IARPA-BAA-20-01 FINAL posted 5-21-2020 C.pdf

Broad Agency

Announcement for

COVID-19 Seedling Research Topics

IARPA-BAA-20-01

BAA Release Date:

May 21, 2020

Table of Contents

1 Overview Information

2 Funding Opportunity Description 3 Award Information

4 Eligibility Information

5 Application and Submission Information

6 Evaluation of Proposals

7 Award Administration Information

8 APPENDIX A - BAA Attachments

1 Overview Information

• Federal Agency Name – Office of the Director of National Intelligence/Intelligence

Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA)

• Funding Opportunity Title – COVID-19 Seedling Research Topics

• Announcement Type – Initial

• Funding Opportunity Number – IARPA-BAA-20-01 Questions - Submit questions on administrative, technical, or contractual issues by email to dni-IARPA- BAA-20-01@iarpa.gov . All requests must include the full name and affiliation of a point of contact. Do not send questions with proprietary content. A consolidated Question and Answer response will be posted on the Beta.SAM.gov for Contract Opportunities website (https://beta.sam.gov/) and linked from the IARPA website (https://www.iarpa.gov/index.php/research-programs/covid-19-baa). No answer will go directly to the submitter. IARPA will accept questions until June 1, 2020, 4:00 PM EST.

• Dates o Posting Date: May 21, 2020 o Proposal Due Date for Initial Round of Selections: July 7, 2020 (Offerors may submit proposals any time after June 5, 2020 until the proposal due date for initial round of selections, July 7, 2020.)

o BAA Closing Date: May 20, 2021 (A BAA amendment will be issued to announce subsequent rounds of selections, if any)

• Anticipated individual awards – Multiple awards anticipated

• Types of instruments that may be awarded –Procurement Contracts

• Agency Points of contact -

ATTN: IARPA-BAA-20-01

Office of the Director of National Intelligence Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity Washington, DC 20511 Electronic mail: dni-IARPA-BAA-20-01@iarpa.gov Phone: Contracting Officer, 301-243-1886 (email is preferred)

Program Website - https://www.iarpa.gov/index.php/research-programs/covid-19-baa

• BAA Summary – Quick turnaround projects for COVID-19 Research Topics mailto:dni-IARPA-BAA-20-01@iarpa.gov https://www.iarpa.gov/index.php/research-programs/covid-19-baa https://www.iarpa.gov/index.php/research-programs/covid-19-baa

2 Funding Opportunity Description

2.1 Introduction

The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) invests in high-risk/high-payoff research programs that have the potential to provide our nation with an overwhelming intelligence advantage. The current COVID-19 pandemic focuses attention on the need for technologies to assist with:

• detection and sensing;

• supply chain management and integrity;

• geo-spatio-temporal monitoring and mapping, with privacy protection;

• information reliability and collaboration tools; and

• modeling, simulation, and predictive analytics.

These technologies align well with needs of the intelligence and national security communities and are, therefore, under the purview of IARPA’s research mission. Successful technology solutions will require creative, multidisciplinary methods, paradigm changing thinking, and transformative approaches. Preference will be given to research with the ability to not only provide rapid capability against the current COVID-19 pandemic, but also enhanced warning and response capacity for future similar events.

This BAA solicits proposals for short-term, limited scope research in topic areas that are not addressed by emerging or ongoing IARPA programs or other published IARPA solicitations. It is primarily, but not solely, intended for early stage research that may lead to larger, focused programs through a separate BAA in the future.

Proposals are solicited that are structured as a Phase A base with a Phase B option. Phase A represents an initial proof of concept of the proposed approach. Phase B, if exercised, will build upon the proof-of-concept research in Phase A to deliver a demonstration. Phase A shall be of a duration of no more than 4 months to demonstrate prototype proof-of-concept, with preliminary reports due at month 3. The reports shall be used in evaluation of projects for continuation to Phase B. Phase B shall be no longer than 8 months in duration. Shorter duration projects, if appropriate for the subject matter, may be considered. See Figure 1 for a proposed project timeline.

Figure 1: Proposed Phase A + B timeline with key activities.

Proposals must explicitly address relevance of the technical approach to the current COVID-19 pandemic and extensibility to future pandemics, including a timeline for eventual implementation.

Proposals shall demonstrate that the proposed effort has the potential to make revolutionary, rather than incremental, improvements to current capabilities. Research that primarily results in evolutionary improvement to the existing state of practice is specifically excluded.

Proposals must include offeror-defined objectives, as well as milestones and performance metrics as task-driven intermediate steps towards the objectives.

2.2 Description of Topics and Areas of Interest

A. Detection and Sensing

• Approaches for rapid diagnosis of viral infection, in particular by SARS-CoV-2, in both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals, with greatest interest in non-contact approaches (e.g., breath sampling) that could be used at entrances to public transportation, airports, and retail stores.

