PWS UAS3.pdf

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

OPEN INNOVATION OPPORTUNITY:

UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS CHALLENGE PROGRAM

I. BACKGROUND

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) program has established the Innovation Accelerator (IA) to spearhead Research and Development (R&D) that supports the development and deployment of the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN). PSCR’s Open Innovation Program engages public safety entities, government, academia, and industry to identify innovation opportunities and foster technology advancements for public safety communications through Open Innovation Opportunities (OIO) Prize Challenges. PSCR organizes its Prize Challenges around the following lifecycle which includes the five (5) phases: Design, Launch, Run, Award, and Follow-up.

10-Step Prize Challenge Lifecycle

The purpose of this OIO is to advance Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) technology by building and flying an Unmanned Aircraft (UA) dedicated to enhancing broadband availability in regions with minimal traditional macro cellular network coverage, either due to remote locations or insufficient coverage in a building. PSCR is evaluating ways to support first responders using UAS to support missions for indoor and outdoor situational awareness. Also, as with all emerging technologies, PSCR seeks to incorporate network and data security on the platform in the initial design, so that it does not become a priority only after security is compromised.

In pursuit of those goals, PSCR is investigating options to enable state and local first responders to deploy UAS for various scenarios. PSCR is aware that many organizations have, or are developing, UAS with increased capabilities; however, these UAS typically cost more than what a local public safety department might be able to afford. Additionally, they may not be practical due to the difficulty of transporting large equipment and/or the need for specialized training to operate it, both of which can be difficult for city/state offices with limited staff and resources.

PSCR seeks a partner to design, implement and run three UAS challenges to help the OIO Challenge Program advance the UAS industry and wireless communications research.

II. OBJECTIVE

The objective of these OIO Challenges are to advance UAS technology by building and flying a UA that supports public safety goals including but not limited to ease of use, effective performance and affordability. The Contractor shall address the following scenario use cases in designing for three individual challenges:

1. Exterior search and rescue where thermal imaging cameras could be used to return locations of missing persons with sub-meter accuracy. The area would likely be heavily forested, so the teams would rely solely on the thermal imaging rather than visual confirmation.

2. Location tracking of first responders within a multi-level structure where GPS is neither consistent nor accurate and the z-axis has never been quantifiable. The ideal structure would be multiple level (3 or more). Solutions should include an unobtrusive, wearable transmitter for the first responder in the structure whose location is detected by a combination of sensors exterior to the building of which at least one is mounted on a UAV for z-axis measurement.

3. Security of drone control and data transmission where drone control in many cases may be using widely known, legacy communication channels that are exclusively or in part publicly available. The control channel frequencies could be monitored for replay or, jammed to impair or disable control of the drone. Teams should demonstrate resiliency to these attacks through secure transmission, but also in the ability for the drone to perform in an expected manner should it detect an attempt to disable its communications. Equally, discovered data (i.e. imaging), transmitted out-of-band relative to the control transmission, should be encrypted to ensure secure reception.

As public safety operations move towards having wireless communications readily available when operating in hard-to-reach areas, UAS technology may become a more common method to support communications on a mission. The need to properly test, validate, and standardize the use of UAS for first responders is necessary to protect both public safety personnel and citizen communities. Developments coming out of these challenges would drive major advances in the practical applications of UAS and their use by public safety.

III. SCOPE

PSCR has a requirement for administrative and technical support to run national competitions for the PSCR UAS Challenge Program. The Contractor shall perform the following general requirements as well as the specific requirements found in Section IV, Tasks:

1. Perform all management functions including technical and business management necessary to plan, implement, track, report and deliver the required services described herein.

2. Design the challenge architecture for three challenges, including digital or ‘live’ events and community engagement.

3. Plan, implement, and facilitate recurring virtual meetings with the participants and the PSCR Challenge team on an as-needed basis.

