use today operate using microwave atomic transitions. They range from prototype atomic fountain clocks that serve as atomic frequency references for the time standard at USNO and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to small commercial Rubidium Atomic Frequency Standard (RAFS) clocks that are deployed on GPS satellites.

However, timing technologies based on microwave transitions are limited in the timing precision they can achieve. This BAA is focused on the development of precision timing technologies based on optical atomic transitions.

Over the past two decades, precision timing in the optical domain has advanced rapidly in the laboratory and has recently surpassed in both stability and precision the ubiquitous microwave timing techniques that make up the foundations of global precision timing in both commercial and Department of Defense (DoD) domains. Optical precision timing techniques provide a means for orders of magnitude higher precision and accuracy, but, just as importantly, they enable more resilient timing capabilities with less reliance on GPS by virtue of longer holdover times and usage of optical signals that are more difficult to jam or spoof.

The ROCkN program builds on two decades of advancement of optical atomic clocks in the lab with the ambitious goal to develop technologies that can operate in the field. Specifically, we seek to develop robust optical atomic clocks to (1) increase precision of portable clocks by 100x and (2) achieve month-long holdover of 1 ns with practical SWaP and robust environmental

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performance. Such clocks will enable distributed coherent operations at frequencies beyond what is possible today and month-long precise time service without GPS.

Recent advances in vapor-based portable optical clocks1 and trailer-sized transportable optical clocks using cold atoms are encouraging. The latter have demonstrated exceptional precision,2 stability, and quasi-continuous operation for a month.3 In addition, the prospects of deploying optical technologies in space have also been studied. As well as optical clock advances, recent developments in optical two-way time and frequency transfer (TWTFT) methods using frequency combs are significant.4,5 Together, these developments indicate that optical clock networks deployable to a local theater of operation, either terrestrial or space, is possible, with small portable optical clocks applicable to highly mobile platforms such as tactical planes or satellites and the larger transportable clocks applicable to more stable platforms such as ships and land bases However, significant technological development is still required. For portable optical clocks, precision needs to be maintained while the system is subjected to large environmental changes in temperature, vibrations, and acceleration. Larger cold-atom transportable optical clocks are still complex, unintegrated, and typically require regular manual control by a highly skilled operator and, therefore, cannot operate autonomously for more than a few days.

The Robust Optical Clock Network (ROCkN) program will address these challenges by leveraging and integrating recent advances in laboratory optical timing technologies to develop robust, portable, and transportable timing technologies and begin their transition toward operation in the field.

C. Program Description/Scope

The Robust Optical Clock Network (ROCkN) program will develop robust, optical atomic clock technologies with unprecedented timing precision and holdover for the targeted SWaP and will transition these devices out of the laboratory. This program will also establish the viability of optical clock networks in the absence of GPS signal (development of time/frequency transfer methods and protocols is not solicited in this BAA). Specifically, ROCkN will develop two types of robust, low SWaP optical clocks:

(1) Portable clocks with 100x higher precision than state-of-the-art portable clocks, and

(2) Transportable clocks with a month holdover of GPS-quality time.

Both clocks will be sufficiently engineered to operate independent from human operators in outside-the-lab environments for extended periods of time.

1 Thilo Schuldt et. al., “Optical clock technologies for global navigation satellite systems”, GPS Solutions 25, 83 (2021).

2 Yao Huang, et. al., “Geopotential measurement with a robust, transportable Ca+ optical clock”, Phys. Rev. A 102, 050802(R) (2020).

3 Huang, Y. et al. “Nearly continuous Ca+ optical clocks with stability at the 10-18 level”, https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-120082/v1 (2021) doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-120082/v1.

4 Free-space transfer of comb-rooted optical frequencies over an 18 km open-air link | Nature Communications.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-12443-8.

