P1_-_DICE_Volume_I_Template.docx

Proposal Title

☐ TA 3

Proposer Organization

Proposer Reference Number, if any

Address:

Telephone:

Email:

Address:

Telephone:

Email:

Place(s) of Performance

Period(s) of Performance

Months

Organization:

Organization Type:

Year 2: $ Year 3: $ Year 4: $ Total: $

SAM.gov Unique Entity ID (UEI)[endnoteRef:2] [2: The SAM-generated UEI becomes the official identifier for doing business with the U.S. Government. This replaces DUNS.]

Taxpayer identification number (TIN)[endnoteRef:3] [3: See https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/taxpayer-identification-numbers-tin for information on requesting a TIN. Note, requests may take from 1 business day to 1 month depending on the method (online, fax, mail).]

Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code[endnoteRef:4] [4: A CAGE Code identifies companies doing or wishing to do business with the Federal Government. ]

Administration Office POC at Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA)[endnoteRef:5] or Office of Naval Research (ONR)[endnoteRef:6], if known [5: https://pubapp.dcma.mil/CASD/CasdSearch.do.] [6: http://www.onr.navy.mil/Contracts-Grants/Regional-Contacts.aspx.]

Name:

Address:

Telephone:

Audit Office POC at Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA)[endnoteRef:7], if known [7: http://www.dcaa.mil/Home/Locator?title=Locator ]

Name:

Address:

Telephone:

Date Proposal was Prepared

Proposal Validity Period (minimum 120 days)

VOLUME I (Technical and Management) PROPOSAL GUIDELINES: Use of this template is strongly encouraged for all proposal submissions. Proposers must include all information in this template to constitute a fully conforming proposal submission.

The use of Appendix A is required for all proposals.

Page Limit Requirement: Proposals shall not exceed a maximum of 25 pages. This page limit does NOT include the following:

· Proposal Coversheet

· Table of Contents

· Statement of Work

· Appendix A

· Resumes (Optional)

· References/Bibliography (Optional)

· Technical Papers (Optional)

Formatting Requirements: All submissions must be typed in English on 8.5" by 11" pages using 12-point font with 1" margins all around. 8 or 10-point fonts may be used for figures, tables, and charts. Use of diagram(s) or figure(s) to depict the essence of the proposed solution is encouraged. Do NOT include elaborate brochures or marketing materials.

Content Requirements: Content requirements are noted in blue font under each section of the template. Proposers should delete all content requirements prior to proposal submission.

Submission Requirements: Proposal Volume I submissions must be submitted in PDF or Microsoft Word formats. The recommended file naming convention is: “Organization Name_DICE Volume I.” All proprietary information should be appropriately marked. 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.

All proposers are strongly encouraged to submit UNCLASSIFIED or CUI proposals via DARPA’s Broad Agency Announcement Tool (BAAT). Please visit Proposer Instructions and General Terms and Conditions for specific information regarding submission methods through BAAT. Please note, BAAT is a method of secure transmission for CUI documentation. Submissions requesting cooperative agreements may, alternatively, be submitted through Grants.gov. Submissions sent through other mediums, channels, or after the prescribed deadline will not be accepted.

Table of Contents

COVER SHEET

[PRIME ORGANIZATION LOGO optional] HR001126S0010: DICE Volume I Source Selection Sensitive – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

[Content requirements are stated in blue font and should be deleted prior to proposal submission.] Proposal Summary [Recommended length: 2 pages Provide a top-level synopsis of the proposed project, including answers to 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 be the impact if the work is successful?

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

The summary should 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.] Goals and Impact [Recommended length: 2 pages Describe what you are trying to achieve and the difference it will make (qualitatively and quantitatively) if successful. Describe the innovative aspects of the project in the context of existing capabilities and approaches, clearly delineating the uniqueness and benefits of this project in the context of the state-of-the-art, alternative approaches, and other projects from the past and present. Describe how the proposed project is revolutionary and how it significantly rises above the current state of the art. Describe the deliverables associated with the proposed project and any plans to commercialize the technology, transition it to a customer, or further the work. Discuss the mitigation of any issues related to the sustainment of the technology over its entire lifecycle, assuming the technology transition plan is successful.] Technical Plan [Refer to the BAA for all elements that should be addressed with the Technical Plan. The description should also include:

· Links to any online demonstrations, repositories, or public leaderboards from relevant prior work by the team that represents an existing technical capability that will be leveraged by the proposed approach. For software artifacts, please identify any associated licenses.

