N00014-17-S-B010_Amendment_0004.pdf

N00014-17-S-B010 Amendment 0004 1

N00014-17-S-B010 Late-stage Software Customization and Complexity Reduction S&T for Legacy Naval Systems

Amendment 0004

The purpose of Amendment 0004 to BAA N00014-17-S-B010 is to respond to questions submitted prior to 20 April 2017.

1. The following provides questions and responses:

Q1: (Regarding Grants) – The BAA announcement suggests project start date to be 09/01/2017 (page

20). Industry day presentation suggests 11/01/2017 (slide 18). Which date should I use?

A1: The BAA supersedes any other information. The actual start date will be negotiated upon award.

Q2: (Regarding Grants) – How should we break down the project periods? On the fiscal scale (4 periods) or per year (3 periods)?

A2: The periodicity for project periods is at the offeror’s discretion, but quarterly periods that align with fiscal year are preferred.

Q3: (Regarding Grants) – It looks like the grant proposals should be submitted via grants.gov. Do we need to submit five hard copies to the program manager anyway or on-line submission is enough?

A3: Hard copies of grants submitted through Grants.gov are not required.

Q4: Would you be able to share the list of attendees with us, particularly from academic research institutions?

A4: An organizational attendee list from the Industry Day was posted as an attachment with BAA

Amendment 0003. The Government will not be releasing the contact information for the attendees.

Q5: Can BAA respondents be allowed to submit the Excel Cost file in softcopy only, rather than hardcopy, to ensure the document is legible and usable given print format limitations due to spreadsheets size?

A5: No, offerors must follow the proposal delivery requirements laid out in the BAA. Cost proposals must be legible.

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Q6: What platform(s) should these tools support: Windows, Linux, or macOS?

A6: Proposals should give priority to advancing fundamental scientific knowledge of the BAA technical areas irrespective of the supported operating system.

Q7: Does the Navy want tools that run on native applications (e.g. those made with C, C++ and compiled to native code), or on bytecode applications (e.g. those made in Java, .NET, or Python)?

A7: Tools and techniques should apply to potential formats that may be delivered to the end user.

Q8: Are these applications primarily GUI or command-line?

A8: Proposals should give priority to advancing fundamental scientific knowledge of the BAA technical areas irrespective of the type of interface.

Q9: Are these applications primarily Interactive or no interactive?

A9: Applications may be automated as well as methods that automate analysis.

Q10: Are these applications long-running programs or short-running programs?

A10: Applications may address long-running and/or short running programs.

Q11: On what types of hardware (e.g. Intel x86, Intel x86_64, ARM, MIPS) do these programs usually run, and what is the ideal future hardware on which to run these programs?

A11: Proposals should give priority to advancing fundamental scientific knowledge of the BAA technical areas irrespective of the type of hardware.

Q12: Is full automation a core requirement, or can transformative tools run with human assistance?

A12: Applications may be automated as well as methods that automate analysis.

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Q13: (Regarding Grants) – The limit of 20 pages for the technical proposal is only for the "Technical

Approach and Justification" (in Page 6) of the BAA , or also includes the other parts such as "Operational

Naval Concept", "Operational Utility Assessment Plan", "Project Schedule", "Reports", "Management

Approach", and "Current and Pending Projects", in Page 6-7 of the BAA?

A13: The page numbers referenced in this question do not match the corresponding pages of the BAA.

However, there is no page limit for grant proposals. The 20-page limit applies only to contract proposals.

Q14: (Regarding Grants) – Regarding the "Current and Pending Projects" in Page 7, do we need to provide the current and pending projects of PI, or the PI and all the co-PIs? Do you have any specific requirement on the format of the "Current and Pending Projects" information?

A14: The page numbers referenced in this question do not match the corresponding pages of the BAA.

As per the ‘Current and Pending Project and Proposal Submissions’ section on page 19 of the BAA, offerors shall provide the information listed on page 19 of the BAA for any related or complementary proposal submissions from any sources (e.g., ONR, Federal, State, local or foreign government agencies, public or private foundations, industrial or other commercial organizations).

Q15: The BAA calls out a title page and content to be included, but it is not included in the technical volume template. 1) Could you please confirm whether a title page is required?; and 2) If it is, whether it counts against the 20 page limit?

A15: A cover page is not required for contract proposals, as the technical proposal template for contracts does not contain a cover page. If a title page is included, it will be included in the 20 page limit.

A cover page is required for grants as per page 18 of the BAA. There is no page limit for grants proposals.

Q16: Can an offeror hand deliver their proposals instead of sending them through the mail?

A16: Yes, offerors can hand deliver their proposals. Please communicate with the Program Officer ahead of time to ensure that someone will be available to receive your proposal. Offerors are responsible for ensuring timely receipt of proposals and are urged to consider Section IV, Subsection D of the BAA regarding submission of late proposals.

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Q17: (For Grants.) – What number should we use in Block 4b on form SF-424 for the Agency Routing

Number?

A17: As per page 16 of the BAA, the Agency Routing Number should be the three-digit Program Office

Code and the Program Officer’s name, last name first, in brackets. For this BAA, it would be 311 [Toth, Gary].

Q18: For proposers that are targeting applied research leading to prototypes, is it anticipated that there will be periodic technical interchanges where teams can gain an understanding of other approaches to better facilitate cross-TA interfaces?

A18: Yes. Offerors should anticipate participation in periodic programmatic and technical reviews.

Q19: We are interested in applying for the base period of 36 months, plus the optional extra period of

24 months. Do we include a budget for the full 5 years or only for the base period?

A19. Include a budget for the full period of your proposal. Offerors should schedule their proposal to bring their research to maturity over a period of 36 months, followed by an optional period of 24 months for transition to application.

Q20: Should the Project Schedule and Milestones cover the full 5 years or only the base period?

A20: Include a project schedule and milestones for the full period of your proposal.

Q21: Is this particular BAA is primarily directed at Academic research, or are small businesses eligible to apply.

A21: Part III of the BAA describes eligibility information.

2. All other terms and conditions remain unchanged.