PWS DAF STFP (18SEP23).docx

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS) FOR

DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE (DAF)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (STFP)

FOR POST-DOCS AND SENIOR RESEARCHERS

18 September 2023

PREPARED BY

THE AIR FORCE OFFICE OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

PWS STFP FY24 Contract

CONTENTS

1. General. This is a non-personal services contract to provide Science and Technology Fellowship Program (STFP) services to be overseen by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) for the Department of the Air Force (DAF). The Government shall not exercise any supervision or control over any subcontract service providers performing the services herein. Such contract service providers shall be accountable solely to the Prime Contractor who, in turn, is responsible to the Government IAW the terms and conditions of the contract.

1.1 Description of Services. The STFP Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non- personal services necessary to provide the STFP services as defined in this PWS except for those items specified as government furnished property and services. The Contractor shall perform to the standards within this PWS that includes planning, coordinating, and monitoring activities necessary to ensure disciplined work performance and timely resource application to accomplish all taskings under the contract. The Contractor shall be responsible for maintaining communication with the Contracting Officer (CO) and the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), immediately notifying them of any problems that would prevent timely contract performance. The Contractor shall be responsible for implementing and maintaining management control systems necessary to plan, organize, direct, and control all activities under this contract.

1.2 Background. The overall purpose of the STFP is to appoint United States citizens who are highly qualified non-government, Ph.D.-level scientists and engineers (S&Es) to enhance the scientific and technological (S&T) research capabilities, expertise, and accomplishments of the DAF S&T organizations. These organizations include, but are not limited to, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), and the United States Space Force (USSF). To accomplish this purpose, two goals must be met. The first goal is to attract Ph.D.-level S&Es, hire them on limited-term appointments, and place these S&Es (referred to from this point forward as research associates) in DAF laboratories. Two categories of research associates are specifically sought. The first category (early career research associate) is for S&Es who received their Ph.D. five or fewer years prior to program appointment commencement. The second category (senior research associate) is for S&Es who received their Ph.D. more than five years prior to their application and have gained national and/or international reputations for the quality and impact of their research. The second goal of the STFP is to ensure that the research conducted by these research associates is well aligned to the existing research teams of the laboratories to which the research associates are assigned. Each research associate must technically align and collaborate with a DAF research advisor who serves as the technical lead for the research opportunity offered to the research associate.

1.3 Period of Performance. This is a five-year contract with one basic 12-month tenure and four 12-month option tenures. A six-month extension of services is also included.

1.4 Objectives. The objectives of the STFP are provided below.

a. Attraction of applicants: The intent of the STFP via an uncompromising and competitive branding and marketing strategy to attract a broad and diverse spectrum of applicants with PhDs who are highly qualified to conduct research of DAF relevance to the DAF laboratories where they are assigned. The contractor shall have established relationships within the STEM community at large, leveraging partnerships with Tier 1-3 institutions, HBCUs/MSIs, and STEM professional businesses, societies, and organizations that demonstrates the placement of forward and innovative thinking S&Es in critical DAF relevant research areas in DoD or other government recognized fellowship programs. A well-known community informed outreach plan is required to recruit a skilled diverse applicant pool which includes underrepresented communities, Tier 1-3 institutions, and STEM professional societies and organizations. The Government Program Manager/Contracting Officer Representative (GPM/COR) must approve the outreach plan and marketing strategy.

b. Evaluation of applicants: To ensure the stature of the program and the quality of the research associates selected to participate in this program, the contractor has established technical review panels of recognized experts in at least five scientific & engineering research disciplines. At least 85% of the panel shall be comprised of professional society fellows and/or distinguished/recognized endowed chairs from academia, industry, and government of diversified STEM communities. The review panels will evaluate applicant packages to identify those applicants who are qualified for the program. Final selection of an applicant to become a research associate will be made by the Government based upon the review panel’s recommendations.

c. Evaluation of Government research advisors and proposed research topics: All DAF organizations seeking to place research associates at their location through STFP must provide the STFP Contractor with names of Government research advisors and the advisors’ research topic area descriptions. The STFP Contractor shall have successfully executed and managed review boards within the last five years (01 January 2018 – Present). The STFP Contractor will recommend a set of evaluation criteria to the Government Program Manager (GPM) that the Government research advisors and the S&T areas must satisfy to be included in the program. Upon approval of these criteria, the STFP Contractor will provide external review panels that consist of highly qualified technical experts to evaluate the qualifications, in accordance with the agreed-upon criteria, of the proposed Government research advisors and their research topics provided by the DAF organizations. Final selection of a proposed Government research advisor will be made by the Government based upon the review panel’s recommendations. The research advisors shall be reviewed annually or whenever necessary where applicable.

d. Placement and management of research associates: The STFP Contractor will continue to have a relationship with the applicants who are selected to become research associates by the Government and place them at designated locations on the Government's behalf. The STFP Contractor shall remain in charge of all research associates, accomplishing all the relevant activities that are necessary with minimal transition disruptions. These activities include the placement of applicants, the distribution of stipends and benefits (healthcare and relocation, if applicable), and travel. As such, all Fellowship recipients are responsible for the payment of all federal and state taxes based on the Fellowship award.

