Command and Control Capabilities and Development Processes Call for White Paper - Questions_Answers.pdf

# QUESTION RESPONSE

The Next Generation Command and Control (C2) Capabilities and Development Processes Request for White Papers initially describes this effort as a “prototype”, and later as a “proposed C2 development concept or C2 capability”. Please confirm if an evolution of an existing, fielded capability qualifies for this WP submission.

Yes, an existing fielded capability qualifies for this white paper response. Explaining how the currently fielded system supports the white paper requirements will be considered.

Since this opportunity was not briefed at the 2023 APBI, requesting clarification on requirement

Is it a new requirement?

• Yes Is it funded by customer, i.e, ASA ALT or other organization or is it C5ISR center funded with transition partner identified?

• Yes, funded by the Army

• Transition partner is identified If not a new requirement, can you identify the prior/current contract it is a follow on to?

• Not applicable based on answer for question “a.”

In the Call for White Papers, government states initially that no award is anticipated because of this call for WP, then further down in the document states they intend to award at least two independent fixed price contracts/OTA. Can the government clarify?

• The Gov intends to award contracts based on the BAA calling message

Can industry propose partial solution, i.e., to only one part of the requirements?

• Yes

What does the government mean by the phrase “User driven

• User driven application environment = “soldier driven”

• User = “soldier or warfighter” application development environment? Which User do you mean?

6 How do you define the Pipeline Environment?

• “Pipeline Environment” = with software development, a deployment pipeline is a system of automated processes designed to move new code or code additions and updates quickly and accurately from version control to production.

Warfighter and User are used interchangeably, what is the definition of each?

• “Warfighter” = “User”

What is the expected Award Date? The CUI and Non-CUI document state conflicting time periods.

• MARCH 2024 as noted in the Public Releasable BAA Calling Message:

"F. Award Information

1. ANTICIPATED AWARD DATE: March 2024"

An Industry Partner asked for an extension for RFI submissions:

“Due to the requirement of sam.gov for Role Access pre-registration to be approved prior to industry downloading the Controlled acquisition file from sam.gov, XXXXXXX is still waiting for approval to be able to download the following Controlled file:

CUI_Command and Control Capabilities and Development Processes Call for White Paper_CUI.pdf

Would the Government please provide an extension for the questions submission deadline until all bidders have been granted access to the solicitation materials?”

RFI submission deadline extended to 24 November

Will the Government please confirm that the award of two (2) OTA contracts for the C2 Prototype Project will come after the Phase 1 and Phase 2 six (6) month efforts?

Funding will be providing in support of the two (2) OTA phases. As stated in the Call for White Paper, the Government "intends to award at least two (2) independent fixed amount contracts / OTA"s. The OTA efforts will comprise of both Phase 1 and Phase 2.

These activities will have two focused six month development iterations.

If yes to the above, will the Government please confirm how many contractors it intends to select for participation in Phase 1 and how many it intends to select for Participation in Phase 2?

At this time the number of contractors or team of contractors has not been decided.

please confirm that the Phase 1 and Phase 2 efforts will be fully funded by the Government?

Yes, fully funded. Incremental funding will be provided in support of each phase.

please confirm that contractors will be able to onboard and partner with subcontractors during the 12 month Pilot phase, even if those subcontractors were not identified during the BAA white paper and proposal process?

Yes, contractors will be able to onboard and partner with subcontractors during the 12 month Pilot phase, even if those subcontractors were not identified during the BAA white paper and proposal process. Note: The Gov will not provide any additional resourcing in support of the additional costs to perform the additional onboarding of additional subcontractors.

Can the Government please clarify the intention behind awarding two (2) OTA contracts - will these two (2) awardees be competing during the 12 month Pilot phase to continue supporting development of the C2 system beyond those 12 months?

The Gov's intention is not to have an Industry competition or downselect based on an Industry competition.

please clarify if there will be a specific focus for the Prototyping Phases? (e.g., Phase 1 will focus on a specific Warfighter Function, or addressing the need for a specific echelon)

Yes, the Gov will provide Warfighter requirements supporting specific development requirements within the prototyping phase.

please clarify its approach to providing contractor's access to supply and logistics data for integration into the C2 platform?

The Gov will provide access to sample and real world logistics data.

please confirm if there will be security restrictions around access to data?

For example, will the data be CUI or will sample UNCLASS data be provided for prototyping efforts?

Yes, there will be security restrictions with data access.

CUI and UNCLASS data will be provided in support of all activities.

please confirm if it will provide an environment for prototyping to occur or will Contractors be expected to provide their own infrastructure?

Yes, the Gov will provide a cloud development / evaluation environment and on-prem support.

confirm if there is a particular warfighting function that is a focus for the sustainment effort (i.e.

fires, maneuver, Intel, medical, etc)? Or is there a particular class of supply that will be the focus (i.e.

CL III, CL V, CL VIII, CL

IX)?

