Tradewind Marketplace Announcement Revision 3.pdf

UNCLASSIFIED

TRADEWIND SOLUTIONS MARKETPLACE

OPEN CALL

(OPEN UNTIL RESCINDED)

REVISION #3 EFFECTIVE June 1, 2023

Welcome to the Tradewind Solutions Marketplace.

The Department of Defense (DOD) Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) in conjunction with its marketplace manager, ARI, is initiating a long-term, open call for new and novel technology solutions to support the DoD in advancing research, development, prototyping, and adoption of AI/ML, digital and data analytics capabilities.

This initiative, entitled the “Tradewind Solutions Marketplace” will solicit, collect, assess, and curate AI/ML, digital and data analytics solutions, and make those solutions available through rapid acquisition methods. The Solutions Marketplace serves Government laboratories, industry and academic organizations, and individual developers by providing a forum to showcase their relevant research, products, and services to prospective Government customers, and serves DoD by providing a forum to access AI/ML, digital and data analytics solutions and rapidly ingest game changing technology solutions.

What is the Tradewind Solutions Marketplace?

The Tradewind Solutions Marketplace is a digital environment of post-competition video pitches. The video solutions housed within the marketplace have been assessed through competitive procedures which conform to the competition requirements of 10 USC 4021 and 4022, FAR/DFARS Part 35, and Class Deviation 2022-O0007, implementing Section 803 of the FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and thus are readily available to be viewed, selected, and awarded by DoD activities. The Marketplace provides a venue for customer organizations to search, view, review, compare, contrast, contact, negotiate, and procure AI/ML, digital and data analytics capabilities through rapid acquisition procedures. For Government laboratories, industry and academic partners, and individual developers, the Marketplace is a valuable tool to promote AI/ML, digital and data analytics technology solutions, products, and services to the DoD in an environment with a rapid acquisition contract pathway. Once a video pitch has passed through the assessment process, and been placed within the Marketplace, that technology solution has satisfied Federal competition requirements (per 10 USC 4021 and 4022, FAR/DFARS Part 35, and Class Deviation 2022-O0007, implementing Section 803 of the FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and is available for funding via Other Transaction Agreement, purchase order, cooperative agreement, procurement contract, and other award mechanisms. Thus, the Tradewind Solutions Marketplace serves as the DoD’s digital environment of post-competition, readily awardable, technology solutions.

What are the Goals of the Tradewind Solutions Marketplace?

The Goals of the Solutions Marketplace are to establish a centralized location where DoD can assess the state of the art in available AI/ML, digital and data analytics technology solutions, and where Government laboratories, industry and academic partners, and individual developers can promote their research, technologies, and related products and services to the Government. Further, the structure of the publication and assessment functions of the Marketplace allow for streamlined procurement of available solutions, addressing a major barrier to small business and nontraditional defense contractors, which is possessing contracting pathways. Finally, by leveraging the statutory authorities available, the Solutions Marketplace can provide a technology transition pathway from idea to research, research to prototype, prototype to test and evaluation, and to production, fielding and sustainment of a given technology solution.

Who Can Participate?

All US-based companies, traditional and nontraditional, large business and small business, universities, non-profit companies, Government laboratories and individuals are welcome to participate. In addition, foreign universities, research institutions, and entities may submit video pitches for their related technology solutions provided that such submissions are compliant with international law, including export laws for both the county of origin of the technology provider and the United States.

Why Should Entities Participate?

The CDAO, as the primary sponsor of this initiative, seeks to establish the Tradewind Solutions Marketplace as its premier, low barrier entry point for industry, academia, and individuals to identify technology solutions, ongoing research efforts, and proposed future development activities that are relevant to the DoD. Participating entities will have their proposed solutions assessed by DoD and supporting industry and academic Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and will receive feedback on the technical merit of their solution.

