COVID-19 BAA Q and A Round 5.pdf

IARPA-BAA-20-01

COVID-19 Seedling Research Topics

BAA Questions 47 through 55 - Round 5

The Round 5 Questions and Answers (Q&As) below are being posted after the submission period for proposals has started. Offerors that have already submitted proposals that now require an update due to the Round 5 Q&As, shall contact the Contracting Officer via the email address in the BAA for instructions on how to update your proposal.

Q47: We would be interested in supporting potential bidders who may be looking for a technical solution provider to support a big data platform for their scientific analytics. Are you able to publish a list of potential bidders?

A47: We encourage all interested parties to register in beta.SAM.gov under the Interested Vendors List for this BAA to facilitate teaming and subcontracting opportunities.

Q48: Will the Government provide the data streams to performers?

A48: We assume you are referring to the following in BAA Section 2:

“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.”

Please reference our prior response to Q30. in Round 3 Q&As. Assume this answer refers to “data” in general and not just specifically “datasets”:

“A30. Offerors are responsible for identifying in their proposals any datasets needed for the proposed work. If an Offeror identifies particular Government-owned datasets, 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.”

Q49: How will validity, intent and impact be measured?

A49: Proposals should include appropriate metrics that are aligned with the proposed technical approach and by which the Offeror can demonstrate that the technical approach can meet the Offeror’s objectives with respect to validity, intent, and impact. IARPA will not be providing performance metrics.

Q50: My company has some ideas/concepts to help solve supply chain efficiency and would love to discuss them at your convenience. Additionally, I would like to discuss testing concepts as well.

A50: Supply Chain Management and Integrity is a focus area of the BAA, however, we are not conducting individual discussions with Offerors for this BAA. If you are interested in submitting a proposal, please follow the submission instructions in the BAA. We are also encouraging Offerors to register in beta.SAM.gov and include your contact information on the Interested Vendors List.

Q51: Does IARPA have different expectation for projects that are university based; or would we be advised to adapt to the "industry standard."

A51: IARPA has many R&D contracts with Universities and does not have different expectations. There is no need to adapt to an “industry standard” just follow the proposal submission instructions which anticipates proposals from Industry, Universities and Non-Profit research organizations.

Q52: Is there a potential for all performers in Phase A to continue into Phase B, or is there a mandatory down-select? (i.e., a step to narrow the number of performers from Phase A to Phase B)

A52: There is no mandatory down-select for Phase B. Please reference BAA Section 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.”

Q53: Is a project in scope to create a proof of concept and real-world demonstration of an interactive avatar system (displays with cameras and content with avatars) that interacts with the viewers to gain information on both individual and population health trends, in a privacy preserving manner, that includes those that lack mobile phones and/or internet connectivity such as the homeless and undocumented?

A53: This project would fall within the scope of Topic C: Geo-spatio-temporal Monitoring and Mapping, with Privacy Protection.

Q54: Many BAAs allow proposers to submit abstracts for feedback in order to assess resourcing tradeoffs. Is this allowed under this BAA?

A54: We are not conducting individual discussions with Offerors for this BAA. We also do not have an abstract stage for this BAA. If you are interested in submitting a proposal, please follow the submission instructions in the BAA.

Q55: We have developed a COVID-19 breathalyzer prototype and we need support to validate it with clinical trials and to commercialize it. Please let me know if it would be of interest to your agency.

A55: This would fit within Topic Area of Interest A. Detection and Sensing.