COVID-19 BAA Q and A Round 3.pdf

IARPA-BAA-20-01

COVID-19 Seedling Research Topics

BAA Questions 13 through 41 - Round 3

Q13: Under "detection and sensing" and "geo-spatial-temporal monitoring and mapping", is IARPA also interested in wide-area, early, remote identification of major medical events in denied areas under the "not only provide rapid capability against the current COVID-19 pandemic, but also enhanced warning and response capacity for future similar events" requirement under this BAA?

A13: Yes, this is in scope. Remote identification would fall under detection and sensing.

Q14: Can you clarify the implications of the statements “Offerors are encouraged to accept a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract” and later that the Transmittal Letter specify “type of contract vehicle being requested (FFP/Cost/Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee/Cost-Sharing…)”: Will requests for non-FFP contracts be viewed less favorably than requests for FFPs? Can a request for a non-FFP contract be countered with an IARPA request to change to FFP?

A14: Requests for non-FFP contracts will not be viewed less-favorably. If the Offeror is selected for negotiations, a request for a non-FFP contract may be countered with a request for an FFP.

Q15: Has funding for this BAA been approved? If yes, what is the estimated total funding available (or estimated funding range) across expected selections?

A15: Funding is available. The total award value for the combined Phase A base and Phase B option shall be less than $1,000,000. We anticipate between 10 and 20 awards based on currently available funding.

Q16: How many individual awards does IARPA plan under this opportunity?

A16: We anticipate between 10 and 20 awards based on currently available funding.

Q17: Is funding for this BAA supported by usual IARPA budgets re-prioritized in response to the COVID-19 crisis, or is supported by new emergency funding made available to IARPA in response to the crisis?

A17: Funding for this requirement was planned for FY20 IARPA seedling awards.

IARPA-BAA-20-01

COVID-19 Seedling Research Topics

Q18: Will the Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COTR) be IARPA staff, or another organization? If another organization, what organization?

A18: IARPA staff.

Q19: When are the selected teams expected to be notified?

A19: IARPA will be conducting rolling reviews beginning soon after proposals are submitted (starting June 5, 2020 through July 7, 2020). Offerors will be notified of selection for negotiation when proposal evaluation is completed. The Government anticipates quick turnaround awards, preferably before the end of the fiscal year (September 2020) or early next fiscal year. We expect performance to begin shortly after awards are made.

Q20: When is the project work expected to begin?

A20: The Government anticipates quick turnaround awards, preferably before the end of the fiscal year (September 2020) or early next fiscal year. We expect performance to begin shortly after awards are made.

Q21: Section 4.1 (Eligible Applicants) states that:

“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.”

Our small business has operations at a national laboratory (an FFRDC), negotiated through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. Are we ineligible to submit proposals? If so, are we eligible if the work is performed elsewhere (not at an FFRDC)?

A21: If your small business is not an FFRDC or similar type of organization and your special relationship with the Government, does not give you access to privileged and/or proprietary information or access to Government equipment or real property, you are eligible to propose.

(See BAA, 4.1 Eligible Applicants).

Note: All Offerors may request use of Government, facilities, equipment, and materials, however there is no guarantee that the Government will be able to provide access to these resources. (See BAA 5.1.1.A, Resource Share).

Q22: How much funding is available through this BAA? Alternatively, is there a ballpark estimate of how many proposals will be awarded? The BAA states "multiple awards anticipated,” but does that mean 2 awards or 20?

A22: Multiple awards are anticipated. The total award value for the combined Phase A base and Phase B option shall be less than $1,000,000. We anticipate between 10 and 20 awards based on currently available funding.

Q23: What is the timeline for review, award notification, and award availability?

A23: The Government anticipates quick turn around awards, preferably before the end of the fiscal year (September 2020) or early next fiscal year. Awards will continue until funds are exhausted.

Q24: Our small business does not have a federally negotiated indirect rate. We are also only a year old and therefore do not have 3 years of historical costs to use as a basis. Is there an indirect “safe” rate that can be used in lieu of a more comprehensive rate justification??

A24: Use a rate based on the actuals you do have and estimated expenses. Explain your basis of estimate in your cost proposal narrative. If your proposal is selected, we can discuss further during negotiations.

Q25: Is there a range of general acceptable profit/fee?

A25: Offerors should propose a profit/fee that they feel is fair. If the proposal is selected for negotiations, an appropriate profit/fee as part of an overall FFP or CPFF can be discussed.

IARPA generally considers factors such as business size, contract type and performance risk in determining an appropriate profit/fee.

Q26: For this BAA, is the Statement of Work (Section B) included in the 8-page limit?

A26: Yes.

Q27: The BAA notes that "software deliverables must be deployable to cloud platforms for testing and must be approvable for production use in the cloud". Does the Government expect that any solution developed under this BAA would be deployed for production use in the cloud within the Phase A or Phase B period?

A27: It is not expected that solutions will be deployed for production use in the cloud within the Phase A or Phase B periods.