5 Bergeron, H. et al. Femtosecond time synchronization of optical clocks off of a flying quadcopter. Nat Commun 10, 1819 (2019).

https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-120082/v1 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-12443-8

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D. Program Structure

ROCkN consists of two Technical Areas (TAs), each focusing on the development of optical atomic clocks with different design and use cases, and will be executed over a 24-month Phase 1, and a 24-month optional Phase 2. Proposers must propose to both phases with Phase 2 as a fully-costed option. Proposers may perform on both TA’s, although each proposal may only respond to one TA. A single proposal that only proposes to a single phase, or responds to both TAs will be considered non-conforming and may not be evaluated. TA1 will develop high precision, small, portable clocks with aggressive SWaP and environmental sensitivity requirements designed for operation on mobile platforms. TA2 will develop transportable clocks with long holdover and moderate SWaP and environmental sensitivity requirements designed for operation on more stable platforms. At the conclusion of the program, there will be a field demonstration of TA1 and TA2 clocks synchronized in a free-space network at a location to be determined at a later date. In order to take part in the demonstration, the clocks should satisfy the device output requirements described in Section I.E.

E. Technical Area Descriptions

Technical Area 1 (TA1) - Small portable clocks: TA1 will develop small, portable, optical atomic clocks that achieve sub-picosecond timing stability over short times (~100 s) and 10-day holdover of GPS-level timing precision (3 ns). These clocks will feature low SWaP (5 L/ 5 kg/ 25 W) and demonstrate robustness against the environmental changes in acceleration, vibration, and temperature to enable clocks for airborne and spaceborne platforms such as tactical planes or satellites. These clocks are envisaged to provide the precision of the hydrogen maser clock in a package comparable to RAFS, but with a significant improvement in holdover over the hydrogen maser.

Phase 1 will focus on critical component development and a bench-top demonstration of targeted clock stability at short times (up to 1000 s). An Engineering Design Review will be performed near the end of Phase 1 where performers must demonstrate that all components of the envisaged Phase 2 system are sufficiently mature to meet final SWaP and environmental metrics, identify critical component and/or system-level engineering risks, and provide a detailed timeline and plan for when risks will be addressed. Phase 2 will focus on the integration of the physics package, control electronics, software, power delivery, and outer packaging into a portable clock device that meets the timekeeping and environmental-sensitivity program metrics. This device should provide 10 MHz/1 MHz/1 PPS outputs as well as an optical output compatible with current optical clock synchronization techniques.

Proposers should clearly explain how their approach will meet the program metrics (Table 1) and indicate the main technical challenges and risks. The proposal should include a description of:

The Allan Deviation (ADEV) values at various integration times required for the concept to reach the 10-day holdover metric.

The noise sources expected to limit frequency stability and how they will be addressed.

A power budget for the approach, listing the current capabilities and the necessary improvements required to reach the program SWaP metrics.

The main limiting environmental error source and the approach to mitigating environmental perturbations.

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Technical Area 2 (TA2) - Transportable holdover clocks: TA2 will develop transportable optical atomic clocks that demonstrate ADEV values of 10-15 at 1 s and maintain 1 ns or better timing precision over 1 month. TA2 clocks will operate with moderate SWaP requirements (200 L/200 kg/400 W) and will have moderate environmental sensitivities suitable for use in more stable platforms such as ships and land bases (see Table 1). It is envisioned that TA2 clocks can serve as master clocks in a local or regional network. To be consistent with expected DoD use cases, these clocks should be able to operate autonomously (i.e., without manual human intervention) and near-continuously throughout a one-month campaign.

Phase 1 will focus on the critical component development and a bench-top demonstration of targeted clock stability at one day (i.e., after averaging for ≥86,400 seconds). An Engineering Design Review will be performed near the end of Phase 1 where performers must demonstrate that all components of the envisaged Phase 2 system are sufficiently mature to meet final SWaP and environmental metrics, identify critical component and/or system-level engineering risks, and provide a detailed timeline and plan for when risks will be addressed. Phase 2 will focus on the integration of the physics package, control electronics, software, power delivery, and outer packaging into a transportable clock device that meets timekeeping and environmental-sensitivity program metrics. This device should provide 10 MHz/1 MHz/1 PPS outputs as well as an optical output compatible with current optical clock synchronization techniques.

Proposers should clearly explain how their approach will meet the program metrics (Table 1) and indicate the main technical challenges and risks. The proposal should include a description of:

The noise sources expected to limit frequency stability up to 1 month and how they will be addressed.

The approach to meeting the acceleration sensitivity requirement, given the expected need for cavity stabilization of the TA2 clock laser.

A power budget for the approach, listing the current capabilities and the necessary improvements required to reach the program SWaP metrics.

The expected clock uptime (with 100% being continuous, fully autonomous operation) and expected person-hours of intervention over a 1-month campaign.