Further, by submitting against this open call for solutions, all submitted solutions that are deemed “awardable” by the assessing DoD and SME personnel will be considered “post-competitive” for the purposes of 10 USC 4021 and 4022, FAR/DFARS Part 35, and Class Deviation 2022-O0007, implementing Section 803 of the FY2022 National Defense

Authorization Act (NDAA) and will be eligible for award of further research, prototyping, procurement for experimental purposes, and even production. Some of the benefits of participation in the Solutions Marketplace include:

• Exposure and marketing of your technology solution(s) to relevant DoD customer organizations

• Access to the streamlined submission process requiring only minimal organizational and technical information

• Fast track assessment timelines for solution submissions; with notifications made within 30 calendar days (subject to submission volume)

• Direct feedback from operators, customers, SMEs, and end users within the DoD community to help product teams develop, iterate, and refine product designs and functionality

• Contract pathways for award of research, development, prototyping, test and evaluation, procurement for experimental purposes, and even production

• Fully negotiable award terms including payment, intellectual property and data rights license terms, schedule, milestones, and pricing

• Potential for multiple awards with single customer, or across multiple customers with no funding ceilings or limits to duration of effort, based on a single video solution submission

• Unlimited number of solution video submissions across an entity’s entire portfolio of relevant solutions

• Submissions may be submitted at any time while this call remains open

• Submissions are collected monthly (e.g., June 1st through June 30th 12:00pm eastern standard time). Collections for a given month will be assessed in the following month with results available within 30 days of the end of the relevant collection period.

Strategic Focus Areas

As identified by the CDAO, and based on its current set of customer interests, the Government is seeking video solution pitches which are relevant to one or more of the following strategic focus areas which are derived from DoD’s initial direction to provide next-generation capabilities that increase the effectiveness of U.S. forces and support Department-wide reform efforts by addressing critical operational and business challenges. This initial list of strategic focus areas will evolve as the customer base and mission focus areas supported by the Solutions Marketplace evolve.

The Initial Strategic Focus Areas for the Solutions Marketplace include:

• Improving situational awareness and decision-making. AI/ML, digital and data analytics capabilities applied to surveillance, reconnaissance, and/or perception tasks such as imagery analysis to extract useful information from raw data and equip leaders with increased situational awareness.

• Increasing safety of operating equipment. AI/ML, digital and data analytics capabilities that enhance the safety of operating aircraft, ships, and vehicles in complex, rapidly changing situations by alerting operators to hidden dangers.

• Implementing predictive maintenance and supply. AI/ML, digital and data analytics capabilities that predict the failure of critical parts, automate diagnostics, and plan maintenance based on data and equipment condition.

• Streamlining business processes. AI/ML, digital and data analytics capabilities which reduce the time spent on highly manual, repetitive, and frequent tasks.

• Assuring cybersecurity. AI/ML, digital and data analytics capability which preserve the ability to use friendly cyberspace capabilities and protect data, networks, net-centric capabilities, and/or project power in and through cyberspace through the employment of cyberspace capabilities.

• Developing a digital-age workforce. AI/ML, digital and data analytics training, education, and immersive programming that supports development of a modern, AI/ML, data, and digital-competent workforce.

• Increasing autonomy and mobility of DoD systems. AI/ML, digital and data analytics capabilities which reduce manual input, operation, and decision-making related to DoD Platforms, Systems, Subsystems, and Components.

• Discovering blue sky/other technology applications. Novel applications of AI/ML, digital and data analytics capabilities with the potential to materially impact one or more DoD mission areas.

Submission Guidelines for the Tradewind Solutions Marketplace

Interested organizations, entities, or individuals may submit one or more video solutions for assessment to the Solutions Marketplace. Each video is limited to one solution. If more than one solution is offered, firms should submit multiple videos. To increase the likelihood that your video is accepted into the Marketplace, we recommend that you adhere to the following submission guidelines:

• Solution videos should be submitted in the following format:

o Videos must be no longer than five (5) minutes (5:00) in length

• Tip: Video submissions which exceed the length limitation of 5.00 minutes will not be assessed. Submitters will be notified that their video solution has exceeded the allowable length and must be revised and resubmitted. Exceeding the five-minute limit is the primary reason why videos submissions are rejected.

o Resolution: HD 1920x1080 o Frame rate: 23.98 FPS o Audio: Stereo or Mono Mix o Encoded for streaming as a .mp4 file under 5gb o Color Space: Rec709 or sRGB

• Solution videos must (at a minimum) include the following four major elements:

o Identification of the problem(s) addressed

• Tip: Begin your video pitch with a description of the problem you solve for your customers (or prospective customers). Explain the problem thoroughly but leave time to address the four major elements.