• Tools for field monitoring of RNA/DNA (eDNA) (e.g., in wastewater or other environmental samples) to detect nascent viral outbreaks such as COVID-19 and estimate their scale and geographic footprint.

B. Supply Chain Management and Integrity

• Tools for mapping global reagent supply chains, identifying critical reagents, and developing efficient manufacturing processes for rapid spin-up to compensate for reagent supply chain disruptions.

• Identify, map, and characterize the importance and role of different elements of the supply chain in terms of their downstream impact on national security and the U.S. economy.

• Tools for identifying regions at risk for critical supply shortages, creating an on-demand response model, and developing agile, flexible capabilities that could be repurposed to produce materials in critically short supply.

• Modeling the effect of local, regional and global productivity interruptions on critical supply chains including pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, food, equipment parts and components to support emergency services including safety and healthcare.

C. Geo-spatio-temporal Monitoring and Mapping, with Privacy Protection

• Novel approaches for contact tracing among populations who lack mobile phones and/or internet connectivity.

• Privacy-preserving COVID-19 contact tracing approaches that utilize modern communications and internet-of-things technology.

• Methods for rapid and robust tracking of individual-to-individual pathogen spread during a pandemic.

D. Information Discovery, Information Reliability, and Collaboration Tools

• New methods for recognizing and parsing relevant data releases for validity, intent, and impact, including analysis of raw data streams such as public research articles, open fora, or sequences with the goal of reducing the timeline from identification and evaluation of data to data-driven solution implementation. Proposals that focus on multilingual and multimodal data integration are of particular interest.

E. Modeling, Simulation, and Predictive Analytics

• Methods that leverage multiple data streams, including non-intuitively correlated data, to elucidate pathogen or disease propagation patterns, identify regions where risk of infection is high, and/or forecast outbreaks with good temporal fidelity.

• Tools for widespread surveillance and risk estimation of animal-borne pathogens (before they ever come into contact with humans). Risk estimation might include potential to cross species barriers, transmission mechanisms, reproduction numbers, incubation times, duration of infectivity, virulence, mechanisms of human immune evasion and modification, pathogenetic mechanisms, and/or lethality.

• New approaches that leverage a broad range of data types to evaluate the future impacts of pandemic disease on political, economic, societal, and technological development at local, regional, national and global scales.

• Modeling to forecast the effects of social distancing and quarantine policies on the rate of infectious disease propagation. Models should also account for the effects of population heterogeneity, spatial variation, co-morbid conditions, and other significant influences on the effective disease reproduction number.

• Develop multimodal data dependent models to forecast the effects of various pandemic policy options on evolving geopolitical, economic, and social conditions. Include estimation of the effective loss of workforce and its impact on economic and national security conditions.

2.3 Proposal Information and Structure

The Government anticipates that proposals submitted in response to this BAA will be UNCLASSIFIED. Proposals must address two independent and sequential project phases: Phase A - Initial Proof of Concept (base) and Phase B - Demonstration (option). The periods of performance for these phases shall not exceed 4 months for Phase A and 8 months for Phase B.

Combined Phase A and Phase B shall not exceed 12 months. Specific technical objectives to be achieved within the topic areas listed above, task descriptions, intellectual property rights, milestone schedule, and deliverables shall be addressed in the proposal. Detailed proposal preparation instructions are provided in Section 5. The total award value for the combined Phase A base and Phase B option shall be less than $1,000,000.

To support the quick turnaround nature of this project and reduce administrative burden for both the Government and the Contractor, Offerors are encouraged to accept a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract with fixed payable milestones. Fixed payable milestones are fixed payments based on successful completion of the milestone accomplishments as set forth in agreed upon milestone payment schedules.

3 Award Information

3.1 General Award Information

The BAA shall result in awards for both Phases of the program. Exercise of the Phase B option shall depend upon performance during Phase A - base as well as program goals, the availability of funding, and IARPA priorities. Exercising of the Phase B option is at the sole discretion of the Government.

Multiple awards are anticipated. The amount of resources made available under this BAA shall depend on the quality of the proposals received and the availability of funds.

The Government reserves the right to select for negotiation all, some, one, or none of the proposals received in response to this solicitation and to make awards without discussions with Offerors.

The Government also reserves the right to conduct discussions if determined to be necessary.

Evaluation and award of proposals will follow FAR Part 35 processes as described herein.

Proposals selected for negotiation may result in a procurement contract.

Awards under this BAA shall be made to Offerors on the basis of the Evaluation Factors listed herein, as well as successful completion of negotiations.

The Government will contact Offerors whose proposals are selected for negotiations to obtain additional information required for award. The Government may establish a deadline for the close of fact-finding and negotiations that allows a reasonable time for the award of a contract. Offerors that are not responsive to Government deadlines established and communicated with the request may be removed from award consideration. Offerors may also be removed from award consideration should the parties fail to reach agreement within a reasonable time on contract terms, conditions, and cost/price.