1.5 Scope. The DAF plans to have up to 100 active research associate fellowships in fundamental research positions, in total, at any given time throughout the period of performance of the contract, (subject to the availability of funds). Per AFRLI 61-113, fundamental research is defined as basic and applied research in science and engineering, the results of which ordinarily are published and shared broadly within the scientific community, as distinguished from proprietary research and from industrial development, design, production, and product utilization, the results of which ordinarily are restricted for proprietary or national security reasons. The AFOSR will fund up to 84 research associates and the additional up to 16 may be funded by other internal DAF or DoD agencies. All research associate fellowships may be renewed for a second year and, in exceptional circumstances, for a third year if funding is available.

1.6 Recognized Holidays. The Contractor is responsible for conducting business Monday through Friday except on Federal holidays or when the Government facility is closed due to local or national emergencies, administrative closings, or similar Government directed facility closings. The Contractor must always maintain an adequate workforce for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within this PWS when the Government facility is not closed for the above reasons. The Contractor is not required to perform services on recognized U.S. Government Holidays. In general, when the Government is scheduled to be off, so shall contractor personnel, and when government employees are expected to work, so shall contractor employees. No contractor personnel employed under a contract to meet the terms and conditions of this PWS shall be considered essential unless specifically designated, in writing, by the GPM.

Currently recognized government holidays:

Christmas Day

1.7 Hours of operation and workforce. The leadership of Contractor personnel located at or on government installations shall coordinate a work schedule for each research associate with their respective DAF research advisors.

1.8 Conditions of Appointment. Research associates must be “in residence” at the DAF laboratory/facility for the 12-month tenure term. There are some instances that telework (TW) may be authorized. (Refer to section PWS 1.9). A RESEARCH ASSOCIATE MAY NOT ACCEPT SIMULTANEOUS REMUNERATION FROM ANOTHER FELLOWSHIP.

1.9 Place of Performance. The locations of work performed under this contract shall be at locations determined by the GPM. The research associates selected to perform research shall generally perform at AFRL locations, which are listed here: https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104463/air-force-research-laboratory, AFIT, or USAFA. These locations are provided as a baseline for research associate placement. If the DAF determines a need for more suitable locations, research associates may be placed at other TBD locations. However, research associates shall not have to commit to research award acceptance without tenure duration and location information. If the DAF determines a need for more suitable locations, the GPM shall notify the STFP Contractor of any such location so that subsequent employment agreements between the STFP Contractor and any research associate can account for the location of research associate performance prior to the consummation of any employment agreement. Regardless of the location of a research associate or the duration of her/his research, the Government shall bear the logistical (inbound relocation) expense of placing any research associate at any location if all associated costs are reviewed and recommended by the GPM and pre-approved by the Contracting Officer (CO).

The research associate may request a telework (TW) option from an alternate location based on DAF installation operating guidelines. TW may be granted under the following conditions: 1) the event of a global pandemic event (i.e., COVID-19); 2) the fellow or immediate family member has a diagnosis of a health condition (i.e., physical or mental) that prevents the fellow from physically working in the laboratory. The written TW request must state the length of TW, the reason for TW, and the proposed worked to be conducted. The written request must be approved by their research advisor, agency senior leadership, the COR/Government PM and the contracting officer before TW may begin. A request for TW does not guarantee approval for TW. Each TW request will be reviewed by the GPM/CO on a case-by-case basis.

1.10 Security Requirements. At the onset of the contract, "Controlled Unclassified Information” (CUI) is the only anticipated security consideration for building and IT access. Due to the short tenure term length, security clearances are not allowed as a requirement due to the amount of time required to receive clearance approval. The above requirements are in addition to any other contract requirements related to obtaining a Common Access Card (CAC). The CAC approval processes are conducted via the DAF laboratory/facility security offices via the research associates research advisor request. All applicants must be United States citizens to receive fellowship and obtain the CAC approval.