· Include a description of computational capability with the team to run experiments with a large number of agentic AI systems for their technical approach. This description should include any relevant architecture details (e.g., number and kind of graphic processing units, memory, and intranode/internode interconnects) that are relevant to the proposed technical approach. Proposals can also include description of any access to external compute such as (but not limited to) national compute initiatives.]

Management Plan [Recommended length: <2 pages Provide a summary 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. Provide a clear description of the team’s organization, including an organization chart that illustrates, as applicable, the relationship of team members, unique capabilities of team members, task responsibilities of team members, teaming strategy among the team members, the principal investigator (PI), co-PI, and program manager (if applicable) for each team member to include subcontractor’s PI, co-PI, and program manager, and key personnel with the amount of effort to be expended by each person during the project. Provide a detailed plan for coordination, including explicit guidelines for interaction among collaborators/subawardees of the proposed project. Include risk management approaches. Describe any formal teaming agreements that are required to execute this project.] Personnel, Qualifications, and Commitments [Recommended length: <2 pages List key personnel (no more than one page per person), showing a concise summary of their qualifications, discussion of previous accomplishments, and work in this or closely related research areas. Indicate the level of effort in terms of hours to be expended by each person during each contract year and other (current and proposed) major sources of support for them and/or commitments of their efforts. DARPA expects all key personnel associated with a proposal to make substantial time commitment to the proposed activity, and the proposal will be evaluated accordingly. It is DARPA’s intention to put key personnel conditions into the awards, so proposers should not propose personnel that are not anticipated to execute the work.] Capabilities [Recommended length: <2 pages Describe the organizational experience in the relevant subject area(s), existing intellectual property, or specialized facilities. Describe any compute capabilities relevant to the DICE program. Discuss any work in closely related research areas and previous accomplishments. Identify other Government solicitation(s) to which this concept has been proposed. If applicable, state whether funding or a positive funding decision has already been received and from which agency.] Statement of Work (SOW) [No page limit Provide a detailed task breakdown by Contractor Fiscal Year, citing specific tasks and their connection to the interim milestones and metrics, as applicable. Do not include proprietary information.

For each defined task and subtask, provide:

· A general description of the objective.

· A detailed description of the approach to be taken to accomplish each defined task/subtask.

· Identification of any tasks/subtasks that will be performed on campus at a university.

· Identification (by name) of the primary and secondary organizations (prime contractor, sub-awardee, or consultant responsible for task/subtask execution. Do not include more than two organizations per task/subtask.

· A measurable milestone (e.g., a deliverable, demonstration, or other event/activity that marks task completion).

· A definition of all deliverables (e.g., data, reports, software) to be provided to the Government in support of the proposed tasks/subtasks.

· Identification of the proposed classification for each task/subtask.

· For all tasks and subtasks proposed to be unclassified, identify if the task/subtask is proposed as fundamental research or controlled unclassified information (CUI).

· Provide a short explanation for why each task/subtask should be categorized as fundamental research or CUI.] Schedule and Milestones [Provide a detailed schedule showing tasks (task name, duration, work breakdown structure element as applicable, performing organization), milestones, and the interrelationships among tasks. The task structure must be consistent with that in the SOW. Measurable milestones should be clearly articulated and defined in time relative to the start of the project.]

APPENDIX A

Key Personnel Please use the table below to identify all key personnel for the project.

Prime

Non-U.S. Individual:

FFRDC:

Government Entity:

☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Yes ☐ No

Subawardees/Consultants

Non-U.S. Individual:

FFRDC:

Government Entity:

☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Yes ☐ No

Non-U.S. Individual:

FFRDC:

Government Entity:

☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Yes ☐ No

Requirements for teams that include Government Entities and/or Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) Are any of the team member organizations (prime or subawardee) a Government entity or FFRDC?