3.2 Multiple Submissions to the BAA

Organizations may participate as a prime or subcontractor in more than one submission to the BAA. However, if multiple submissions to the BAA which include a common team member are selected, such common team members shall not receive duplicative funding (i.e., no one entity can be paid twice to perform the same task).

4 Eligibility Information

4.1 Eligible Applicants

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

Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Small Businesses, Small Disadvantaged Businesses and Minority Institutions are encouraged to submit proposals and team with others to submit proposals; however, no portion of this announcement shall be set aside for these organizations’ participation due to the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable areas for exclusive competition among these entities. Other Government Agencies, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, University Affiliated Research Centers, Government-Owned, Contractor- Operated facilities, Government Military Academies, and any other similar type of organization that has a special relationship with the Government, that gives them access to privileged and/or proprietary information or access to Government equipment or real property, are not eligible to submit proposals under this BAA or participate as team members under proposals submitted by eligible entities. An entity of which only a portion has been designated as a UARC may be eligible to submit a proposal or participate as a team member subject to an organizational conflict of interest review.

4.1.1 U.S. Academic Institutions

According to Executive Order 12333, as amended, paragraph 2.7, “Elements of the Intelligence Community are authorized to enter into contracts or arrangements for the provision of goods or services with private companies or institutions in the United States and need not reveal the sponsorship of such contracts or arrangements for authorized intelligence purposes. Contracts or arrangements with academic institutions may be undertaken only with the consent of appropriate officials of the institution.”

It is highly recommended that Offerors submit a completed and signed Academic Institution Acknowledgment Letter for each U.S. academic institution that is a part of their team, whether the academic institution is serving in the role of a prime, or a subcontractor or a consultant at any tier of their team with their proposal. Each Letter must be signed by a senior official from the institution (e.g. President, Chancellor, Provost, or other appropriately designated official). A template of the Academic Institution Acknowledgment Letter is enclosed in Appendix A of this BAA. Note that IARPA shall not enter into negotiations with an Offeror whose team includes a U.S. academic institution until all required Academic Institution Acknowledgment Letters are received.

4.1.2 Foreign Entities

Foreign entities and/or individuals may participate but only as part of a U.S. based team. The prime contractor must be a U.S. company. Foreign entities and individuals may participate as subcontractors or employees of a U.S. company however, all foreign participation must comply with any necessary Non-Disclosure Agreements, Security Regulations, Export Control Laws and other governing statutes applicable under the circumstances. Offerors are expected to ensure that the efforts of foreign participants do not either directly or indirectly compromise the laws of the United States, nor its security interests. As such, domestic Offerors should carefully consider the roles and responsibilities of foreign participants as they pursue teaming arrangements.

4.2 Organizational Conflicts of Interest

According to FAR 2.101 “Organizational Conflict of Interest” (OCI) means that because of other activities or relationships with other persons, a person is unable or potentially unable to render impartial assistance or advice to the Government, or the person’s objectivity in performing the contract work is or might be otherwise impaired, or a person has an unfair competitive advantage.

In accordance with FAR 9.5, Offerors are required to identify and disclose all facts relevant to potential OCIs involving the Offeror’s organization and any proposed team member (subawardee, consultant). Under this Section, the Offeror is responsible for providing this disclosure with each proposal submitted pursuant to the BAA. The disclosure must include the Offeror’s, and as applicable, proposed team member’s OCI mitigation plan. The OCI mitigation plan must include a description of the actions the Offeror has taken, or intends to take, to prevent the existence of conflicting roles that might bias the Offeror’s judgment and to prevent the Offeror from having an 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.

IARPA generally prohibits Contractors from concurrently providing Scientific Engineering Technical Assistance (SETA), Advisory and Assistance Services (A&AS) or similar support services and being a technical Contractor. Therefore, as part of the FAR 9.5 disclosure requirement above, address whether an Offeror or an Offeror’s team member (e.g. subawardee, consultant) is providing SETA, A&AS, or similar support (e.g., T&E services) to IARPA under:

(a) a current award or subaward; or (b) a past award or subaward.

If SETA, A&AS, or similar support is or was being provided to IARPA, the proposal must include:

The name of the IARPA program or office receiving the support;

The prime contract number;

Identification of proposed team member (subawardee, consultant) providing the support.

As part of their proposal, Offerors shall include either (a) a copy of their OCI notification including mitigation plan or (b) a written certification that neither they nor their subcontractor teammates have any potential conflicts of interest, real or perceived. A sample certification is provided in Appendix A.

The Government will evaluate OCIs and potential OCIs to determine whether they can be avoided, neutralized or mitigated and/or whether it is in the Government’s interest to grant a waiver. The Government will make OCI determinations, as applicable, for proposals that are otherwise selectable under the BAA Evaluation Factors.