Offensive / Defensive Fires and Maneuver logistics support.

please confirm it will sponsor accreditation at

Yes, sponsorship will be supported for accreditation at the appropriate level for selected systems.

the appropriate level for selected systems?

Can the government please provide a current and complete copy of BAA No. W56KGU-22-R-0ESI?

The Call for Whitepaper states that the evaluation criteria are set forth in this BAA (as amended by the call to WP), but we are unable to view the BAA.

A complete and current copy of the BAA can be found by going to SAM.Gov, clicking Contract Opportunities, and searching for "Broad Agency Announcement

DEVCOM C5ISR ESI."

Does the Government intend to create a new tactical network as a part of this effort? If so, how does this effort relate to others such as the Unified Network (UNO)?

No, the Government does not intend to create a new tactical network.

Can the government confirm that any PROPIN information we submit regarding previous or current work with specified government entities (Other Government Engagements) will be held in confidence and not shared publicly or with other respondents?

Yes, all PROPIN information provided will be held in confidence and not shared.

What protocols must respondents follow to ensure that any PROPIN information we submit remains confidential?

Properly marked contractor PROPIN documentation is required.

How does this effort relate to other modernization programs such as Project Manager Mission Command Fires Support Command and Control

(PEO-C3T PM MC

FSC2)?

The Next Generation Command and Control (C2) Capabilities and Development Processes is a complementary effort to the PEO-C3T PM MC FSC2.

provide an overview of the systems, applications, and dataflows in the current C2 environment?

The Government will provide an overview of the systems, applications, and dataflows in the current C2 environment upon award.

provide an overview of the systems, applications, and dataflows in the current C2 environment in a joint setting?

The Government will provide an overview of the systems, applications, and dataflows in the current C2 environment in a Joint setting upon award.

Does the government intend to create a new (tactical) data fabric as a part of this effort?

No, the Government does not intend to create a new tactical data fabric as a part of this effort.

If the government intends to create a new tactical data fabric as part of this effort, how does this effort relate to the HQDA G3/5/7 Army Data Plan CFT?

The Next Generation Command and Control (C2) Capabilities and Development Processes is a complementary effort to the HQDA G3/5/7 Army Data Plan CFT's activities.

provide a current and complete copy of the DoD Data Strategy document referenced on page 5 of the CUI Call for White Paper?

Yes, DOD Data Strategy attached.

Section states “Teaming is encouraged, in support of developing an innovative and viable technical approach. Industry respondents will be responsible for creating a developmental environment that demonstrates three design characteristics described below”.

Q1. Please clarify if three characteristics refenced in Paragraph 2 of Section B are the first three characteristics listed in

Yes, the characteristics listed below are the first 3 characteristics in "Section C" of the BAA calling message:

Characteristic 1 – Responsive to Warfighter Demands Characteristic 2 – Modular open systems architecture and system design Characteristic 3 – Data-centricity and Data Observability by design

Section C Characteristic 1 – Responsive to Warfighter Demands Characteristic 2 – Modular open systems architecture and system design Characteristic 3 – Data-centricity and Data Observability by design

The BAA in Section A states that the purpose of the BAA is to enable collaborative experimentation that delivers a software-centric capability. The team must support DEVOPS for continuous experimentation. BAA in Section B Paragraph 2 states the team will be responsible for creating a development environment that demonstrates the three design characteristics described below. BAA Section B Paragraph 3 further states that the industry partners selected for this collaboration with the Army will participate in continual experimentation events with operational users, and a key innovation will be the development of new approaches to simplify the means for Soldier feedback to rapidly iterate

Q2 ANSWER: Yes, the Gov seeks to gain insights into the offerors proposed software-based development environment and how the offeror would employ a DEVSECOPS process in support of warfighter driven development.

Q3 ANSWER: Yes, the Gov seeks to gain insights into the offerors proposed physical (hardware) solutions in support of the software-based development environment and gain understanding of the offerors specific software functionality in support of warfighter driven development.

the next generation C2 platform performance.

However Section B Paragraph 4 states: The Government will conduct two, 6-month development iterations with follow-on experimentation activities where respondents, if selected, will be asked to demonstrate the critical characteristics listed in this paper.

Q2. Please clarify that the Government intends offeror to provide a software-based development environment and DEVSECOPS process that support rapid experimentation on approaches to meeting the 5 characteristics listed in Section C.

Q3. Please clarify if the government intends the offering team to propose physical solutions:

hardware (to include networking and radio equipment) and function specific software to address all 5 characteristics in Section C, in addition to the development environment and processes

Our goal is to elicit feedback from several industry respondents that can demonstrate the opportunities, risks, and potential trade-offs associated with designing for this preliminary set of design characteristics. To facilitate the evolution of the approach, the government will provide:

• (U) User engagement artifacts in the form of personas, user-journeys, and sample data and documented data workflows.

• (U) An evaluation environment

• (U) A proposed reference architecture

Q4. Please describe the characteristics of the referenced evaluation environment that will be provided. What equipment and/or resources will it include?