F. Schedule/Milestones

ROCkN is a 48-month program divided into a Phase 1 Base and a Phase 2 Option. Options may be exercised at the Government’s sole discretion based on technical progress measured against the metrics and milestones defined in this BAA as well as funding availability.

Phase 1 (24 months) will be focused on developing the physics packages of both types of clocks (TA1 and TA2) and benchmarking their timekeeping stability against intermediate program metrics. In addition, critical component development needed for meeting end-of-program goals will occur in Phase 1. Such development may include integrated frequency combs and temperature-robust vapor cells in TA1 and mechanically-robust laser cavities and novel laser control methods in TA2. An Engineering Design Review will be performed at month 22 where performers must demonstrate that all components of the envisaged Phase 2 system are sufficiently mature to meet final SWaP and environmental metrics, identify critical component and/or system-level engineering risks, and provide a detailed timeline and plan for when risks will be addressed. Performers who are successful in Phase 1 may be selected to move on to Phase 2; however, successful completion of Phase 1 does not guarantee selection for Phase 2.

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Phase 2 (24 months) will focus on developing fully functioning clocks that achieve the performance, SWaP, stability, and environmental sensitivity metrics required to operate outside of the lab. At the end of the program, there will be a field demonstration of time synchronization between clocks developed in both TAs, with a timing error defined by time deviation (TDEV) less than 0.5 ps at 100 s averaging time. Proposers are expected to include participation in this demonstration as part of their proposed work. Details of this demonstration will be finalized in the course of the program.

ROCkN is structured to develop practical, robust optical clocks with unprecedented timing precision and holdover to support DoD precision timing needs. Proposals should specify the research and technology development schedule for the full period of performance, split between Phase 1 and Phase 2. The Statement of Work (SOW) must provide a detailed task breakdown, citing specific tasks and their connection to interim milestones and metrics, as applicable.

Proposers should provide a technical and programmatic strategy that conforms to the entire program schedule and presents an aggressive plan to fully address all program goals, metrics, milestones, and deliverables. Proposals should provide technical rationale for meeting or exceeding each milestone and a clear trajectory to achieving the program metrics in each phase.

The task structure must be consistent across the proposed schedule, SOW, and cost volume.

Schedules will be synchronized across performers, as required, and monitored/revised as necessary throughout the program. A target start date of September 2022 may be assumed for planning purposes. A graphic representation of the schedule is provided in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. ROCkN program schedule

The following table contains program metrics that will be used to assess performance during the course of the program.

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Table 1. ROCkN program metrics6 by Phase and Technical Area

Meetings and Travel All proposals must include the following meetings and travel in the proposed schedule and costs:

To continue integration and development between TAs, foster collaboration between teams, and disseminate program developments, a two-day Principal Investigator (PI) meeting will be held approximately every six months with locations split between the East and West Coasts of the United States. For budgeting purposes, plan for eight two-day meetings over the course of 48 months: five meetings in the Washington, D.C. area and three meetings in the San Francisco, CA area.

Regular teleconference meetings will be scheduled with the Government team for progress reporting as well as problem identification and mitigation.

6 Clock precision is characterized by fractional frequency instability, quantified by the Allan deviation (ADEV), and timing instability as a function of averaging time, quantified by time deviation (TDEV). Typical ADEVs are characterized by an improvement in stability at short averaging times, followed by a limiting value called the flicker floor, beyond which further averaging does not improve the frequency stability. The flicker floor is thus defined as the minimum value of ADEV as a function of averaging time. A device’s SWaP metrics should be calculated as follows: volume will be calculated as the product of the device’s length, width, and depth (L x W x D); weight will be the total mass of the device including outer packaging; and power consumption will be calculated as the product of the current and voltage supplied to the device during normal operation.

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Proposers should anticipate at least one site visit per phase by the DARPA Program Manager during which they will have the opportunity to demonstrate progress towards agreed-upon metrics.

During the final month of the program, there will be a final demonstration of time synchronization between clocks developed in both TAs of the program. Details will be announced during the program. Proposers should plan to transport their clocks to the test site.

G. Deliverables

Performers will be expected to provide at a minimum the following deliverables:

Comprehensive quarterly technical reports due within ten days of the end of the given quarter, describing progress made on the specific milestones as laid out in the SOW.