The Government may require Offerors to provide additional information to assist the Government in evaluating OCIs and OCI mitigation plans.

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

5 Application and Submission Information Interested Offerors are required to submit full proposals (Volume I, Technical and Management Proposal, Volume 2 Cost/Price Proposal) in order to receive consideration for award. Compliant proposals shall be received by the time and date specified in the BAA, for the Proposal Due Date for Initial Round of Selections (see BAA Section 1, Overview Information). Proposals received after this date will be considered late and will not be reviewed. If there are any subsequent rounds of selection prior to BAA closing, the BAA will be amended to notify Offerors and to provide the proposal due date for the next round of selections. Selection for award remains contingent on the technical and funding availability evaluation factors.

The Government intends to use Booz Allen Hamilton, Whitney, Bradley & Brown, Inc. (WBB), BRTRC Federal Solutions, Patriot Solutions Group, Airlin Technologies, Bluemont Technology and Research, Crimson Phoenix, Northwood Global Solutions, Onts & Quants, Inc., Quantitative Scientific Solutions, QS-2, SAIC and Tarragon Solutions to provide expert advice, regarding portions of the proposals submitted to the Government and to provide logistical support in carrying out the evaluation process. All Government and Contractor personnel shall have signed and be subject to the terms and conditions of non-disclosure agreements. By submission of its proposal, an Offeror agrees that its proposal information may be disclosed to employees of these organizations for the limited purposes stated above. Offerors who object to this arrangement shall provide clear notice of their objection as part of their transmittal letter. If Offerors do not send notice of objection to this arrangement in their transmittal letter, the Government shall assume consent to the use of contractor support personnel in assisting the review of submittal(s) under this BAA. Only Government personnel will make evaluation and award determinations under this

BAA.

All administrative correspondence and questions regarding this solicitation shall be directed by email to dni-IARPA-BAA-20-01@iarpa.gov . Proposals shall be submitted in accordance with the procedures stated in the BAA.

5.1 Proposal Preparation Instructions

All proposals shall be in the format given below. Non-compliant proposals may be rejected without review.

Proposals shall consist of Volume 1 - Technical and Management Proposal and Volume 2 – Cost/Price Proposal. All proposals shall be written in English. Additionally, text should be black and paper size 8-1/2 by 11-inch, white in color with 1” margins from paper edge to text or graphic on all sides. IARPA prefers Times New Roman font with font size not smaller than 12 point.

IARPA prefers that the font size for figures, tables and charts not be smaller than 10 point. All contents shall be clearly legible with the unaided eye or the proposal may not be considered.

Proposals shall be submitted in .pdf unless otherwise indicated.

The Government anticipates proposals submitted under this BAA will be UNCLASSIFIED.

Proposals shall be valid for 120 days from proposal due date for initial round of selections unless the Offeror proposes a shorter validity period.

The Government reserves the right to reject a proposal without review if the information requested below is not adequately addressed.

Each proposal submitted in response to this BAA shall consist of the following:

5.1.1 Volume 1 – Technical & Management Proposal

- Cover Sheet (not included in page count)

- Transmittal Letter (limited to 1 page, not included in page count)

- Proposal (not to exceed 8 pages)

- Attachments (not included in page count) 1 – Academic Institution Acknowledgment Letter, if required 2 – Intellectual Property Rights (estimated not to exceed 2 pages) 3 – OCI Notification or Certification 4 – Bibliography 5 – Human Use Documentation, if applicable (no page limit) 6 – Animal Use Documentation, if applicable (no page limit) 7 – A Quad Chart Summary of the Proposal (in Power Point format)

The Cover Sheet template is included in Appendix A. Complete all sections and include as the proposal cover. The Cover Sheet is not included in the page count.

The Transmittal Letter shall include the following (not to exceed one page):

Introduction of Offeror and team (subcontractors and consultants), the BAA number, Offerors’ Program name, the proposal validity period, the type of contract vehicle being requested (FFP/Cost/Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee/Cost-Sharing procurement contract) with a short rationale, any non-negotiable conditions on which the offer is based (such as contract type, Intellectual Property (IP ) restrictions, etc.) and the Offeror’s points of contact information including: name, email and phone number for both technical and administrative issues.

The Proposal shall include the mandatory elements specified in sections A. through C. below.

A. Proposal Overview

• A technical overview of the proposed research and plan. Effectively and succinctly convey the main objective, key innovations, expected impact, and other unique aspects of the proposed research project. The overview must include a paragraph on the relevance of the proposed research to the Intelligence Community mission and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a realistic timeframe for implementation of results. This shall 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 are required. This section shall address the following questions: What is the proposed work attempting to accomplish or do? How is it done today, and what are the limitations? Who or what will be affected and what will be the impact if the work is successful?