☐ Yes ☐ No

If yes, provide the information outlined below.

a. Proof of Eligibility to Propose [Provide documentation citing the specific authority that establishes the applicable team member’s eligibility to propose to Government solicitations; include: (1) statutory authority; (2) contractual authority; (3) supporting regulatory guidance; and (4) evidence of agency approval for applicable team member participation. For FFRDCs, this documentation must be in the form of a letter on official letterhead from their sponsoring organization and must also include a statement of compliance with the terms and conditions of the associated FFRDC sponsor agreement, as applicable.]

b. Statement of Unique Capability [Provide a statement that demonstrates the work to be performed by the Government entity or FFRDC team member is not otherwise available from the private sector.]

Organizational Conflict of Interest Affirmations and Disclosure In accordance with the requirements of the BAA, provide the following information.

a. Are any of the proposed individual team members or their respective organizations (whether prime or subawardee or consultant) currently providing SETA, A&AS or similar support to DARPA?

☐ Yes ☐ No

b. Did any of the proposed individual team members or their respective organizations (whether prime or subawardee or consultant) provide SETA, A&AS or similar support to DARPA within one calendar year of this proposal submission?

☐ Yes ☐ No

If you answered “Yes” to 12.a OR 12.b, provide the following information for each applicable team member:

· 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.

c. Are there any other potential Organizational Conflicts of Interest involving any of the proposed individual team members or their respective organizations (whether prime or subawardee or consultant)?

☐ Yes ☐ No

If yes, provide the following information for each applicable team member:

· Identification of applicable team member; and

· An OCI mitigation plan in accordance with FAR 9.5.

Novelty of Proposed Work Has the proposed work been submitted to any other Government solicitation?

☐ Yes ☐ No

If yes, provide the following information

· Solicitation number: _______________________________________________________

· Agency: ________________________________________________________________

· Proposed work has already received funding or a positive funding decision.

☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Decision pending Bibliography (Optional) [A brief bibliography, limited to 5 pages, may be provided with links to relevant papers, references, reports, etc.]

Representations and Certifications

· For proposers requesting procurement contracts, please download, complete, and submit within this volume “Procurement Contracts Reps and Certs 2024” fillable template available at the following link: https://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/procurement-contracts

· For proposers requesting Other Transactions, please download, complete, and submit within this volume “2-SAMPLE OT certifications” available at the following link: https://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/reps-certs

Intellectual Property (IP) Please provide the following information, as applicable. Note: the Government will assume unlimited rights to all IP not explicitly identified as restricted in the proposal.

a. Technical Data and Computer Software Are you asserting any IP restrictions on any technical data or non-commercial computer software that will be delivered to the Government?

☐ Yes ☐ No

If yes, list all proprietary claims to results, prototypes, deliverables or systems supporting and/or necessary for the use of the proposed research, results, prototypes and/or deliverables. Provide a short summary for each item asserted with less than unlimited rights that describes the nature of the restriction and the intended use of the intellectual property in the conduct of the proposed research. Use the following format for these lists.

NONCOMMERCIAL

Asserted Rights Category

Name of Person Asserting Restrictions

Are you proposing any commercial software that will be delivered to the Government?

☐ Yes ☐ No

If yes, please provide licensing terms.

COMMERCIAL

Asserted Rights Category

Name of Person Asserting Restrictions

b. Patents Does the proposed effort involve using patented inventions that are owned by or assigned to the proposing organization or individual?

☐ Yes ☐ No

If yes, provide documentation proving ownership or possession of appropriate licensing rights to all patented inventions to be used for the proposed project. If a patent application has been filed for an invention, but it includes proprietary information and is not publicly available, provide documentation that includes: the patent number, inventor name(s), assignee names (if any), filing date, filing date of any related provisional application, and summary of the patent title, with either: (1) a representation of invention ownership; or (2) proof of possession of appropriate licensing rights in the invention (i.e., an agreement from the owner of the patent granting license to the proposer).