An IT network/system does not require AFRL to endorse a contractor's application to said network/system (contractor website or portal) to gain access, the organization operating the IT network/system is responsible for controlling access to its system. If an IT network/system requires an U.S. Government sponsor to endorse the application for access to the IT network/system; AFRL will only endorse Research Associates who are U.S. citizens performing work under this contract.

Any additional access restrictions established by the IT network/system owner apply.

1.11 Physical Security (if when applicable). The STFP Contractor shall be responsible for safeguarding all government equipment, information and property provided for contractor use.

1.11.1 Sensitive Item Control (if when applicable). The STFP Contractor shall establish and implement methods of making sure all sensitive items (keys/key (CAC) cards), government badges, lock combinations, etc.) issued to the STFP Contractor. It is the responsibility of the assigned DAF laboratory to ensure the research associates properly maintains and accounts for all sensitive items and not used by unauthorized persons in collaboration with assigned DAF facility procedures. NOTE: All references to keys include key/CAC cards. No keys issued to the STFP Contractor, their subcontractors, or research associates by the Government shall be duplicated. The STFP Contractor shall develop procedures covering sensitive item control. Such procedures shall include turn-in of any issued keys by personnel who no longer require access to secure and/or locked areas. The STFP Contractor shall immediately report any occurrences of lost or duplicate sensitive items to the accredited laboratory advisors at each respective DAF organization and/or GPM.

1.11.2 In the event sensitive items are lost, the STFP Contractor shall, upon direction of the CO and at their own cost, re-key or replace the affected lock or locks; however, the Government, at its option, may replace the affected lock(s) or perform re-keying. When the replacement of locks or re-keying is performed by the Government, the total cost of re-keying or the replacement of the lock or locks shall be deducted from the payment due to the Contractor.

1.11.3 The Contractor shall prohibit the use of Government issued sensitive items by any persons other than the Contractor's employees or research associates. The Contractor shall prohibit the opening of locked areas or secure systems (IT or otherwise) by contractor employees and research associates to permit entrance of persons other than contractor employees and research associates engaged in the performance of assigned work in those areas, or personnel authorized entrance by the CO and/or research associate.

1.12 Safety. All research associates are required to follow safety protocols at their assigned TD facility. In the event of a safety incident with the research associate, the research advisor must follow their TD safety protocols and submit an incident report to the contracting officer representative (COR) and the contractor program manager (CPM) within 24 hours of the incident. The COR will forward the incident report to the contracting officer.

1.13 Post Award Conference/Periodic Progress Meetings. The STFP contractor is responsible for ensuring the research accomplished by the research associate is in accordance with what the research associate proposed to the expert review panel when they applied for the program. The Contractor agrees to attend any post award meeting convened by the contracting activity or contract administration office in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 42.5. Any post award conference discussing any effort in addition to previously agreed to terms and conditions of the existing contract must be conducted by the CO.

1.14 Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). The COR shall be the GPM. The COR monitors all technical aspects of the contract and assists in contract administration. For purposes of this PWS, the COR shall execute duties IAW DFARS 201.602-2. The COR shall be the contractor's primary point of contact for performance under all existing terms and conditions of the contract. The COR is authorized to perform but not necessarily limited to the following functions:

· Assure that the Contractor performs the technical requirements of the contract; perform inspections necessary in connection with contract performance.

· Maintain written and oral communications with the Contractor concerning technical aspects of the contract; providing regular feedback, in writing, to contractor and CO when performance is considered good or less than adequate or satisfactory IAW contractual terms and conditions.

· Issue written interpretations of technical requirements, including process charts, and execution plans.

· Monitor the Contractor's performance and notify both the CO and Contractor of any deficiencies.

· Coordinate site entry of Contractor personnel and availability of government furnished property via laboratory Government research advisors at each respective TD.

•Oversee and evaluate contractor performance. Provide feedback into CPARs (Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System) database IAW GPM/COR function.

A letter of designation issued to the COR, a copy of which shall be sent to the Contractor, states the responsibilities and limitations of the COR, especially regarding changes in cost or price, estimates or changes in delivery dates. The COR is not authorized to change any of the terms and conditions of the resulting contract or any order against the contract.