• Summary of the products, transferable technology and deliverables associated with the proposed research results. Describe measurable deliverables that show progress toward achieving proposed milestones and goals. (All proprietary claims to the results, prototypes, IP, or systems supporting and/or necessary for the use of the research, results, and/or demonstration shall be detailed in proposal Attachment 2, Should no proprietary claims be identified in Attachment 2, Government rights shall be unlimited to all technology and deliverables resulting from or delivered under this BAA.)

• Schedule and milestones for the proposed research. Summarize, in table form the schedule and milestones for the proposed research. Do not include proprietary information with the milestone chart. (The milestone chart may become part of the resultant contract.)

• Related research. Include a brief summary of other research in this area, comparing the significance and plausibility of the proposed innovations against competitive approaches to achieve proposed objectives.

• Project contributors. Include a clearly defined organizational chart of all anticipated project participants and affiliations (e.g. subcontractor, consultant), organized under functional roles for the effort, along with the associated task number responsibilities for each. Provide a summary of expertise 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.

• Facilities. Describe the facilities and resources that will be used for the proposed effort, including computational and experimental resources.

• Resource Share. Include the type of support, if any, the Offeror might request from the Government, such as facilities, equipment, materials, or any such resources the Offeror is willing to provide at no additional cost to the Government to support the research effort.

(Cost-sharing is not required from Offerors and is not an evaluation criterion but is encouraged where there is a reasonable probability of a potential commercial application related to the proposed research and development effort).The names of other federal, state or local agencies or other parties receiving the proposal and/or funding the proposed effort.

If none, so state. Concurrent submission of the proposal to other organizations will not prejudice its review but may impact IARPA’s decision to fund the effort.

B. Statement of Work (SOW) This section shall provide a detailed, clearly defined plan for the technical tasks/subtasks to be performed, by phase, their durations and the dependencies among them. For each task/subtask, provide:

• A general description of the objective;

• A detailed description of the approach to be taken, developed in an orderly progression and in enough detail to establish the feasibility of accomplishing the goals of the task;

• Identification of the primary organization responsible for task execution (prime, sub-contractor, team member, etc.) by name;

• The exit criteria for each task/activity (i.e., a product, event or milestone that defines its completion); and

• Identification of all deliverables (e.g. reports, software) to be provided to the Government.

Note: Do not include any proprietary information in the SOW (The SOW will be incorporated into the resultant contract).

C. Technical Proposal Attachments (Not included in page count):

• Attachment 1: Academic Institution Acknowledgment Letter (see BAA Section 4.1.1. and sample letter in Appendix A).

• Attachment 2: Intellectual Property and Data Rights Assertion (estimated not to exceed 2 pages, see template in Appendix A).

• Attachment 3: OCI notification including mitigation plan or Certification stating no OCI (see BAA Section 4.2 and sample certification letter in Appendix A.)

• Attachment 4: Bibliography. A brief bibliography of relevant technical papers and research notes (published and unpublished) which document the technical ideas on which the proposal is based.

• Attachment 5: Human Use Documentation in accordance with BAA Section 7.2.3, if applicable.

• Attachment 6: Animal Use Documentation in accordance with BAA Section 7.2.4, if applicable

• Attachment 7: A Quad Chart Summary of the Proposal. A PowerPoint summary that quickly and succinctly indicates the, seedling concept, expected impact, seedling innovations and expected deliverables, and other unique aspects of the proposal. The format for the summary slide is included in Appendix A to this BAA and does not count against the page limit. The slide should be a self-contained, intuitive description of the technical approach and performance and may be used during the evaluation process to present a summary of the proposal from the Offeror’s view.

5.1.2 Volume 2: Cost/Price Proposal (No page Limit)

IARPA anticipates awarding FFP procurement contracts, however, Offerors may request other than a FFP type procurement contract (i.e., cost-reimbursement, cost-share, etc.).

Regardless of the type of contract, the Offeror’s cost/price proposal shall contain sufficient supporting information to establish the Offeror’s understanding of the project, the perception of project risks, the ability to organize and perform the work and to support the realism and reasonableness of the proposed cost/price, to the extent appropriate.

Offerors shall provide the detailed cost supporting information addressed below and in the Volume 2 Cost Element Spreadsheet, Appendix A.

Offerors may submit alternative cost/price supporting information or information in a different format, however, this will be subject to a CO determination of acceptability. If alternative information and formatting are not found acceptable, the CO will request the Offeror provide appropriate cost supporting information during negotiations. Examples where alternative cost/price supporting information and formatting may be found acceptable are when submitted by non-traditional contractors such as commercial entities that do not typically accept FAR-based contracts, small businesses, start-up companies or foreign companies.

Proposals shall be valid for 120 days from proposal due date for initial round of selections unless the Offeror proposes a shorter validity period.

The Cost/Price Volume shall include the following:

A. Cost Element Breakdown and Total Cost Summary Offerors shall submit an Excel document, in the format provided in Appendix A. It shall include intact formulas and shall not be hard numbered. The base and option period cost data should roll up into a total cost summary. The Excel files may be write-protected but shall not be password protected.