4. Plan, implement and facilitate any in-person events (e.g., mid-point safety & capabilities testing, a ‘live’ competition).

5. Service support for OIO (e.g., review, judging, metrics/analysis, industry research, technology searches).

6. Consult services for OIO (e.g., community development, outreach, problem definition, prize strategy, impact and process evaluation).

7. Provide access to unique research pertaining to OIO and innovation best practices.

8. Promote the PSCR Open Innovation Program to help build a network of partners.

In designing the challenges, the Contractor may consider aspects of past or current PSCR UAS challenges, namely the UAS Flight and Payload Challenge and First Responder UAS Endurance Challenge, which can be found on the challenge.gov website.

IV. TASKS

The Contractor shall complete the tasks outlined below to support all three challenges. In this section, the deliverables required by the Contractor for each task are described and then summarized in Section V, Deliverables. There will be opportunities to coordinate with PSCR staff, but the Contractor has the full responsibility to produce high quality and detailed deliverables which meet the requirements within this Performance Work Statement (PWS). The Deliverable Templates will be provided by PSCR upon award.

1. Concept creation, vetting, and development of the Challenge problem statements Coordinate with PSCR staff on the development of three challenge concepts and problem statements for the OIO review and approval process.

(Deliverable 1.2 - Concept Briefing with PSCR Program Manager)

2. Research to support the Challenges

a. Research the concepts and industry trends to develop technology baselines to ensure that the concepts are focused on clear challenge problem statement definitions.

b. Determine how to measure the outputs and outcomes of the challenges and how to collect and assess progress toward those outputs and outcomes.

c. Identify community networks and potential participants to engage by creating outreach and communications strategies for the challenges.

(Deliverable 2.4 - Research Briefing with PSCR Program Manager) (Deliverable 2.5 - Challenge Summary Memo) (Deliverable 2.6 - Communications & Engagement Plan)

3. Design and build the Challenges

a. Develop the structure and requirements for three individual challenges. The

Contractor may consider using past PSCR UAS challenge designs and evaluation criteria in their proposal, which is publicly available on challenge.gov. Activities include:

1) Develop three individual challenges to attract individuals and teams with the https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/the-unmanned-aerial-systems-flight-and-payload-challenge/ skills, knowledge, and ability to build UAS prototypes and compete in ‘live’ events.

a) Create three challenges that include an indoor challenge, a large-scale outdoor challenge and a security challenge, as described in Section II, Objective. Other research areas that may satisfy the challenge design are location-based services, mapping, GPS-denied, and IoT sensor evaluation with focus on first responder missions.

b) Collaborate with PSCR and Subcontractor on the design and research goals for each challenge. The design shall incorporate state-of-the-art evaluation and test facilities capable of collecting flight test measurements, performance monitoring and the possible use of an anechoic test chamber. PSCR is also interested in allowing competition of fixed wing UAS or other frame types that may require the use of hangar space or runways. Some stages in the challenge may consider climate-controlled facilities.

2) Collaborate with PSCR in developing the technical design and tasks for three challenges with final stages to be ‘live’ events. This includes examining best practices and developing the appropriate number of challenge stages to support contestants’ ability to construct and build a UAS prototype, prepare it for flight operations, adhere to safety requirements, and pre-testing of prototypes. The Contractor shall procure a facility for the ‘live’ events.

a) Schedule and procure (via subcontract procurement, co-sponsorship, or any other method) the use of a facility for the ‘live’ events. The Mississippi State University indoor and outdoor urban facilities shall be used for up to two ‘live’ events, or as appropriate for the design. Considerations should be made for scheduling the ’live’ events using indoor and outdoor flight facilities in case of inclement weather and mitigate for optimum flying conditions.

b) Evaluate travel needs for PSCR, Challenge Reviewers and participants as needed.

c) Determine logistics and provide travel arrangements for participants to travel to the ‘live’ events and for other travel required by participants for pre-testing and evaluation. The Contractor will provide travel arrangements for any non- PSCR travelers, including participants and non-PSCR SME reviewers/judges, in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulations.