The GPM/COR at contract award shall be:

Mrs. Ellen M. Robinson Phone: (703) 588-8527 E-mail: ellen.robinson.1@us.af.mil

1.15 Contractor Program Manager (CPM):

The CPM is required to have no less than seven years’ experience working with fellowship programs, five years’ experience working with DoD organizations, and bachelor’s degree in science or engineering discipline. The CPM shall be responsible for maintaining communication with the CO and COR, immediately notifying them of any issues that may affect the execution of tasks or have an adverse impact to program. The Contractor is responsible for implementing and maintaining management control systems necessary to plan, organize, direct, and control all activities under this task order. Within five days of contract award, the Contractor shall designate a CPM (and alternate) and inform the COR and CO of the name and contact info of the CPM (and alternate) who shall be the Government single point of contact for all performance under the terms and conditions of this contract. This shall be done IAW CDRL 0001. Contractor personnel, CPM or otherwise, shall only take direction under existing terms and conditions of the contract from the COR and/or the CO. Additionally, all material changes to the contract must be coordinated with the government CO prior to taking effect.

The CPM must submit a Quality Control Plan (QCP) within five business days of contract award. The QCP addresses the “detection” function that defines the type, number, Acceptable Quality Levels (AQLs), and frequency of quality assurance/control inspections planned by the contractor that meet the intent of the applicable FAR 52.246 or FAR 52.212-4(a) clauses. Prior to the pre-performance meeting, the MFT requires the winning contractor to fully address any deficiencies identified in the Quality Management System. Any QCP revisions must be submitted to the COR/GPM within three business days. This shall be done IAW CDRL 0015.

1.16 Key Personnel:

The following are considered key personnel by the Government: the CPM who shall be overall responsible for the performance of the work in this PWS. The CPM or alternate shall have full authority to act for the contractor on all existing terms and condition of the contract relating to daily operation of this contract. The CPM or alternate shall be available Monday thru Friday, 8 hours a day, with core hours between 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. local time. Additional key personnel are all those personnel necessary to administer, manage, and execute all logistical processes necessary to obtain and sustain the effort research associates at designated locations. The GPM shall be notified in writing, (e-mail notification is acceptable), whenever there should be a change in any contractor key personnel.

1.17 Cost Contract Line-Item Numbers (CLIN) considerations:

1.17.1 Other Direct Costs:

Other Direct Costs (ODCs), including but not limited to travel (if applicable): The contract shall be Firm Fixed priced (FFP). However, given the nature and uncertainty of the effort, there shall be cost CLINs associated with the cost of the contract. The purpose(s) of these CLIN(s) shall be to provide relocation expenses and compensation packages to research associates.

Additionally, at the discretion of the CO/GPM, research associates may be required to travel or to incur additional miscellaneous ODCs during the performance of this contract. If travel is required, research associates must have CO/GPM approval and shall be authorized travel expenses consistent with the substantive provisions of the Joint Travel Regulation (JTR) and the limitation of funds specified in applicable travel CLIN of the contract. Finally, it is anticipated that in order to sufficiently attract and successfully award to extraordinary research candidates it may be necessary to increase the compensation package(s) to an amount higher than the commercial standard. In the event that the DAF determines it is necessary to increase an individual's compensation package, the CO may do so, on a case-by-case basis. For these reasons, cost CLIN(s) shall exist simply because they represent costs that cannot be reasonably anticipated or accurately predicted before contract award and, as such, shall be priced on a Not To Exceed (NTE) basis. All ODCs shall require Government pre-approval/authorization by the CO. The denial of any direct cost by the CO shall not relieve the contractor from performance under the FFP portion of the contract.

1.17.2 Cost Reimbursement CLINs:

Given that this contract shall include deliverables and is not intended to acquire a mere level of effort, the cost reimbursement CLINs under this contract shall constitute a relatively insignificant part of the total contract value. The specific purpose of the cost reimbursement CLINs is to provide compensation packages in the form of stipends to the research candidates who shall become post-docs or senior research associates. CLINs as they are strictly “pass through funds” from the Government through the prime contractor and directly to each research associate selectee. Under no circumstance shall the prime contractor charge a profit or additional indirect costs on these specific CLINs or accept a compensation package price from the Government and then negotiate a lower compensation package price with the research associate. Proposals against this PWS shall consider the pass-through nature of these specific CLINs and ensure all costs associated with the management & execution of the program shall be proposed and accounted for on the FFP CLINs. All cost reimbursement CLINs shall be straight cost reimbursable with no provision for fee (profit) or indirect costs.

The DAF plans to award up to 100 active research associate fellowships in total, at any given time throughout the period of performance of the contract, (subject to the availability of funds). The AFOSR will fund up to 84 research associates and the additional up to 16 may be funded by other internal DAF or DoD agencies. The contractor must not bill against CLIN 0001 for the up to 16 externally funded research associates but will be required to bill against the externally funded agency CLIN. These CLINs will be identified in the modifications to identify the research associate name and DAF laboratory organization when adding the additional funding.