• Completed cost element breakdown for the base period, option period and the total project summary in the format provided in Appendix A.

• Total costs broken down by major task.

B. Narrative Supporting Information In addition to the above, supporting cost and pricing information shall be provided in sufficient detail to substantiate the Offeror’s cost estimates. Include a description of the basis of estimate (BOE) in a narrative for each cost element and provide supporting documentation, as applicable:

Direct Labor –Describe the basis of the proposed labor categories and rates and provide a copy of the most recent Forward Pricing Rate Agreement (FPRA) with the Government. If Offerors do not have a current FPRA with the Government, provide payroll records or contingency hire letters with salary data to support each proposed labor category, including those for key individuals, and the most recent Forward Pricing Rate Proposal Submission, if applicable. Offeror should also address whether any portion of their labor rates is attributable to uncompensated overtime.

Labor Escalation Factor – State the proposed escalation rate and the basis for that rate (e.g., based upon Global Insight indices, Cost Index or historical data). If the escalation rate is based upon historical data, provide data to demonstrate the labor escalation trend. Provide a sample calculation demonstrating application of the factor to direct labor.

Subcontracts (to include consultants and Inter-organizational Transfers (IOTs) – The Offeror is responsible for compiling and providing full subcontractor proposals with the Cost Volume.

Subcontractor cost element sheets shall be completed for the base period, option period and the total summary using the same format required for the prime contractor (See Appendix A).

Consultant letter(s) of commitment shall also be attached.

Information shall be presented in Excel with intact formulas using the format provided in Appendix A. The Offeror shall also provide justification for why the subcontractor was selected and its determination that the cost/price is fair and reasonable (Reference FAR Part 44 and FAR clause 52.244-2). If subcontractors have concerns about proprietary cost information, subcontractors can submit their detailed cost proposal information directly to the CO during negotiations.

Materials and Equipment – Provide copies of quotes, bill of materials, historical data or any other information including Offeror’s analysis to support proposed costs.

Travel - The proposed travel supporting detail shall include destination and purpose of the trip, number of trips, number of travelers and days per trip and price per traveler in sufficient detail to verify the BOE. Limited travel is anticipated. Offerors may require travel to meet with team members. Offerors will not be required to travel to meet with IARPA. Proposed travel costs shall comply with the limitations set forth in FAR Part 31.

Conference travel will not be authorized under this contract.

Other Direct Costs (ODCs) – ODCs shall be listed separately and supported by quotes, historical data or any other information including the Offeror’s analysis.

Indirect Costs – The Offeror shall show indirect cost calculations, identify the proposed indirect rate by fiscal year and period (base, option) and provide information on indirect cost pools and allocation bases for each year and program period involved. If a Government agency recently audited the Offeror’s indirect rates, the Offeror shall identify the agency that conducted the audit, when the rates were approved and the period for which they are effective. Include a copy of this rate agreement. Absent current Government rate recommendations, it is incumbent on the Offeror to provide some other means of demonstrating indirect rate realism (e.g., 3 years of historical actual costs with applicable pools and bases). If proposed rates vary significantly from historical experience, the Offeror shall explain of the variance.

Cost sharing – Describe the source, nature and amount of cost-sharing, if any. (Acceptable forms of cost share include (but may not be limited to): Cash contributions (application of discretionary resources) from prime Offeror and/or subcontractor(s); unreimbursed labor; materials and equipment; use of materials or equipment for program duration (lease value equivalent); and IP with established market value. Non- acceptable forms of cost share include (but may not be limited to): foregone fee; foregone G&A and COM if using independent research and development (IR&D) as cost share; valuation of IP with no established market value; facilities or other assets accounted for in overhead rates applied to labor; and capital assets without clear and direct contribution to the program.)

Other Pricing Assumptions – Identify all pricing assumptions, that should be incorporated into the resulting award instrument (e.g., use of Government Furnished Property/Facilities/Information, access to Government Subject Matter Experts, etc.).

Facilities Capital Cost of Money (FCCM) – If proposing FCCM, the Offeror shall show FCCM cost calculations, identify the proposed FCCM factors by contractor fiscal year and program year and provide a copy of the Forward Price Rate Agreement (FPRA), Forward Price Rate System (FPRS) or Forward Pricing Rate Recommendation (FPRR), if available.

Profit/Fee - Identify the proposed profit or fee percentage and the proposed profit/fee base. Provide justification for your proposed profit or fee.

Systems - For the systems listed below, provide a brief description of the cognizant federal agency and audit results. If the system has been determined inadequate, provide a short narrative describing the steps your organization has taken to address the inadequacies and the current status.