A phase completion report submitted within 30 days of the end of each phase, summarizing the research done.

Other negotiated deliverables specific to the objectives of the individual efforts.

These may include registered reports; experimental protocols; publications; data management plan; intermediate and final versions of software libraries, code, and APIs, including documentation and user manuals; and/or a comprehensive assemblage of design documents, models, modeling data and results, and model validation data.

Reporting as outlined in Section VI.C.

H. Other Program Objectives and Considerations

Although ROCkN is an unclassified program, subsequent development of the TA1 portable clock is expected to entail performance on specific DoD platforms. In order to facilitate transition to these platform specific prototypes without the loss of system knowledge, TA1 performers selected to move into Phase 2 will be required to initiate the process to obtain a Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA)-issued SECRET Facility Clearance (FCL) as well as a U.S. SECRET clearance for the PI within 60 days of the commencement of Phase 2 to facilitate these potential program transitions. DARPA will act as the sponsor for these efforts. Proposers should indicate their willingness to initiate those processes in Attachment G:

PROPOSAL TEMPLATE VOLUME 3: ADMINISTRATIVE & NATIONAL POLICY

REQUIREMENTS, section 9.

Since the efforts may generate information subject to Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) or Controlled Technical Information (CTI) controls, proposers should review BAA Sections IV.B.4 and IV.B.5, regarding DoD requirements related to protection of CUI and CTI.

II. Award Information

A. General Award Information

DARPA anticipates multiple awards. The level of funding for individual awards made under this BAA will depend on the quality of the proposals received and the availability of funds. Awards

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will be made to proposers7 whose proposals are determined to be the most advantageous to the Government, all evaluation factors considered. See Section V for further information.

The Government reserves the right to:

select for negotiation all, some, one, or none of the proposals received in response to this solicitation;

make awards without discussions with proposers;

conduct discussions with proposers if it is later determined to be necessary;

segregate portions of resulting awards into pre-priced options;

accept proposals in their entirety or select only portions of proposals for award;

fund awards in increments with options for continued work at the end of one or more phases;

request additional documentation once the award instrument has been determined (e.g., representations and certifications); and remove proposers from award consideration should the parties fail to reach agreement on award terms within a reasonable time or the proposer fails to provide requested additional information in a timely manner.

Proposals identified for negotiation may result in a procurement contract or Other Transaction (OT), depending upon the nature of the work proposed, the required degree of interaction between parties, and other factors.

Proposers looking for innovative, commercial-like contractual arrangements are encouraged to consider requesting Other Transactions. To understand the flexibility and options associated with Other Transactions, consult http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/contract-management#OtherTransactions.

In accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 2371b(f), the Government may award a follow-on production contract or Other Transaction (OT) for any OT awarded under this solicitation if: (1) that participant in the OT, or a recognized successor in interest to the OT, successfully completed the entire prototype project provided for in the OT, as modified; and (2) the OT provides for the award of a follow-on production contract or OT to the participant, or a recognized successor in interest to the OT.

In all cases, the Government contracting officer shall have sole discretion to select award instrument type, regardless of instrument type proposed, and to negotiate all instrument terms and conditions with selectees. DARPA will apply publication or other restrictions, as necessary, if it determines that the research resulting from the proposed effort will present a high likelihood of disclosing performance characteristics of military systems or manufacturing technologies that

7 As used throughout this BAA, “proposer” refers to the lead organization on a submission to this BAA. The proposer is responsible for ensuring that all information required by a BAA--from all team members--is submitted in accordance with the BAA. “Awardee” refers to anyone who might receive a prime award from the Government, including recipients of procurement contracts or Other Transactions. “Subawardee” refers to anyone who might receive a subaward from a prime awardee (e.g., subawardee, consultant, etc.).

http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/contract-management#OtherTransactions

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are unique and critical to defense. Any award resulting from such a determination will include a requirement for DARPA permission before publishing any information or results on the program. For more information on publication restrictions, see the section below on Fundamental Research.

B. Fundamental Research

It is DoD policy that the publication of products of fundamental research will remain unrestricted to the maximum extent possible. National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) 189 defines fundamental research as follows:

‘Fundamental research’ means basic and applied research in science and engineering, the results of which ordinarily are published and shared broadly within the scientific community, as distinguished from proprietary research and from industrial development, design, production, and product utilization, the results of which ordinarily are restricted for proprietary or national security reasons.