1.18 Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI) Mitigation Plan: Contractor and subcontractor personnel performing work under this contract may receive, have access to or participate in the development of proprietary or source selection information (e.g., cost or pricing information, budget information or analyses, specifications or work statements, etc.) or support evaluation services which may create a current or subsequent OCIs as defined in FAR 9.5. In all cases any such work will be subordinate to Government personnel (GPM or CO) who shall retain all decision-making authority on behalf of the Government. The Contractor shall notify the CO immediately whenever it becomes aware that such access or participation may result in any actual or potential OCI and shall promptly submit a plan to the CO to avoid or mitigate any such OCI. The Contractor's mitigation plan will be determined to be acceptable solely at the discretion of the CO and in the event the CO unilaterally determines that any such OCI cannot be satisfactorily avoided or mitigated, the CO may affect other remedies as he or she deems necessary, including prohibiting the Contractor from participation in subsequent contracted requirements which may be affected by the OCI. Proposals against this PWS shall provide initial OCI mitigation and /or internal neutralization plan that addresses the following concerns at a minimum: CDRL 0002

· The potential that the population of research proposals would be limited to provide unfair advantage to any one or group of proposals during the review panel process and subsequent grading of the candidate proposals.

· The potential that any research proposal may be unfairly graded.

•The potential for candidates to evaluate proposals from its own employees.

· Procedure for safeguarding and maintaining the confidentiality of each proposal and any resulting research.

· Any other situation resulting in the "impaired objectivity" of the contractor when conducting review panels.

1.19 At the end of any period of performance, the contractor shall, at the government's discretion, execute a transition plan. Transition shall be addressed at two levels:

Level 1 Transition: Responsibilities of Key Personnel.

a. The transition plan shall be a 60-calendar day period of contract overlap between key personnel of the incumbent contractor and the replacing effort (successor contractor or the government as applicable). The intent of the plan shall be to continue services under the existing contract with the incumbent contractor supporting the replacing effort such that the replacing effort will be able to execute and provide ongoing service at a level equal to or better than incumbent's best effort. The first 30 days shall consist of incumbent instructing the replacement effort to the point of proficiency where the incumbent retains primary and the replacing effort secondary responsibility for performance. During the latter 30 days of the transition period, the replacement effort shall formally take over execution responsibility and refine their capability of their performance. During this time the replacing effort shall inherit primary responsibility while the incumbent is relegated to secondary responsibility for performance.

b. Transfer of STFP database from incumbent contractor to replacing effort. Upon the end of the contract, the contractor shall transition the database of research associates and Government research advisors to a successor contractor that delineates the "pass thru" portion of the contract. Past, present, and future financial compensation packages paid (or to be paid) to STFP recipients shall be disclosed. The intent is to provide necessary historical compensation package pricing data to allow the replacement effort a basis for future compensation packages and, more significantly, to enable para (b) of level 2 transition below.

Level 2 Transition, Retaining Research Associates Under the Replacing Effort: It is likely that many research associates that are employed by the incumbent contractor will have employment contracts whose durations extend beyond the period of performance (PoP) of the STFP contract. To retain these associates during the transition period and beyond, the following additional task must be executed:

· During the level I transition, the incumbent and replacing efforts shall meet with the GPM to ensure that existing research associates will be available to respective AF organizations for the duration of their employment contracts. If a research associate was selected under the incumbent effort and their respective employment contract with the incumbent should end after the replacing effort has taken over responsibility for performance (and the GPM determines that the AF organization still desires the research associate’s effort), then the GPM shall coordinate with the incumbent and replacing efforts to ensure that no lapse in effort of those prior research associate(s) in question shall occur.

PART 2 DEFINITIONS & ACRONYMS

2. DEFINITIONS AND ACRONYMS:

2.1. DEFINITIONS:

2.1.1. CONTRACTOR. A supplier or vendor having a contract to provide specific supplies or service to the government. The term used in this contract refers to the prime.

2.1.2. CONTRACTING OFFICER (CO). A person with authority to enter into, administer, and or terminate contracts, and make related determinations and findings on behalf of the government. Note: The only individual who can legally bind the government.

2.1.3. CONTRACTING REPRESENTATIVE OFFICER (COR). The COR in this contract shall also be the Government program manager. An employee of the U.S. Government appointed by the CO to administer the contract. Such appointment shall be in writing and shall state the scope of authority and limitations. This individual has authority to provide technical direction to the Contractor if that direction is within the scope of the contract, does not constitute a change, and has no funding implications. This individual does NOT have authority to change the terms and conditions of the contract.