If a formal audit has been performed by a Government Agency, please provide a complete copy of the audit report or adequacy determination letter. If the system has never received a formal Government review and approval include a statement to that effect. Address whether your organization has contracts that are Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) covered and if so, whether they are subject to full or modified CAS coverage.

• Accounting system (if proposing a cost reimbursement contract)

5.2 Proposal Submission Information

Proposals shall be submitted electronically through the IARPA Distribution and Evaluation System (IDEAS). Offerors interested in providing a submission in response to this BAA shall first register by electronic means in accordance with the instructions provided on the following web site: https://iarpa-ideas.gov. Offerors who plan to submit proposals for evaluation are strongly encouraged to register a few days prior to the due date. Offerors who do not register in advance do so at their own risk, and IARPA shall not extend the due date to accommodate such Offerors.

Failure to register as stated shall prevent the Offeror’s submittal of documents.

After registration has been approved, Offerors should upload a proposal, (Volume 1, Volume 2 and Attachments), in ‘pdf’ format, or as otherwise directed (Excel, PowerPoint, etc.). Offerors are responsible for ensuring a compliant and timely submission of their proposals to meet the BAA submittal deadlines. Time management to upload and submit is wholly the responsibility of the Offeror.

Upon completing the proposal submission, the Offeror shall receive an automated confirmation email from IDEAS. Please forward that automated message to dni-IARPA-BAA-20- 01@iarpa.gov. IARPA will be reviewing proposals on a rolling basis so the submittal time may impact an Offeror’s opportunity for proposal evaluation and award. IARPA strongly suggests that the Offeror document the submission of their proposal package by printing the electronic receipt (time and date stamped) that appears on the final screen following compliant submission of a proposal to the IDEAS website.

Proposals submitted by any means other than IDEAS shall not be considered unless the Offeror attempted electronic submittal but was unsuccessful. Should an Offeror be unable to complete the electronic submittal, the Offeror shall employ the following procedure. The Offeror shall send an e-mail dni-IARPA-BAA-20-01@iarpa.gov , prior to the proposal due date and time specified in the BAA and indicate that an attempt was made to submit electronically and that the submittal was mailto:dni-IARPA-BAA-20-01@iarpa.gov unsuccessful. This e-mail shall include contact information for the Offeror. Upon receipt of such notification, the Government will provide additional guidance regarding submission.

The Proposal shall be submitted by the date and time specified in the BAA, Overview Information section, Proposal Due Date for Initial Round of Selections, in order to be considered in the initial round. It is in IARPA’s sole discretion whether to call for a second round of proposals. Selection of any subsequent rounds remains contingent on the technical and funding availability evaluation factors. Proposals received after the Proposal Due Date for Initial Round of Selections, or subsequent round proposal due dates, are deemed to be late and will not be reviewed. Failure to comply with the submission procedures may result in the submittal not being evaluated.

Although classified proposals are not anticipated for this program, if an Offeror chooses to submit a classified proposal, the Offeror must first contact IARPA via dni-IARPA-BAA-20- 01@iarpa.gov and request detailed submittal instructions. The Government reserves the right not to accept classified proposals or supporting information. In no case shall classified information be uploaded into IDEAS.

Regarding proprietary markings, Offerors 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.” NOTE:

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

See BAA Section 7.2.1 for additional information on Proprietary Data.

6 Evaluation of Proposals Proposals will be evaluated under FAR Part 35 procedures as described below.

The factors used to evaluate and select proposals for negotiation for this BAA are described in the following paragraphs. Because there is no common SOW, each proposal shall be evaluated on its own merits and its relevance to the BAA goals rather than against other proposals submitted in response to this BAA.

The proposals shall be evaluated on the basis of technical evaluation and funding availability factors. The technical evaluation and funding availability factors are of equal importance. Within the technical evaluation factor, the specific technical criteria are in descending order of importance, as follows: Overall Scientific and Technical Merit and Potential Contribution and Relevance to the IARPA Mission. Within the funding availability factor, the sub criteria are of equal importance.

Specifics about the evaluation criteria are provided below.

Awards will be made on the basis of the technical evaluation and funding availability factors, and subject to successful negotiations with the Government. Award shall not be made to Offeror(s) whose proposal(s) are determined not to be selectable.

Offerors are cautioned that failure to follow submittal instructions may negatively impact their proposal evaluation or may result in rejection of the proposal for non-compliance.

6.1 Technical Evaluation Factor (sub criteria are in descending order of importance) Proposals will be evaluated using the following technical criteria, listed in descending order of importance:

A. Overall Scientific and Technical Merit The proposed technical approach is novel, innovative, feasible, achievable, and complete. The proposed technical team has the expertise and experience to accomplish the proposed tasks. Task descriptions and associated technical elements provided are complete and in a logical sequence with all proposed deliverables clearly defined such that a final outcome that achieves the goal can be expected as a result of award. The proposal identifies major technical risks and planned mitigation efforts are clearly defined and feasible.