Is this a common problem across the Government? Is it a universal problem across Government and commercial markets?

o Description of the solution and its application to the problem

• Tip: Fully describe your solution but balance your total video time across the four major elements. Identify how your solution addresses the problem you’ve defined. If your solution is at a lower Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and needs further development, explain your plan to mature the solution to better address the problem. If your solution is at a higher Technology Readiness Level (TRL), provide a demonstration within your video of the product or testimonial of your service. Forgot what TRLs are? Check Appendix A.

o Potential impact of the solution if adopted by DoD

• Tip: Explain how adoption of your solution would impact the DOD. If you are already providing your solution to DOD or other Federal Agencies, state that and explain the impact it has had. Identify current customers using your solution including Government and commercial entities. Is your solution saving your customers time?

Saving money? Reducing Risk? These are just some examples of potential customer impacts.

o What differentiates this solution from other, similar solutions?

• Tip: Identify other solutions in the market. What companies, technologies, or service solutions are you in competition with? What alternative solutions are out there? What makes your solution the best way to address the problem?

• Solution videos must be submitted through the following link:

o www.tradewindai.com

• Solution videos must be accompanied by a fully completed submission (automated form available via the Tradewind Solutions Marketplace weblink), which includes:

o Solution Title (less than 128 characters) o Current Technology Readiness Level (See Appendix A)

• Tip: The purpose of including the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) as part of the submission requirements is to help customer organizations understand what types of efforts and funding your company is seeking for future engagements (Research, Development, Prototyping, Test and Evaluation, Production, or Sustainment). The TRL is not used to determine whether solutions are assessed as awardable/non- awardable. It is important to select the relevant TRL for your solution to align with the proper potential customer organizations and funding.

o 1,500 character abstract describing the video solution o Relevant strategic focus area

• Tip: The purpose of the strategic focus areas is to collect technology solutions which are relevant to the CDAO and its customer organizations. Often a given solution may fit within multiple focus areas. The focus area selected for your solution has no impact on the assessment of your solution. The focus areas are used for categorization and search within the Marketplace for those video solution submission assessed as “awardable”. If you are in doubt as to the proper fit for your technology or believe it spans multiple focus areas, simply select the “blue sky technologies” category.

o Principal Investigator and email address (company POC information if other than the principal Investigator) o Related Keywords o Submitting entity characterizations (large business, small business, not-for-profit, non-traditional, traditional, veteran-owned, woman-owned, minority-owned small business, individual investigator, etc.)

o Location of principal place of business (City, State) o Website (if available) http://www.tradewindai.com/

Basic Eligibility Requirements, Disclaimers, and General Information

• A single entity may submit multiple solution videos.

o Each video submission requires a completed video submission form available via the submission link: www.tradewindai.com o Please submit one technology solution per video.

• Solution videos must be unclassified, and must not include any proprietary information, export-controlled information or controlled unclassified information

(CUI).

• Foreign universities, research institutions, and entities may submit video pitches for their related technology solutions provided that such submissions are compliant with international law, including export laws for both the county of origin of the technology provider and the United States.

• All costs of preparing and submitting solution videos and submission forms are the responsibility of the submitting entity and not eligible for funding or reimbursement by the Government.

• Best practices, video tips, and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) are available at the Tradewind Solutions Marketplace website:

www.tradewindai.com/solutions-marketplace

• All submissions must be made through the Tradewind Solutions Marketplace website. No hard copy or physical submissions (CD/DVD/Blue Ray) will be accepted).

• Prior to submitting a video solution, please read this announcement and the assessment criteria contained in the rubric at Appendix B.

How Your Solution Video Submission Will Be Assessed

All video solutions will be assessed within thirty (30) calendar days from the close of the relevant collection period, unless volume levels are abnormally high for a given period.

Solutions are assessed by Government personnel and supporting SMEs from industry and academia to determine which video solutions are selected for placement in the Marketplace. During the assessment period, the Government and/or supporting SMEs may contact submitting entities to clarify information either within the video submission or within the submission form. It is the aim of the Government to populate the Marketplace with technology solutions that possess a high level of technical merit, as those solutions may subsequently be selected for funding by DoD customer organizations.