As of the date of publication of this solicitation, the Government expects that program goals as described herein may be met by proposed efforts for fundamental research and non-fundamental research. Some proposed research may present a high likelihood of disclosing performance characteristics of military systems or manufacturing technologies that are unique and critical to defense. Based on the anticipated type of proposer (e.g., university or industry) and the nature of the solicited work, the Government expects that some awards will include restrictions on the resultant research that will require the awardee to seek DARPA permission before publishing any information or results relative to the program.

Information from this program is covered by the legislation at large for the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, and the exemptions therein, 45 CFR § 5.31. The technology within this topic is restricted under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), which controls the export of defense-related material and services.

Proposers should indicate in their proposal whether they believe the scope of the research included in their proposal is fundamental or not. While proposers should clearly explain the intended results of their research, the Government shall have sole discretion to determine whether the proposed research shall be considered fundamental and to select the award instrument type. Appropriate language will be included in resultant awards for non-fundamental research to prescribe publication requirements and other restrictions, as appropriate. This language can be found at http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/additional-baa.

For certain research projects, it may be possible that although the research to be performed by a potential awardee is non-fundamental research, its proposed subawardee’s effort may be fundamental research. It is also possible that the research performed by a potential awardee is fundamental research while its proposed subawardee’s effort may be non-fundamental research.

In all cases, it is the potential awardee’s responsibility to explain in its proposal which proposed efforts are fundamental research and why the proposed efforts should be considered fundamental research.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit a proposal for DARPA’s consideration.

http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/additional-baa

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1. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and Government Entities

a. FFRDCs

FFRDCs are subject to applicable direct competition limitations and cannot propose to this solicitation in any capacity unless they meet the following conditions. (1) FFRDCs must clearly demonstrate that the proposed work is not otherwise available from the private sector. (2) FFRDCs must provide a letter, on official letterhead from their sponsoring organization, that (a) cites the specific authority establishing their eligibility to propose to Government solicitations and compete with industry, and (b) certifies the FFRDC’s compliance with the associated FFRDC sponsor agreement’s terms and conditions. These conditions are a requirement for FFRDCs proposing to be awardees or subawardees.

b. Government Entities

Government Entities (e.g., Government/National laboratories, military educational institutions, etc.) are subject to applicable direct competition limitations. Government Entities must clearly demonstrate that the work is not otherwise available from the private sector and provide written documentation citing the specific statutory authority and contractual authority, if relevant, establishing their ability to propose to Government solicitations and compete with industry. This information is required for Government Entities proposing to be awardees or subawardees.

c. Authority and Eligibility

At the present time, DARPA does not consider 15 U.S.C. § 3710a to be sufficient legal authority to show eligibility. While 10 U.S.C.§ 2539b may be the appropriate statutory starting point for some entities, specific supporting regulatory guidance, together with evidence of agency approval, will still be required to fully establish eligibility. DARPA will consider FFRDC and Government Entity eligibility submissions on a case-by-case basis; however, the burden to prove eligibility for all team members rests solely with the proposer.

2. Other Applicants Non-U.S. organizations and/or individuals may participate to the extent that such participants comply with any necessary nondisclosure agreements, security regulations, export control laws, and other governing statutes applicable under the circumstances.

B. Organizational Conflicts of Interest

FAR 9.5 Requirements In accordance with FAR 9.5, proposers are required to identify and disclose all facts relevant to potential OCIs involving the proposer’s organization and any proposed team member (subawardee, consultant). Under this Section, the proposer is responsible for providing this disclosure with each proposal submitted to the solicitation. The disclosure must include the proposer’s, and as applicable, proposed team member’s OCI mitigation plan. The OCI mitigation plan must include a description of the actions the proposer has taken, or intends to take, to prevent the existence of conflicting roles that might bias the proposer’s judgment and to prevent the proposer from having unfair competitive advantage. The OCI mitigation plan will specifically discuss the disclosed OCI in the context of each of the OCI limitations outlined in FAR 9.505-1 through FAR 9.505-4.

Agency Supplemental OCI Policy

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In addition, DARPA has a supplemental OCI policy that prohibits contractors/performers from concurrently providing Scientific Engineering Technical Assistance (SETA), Advisory and Assistance Services (A&AS) or similar support services and being a technical performer.