B. Potential Contribution and Relevance to the IARPA Mission The potential contributions of the proposed effort bolster the national security technology base, and support IARPA’s mission to make pivotal early technology investments that create or prevent technological surprise. The proposed intellectual property restrictions (if any) will not significantly impact the Government’s ability to utilize and transition the technology.

6.2 Funding Availability Factor (sub criteria are of equal importance)

A. Budget Constraints The Government will seek to maximize the likelihood of meeting the BAA objectives within budget constraints. This may involve awarding one or more contracts. Note: If the Offeror has submitted the proposal to other federal, state or local agencies or other parties that may fund the proposed effort, it may impact IARPA’s decision to fund the effort.

B. Program Balance The Government will consider IARPA’s overall mission and BAA objectives, which may include but are not limited to the following: broadening the variety of technical approaches to enhance research outcomes, transitioning the technology to Government partners, developing capabilities aligned with the priorities of the IC and national security.

6.3 Review and Selection Process

It is the policy of IARPA to ensure impartial, equitable and comprehensive proposal evaluations.

The Government anticipates more than one award. Given the Government’s desire to respond rapidly to the current COVID-19 pandemic, proposals will be evaluated on a rolling basis.

Submission time and the proposed Topic and Area of Interest (see BAA Section 2.2) may be factors in determining the order in which proposals are evaluated to ensure program balance.

Therefore, submittal time (see BAA Section 5.2) may impact an Offeror’s opportunity for proposal evaluation and award. IARPA will discontinue evaluating proposals when available funding is exhausted. If new funds become available prior to proposal expiration, IARPA may restart proposal evaluations and issue additional awards.

The evaluation and award process for this BAA has two steps. The first step is evaluation for selection for negotiations and is made based on review of the technical evaluation and funding availability factors. The second step is negotiation and contract award. Contract award is contingent on Contracting Officer (CO) determination of a fair and reasonable cost/price and contract agreement on terms and conditions.

Selection for negotiation will be conducted through a peer or scientific review process. A qualified Government Program Manager (PM) will review and assess each proposal’s strengths, weaknesses and risks against the technical criteria. If necessary, non-Government technical experts with specialized expertise may advise the Government PM. However, only Government personnel will make recommendations and selection determinations under this BAA. When the PM has completed their review of a proposal, the PM will prepare a technical recommendation to the IARPA Scientific Review Official (SRO).

The SRO will make the final decision as to selectability for negotiations based on the PM’s technical recommendation and all stated factors (technical evaluation factor and funding availability factor). At this point, Offerors will be notified in writing as to whether they have been determined selectable or not selectable. For the purposes of this proposal evaluation process, these terms are defined as follows:

Selectable: A selectable proposal is a proposal that has been evaluated by the Government against the evaluation factors listed in the BAA, and determined to be technically competent, important to agency programs and funding is available. The technical strengths of the proposal outweigh any technical weaknesses and risks. Additionally, there are no technical weaknesses that would require other than minor negotiation. The proposal can now move to the negotiation and award process.

Non-Selectable: A proposal is considered non-selectable when the proposal has been evaluated by the Government against the evaluation factors listed in the BAA and determined to be technically weak, lack importance to agency programs, or funding is not available.

6.4 Negotiation and Award

After selection and before award, the CO will contact Offerors whose proposals were determined selectable to engage in negotiations. The CO will review the cost/price proposal using the proposal analysis techniques described in FAR 15.404-1, as appropriate, to determine a fair and reasonable cost/price. The CO’s evaluation will include review of proposed anticipated costs/prices of the Offeror and proposed subcontractors, to ensure the Offeror has fully analyzed the budget requirements, provided sufficient supporting information, has adequate systems for managing the contract (i.e., accounting, purchasing as applicable), and that data is traceable and reconcilable.

The CO’s evaluation will also determine whether the prospective contractor understands the project and its risks and has the ability to organize and perform the work and that the Offeror meets the responsibility standards of FAR 9.104. Additional information and supporting data may be requested.

Procurement contracts shall be awarded to those Offerors on the basis of all stated Evaluation Factors, and pending the successful conclusion of negotiations.

6.5 Proposal Retention

Proposals shall not be returned upon completion of the source selection process. The original of each proposal received shall be retained at IARPA and all other non-required copies shall be destroyed. A certification of destruction may be requested, provided that the formal request is sent to IARPA via e-mail to dni-IARPA-BAA-20-01@iarpa.gov within 5 days after notification of proposal results.

7 Award Administration Information

7.1 Award Notices

As soon as practicable after the evaluation of a proposal is complete, the Offeror will be notified that: (1) its proposal has been selected for negotiations, or (2) its proposal has not been selected for negotiations.

7.2 Administrative and National Policy Requirements

7.2.1 Proprietary Data

IARPA treats all proposals as proprietary information and will disclose their contents only for the purpose of evaluation.