Solution videos submitted against this open call will be assessed in accordance with the http://www.tradewindai.com/solutions-marketplace scoring rubric included as Appendix B. Video solution submissions that meet or exceed the assessment criteria will be rated “awardable” and included within the Tradewind Solutions Marketplace, accessible by DoD customer organizations and supporting activities (video submissions are accessible by the Government and Government support Contractors only).

Treatment of Resubmissions Video submissions that are determined by the assessment panel to be non-awardable may be resubmitted with changes consistent with the assessor’s feedback in a subsequent submission period. The goal for the Tradewind Solutions Marketplace is to make all submissions that demonstrate the required high level of technical merit awardable under this announcement.

• Tip: Currently when a company resubmits a solution, it must also remove the original video solution to avoid confusion in the assessment process.

Special Note on Assessors

Non-Government, SME assessors will be used in the assessment of solution videos. Such assessors will be operating at the direction of the Government and through signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). The Government understands that information provided in response to this open call is presented in confidence and it agrees to protect such information from unauthorized disclosure to extent required by law. The pool of SME assessors is comprised of experts from industry, academia and non-profit research institutions with programs related to data, analytics, digital and artificial intelligence/machine learning.

Organizational Conflict of Interest

The CDAO, ACC-Rock Island, and the Tradewind Solutions Marketplace manager, ARI, have identified and evaluated potential organizational conflicts of interest (OCIs) related to the activity of video solution assessment by non-Government, industry and academic subject matter experts. A recognized potential OCI, "providing evaluation services", requires that contracts for the evaluation of offers for products or services shall not be awarded to a contractor that will evaluate its own offers for products or services, or those of a competitor, without proper safeguards to ensure objectivity to protect the Government’s interests (see Federal Acquisition Regulation 9.505-3). The Government and Marketplace manager, exercising common sense, good judgment, and sound discretion in both the decision on whether a significant potential conflict exists and, if it does, the development of an appropriate means for resolving it, have determined the following:

(1) A significant potential conflict exists as to SME assessors evaluating their own technology solutions. The Government will avoid this potential OCI by excluding any requirement for assessors to evaluate their own technology solutions, or the solutions of another submitter in which the assessor holds any financial interest from their contract requirements. Further, the Government will mitigate any potential OCI by prohibiting assessors to evaluate their own technology solutions, or the solutions of another submitter in which the assessor holds any financial interest and requiring assessors to delivering a statement certifying that they recognize this prohibition, including an affirmative duty to identify any such financial interests. All assessors will be required to complete Government ethics training, covering this duty to identify financial interests, prior to assessing any solution submissions and will operate under nondisclosure agreements to protect any information received through the assessment activity.

(2) A potential conflict exists as to SME assessors evaluating the technology solutions of a competitor. This OCI is a lesser risk due to the characteristics of the evaluation effort.

Under the Solutions Marketplace assessment methodology, submissions must be non-proprietary. The non-proprietary submissions are assessed against a published rubric for Technical Merit to determine whether they are viable solutions and thus rated "awardable" for future requirements. The assessments are performed by a minimum three-member peer panel, and the peer panel is comprised of a Government, Industry, and Academic representative. Finally, the assessments are not evaluated against a specific requirement, but on their viability to support future needs. The characteristics of the assessment process, thus, partially mitigate the potential OCI. To fully mitigate this potential OCI, the Government will monitor the consistency in scoring of all assessors to identify potential biases or inconsistent scoring. All assessors will be required to complete Government ethics training, covering this duty to identify competitors, prior to assessing any solution submissions and will operate under nondisclosure agreements to protect any information received through the assessment activity.