2.1.4. DEFECTIVE SERVICE. A service output that does not meet the standard of performance associated with the PWS.

2.1.5. DELIVERABLE. Anything that can be physically delivered but may include non-physical things such as meeting minutes.

2.1.6. KEY PERFORMANCE PARAMETER (KPP). KPPs are requirements that are critically essential and fundamental to the requirement and shall be a core competency of the prime contractor. A proposal with a deficiency or even a significant weakness in any KPP shall be deemed not "responsible" and excluded from further consideration for contract award.

2.1.7. KEY PERSONNEL. Contractor personnel that are fundamental to the performance of the terms and conditions of the contract and may be evaluated in a source selection process. When key personnel are used as an evaluation factor in best value procurement, an offer can be rejected if it does not have a firm commitment from the persons that are listed in the proposal.

2.1.8. PHYSICAL SECURITY. Actions that prevent the loss or damage of Government property.

2.1 .9. QUALITY ASSURANCE. The government procedures to verify that services being performed by the Contractor are performed according to acceptable standards.

2.1.10. PERFORMANCE PLAN (PP). An organized written document specifying how quality assurance will be executed to determine contractor performance.

2.1.11. QUALITY CONTROL. All necessary measures taken by the Contractor to assure that the quality of an end product or service shall meet contract requirements.

2.1.12. WORK DAY. The number of hours per day the Contractor provides services in accordance with the contract.

2.1.13. WORK WEEK. Is defined as Monday through Friday, unless specified otherwise.

2.2. ACRONYMS/DEFINITIONS: [List all acronyms used in the PWS and what they represent. At a minimum, insert the acronyms provided below].

AFIT Air Force Institute of Technology

AFOSR Air Force Office of Scientific Research

AFRL Air Force Research Laboratory

CAC Common Access Card

CO Contracting Officer

COR Contracting Officer’s Representative (synonymous with "COR" IAW DFARS 201.602-2 and PGI 201-602-2)

CPM Prime Contractor Program Manager

CPARS Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System

CLIN(s) Contract Line-Item Number(s)

CUI

DAF

DAF Focal Points

DD254

Controlled Unclassified Information

Department of Air Force

DAF Chief & Deputy/Assistant Chief Scientists, DAF Scientists & Engineers (AFRL, AFIT, DAF, & USSF) (used synonymously with Government S&Es)

Department of Defense Contract Security Requirement List

QC

Quality Control

QCP Quality Control Program

TBD To Be Determined

GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY, EQUIPMENT, AND SERVICES

3. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED ITEMS AND SERVICES:

3.1 Services. The Government shall provide all services, facilities, utilities, equipment, and materials necessary for research associates to perform IAW the research proposal under which they were awarded. These things shall be coordinated by the GPM (prior to award of a research fellowship), and directly provided by the gaining organization (AFRL/TD, AFIT, USAFA, USSF, etc.) of the research associate.

PART 4

CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS AND SERVICES

4. CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

4.1. General. The Contractor shall furnish all supplies, equipment, facilities, materials, and services required to perform work under this PWS and resulting contract that are not listed under Part 3 of this PWS.

4.2. Contractor Review(s). The contractor is responsible for ensuring the research accomplished by the research associate is in accordance with what the research associate proposed to the expert review panel when they applied for the program. The contractor shall continuously monitor the operation and effectiveness of the program processes and advise the GPM regarding opportunities to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the STFP via a Program Manager Review. The contractor shall participate in an annual and quarterly reviews, or more often if designated by the CO/GPM. The CPM will brief the status of the program, to the AFOSR program manager and other selected Air Force participants IAW CDRL 0003.

PART 5 SPECIFIC TASKS

5. Specific Tasks:

5. 1. Basic Services

The prime contractor shall provide services for execution of the DAF STFP. As stated in part 1 of this PWS, these are the basic performance objectives:

5.1.1 Attraction and selection of Government research advisors and topics

a. The contractor shall have an established plan and process for soliciting potential Government research advisors, evaluating advisor qualifications and proposed research topic areas, and identifying those who are qualified to serve as advisors.

b. The contractor plan shall detail the capability to control the objectivity of the proposed process to evaluate Government research advisor candidates and respective proposed research topics.

c. The contractor shall have an established relationship with DAF focal points within the agencies that intend to use this contractual vehicle to obtain research associates. The contractor shall maintain a database of names and contact information for the DAF focal points at each laboratory (AFRL, AFIT, USAFA, and USSF).