1. For example, in past challenges PSCR provided travel funds separate from the cash prize awards to pay travel costs of up to four (4) team members from 10 teams to compete in the ‘live’ event. The Contractor may use this example to propose a budget, unless an alternate multi-stage design is proposed. Also, refer to Section XI, Travel.

d) Develop a Safety Plan in collaboration with the PSCR technical team for the ‘live’ events including parameters for the UAS operators, PSCR reviewers, judges, and the viewing public. The safety plan must be approved by the NIST Safety Office at least one month prior to the ‘live’ events.

3) Design the stages and stage gates leading up to and resulting in the final ‘live’ events.

4) Develop the schedule for three challenges to include the time between/for each stage under the following parameters:

a) Anticipated launch date for the first challenge of Spring 2021.

b) Anticipated end date of final challenge of Summer 2022.

5) Develop evaluation and scoring criteria for each stage within the challenges.

6) Support opportunities for participants to collaborate with first responders throughout the challenges.

7) Outline potential partnerships or co-sponsorships to increase the impact to PSCR.

8) Develop a non-PSCR website, media and outreach materials to advertise the challenges.

9) Provide videography and photography services to document the ‘live’ events for marketing purposes. The Contractor shall provide all film footage, photos and marketing materials to PSCR. Such materials will become property of NIST.

10) Provide secure project management and challenge implementation tools with capabilities for document and video upload, collaboration, and storage for use between the PSCR Challenge team, the Contractor and participants. The Contractor shall provide all challenge materials collected on the secure project management site to PSCR at the end of the program. Such materials will become property of NIST.

11) Develop the structure of the challenges to include items such as incentives, final prizes, prizes per stage, prototype build costs, travel resources for participants and public recognition. The prize award funds can be designated for use by participants to pay for participant travel, prototype build and advancement through the challenge stages. The prize structure shall be proposed by the Contractor and shall not exceed $400,000 per challenge for up to three challenges which will be paid directly to participants by NIST. The Contractor should be creative in the use of prize incentives, whereas prize awards may be monetary or non-monetary and may include options such as the following:

a) Prototype build budget, to reduce the barrier to entry.

b) Business innovation incentive prizes for product commercialization after the contest ends.

c) “Best-in-class” prize categories to encourage participation.

d) Specialized cybersecurity or drone security prizes.

12) Identify intellectual property issues, conflicts, or other specialized terms and conditions for participation.

13) Provide a challenge portal for management and overall implementation of the challenge, including:

a) A contestant portal for submissions,

b) A SME review portal for the evaluation process, judging and down-selection,

c) Support for the privacy of contestants’ documentation and Intellectual

Property (IP), which will remain with the participants,

d) A process to resolve issues/disputes during or following the challenges.

b. Write the challenge rules for three challenges using the PSCR Deliverable Template provided upon award.

1) Determine the participation requirements.

2) Comply with the eligibility requirements established under the

America COMPETES Act which, for example, describes age and citizenship requirements.

3) Consult with the PSCR Challenge team to finalize the technical requirements.

4) Collaborate with the PSCR technical lead on the participants’ safety and test requirements, in support of PSCR’s standards and measurements.

5) Develop incentives for participants.

6) Determine how participants will register and submit entries.

7) Develop and finalize judging evaluation criteria.

c. Consult with the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) on collection of participant information as this collection may require review under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.

d. Reviewing and Judging:

1) Determine the qualifications and prepare a list of potential SMEs and judges who have been reviewed and approved by the PSCR Program Manager.

2) Prepare the Judges’ Decision memo and the Draft Appointment Letter(s), indicating appointment by the Director of NIST.