Therefore, as part of the FAR 9.5 disclosure requirement above, a proposer must affirm whether the proposer or any proposed team member (subawardee, consultant) is providing SETA, A&AS, or similar support to any DARPA office(s) under: (a) a current award or subaward; or (b) a past award or subaward that ended within one calendar year prior to the proposal’s submission date.

If SETA, A&AS, or similar support is being or was provided to any DARPA office(s), the proposal must include:

The name of the DARPA office receiving the support;

The prime contract number;

Identification of proposed team member (subawardee, consultant) providing the support; and An OCI mitigation plan in accordance with FAR 9.5.

Government Procedures In accordance with FAR 9.503, 9.504 and 9.506, the Government will evaluate OCI mitigation plans to avoid, neutralize or mitigate potential OCI issues before award and to determine whether it is in the Government’s interest to grant a waiver. The Government will only evaluate OCI mitigation plans for proposals that are determined selectable under the solicitation evaluation criteria and funding availability.

The Government may require proposers to provide additional information to assist the Government in evaluating the proposer’s OCI mitigation plan.

If the Government determines that a proposer failed to fully disclose an OCI; or failed to provide the affirmation of DARPA support as described above; or failed to reasonably provide additional information requested by the Government to assist in evaluating the proposer’s OCI mitigation plan, the Government may reject the proposal and withdraw it from consideration for award.

Include any OCIs affirmations and disclosures in Attachment G: PROPOSAL TEMPLATE

VOLUME 3: ADMINISTRATIVE & NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS.

C. Cost Sharing/Matching

Cost sharing is not required; however, it will be carefully considered where there is an applicable statutory condition relating to the selected funding instrument (e.g., OTs under the authority of 10 U.S.C. § 2371). Cost sharing is encouraged where there is a reasonable probability of a potential commercial application related to the proposed research and development effort.

For more information on potential cost sharing requirements for Other Transactions for Prototype, see http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/contract-management#OtherTransactions.

D. Ability to Support Classified Development

TA1 performers selected to move into Phase 2 will be required to initiate the process to obtain a DCSA-issued SECRET FCL as well as a U.S. SECRET clearance for the PI within 60 days of the commencement of Phase 2 to facilitate these potential program transitions. Proposers should indicate their willingness to initiate those processes in Attachment G: PROPOSAL TEMPLATE VOLUME 3: ADMINISTRATIVE & NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS, section 9.

TA1 proposers should identify proposed personnel with current clearances (if any) as well as identify if the prime proposer has a current FCL. Additionally, TA1 proposers should describe

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the willingness of their company to be submitted for, and maintain eligibility for a SECRET FCL and security clearances in accordance with DoD Manual 5200.02, Procedures for the DoD Personnel Security Program (PSP), and DoD 5220.22-M, National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual. Proposers should provide their CAGE code and security point(s) of contact in their proposals.

Proposers to TA2 are not required to hold or obtain security clearances.

IV. Application and Submission Information

Prior to submitting a full proposal, proposers are strongly encouraged to first submit an abstract as described below. This process allows a proposer to ascertain whether the proposed concept is (1) applicable to the ROCkN BAA and (2) currently of interest. For the purposes of this BAA, applicability is defined as follows:

The proposed concept is applicable to the technical areas described herein.

The proposed concept is important to DSO’s current investment portfolio.

The proposed concept investigates an innovative approach that enables revolutionary advances, i.e., will not primarily result in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice.

The proposed work has not already been completed (i.e., the research element is complete but manufacturing/fabrication funds are required).

The proposer has not already received funding or a positive funding decision for the proposed concept (whether from DARPA or another Government agency).

The proposer has, or is willing to obtain, requisite security clearances (TA1).

Abstracts and full proposals that are not found to be applicable to the ROCkN BAA as defined above may be deemed non-conforming8 and may be removed from consideration. All abstracts and full proposals must provide sufficient information to assess the validity/feasibility of their claims as well as comply with the requirements outlined herein for submission formatting, content and transmission to DARPA. Abstracts and full proposals that fail to do so may be deemed non-conforming and removed from consideration. Proposers will be notified of non-conforming determinations via letter.