Customer Viewing and Funding of Marketplace Solutions

The video solutions rated “awardable” and selected to be included within the Marketplace will be accessible by, and actively marketed to, DoD customer organizations. Through Marketplace advertising, solution showcases, “movie nights”, and other regular activities, the solutions included within the Marketplace will be made available to DoD requiring activities. Where a given activity identifies a solution that it seeks to fund, that activity may contact the solution provider directly or through the CDAO’s marketplace manager, ARI. The funding activity may request additional information from solution providers, request demonstrations of a video solution, and negotiate an agreement to procure the solution directly with the solution provider, or through the CDAO’s marketplace manager, ARI. For contracting support, customer organizations may leverage the current Tradewind contracting activity (Army Contracting Command – Rock Island), future contracting capabilities to be made available through the CDAO itself, or may leverage their own contracting support activity. Regardless of a funding customer’s preferred contracting support activity and pathway, the funding action will take the form of a procurement contract, cooperative agreement, other transaction agreement, or other relevant acquisition or assistance instrument, a determined by the cognizant, warranted contracting or agreements officer.

Acquisition Pathways for Awardable Video Submissions

The process for award of any Marketplace video solution will vary based upon requiring activity needs, type of solution, solution maturity, and structure/maturity of the solution provider. While all solutions which are assessed as awardable and placed on the Solutions Marketplace have satisfied the competition requirements of 10 USC 4021 and 4022, FAR/DFARS Part 35, and Class Deviation 2022-O0007, implementing Section 803 of the FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the award of such solutions may require the offeror and Government customer to collaboratively develop and negotiate a scope of effort, pricing, project milestones and deliverables, period of performance, relevant terms and conditions and a definition of successful completion for the effort. The customer organization may choose to leverage the CDAO or the CDAO’s marketplace manager, ARI to facilitate this project collaboration, or may leverage their own contracting support activity. Ultimately, the choice of the award vehicle will be determined by the nature of the offering and after coordination with the offeror and the expectations of the program and may be awarded under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) procurement instrument or non-FAR authority. The available agreement and contract vehicles are listed below:

• Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) – FAR Subpart 8.405-3 – A Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) is a simplified method of filling anticipated repetitive needs for supplies or services by establishing “charge accounts” with qualified contractors. BPAs should be established for use by an organization responsible for providing supplies for its own operations or for other offices, installations, projects, or functions.

• Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contract – FAR Subpart 16.505 – A contract containing the scope of products or services that can be ordered against it may be established and awarded to one or multiple vendors. When the need arises to place orders against the multiple award contract, the awardee(s) holding a base contract are requested to submit a proposal to provide each contractor a fair opportunity to be considered for each order.

• Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) – FAR Subpart 16.703 – A basic ordering agreement is a written instrument of understanding, negotiated between an agency, contracting activity, or contracting office and a contractor, that contains

(1) terms and clauses applying to future contracts (orders) between the parties during its term, (2) a description, as specific as practicable, of supplies or services to be provided, and (3) methods for pricing, issuing, and delivering future orders under the basic ordering agreement. A basic ordering agreement is not a contract.

• Research & Development Other Transaction (R&D OTA) – 10 USC 4021 – R&D Other Transactions are contractual instruments other than standard procurement contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements. OTs can include flexible business arrangements to acquire research activities to advance new technologies new technology. This may apply to processes, concepts, from nontraditional defense contractors* (as well as from traditional defense contractors when statutory requirements for small business participation or cost sharing arrangements are satisfied) allowing the Government access to cutting edge solutions.

• Prototype OTA – 10 USC 4022 – Prototype Other Transaction Authority (OTA) is the term commonly used to refer to the (10 U.S.C. 4022) authority of the Department of Defense (DoD) to carry out certain prototypes, research, and production projects. Other Transaction (OT) authorities were created to give DoD the flexibility necessary to adopt and incorporate business practices that reflect commercial industry standards and best practices into its award instruments.

• Production OTA – 10 USC 4022(f) – See definition above

• Purchase for Experimentation – 10 USC 4023 - Procurement for Experimental Purposes authorizes the Government to acquire quantities necessary for experimentation, technical evaluation, assessment of operational utility, or to maintain a residual operational capability. Procurement for Experimental Purposes can be competitive or non-competitive and awarded using a contract or agreement. FAR and DFARS are not applicable; therefore, formal competitive procedures do not apply, and any resultant contract is not required to include standard provisions and clauses required by procurement laws. Instead, a contract could be written using commercial terms. Another option is to use an Other Transaction-like agreement, similar to the agreements written under the authority of 10 U.S.C. §4021 or 10 U.S.C. §4022.