3) Develop SME review and judge evaluation criteria with a process to collect final scores and comments.

e. Develop, present, and maintain throughout the period of performance a detailed

Challenge Plan to include a breakdown of the challenge schedule, challenge stages, status meetings, briefings, and other management level information. In addition, the Contractor shall monitor the status of all tasks and deliverables, meet with the TPOC at least monthly or as necessary to resolve problems, communicate status and present technical issues. The Contractor shall:

1) Review and revise the Challenge Plan monthly with the TPOC.

2) Coordinate work through the COR when interacting with various Government agencies and the user community to comply with FAA rules, specifically participant compliance of FAA Part 107 rules.

(Deliverable 3.2 - Challenge Rules*) (Deliverable 3.4 - Challenge Plan) (Deliverable 3.5 - SME Reviewer Selection Memo(s)) (Deliverable 3.6 - Judge Decision Memo*) (Deliverable 3.8 - Appointment Letter(s) to Judge(s)*) (Deliverable 3.9 - Safety Plan for ‘live’ Challenge)

*The TPOC must route these documents through NIST Legal prior to final approval by the NIST Director. The additional time required for processing has been incorporated into the timelines notated in Section V. Deliverables.

4. Launch the Challenge

a. The Contractor shall provide a challenge website for each challenge. The Contractor website requirements are listed below:

1) The Contractor shall host the website on a server in the U.S. and build the challenge website with an architecture that integrates all information needed by an individual or team to join as a participant.

2) The Contractor shall ensure the website meets 508 Compliance and accessibility for all website viewers. (https://www.section508.gov/).

3) The Contractor shall host the website from public prelaunch to 60 days beyond challenge program end date and provide PSCR an archival history of the website.

4) The Contractor shall provide a secure participant portal and maintain, update and edit content on the website for the contract period.

5) The Contractor shall comply with the PSCR Procedures for PSCR Prize Challenge Third Party Applications when designing, building and maintaining the Challenge website for the contract period. The PSCR Procedures are provided by PSCR under separate cover.

b. The Contractor shall draft the Challenge.gov notice. The Challenge.gov posting must be published either before the start date or on the same day as the start date of each challenge.

c. The Contractor shall build upon the outreach, media, and marketing plan for community engagement started in Task 2, Research, and may use branding or marketing materials implemented by PSCR in previous prize challenges. The Contractor shall provide the necessary budget in their proposal to support these launch activities:

1) Assess pre-launch strategies to determine current trends, complete a marketing strategy in coordination with PSCR staff, and be prepared to implement the strategy as part of the Challenge launch.

2) Hold informational webinars to reach potential participants, including webinars to describe and answer questions about FAA and insurance requirements.

3) Develop and implement marketing/outreach strategies.

a) Research methods of reaching diverse organizations or persons not currently involved with public safety.

b) Create digital, video, print content.

c) Place content through ad buys, op-eds, blogs, coordination with media or outreach partners.

d) Assess the value of using different marketing channels through reporting and analytics.

d. The Contractor shall develop and maintain, throughout the period of performance, a Staffing Roster to include all SMEs, judges, partners, vendors, event supporters and PSCR staff supporting the challenge.

e. The Contractor shall prepare communications by developing and implementing brand awareness to increase connectivity to participant communities.

1) Targeted email lists of potential participants

2) Blogs

3) Social media

4) Targeted UAS conferences and events

f. Execute the Communications & Engagement Plan.

g. Capture launch metrics.

1) Track web visits (Challenge.gov, contractor platform, nist.gov/pscr).

2) Track email campaigns (how many, where in country, audience).