The referenced evaluation environment for the C2Next Test & Evaluation Environment will provide a framework for the Platform as a Service (PaaS), CI/CD Pipeline, and Data Pipeline that will support external vendors in deploying their proposed potential applications for C2Next for the government to evaluate.

Our goal is to elicit feedback from several industry respondents that can demonstrate the opportunities, risks, and potential trade-offs associated with designing for this preliminary set of design characteristics. To facilitate the evolution of the approach, the government will provide:

• (U) User engagement artifacts in the form of personas, user-journeys, and sample data and

1. Adaptability: Support to Varying Operational Mission Objectives.

2. Extensibility: User-facing applications focus and having the ability of a system to easily incorporate new features and functionality.

3. Modularity: Architectural design pattern that involves breaking down a complex system or application into smaller, independent, and reusable modules or components.

4. Replaceability: Designing new or replacement components which adhere to compatible interfaces and standards.

5. Gov deployed - AWS GovCloud as a VPC connected to on-prem Gov lab resources.

documented data workflows.

• (U) An evaluation environment

• (U) A proposed reference architecture

Q5. Please describe the high-level elements of the proposed reference architecture. What capabilities will it provide?

QUESTIONS DUE DATE

AND TIME: Technical questions are due no later than 24 November 2023, 3:00 pm EDT via email to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist listed below.

Q6. Given the due date of Nov 24 for questions, the submission date of Dec 5 does not appear to allow sufficient time for the government to respond and for industry to address the response. Will the government agree to extend the white paper due date to Dec 12?

No, the Baa calling message white paper submission due date will not be extended based on the RFI extension date.

To give vendors adequate time to incorporate answers to questions in White Paper responses, would the government please consider extending the due date for responses by one week (12/12)?

No, there will be no due date extensions.

To more thoroughly describe the solution and applicability, to the 5 characteristics while providing enough information for the government to evaluate based on the stated criteria, can the government increase the word count to 2000 words for section 4 (Technical Content), and increase the total page count for the response to 8 pages?

No, the Gov will not increase the word or page count in support of offeror responses to Next Generation Command and Control (C2) Capabilities and Development Processes Request for White Papers.

please allow the ROM to be included as an Appendix to the White Paper response, and thus excluded from word or page limitations?

Yes, the ROM can be included as an Appendix and not be counted against the total word or page count of the offeror's response.

Given the importance of data and automation, what are the key security and resilience considerations for the architecture?

Any technology or application that is deployed to the C2Next Enterprise and Development Environment must adhere to the first principles of the Department of Defense Zero Trust Strategy. Additionally, all applications must follow the guidelines laid out in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publications referencing the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) and be prepared to go through the NIST 7-step Risk Management Framework process in order to be deployed onto the Department of Defense Information Network (DODIN) and to leverage live data at the CUI level and above.

To provide an accurate ROM estimate for materials, can the government confirm that the hardware, software, and licensing for the development environment is provide by the government?

Yes, the referenced evaluation environment for the C2Next Test & Evaluation Environment will be provided by the Government.

please confirm that all 5 characteristics are equally weighted in terms of the evaluation criteria? If not, can the government please provide the order of importance?

Yes, all 5 characteristics will be equally weighted.

Is it possible to get an editable version of Appendix C: Overview Chart Template (currently in PDF form; Word or Excel is preferred)

Yes, the Gov can provide an editable version of Appendix C

For item #5 in the White Paper template, “Other Government Engagement”, please confirm we can provide a narrative on each of the listed engagements

Yes, please provide a narrative on each of the listed engagements. All narratives count against BAA calling message response total word and page count.

The current white paper request does not specify any formatting requirements. However, the BAA W56KGU220ESI document does specify single spaced and 12-point font. Can you please confirm this white paper should follow those requirements? Should any other BAA formatting requirements be adhered to (such as a cover page)?

Please adhere to all BAA W56KGU220ESI formatting requirements. No additional formatting requirements are required for the response to Next Generation Command and Control (C2) Capabilities and Development Processes Request for White Papers.

In previous white paper requests the government provided a “not-to-exceed” number for the target value / budget. Is there an actual or estimated “not-to-exceed" number anticipated for this BAA effort?

There are no not to exceed funding values. Please provide a rough order of magnitude that supports the offeror's solution.

For the Call for White Papers - Command and Control Capabilities and Development Processes

(W56KGU22R0ESI),

submissions will likely be CUI due to the markings on the CUI call for whitepapers document.

Will offerors need to submit documents via DoD SAFE? If so, can you please send us a DoD SAFE link for submission?

If not to be submitted by DoD SAFE? Will a password protected document sent to the submission email suffice?

Password would be sent separately

Submissions containing CUI can be submitted via DoD Safe or through a contractors own encryption service so long as it complies with the Government's requirements for the transmission of documents containing CUI.

Would the Government consider a two-week extension, until December 19th, for industry respondents to submit White Papers in response to this request?

An extension to the submission deadline will not be granted at this time.