Q28: Would the Government consider the development of detection and sensing of Return to Work policies (such as face mask detection, 6 feet social distancing) at building sites or public spaces to be a part of Topic A or Topic C?

A28: Neither. This idea would be considered out of scope for this BAA.

Q29: Who are the anticipated end-users of this work (generally) and does the Government expect that each project would only include data analysis or would it also require a user interface? If a user interface would be required, should it allow users to add data and interact with the models or just provide analytic visibility?

A29: Anticipated end-users include, but are not limited to, organizations within the Intelligence Community. The Government does not have specific expectations or requirements associated with user interfaces. The Option Phase B is a Demonstration phase so it must be possible to demonstrate the solution works. Ability for users to bring their own data or interact with the models will be viewed favorably.

Q30: Would the respondent be responsible for providing data for the project or does the Government have datasets that can be made available to project teams? If datasets are available, is there training/labeled data available?

A30: Offerors are responsible for identifying in their proposals any datasets needed for the proposed work. If an Offeror identifies a particular Government-owned dataset, and the proposal is selectable, the Government will determine if the dataset can be made available as Government Furnished Information (GFI). Costs for datasets needed for the proposed work shall be identified clearly in the cost proposal.

Q31: Should the offeror submit resumes for proposed staff? If so, is there a page limit per resume? How would the inclusion of resumes affect the overall page count and page limit of the technical proposal?

A31: Resumes are not required. Please see BAA Section 5.1.1. A, Proposal Overview:

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.

Q32: As a clarification, will the first day of proposal acceptance be June 5, 2020 or June 6, 2020?

A32: The first day of proposal acceptance will be June 6, 2020. Proposals can be submitted any time after June 5, 2020 through July 7, 2020 at 11:59 EDT.

Q33: Regarding the Contractor/Subcontractor Cost Element Sheet contained in Appendix A.7— should separate sheets be submitted for Phase A and Phase B? Or, is the intention of the sheet to present total cost per contractor?

A33: Both. There should be separate sheets for Phase A, Phase B as well as a sheet for the summary (Phase a and Phase b together). The BAA states 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.”

The following is required for the subcontractors:

“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.”

Q34: Is an Offeror required to cover all/multiple areas of interest listed under each topic? For example, if the Offeror were responding to Topic A, would they be required to address both areas of interest under that topic (i.e. approaches for rapid diagnostics AND tools for field monitoring)? Or, does the offeror have the discretion to target their response to specific areas of interest (i.e. approaches for rapid diagnostics OR tools for field monitoring)?

A34: The offeror has the discretion to target their response to specific areas of interest within the Topic Areas (i.e. approaches for rapid diagnostics OR tools for field monitoring).

Q35: If an Offeror desired to respond to more than one topic, could this response be made using a single proposal? Or, would each topic response require a separate, stand-alone proposal?

A35: Please submit separate standalone proposals. It is understood that some information may be duplicative. Any duplicative costs will be handled during negotiations if both proposals are selected so that the Government is not paying more than once for the same work.

Q36: We’d like the answer to the following questions related to 2.2 Description of Topics and Areas of Interest.

1. The second bullet states “… field monitoring of RNA/DNA…”. Would a proposal to research the feasibility of different biological and molecular compounds other than RNA/DNA be in the scope of the COVID-19 Seedling Research Topics anticipated?

2. The second bullet states “… ( e.g., in wastewater or other environmental samples) …”. Would a proposal to research the feasibility of matrices other than wastewater be in the scope of the COVID-19 Seedling Research Topics anticipated?

A36: Only RNA and DNA are within scope. Matrices other than wastewater are within scope.

Q37: Can you provide the molecular weight range of the RNA/DNA, or of other than RNA/DNA compounds if determined acceptable, to be detected?

A37: Only RNA and DNA are within scope. With respect to the Detection and Sensing topic of field monitoring of nascent viral outbreaks such as COVID-19, proposals shall describe the range of molecular weights of RNA/DNA for which the proposed solutions are applicable.

Q38: Is there an anticipated concentration range for the RNA/DNA, or of other than RNA/DNA compounds if determined acceptable?

A38: Only RNA and DNA are within scope. With respect to the Detection and Sensing topic of field monitoring of nascent viral outbreaks such as COVID-19, proposals shall describe the range of concentrations of RNA/DNA for which the proposed solutions are applicable.

Q39: Does the agency have an idea of sample load and / or how many samples you are looking to screen at a time?

A39: Neither target sample loads nor throughput have been identified. Approaches with greater throughput and extensibility across samples will be viewed favorably.

Q40: Does the agency anticipate providing certain samples or will the Offeror acquire and use the selected environmental samples based on its own proposal?

A40: Offerors will acquire and use their own samples based on their proposals.

Q41: For Topic A, “Detection and Sensing”, is IARPA interested only in the two areas of interest listed, or would IARPA be interested in other COVID-19-relevant solutions?

A41: Proposals outside the two areas of interest named in the BAA under Topic A Detection and Sensing will be considered out of scope.