(Deliverable 4.1 - Communications & Engagement Plan (updated Deliverable 2.6)) (Deliverable 4.3 - Challenge.gov Posting) (Deliverable 9.2 - Staffing Roster)

5. Run the Challenge

a. The Contractor shall collaborate with PSCR and Subcontractor to provide expertise throughout the challenges in disaster response, search and rescue operations and other unique public safety missions; manage technical requirements for multiple head-to-head competitions including the design, operation, evaluation and scoring criteria for the challenges.

b. The Contractor shall manage the day-to-day relationship, communications and deliverables for any Subcontractors to provide on-site flight facilities for the three challenges and live events.

c. The Contractor shall develop and implement strategies to engage participants which include promoting community engagement, monitoring chat-boards, emails, social media and hosting webinars.

d. Provide updates to current and potential participants throughout all stages of the challenges.

e. Provide bi-weekly status updates to the TPOC to include data such as:

1) Current number of community participants

2) Number of submissions and geographic demographics

3) Status of scheduled milestones and any significant issues

f. Collect and evaluate metrics from the Launch and Run Phase of each challenge and adjust methods accordingly. Organize virtual storage capabilities (e.g., cloud computing products) for participants to store, retrieve, and access data (and videos) securely and independently.

g. Provide and use a Quality Control Plan. The purpose of the Quality Control Plan during the contract performance is to ensure quality and consistency in all work performed and resulting deliverables. The plan shall address the approach and methods utilized by the contractor to ensure that all deliverables are accurate and in compliance with contract requirements, and it must include actions to address and correct problems. The Quality Control plan shall include metrics such as, but not limited to, participant satisfaction, participant engagement, recruiting, goals, to ensure the quality of the work performed by the Contractor.

(Deliverable 5.1 - Challenge Plan) (Deliverable 5.2 - Challenge Progress Report) (Deliverable 5.3 - Quality Control Plan)

6. Reviewing & Judging the Challenges

a. Solicit SME reviewers and judges to support all necessary stages of each challenge.

PSCR will provide criteria for the SMEs and judges and some SMEs and judges in-house.

b. Provide travel arrangements for any non- PSCR travelers, including non- PSCR SMEs and judges, in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulations.

c. Provide an intuitive, accessible and common platform for SMEs and judges to assess and evaluate participants.

d. Provide instructions to the SMEs and judges.

e. Collect and organize information from SMEs and judges, consolidating and preparing the information for internal processing.

f. Collect information for the Judge Determination Report (JDR) at the end of each stage, which includes the summary of the SME review and judge selections.

(Deliverable 6.1 - SME Reviewer Instructions) (Deliverable 7.1 - Judge Instructions) (Deliverable 6.2 - SME Reviewer Comments) (Deliverable 7.2 - Judge Comments) (Deliverable 7.3 - Judge Determination Report)

7. Processing awards for the Challenges

a. The Contractor will use the Winner Tracking spreadsheet to collect all relevant information about the winning participants.

b. NIST will process award payments.

(Deliverable 8.2 - Winner Tracking Spreadsheet) (Deliverable 9.2 – Staffing Roster (final update)

8. Program Final Report: Within 30 days of the completion of each challenge, the Contractor shall provide to the TPOC a final report that includes:

a. Description of the delivered solution

b. Assessment of the lessons learned from the delivered solution

c. Number of registered participants

d. Number of unique competitors

e. Number of submissions

f. Number of award winners

g. Value of awards

h. Planned versus actual schedule duration

i. Complete list of participant registration information

j. America COMPETES Act reporting requirements summary

(Deliverable 8.1 – Final Report)

V. DELIVERABLES

The deliverables discussed in Section IV, Tasks, are required to be produced by the Contractor for each task indicated. All deliverables will be provided to the TPOC in electronic format using an appropriate application. Deliverables description with due dates follows:

DELIVERABLES TABLE

PWS

Ref.

Deliverable No.