d. The panel shall evaluate each Government S&E application and determine if, in their review and assessment based upon set contractor provided and GPM approved criterion, the applicant is qualified to serve as a research advisor. The contractor shall submit the suggested number of times the panel convenes for GPM approval within ten days of to evaluate all new research advisor applications and report the results in a timely manner to the GPM. The GPM will use the panel evaluations and, with inputs from the DAF focal points, determine which of the government S&Es will become Government research advisors. Deliver electronic list of expert panelists for approval 30 days prior to convening review panels. CDRL 0004. The contractor shall maintain a list of all review panel members. CDRL 0004

e. The contractor shall maintain a list of all DAF Government research advisors IAW CDRL 0005. Each Government research advisor shall be the primary point of contact for applicants interested in their topics. The research advisor may have more than one research topic if approved by TD chief scientist office and GPM. It is the intent of this contract that each Government research advisor shall serve as a mentor to the applicants who are selected to be research associates for their research topics. The TD focal point will notify the GPM and contractor of any changes to the research advisors when applicable. CDRL 0005

5.1.2 Attraction of applicants and their research proposals:

The contractor shall have an established branded and marketing outreach plan and process for identifying and attracting a diverse pool of highly qualified Ph.D. scientists and engineers whose research interests and capabilities align with the needs of the DAF agencies participating in this program.

5.1.2.1. The contractor shall develop and execute an outreach plan IAW CDRL 0006 to locate and attract a diversified candidate pool of highly qualified PhDs in scientific and engineering disciplines of importance to the DAF agencies. Candidates in this pool must be U.S. citizens. Foreign citizens and green-card holders are not eligible. The plan shall also include the contractor’s established relationship with academic (Tier I-III schools, HBCUs/MSIs, etc.) institutions and professional scientific societies/organizations. The outreach plan must address specific methods to address HBCUs/MSIs to include all underrepresented groups (i.e., Tribal Colleges, Native American, Pacific Islander, etc.) The outreach plan shall identify methods to make efforts to increase by 5% Tier II-III and underrepresented groups applications. CDRL 0006

5.1.2.2. The contractor shall solicit research proposals from the candidate pool described in Section 5.1.2 that are in response to the research areas provided by the Government research advisors. Each potential applicant who wishes to submit a research proposal to a research area should be encouraged to contact the government research advisor for that research area prior to submitting the candidate proposal in order to gain increased understanding of what the Government research advisor desires in the proposals. If a potential applicant is interested in proposing a research topic that the applicant believes is of interest to a DAF agency but that is not aligned to at least one of the provided research topic areas, the contractor shall work with the GPM to see if a Government research advisor for the topic can be provided.

a. Visits to DAF research locations by applicants are encouraged in order to promote the program and for applicants to obtain an opportunity to evaluate the suitability of research facilities and/or advisors. The contractor shall provide all travel estimates and details of travel to the GPM prior to travel for approval. The GPM must approve all travel requests prior to any travel. Per Diem shall be in accordance with the Joint Travel Regulation. The contractor shall document the result of the visit in a Site Visit Report IAW CDRL 0007.

b. Promotion and outreach strategy shall be ongoing for potential applicants, research associates, prior/future review panels regardless of if the 84 AFOSR and 16 external AFOSR funded positions are filled.

5.1.3 Evaluation of research applicants:

The contractor shall enable the Government program manager to effectively and efficiently select the best candidates to become research associates. The use of expert external review panels to identify the best candidates is required. The contractor shall establish review panels of diverse recognized experts in at least five scientific & engineering research disciplines. The panel shall be comprised of at least 85% fellows from a professional society and/or distinguished/recognized endowed chairs from academia, industry, and government. The overall performance of the entire evaluation effort shall be a core competency of the prime contractor.

a. The contractor shall have a plan and process for evaluating applicants. The plan shall detail the capability to control the objectivity of the proposed process to ensure the eligibility of applicants. The plan shall detail the process to post-board review results in written reports to include research proposal, qualitative rating of proposal (positive and negative), & compensation package based on DAF requirements.

b. The contractor shall coordinate execution and conduct/oversee an independent review panel of experts to evaluate research proposals and rate applicants with regard to the quality and relevance of their proposed research and their qualifications. The review panelists shall be recognized experts in at least five scientific and engineering disciplines. The contractor shall appoint review panelists for the competitive evaluation and ranking of the applications. The contractor shall submit the suggested number of times the panel convenes for GPM approval within ten days of to evaluate all new applications and report the results in a timely manner to the GPM. CDRL 0004

c. Validate Research Associate Eligibility Requirements: The contractor shall verify that each research associates requiring access to DAF bases, AFRL facilities, and/or access to U.S. Government Information Technology networks in connection with the work on this contract is an U.S. citizen. The contractor shall verify that each applicant possesses a doctoral degree in science or engineering. Possession of a permanent resident card ("Green Card") does not equate to U.S. citizenship.