A. Address to Request Application Package

This document contains all information required to submit a response to this solicitation. No additional forms, kits, or other materials are needed except as referenced herein. No request for proposal or additional solicitation regarding this opportunity will be issued, nor is additional information available except as provided at the SAM.gov website (https://sam.gov/) or referenced herein.

8 "Conforming" is defined as having been submitted in accordance with the requirements outlined herein.

https://sam.gov/

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B. Content and Form of Application Submission

1. Abstract Information and Formatting

As stated above, proposers are strongly encouraged to submit an abstract in advance of a full proposal to minimize effort and reduce the potential expense of preparing an out of scope proposal. All proposers are required to use Attachment A: ABSTRACT SUMMARY SLIDE TEMPLATE and Attachment B: ABSTRACT TEMPLATE provided with this solicitation on https://sam.gov/. Attachment A: ABSTRACT SUMMARY SLIDE TEMPLATE described herein must be in .ppt, .pptx or .pdf format and should be attached as a separate file to this document.

The abstract provides a synopsis of the proposed project by briefly answering the following questions:

What is the proposed work attempting to accomplish or do?

How is the work performed today (what is the state of the art or practice), and what are the limitations?

Who will care, and what will the impact be if the work is successful?

How much will it cost, and how long will it take?

What is new in your approach, and why do you think it will be successful?

DARPA will respond to abstracts with a statement as to whether DARPA is interested in the idea. If DARPA does not recommend the proposer submit a full proposal, DARPA will provide feedback to the proposer regarding the rationale for this decision. Regardless of DARPA’s response to an abstract, proposers may submit a full proposal. DARPA will review all conforming full proposals using the published evaluation criteria and without regard to any comments resulting from the review of an abstract.

Proposers should note that a favorable response to an abstract is not a guarantee that a proposal based on the abstract will ultimately be selected for award negotiation.

While it is DARPA policy to attempt to reply to abstracts within thirty calendar days, proposers to this solicitation may anticipate a response within approximately three weeks. These official notifications will be sent via email to the Technical POC and/or Administrative POC identified on the abstract coversheet.

2. Full Proposal Information and Formatting

a. Proposal Volumes

Full proposals for each TA (covering both Phase I and optional Phase II) must consist of all 3 volumes described below. To assist in proposal development, templates for these volumes are posted as attachments to this solicitation on https://sam.gov/. The templates are specific to each volume, as outlined below.

Full proposals requesting a procurement contract or Other Transaction (OT) must use the

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following attachments in each volume:

Volume 1 o Attachment C: PROPOSAL SUMMARY SLIDE TEMPLATE o Attachment D: PROPOSAL TEMPLATE VOLUME 1: TECHNICAL &

MANAGEMENT

Volume 2 o Attachment E: PROPOSAL TEMPLATE VOLUME 2: COST o Attachment F: MS ExcelTM DARPA COST PROPOSAL SPREADSHEET

Volume 3 o Attachment G: PROPOSAL TEMPLATE VOLUME 3: ADMINISTRATIVE &

NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS

The Government requires that proposers use the provided MS ExcelTM DARPA Standard Cost Proposal Spreadsheet in the development of their cost proposals. A customized cost proposal spreadsheet may be an attachment to this solicitation. If not, the spreadsheet can be found on the DARPA website at http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/contract-management (under “Resources” on the right-hand side of the webpage). All tabs and tables in the cost proposal spreadsheet should be developed in an editable format with calculation formulas intact to allow traceability of the cost proposal. This cost proposal spreadsheet should be used by the prime organization and all subcontractors. In addition to using the cost proposal spreadsheet, the cost proposal still must include all other items required in this announcement that are not covered by the editable spreadsheet. Subcontractor cost proposal spreadsheets may be submitted directly to the Government by the proposed subcontractor via e-mail to the address in Part I of this solicitation. Using the provided cost proposal spreadsheet will assist the Government in a rapid analysis of your proposed costs and, if your proposal is selected for a potential award, speed up the negotiation and award execution process.

All proposers are required to use the appropriate templates based on the type of award requested.