DESCRIPTION

DUE DATE

IV.1 1.2 Concept Briefing with PSCR Program Manager award + 30 IV.2 2.4 Research Briefing with PSCR Program Manager award + 60

2.5 Challenge Summary Memo award + 60

2.6 *Communications & Engagement Plan award + 60

IV.3 3.2 Challenge Rules award + 120

3.4 *Challenge Plan – a project management plan including budget and staffing plans award + 150

3.5 SME Reviewer Selection Memo award + 150

3.6 Judge Decision Memo award + 120

3.8 Appointment Letter(s) to Judge(s) award + 120

3.9 *Safety Plan for ‘live’ Challenge award + 150

IV.4 4.1 *Communications & Engagement Plan - update of deliverable 2.6 award + 180

4.3 Challenge.gov Posting award + 150

9.2 Staffing Roster award + 180

IV.5 5.1 *Challenge Plan - update of deliverable 3.4 award + 210

5.2 *Challenge Progress Report award + 210

5.3 *Quality Control Plan award + 210

IV.6 6.1 SME Reviewer Instructions award + 210

7.1 Judge Instructions award + 210

6.2 SME Reviewer Comments award + 210

7.2 Judge Comments award + 210

7.3 Judge Determination Report award + 210

IV.7 8.2 Winner Tracking Spreadsheet award + 210

9.2 Staffing Roster – final update award + 210

IV.8 8.1 *Final Report award + 660

* These documents are not included in the Deliverable Templates, which will be provided by PSCR upon award; the Contractor may use their own templates for these documents.

The anticipated launch date of the first challenge is 06/01/2021 (or award + 180) and the anticipated end date for the Final Report of the final challenge completed is 09/01/2022 (or award +660). These dates are for planning purposes only. It should be noted that Deliverables

6.1 through 8.2 will be delivered at the end of each challenge stage and, therefore, each Deliverable will be due multiple times. All final due dates to be negotiated post award.

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-111publ358/pdf/PLAW-111publ358.pdf

The Performance Standard for each deliverable is defined as a timely delivery, with complete and accurate information, and in accordance with the task requirements outlined in the PWS, with minimum rework by TPOC.

VI. PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENT SUMMARY (PRS)

The TPOC will monitor, review, and determine the acceptability of the Contractor’s deliverables in accordance with the Performance Standard stated above and the information contained in the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP), provided via separate attachment. The TPOC, or TPOC representative to be identified post-award, is the approving official for all deliverables and will determine acceptability of deliverables within five (5) business days after receipt and provide notification to the Contractor of same within that time period, with exception of Deliverables 3.2, 3.6 and 3.8. These Deliverables require approval by the NIST Director. The Contractor will be notified of status by the TPOC. Contractor deliverables determined unacceptable by the TPOC shall be corrected by the Contractor at no additional cost to the Government and within a timeframe to be determined by the TPOC. The TPOC will conduct performance evaluations based on the requirements contained in this PWS and the Performance Standards set forth in the PRS.

VII. FUNCTIONAL TITLES/LABOR CATEGORY DESCRIPTIONS

The Contractor’s functional titles/labor categories shall reflect the technical, administrative, and management knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the required tasks and complete the deliverables included in this scope of work. Key personnel are required for the Technical Program Lead and the Business Program Lead. The number and structure of the Technical & Functional Team Lead(s) is fully dependent on the Contractor’s technical approach. Examples of labor categories follow:

1. Engineering & Development

2. Quality assurance & Quality control

3. Challenge Design & Implementation

4. Marketing, Outreach & Communications

5. Event Safety & Operations

VIII. Key Personnel The Contractor shall propose specific individuals to perform as key personnel for each challenge.

1. Technical Program Lead General Responsibilities:

a. Leads the Contractor’s implementation of their technical approach, oversees all

Contractor activities with the responsibility and authority to make decisions and implement activities in accordance with the performance requirements within the scope of work.

b. Understands the context of the program, NIST as an organization, the goals and objectives of the program, and delivers ideas, strategies and actions to reach those goals.

c. Manages the Contractor’s team (including any Subcontractors) to ensure deliverables are of the highest quality, within budget, and time frame.

d. The UAS program at Kansas State University shall collaborate with the UAS program at Mississippi State University to provide technical expertise to effectively and securely design and run the challenges.