• CRADA –15 USC 3710a - A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) is a written agreement between a private company and a Government agency to work together on a project. It’s one of the principal mechanisms used by federal labs to engage in collaborative efforts with non-federal partners to achieve the goals of technology transfer. The Government laboratories provide equipment, personnel expertise, facilities, or other resources with or without reimbursement, but the Government doesn’t provide any funding to the non-federal partners. The non-federal partners provide personnel, funds, services, facilities, equipment, or other resources to conduct specific research or development efforts that are consistent with the mission of the laboratory.

• Cooperative Agreement – 10 USC 4001 - A legal instrument which, consistent with 31 U.S.C. 6305, is used to enter into the same kind of relationship as a grant (see definition “grant”), except that substantial involvement is expected between the Department of Defense and the recipient when carrying out the activity contemplated by the cooperative agreement. The term does not include “cooperative research and development agreements” as defined in 15 U.S.C. 3710a.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/4021 https://acqnotes.com/acqnote/careerfields/other-transaction-authority-ota#Other https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/4021 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/4022

A Note on Federated (or Distributed) Contracting

The Tradewind Solutions Marketplace has adopted an approach that permits an interested Government agency to procure a technology of interest from the Solutions Marketplace through the CDAO’s contract support activity, ACC-RI, or through their own contracting support activity. In the latter case, the rules and processes related to negotiation and award of solutions, as determined by the interested agency’s contracting activity, will be used for the execution of the award. It should be noted that contracting activities from the Services and other DOD Fourth Estate organizations may have specific requirements for award. Under this federated contracting approach, different contracting support activities may request additional information from selectees, such as a further description of the offering, pricing information, desired milestones, and intellectual property requirements and/or restrictions.

Varying contracting support activities may also elect to use their existing FAR-based contract mechanisms or Other Transaction agreements to award solutions selected from the marketplace, which may leverage existing Consortia to handle the processing and submission of the offering to the Government. This may require the selectee to become a member of the agencies’ Consortium. Rules for membership may vary among Consortia.

In all cases and under each circumstance the goal remains to be as efficient and timely with all procurement actions, and to leverage existing award mechanisms and contracting support resources to the maximum extent.

Living Document

This open call supporting the Tradewind Solutions Marketplace is a living document which is intended to evolve as the marketplace initiative evolves. All information presented within this document is subject to change. Specifically, the strategic focus areas will be updated throughout the life of the program. Solution providers and customer organizations should check in regularly for updates to the marketplace at www.tradewindai.com.

Appendix A

Technology Readiness Level (TRL) Scale

Page 1 of 2 ® 2011 - 2023 Valid Evaluation, Inc. All rights reserved.

the DoD?

SELF-REPORT TRL

INTRODUCTION weight 5% Deliver a clear, concise description of what your innovation does or will do, and how it will impact the DoD. Briefly describe the use-case you envision.

Appendix B

Tradewind Solutions Marketplace – Video Submission Scoring Rubric

Tradewind Marketplace v1-3 Evaluation Criteria Defined

VIDEO PRODUCTION PROMPTS

PROBLEM YOU SOLVE weight 10% Deliver a clear and concise description of the problem you are attempting to address with your technology or service.

DOD VALUE

OPERATIONAL IMPACT

Looking only at the DoD personnel who will be impacted by your solution, argue that their mission or effectiveness will be significantly improved if your solution is adopted. What is the impact of your solution vs. today's solution in the context of a single individual’s work role and responsibilities?

POTENTIAL SCALE OF

IMPACT

Look into the future to a time when your solution is both technically mature and fully "transitioned" (actively in use by DoD.) Describe the scale of your impact within the context of the DoD.

weight 30% DIFFERENTIATION Every problem can be addressed multiple ways. Why is your proposed solution the best choice for

TECHNOLOGY VIABILITY SCIENTIFIC FEASIBILITY

Is the science behind the innovation sound? Why should a skeptic believe that your approach is built upon a firm scientific foundation?

weight 35%

ENABLING Do the required enabling technologies introduce added risk? Using proven underlying technologies TECHNOLOGIES and techniques helps to lower technical risk.

ALTERNATIVE

Why is your approach is the best from a technical perspective? If you can convincingly refute

TECHNICAL

alternative means to solving this problem, please briefly do so.