Templates are provided as attachments to this solicitation on https://sam.gov/. Full Proposals that do not include the appropriate attachments as detailed here may be deemed non-conforming and may not be evaluated.

b. DARPA Embedded Entrepreneur Initiative (EEI)

Awardees pursuant to this solicitation may be eligible to participate in the DARPA Embedded Entrepreneurship Initiative (EEI) during the award’s period of performance. EEI is a limited scope program offered by DARPA, at DARPA’s discretion, to a small subset of awardees. The goal of DARPA’s EEI is to increase the likelihood that DARPA-funded technologies take root in the U.S. and provide new capabilities for national defense. EEI supports DARPA’s mission “to make pivotal investments in breakthrough technologies and capabilities for national security” by accelerating the transition of innovations out of the lab and into new capabilities for the Department of Defense (DoD). EEI investment supports development of a robust and deliberate Go-to-Market strategy for selling technology product to the government and commercial markets http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/contract-management

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and positions DARPA awardees to attract U.S. investment. The following is for informational and planning purposes only and does not constitute solicitation of proposals to the EEI.

There are three elements to DARPA’s EEI: (1) A Senior Commercialization Advisor (SCA) from DARPA who works with the Program Manager (PM) to examine the business case for the awardee’s technology and uses commercial methodologies to identify steps toward achieving a successful transition of technology to the government and commercial markets; (2) Connections to potential industry and investor partners via EEI’s Investor Working Groups; and (3) Additional funding on an awardee’s contract for the awardee to hire an embedded entrepreneur to achieve specific milestones in a Go-to-Market strategy for transitioning the technology to products that serve both defense and commercial markets. This embedded entrepreneur’s qualifications should include business experience within the target industries of interest, experience in commercializing early stage technology, and the ability to communicate and interact with technical and non-technical stakeholders. Funding for EEI is typically no more than $250,000 per awardee over the duration of the award. An awardee may apportion EEI funding to hire more than one embedded entrepreneur, if achieving the milestones requires different expertise that can be obtained without exceeding the awardee’s total EEI funding. The EEI effort is intended to be conducted concurrent with the research program without extending the period of performance.

EEI Application Process:

After receiving an award under the solicitation, awardees interested in being considered for EEI should notify their DARPA Program Manager (PM) during the period of performance. Timing of such notification should ideally allow sufficient time for DARPA and the awardee to review the awardee’s initial transition plan, identify milestones to achieve under EEI, modify the award, and conduct the work required to achieve such milestones within the original award period of performance. These steps may take 18-24 months to complete, depending on the technology. If the DARPA PM determines that EEI could be of benefit to transition the technology to product(s) the Government needs, the PM will refer the performer to DARPA Commercial Strategy.

DARPA Commercial Strategy will then contact the performer, assess fitness for EEI, and in consultation with the DARPA technical office, determine whether to invite the performer to participate in the EEI. Factors that are considered in determining fitness for EEI include DoD/Government need for the technology; competitive approaches to enable a similar capability or product; risks and impact of the Government’s being unable to access the technology from a sustainable source; Government and commercial markets for the technology; cost and affordability; manufacturability and scalability; supply chain requirements and barriers;

regulatory requirements and timelines; Intellectual Property and Government Use Rights, and available funding.

Invitation to participate in EEI is at the sole discretion of DARPA and subject to program balance and the availability of funding. EEI participants’ awards may be subsequently modified bilaterally to amend the Statement of Work to add negotiated EEI tasks, provide funding, and specify a milestone schedule which will include measurable steps necessary to build, refine, and execute a Go-to-Market strategy aimed at delivering new capabilities for national defense.

Milestone examples are available at: https://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/contract-management.

https://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/contract-management

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Awardees under this solicitation are eligible to be considered for participation in EEI, but selection for award under this solicitation does not imply or guarantee participation in EEI.

3. Proprietary Information

Proposers are responsible for clearly identifying proprietary information. Submissions containing proprietary information must have the cover page and each page containing such information clearly marked with a label such as “Proprietary” or “Company Proprietary.” NOTE:

“Confidential” is a classification marking used to control the dissemination of U.S. Government National Security Information as dictated in Executive Order 13526 and should not be used to identify proprietary business information.

4. Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and Controlled Technical Information (CTI) on Non-DoD Information Systems

Proposers and awardees are subject to the DoD requirements related to protection of CUI and CTI IAW Executive Order 13556, Controlled Unclassified Information, DFARS 252.204-7000, Disclosure of Information, DFARS 252.204-7012, Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting, DoD Instruction 5200.48, Controlled Unclassified Information, DoD Instruction…