2. Business Program Lead General Responsibilities:

a. Manages Contractor & PSCR interactions efficiently and effectively.

b. Develops documentation and deliverables; ensures compliance with the scope of work.

c. Controls costs, schedule, performance, reporting and other project management requirements.

d. Manages day-to-day activities including project planning, status reporting, billing/invoicing, and vendor and partner management.

IX. GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED PROPERTY, MATERIAL, EQUIPMENT, OR

INFORMATION (GFP, GFM, GFE, OR GFI):

PSCR will supply the Contractor with the necessary program information to enable completion of the assigned tasks. The GFP, GFM, GFE, or GFI must only be used for activities under this Call Order and no other purposes.

X. DATA SECURITY & PRIVACY

The solicitation and collection of Personal Identifiable Information (PII) in implementing NIST sponsored Prize Challenges shall be subject to the Contractor’s privacy and security policies. PII collected by the Contractor shall only be shared for competition winners and only with the NIST staff responsible for prize award processing. Contractor web sites, platforms, and software shall operate independently of NIST and are not subject to NIST IT security requirements and review.

XI. TRAVEL

Contractor personnel shall be required to travel for the “live” events, and any event outlined in the challenge design that involves in-person interaction with the participants. The TPOC is located in Boulder, CO; however, PSCR supports the use of virtual or collaborative meeting tools to minimize travel expenses. The Contractor shall be responsible for making its own arrangements for airline tickets, hotel and car rental reservations, arranging for passports and visas, if foreign travel is required. Travel performed shall be reimbursed in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation. All travel must be pre-authorized by the NIST Contracting Officer (CO) at least thirty (30) days prior to a proposed trip for a given task order. NIST will reimburse the Contractor for travel expenses not to exceed the travel budget detailed in the line items of this Call Order. Travel costs will only be reimbursed for Contractors, Subcontractors or others acting under the direction on the Contractor in completing the requirements of this PWS and in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation.

The Contractor shall be responsible for making travel arrangements for challenge participants who are selected or invited to participate in the ‘live’ event outlined in Task 3, in addition to any non- PSCR travelers who may include non- PSCR SME reviewers and judges. For each participant and non- PSCR traveler, the Contractor shall make all travel arrangements including but not limited to airline tickets, hotel and car rental reservations to enable the individual to participate in the challenges. Travel for each individual shall be invoiced by the Contractor in http://gsa.gov/portal/content/104790 accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation. All participant and non- PSCR travelers must be pre-authorized by the NIST CO at least thirty (30) days prior to the proposed travel. For budget purposes, PSCR anticipates up to 40 challenge participants and up to 20 non- PSCR travelers will require reimbursable travel to attend the ‘live’ event for each challenge. The Contractor shall provide the cost to administer and implement this travel as an itemized other direct cost or direct labor cost within their proposal.

NIST will provide travel arrangements for any NIST personnel, including but not limited to the Challenge team, SME reviewers and judges in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulations.

XII. OTHER UNIQUE REQUIREMENTS

The OIO launched under this agreement shall comply with legal requirements stipulated by NIST, such as, but not limited to, eligibility and other guidelines included in 15 U.S.C. § 3719 (Public Law Number 114-329).

XIII. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Work will be performed primarily offsite but implemented through the PSCR, Open Innovation Program located in Boulder, CO.

XIV. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

All tasks contained in the PWS must be targeted to complete by September 1, 2022. The first challenge must be made public no later than June 1, 2021. These dates may be dependent on the actual Call Order award date.

XV. PERSONNEL

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR):

Name: Danni Leicht Phone: 720-563-9356 Email: danni.dressel@nist.gov Technical Point of Contact (TPOC):

Name: Roger Blalock Phone: 303-497-6919 Email: roger.blalock@nist.gov mailto:danni.dressel@nist.gov mailto:roger.blalock@nist.gov