Commercial RFI Q A 3.docx

SMC-32, Commercial Acquisition Options – Questions and Answers #3.

The questions below have been submitted to the program office. The answers are in bold.

1) What is the short-term objective of this RFI response?

In the short-term, these results will inform a pending MILSATCOM Materials Solutions Analyses (MSA) (below). On the current schedule, viable capability lanes (e.g. hosted payloads) will be comparatively analyzed in support of forthcoming POMs.

2) How will the Government protect RFI response materials if a separate NDA is not prescribed?

Proprietary RFI materials will be kept within the Government Review Team. The Government Review Team includes Military and Federal Civilian employees of the US Government; Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) personnel (such as Aerospace, MITRE, and MIT/LL); and System Engineering and Integration (SE&I) as well as System Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) personnel. All of these organizations are bound by a non-disclosure requirement as part of their role on the Government Team.

The deadline (0900 25 Nov, see FedBizOps posting on 20 Nov) has passed for any company responding to the RFI to request a separate NDA.

3) Is direct communication with the PM allowed?

We appreciate past questions offered to the PCO. We will continue to post general access responses and other pertinent information on FedBizOps.

Opportunities such as pending SATCOM conference will also be provided (below).

Additional questions may also be passed to the PCO.

4) When will industry have a chance to dialogue?

Military and Aerospace members of the Advanced Concepts Group (ACG) will attend the DoD Commercial SATCOM User's Workshop from 8-10 December in Crystal City. On 8 Dec from 1500-1530, Col Cynamon, the Commander of the ACG, will give a presentation titled, "Role of the Commercial Request For Information (RFI) in Context of MILSATCOM Wideband." His briefing has been added to FBO. Personnel from the ACG will be available for informal side discussion during conference breaks. For more information or to register for the User's Workshop, refer to http://www.dodsatcom.com/ginfo.html.

5) What are the plans for a Government/Industry Exchange Meeting (GEM) early next year?

The Government may host a Government/Industry Exchange Meeting (GEM) early next year, after thoroughly reviewing the responses, in order to provide an opportunity for expanded dialogue between Government and the companies that responded to the RFI. Timelines will be a function of schedule constraints to meet the MSA and information needs to form comparative alternatives within the MILSATCOM trade spaces (e.g. alternative business arrangements, hosted payloads, full satellites). If the Government hosts a GEM, we will post the details on FedBizOps at least 2 weeks prior to the event. Attendance by industry will be voluntary and the Government will not provide any cost reimbursement.

6) What are the plans for a follow on Preliminary Research and Development Announcement (PRDA) contract?

The policy toward PRDAs and Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs) has changed.

They are for very general studies and cannot be used to study specific programs or topics related to on-going MILSATCOM programs. If the Government determines there is a need, resources and time to award contracts to conduct further study, the Government may use FAR Part 12/15 competitive procedures, in lieu of PRDAs and BAAs, to award a contract or multiple contracts. The Government is investigating if timelines to compete an instrument can meet MSA/POM 12 dates or follow-on decision gates. There will be more information to come.

7) What is the next major event for this initiative?

The RFI Responses will help inform the Government's near-term SATCOM trade space evaluation, called an Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) / Materials Solution Analyses (MSA). The AoA / MSA will evaluate opportunities across a wide spectrum, including commercial, DoD Systems, leased bandwidth, free flyers and international/cooperative partnerships.