d. Validate Contractor Employees Eligibility Requirements: Possession of a permanent resident card ("Green Card") does not equate to U.S. citizenship. This requirement does not apply to foreign nationals approved by the U.S. Department of Defense or U.S. State Department under international personnel exchange agreements with foreign governments. Any waivers to this requirement must be granted in writing by the CO prior to providing access. The contractor shall also identify any proposal that has the potential to result in anything less than the standard terms and conditions set in the FAR Subpart 27.3 and DFARS 252.227-7038 which are incorporated into this contract. When such potential exists, it shall not have a detrimental effect on the quality determination of submitted proposals by the contractor’s expert review panel. However, the STFP contractor must notify the GPM (prior to GPM selection; see para 5.1.4) on all proposals that, if selected, would present the potential for the Government to receive anything less than the standard terms and conditions set in FAR Subpart 27.3 and DFARS 252.227-7038 IAW CDRL 0008.

e. After each review panel, the contractor shall provide a post-board review with results detailing all applicant outcomes to the GPM and designated AF points of contact. The results shall be a written report including a list of each proposal submitted, descriptions of proposals the review panel recommends do not merit award and rationale, the relative qualitative rating of each recommended qualified research proposal (along with any comments the review panel wishes to pass on to the Government), and total compensation package necessary (if selected by the GPM) to acquire the research effort of each applicant recommended as qualified CDRL 0010. Additionally, the contractor shall identify any proposal that has the potential to result in anything less than the standard terms and conditions set in FAR Subpart 27.3 and DFARS 252.227-7038, which are incorporated into this contract. Conversely, if it is expected that selected research candidates will provide the rights set in FAR Subpart 27.3 and DFARS 252.227-7038 to the Government, candidates shall make their intentions known before selection and this must also be annotated in the post board review report. CDRL 0008

5.1.4 Placement of successful applicants:

Once the Government is in receipt of the board results IAW CDRL 0010, the GPM shall coordinate with applicable DAF organizations and decide which recommended applicants are to be selected. The decisions will be sent back to the contractor by the GPM. After the selected scientists and engineers accept their job offers and begin work, their technical efforts shall be guided by their Government research advisors. The contractor is responsible for the entire program management functions: administer, manage, and execute all logistical processes necessary to obtain the on-site effort of the selected research associates at designated AF facility, etc. Program management functions will include:

(1) Payments of stipends, benefits, and travel allowances

(2) Financial tracking and reporting of monthly disbursements for research associates’ stipends, benefits, travels, and other allowances (if applicable)

(3) Electronic administrative reporting for research associates to include type of research, length of tenure, research locations, research presentations, pending or awarded patents, and other research awards

(4) Ensuring compliance practices align with Privacy Act of 1974 for maintaining, handling, and transmitting of data/reports/analysis

Be advised that this effort shall be a contract order by the Government for a predetermined amount of time. After such order is placed, it is possible, and likely, that additional candidates shall be selected from any prior or successive post board review report (para 5.1.2 c) and increase the number of research associates performing at TDs. Therefore, the program management effort must take into account all possible research associates to be managed not just existing at the time of the contract order but also all those (up to the potential maximum) to possibly be additionally ordered during the entire duration of the contract order for program management.

Program management will be awarded at the beginning of the period of performance for the duration of the awarded year. Once program management is awarded, the contractor shall be expected to manage all current selected candidates and research associates, and any future candidates and research associates selected during the awarded year (up to maximum number of research associates).

a. As a part of the STFP, awardees are eligible, but not mandated, to receive a compensation package commensurate with the median compensation of their peers to include stipend, travel (as approved by the GPM/CO), health insurance, worker's compensation, and relocation benefits (as/if necessary, GPM requested, and CO directed). The contractor shall provide to the GPM the total price of acquiring each research associate. The price shall annotate the actual monetary salary (stipend) to be paid to each research associate along with detail of the burdened labor rate; the total cost of employment for each benefit of the total compensation package and further delineating which of these costs are ODCs. CDRL 0010

b. Each research associate's total compensation package may be additionally adjusted, on a case-by-case basis, according to their scientific/engineering discipline, specific travel needs, specific relocation costs, and the demand for their research effort. This extra marginal compensation (which shall be pre-approved by the CO) will be determined on a case-by-case basis and will be part of the cost portion of the contract resulting from this PWS.