APPROACHES

INNOVATION MATURITY

JUDGE TRL ASSESSMENT

Please give the viewer a clear understanding of your innovation's technology readiness level (TRL.)

In this SubDimension, the judges will assign the TRL they think best matches your innovation's maturity.

weight 0% Do you accurately understand today's technology readiness level (TRL) for your solution? Briefly provide some details supporting your self-assessment.

PITCH QUALITY We don't care about video production quality. We care about your ability to communicate about

PITCH QUALITY your innovation and the impact you believe it will have. (Amateur videos shot on your smart phone are fine. Do make sure the audio is clear and easily understood. Practice and/or multiple takes are recommended.)

weight 10%

DATA QUALITY &

Support your arguments with relevant, properly attributed data to enhance your credibility.

ATTRIBUTION

SOLUTION DESCRIPTION weight 10% Fully describe what you are offering in your solution and describe the scientific basis for the solution and how it solves the problem statement identified.

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Tradewind Marketplace v1-3 Evaluation Criteria

UNSATISFACTORY MARGINAL SATISFACTORY SUPERIOR

PROBLEM YOU SOLVE weight 10% Undefined problem scope.

Somewhat defined problem scope.

Adequately defined problem scope.

Very well defined problem scope.

DOD VALUE

OPERATIONAL IMPACT

POTENTIAL SCALE OF

IMPACT

If successful, no improvement vs.

existing technological approaches.

A fully deployed, mature solution could impact only niche use cases.

Does not demonstrate

If successful, slight improvement vs.

solution could impact an

DoD element.

Partially demonstrates

If successful, significant improvement vs.

solution could impact several DoD elements.

Adequately

If successful, radical improvement vs.

existing technological approaches.

A fully deployed, mature solution could have impact across the entire DoD.

Persuasively weight 30% DIFFERENTIATION attributes superior to current DoD capabilities.

attributes superior to current DoD capabilities.

demonstrates attributes superior to current DoD capabilities.

demonstrates attributes superior to current DoD capabilities.

TECHNOLOGY

VIABILITY

SCIENTIFIC

FEASIBILITY

No scientific basis for presented approach.

Incomplete scientific basis for presented approach.

Credible scientific basis for presented approach.

Convincing scientific basis for presented approach.

weight 35%

ENABLING

TECHNOLOGIES

Requires nonexistent or unavailable technology.

Requires emerging, cutting edge technology.

Requires proven technologies.

Requires DoD-fielded technologies.

ALTERNATIVE

TECHNICAL

APPROACHES

No examination of alternatives.

Partially refutes

Adequately refutes

Persuasively refutes

INNOVATION

MATURITY

JUDGE TRL

TRL 1-3 TRL 4-5 TRL 6-7 TRL 8-9

ASSESSMENT

weight 0% SELF-REPORT TRL

Innovator's TRL assessment is unrealistic

Innovator's TRL assessment seems optimistic.

Innovator's TRL assessment seems realistic.

Innovator's TRL assessment seems highly credible.

PITCH QUALITY

PITCH QUALITY

Poorly presented. Very difficult to impossible to follow.

Moderately presented.

Sometimes difficult to follow.

Effectively presented.

Convincing, easy to follow.

Clearly and persuasively presented. Compelling arguments.

weight 10%

DATA QUALITY &

ATTRIBUTION

Poorly supported by data. Little to no data attribution.

Partially supported by data. Some data

Credibly supported by data. Adequate data attribution.

Persuasively supported by meaningful data.

Comprehensive data

SOLUTION

DESCRIPTION

weight 10%

Fails to describe product and beneficial Partly describes product features. Fails to and beneficial features.

establish a Partially establishes a differentiated unique differentiated unique sales proposition sales proposition.

Adequately describes Clearly and concisely product and beneficial describes product and features. Establishes a beneficial features.

differentiated unique Establishes a highly sales proposition. differentiated unique sales proposition.

INTRODUCTION

weight 5%

Ineffective summary.

Failed to convey innovation's ultimate use-case and value.

Adequate summary. Effective summary Exceptional summary.

Gradually conveys Systematically conveys Immediately conveys innovation's ultimate innovation's ultimate innovation's ultimate use-case and value. use-case and value. use-case and value.