Draft_NGC2 CSO.docx

COMMERCIAL SOLUTIONS OPENING (CSO)

NEXT GENERATION COMMAND AND CONTROL (NGC2)

W918Z25SA002

PROGRAM MANAGER NGC2

U.S. ARMY PROGRAM EXECUTIVE OFFICE COMMAND, CONTROL, COMMUNICATIONS, AND NETWORK (PEO C3N)

Controlled by: PM NGC2

UNCLASSIFIED

POC: COL Christopher W. Anderson, PM NGC2

SECTION 1 – INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND

Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) is a clean-sheet, fundamentally different approach for an Army-wide, data-centric transformation that enables our commanders to make more, faster, and better decisions than the enemy. NGC2 will transform how the US Army conducts digital mission command by replacing fragmented vertical warfighting systems with integrated data, infrastructure, and network layers that can store, maintain, and manage data structurally and organizationally for presentation to commanders on demand. NGC2’s adherence to agile software delivery standards promotes the addition of new capability and functionality to rapidly scale and evolve to meet mission needs.

Army network and C2 modernization is driven by continuous iteration of flexible requirements, vendor teaming and competition throughout the lifecycle. This approach enables continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) of a secure, high performing, and adaptive data and network framework for operations in environments from enterprise-connected and cloud-enabled to austere and communication-degraded. Delivering NGC2 capabilities will require process innovation across requirements, resourcing, acquisition and contracting.

NGC2’s open architecture is envisioned as a set of independent layers that rely on Government-approved open interfaces to communicate among and between the layers. Although independent, each layer is accessed by services that permit inter-layer functionality, such as orchestration that routes data differently in the transport layer depending on the availability of resources in the infrastructure layer. The performance of each layer, and the system-of-systems design, may be improved through modern and leap-ahead software development practices, such as DevSecOps. The system should be designed and managed for continuous technology insertion and deletion through seamless on-ramps and off-ramps of a wide range of component solution providers.

The United States Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG), on behalf of PEO C3N, is publishing this Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) under the authority of 10 U.SC. 4022 to utilize Other Transaction (OT) agreements to carry out a prototype project in support of NGC2. The information provided herein is intended to ensure that to the maximum extent practicable, competitive procedures are used to identify the best solutions received in response to this opening to carry out this prototype project.

1.2 CSO PROCEDURES

This CSO is a competitive solicitation seeking proposals for innovative, commercial technologies that accelerate attainment of defense capabilities. This CSO may result in the award of multiple prototype projects. These projects will include commercially available technologies and integration activities that deliver prototype capabilities for defense applications.

The CSO is soliciting for White Papers (WPs) in response to a Request for White Papers (RWPs). The RWPs are aligned to the Statement of Objectives (SOO) referenced attachment XXXX published separately on the Joint Communications Marketplace (JCM) due to classification. WPs submitted in response to this RWP will be in response to and governed by this CSO unless otherwise noted in the RWP.

Other contracts or agreements that fit within the NGC2 ecosystem that were previously awarded under other solicitation methods may be incorporated into awards issued under this CSO.

The CSO will remain open for a period of two (2) years, during which subsequent RWPs may be released for any component or product related to the NGC2 ecosystem.

SECTION 2 – DEFINITIONS

“Commercial Solutions Opening” (CSO) is a competitive solicitation that is the method utilized for employing the prototyping authority under 10 U.S.C. § 4022 for this requirement.

“Nontraditional Defense Contractor” is defined in 10 U.S.C. § 2302(9) as an entity that is not currently performing and has not performed, for at least the one-year period preceding the solicitation of sources by the DoD for the procurement or transaction, any contract or subcontract for the DoD that is subject to full coverage under the cost accounting standards prescribed pursuant to 41 U.S.C. § 1502 and the regulations implementing such section. This includes all small business concerns under the criteria and size standards in 13 C.F.R. § 121.

"Other Transaction for Prototype Projects” refers to the type of Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) that may be awarded as a result of this CSO and associated RWPs. This type of OTA is authorized by 10 U.S.C. § 4022 for prototype projects directly relevant to enhancing the mission effectiveness of military personnel and the supporting platforms, systems, components, or materials proposed to be acquired or developed by the DoD, or for the improvement of platforms, systems, components, or materials in use by the armed forces. This type of OTA is treated by DoD as an acquisition instrument, commonly referred to as an "other transaction" for a prototype project or a Section 2371b "other transaction".

“Prototype Project” can generally be described as a proof of concept, model, reverse engineering to address obsolescence, pilot, novel application of commercial technologies for defense purposes, agile development activity, creation, design, development, demonstration of technical or operational utility, or combinations of the foregoing. A process, including a business process, may be the subject of a prototype project. Although assistance terms are generally not appropriate in OTA, ancillary work efforts that are necessary for completion of the prototype project, such as test site training or limited logistics support, may be included in prototype projects. A prototype may be physical, virtual, or conceptual in nature. The quantity should generally be limited to that needed to prove technical or manufacturing feasibility or evaluate military utility.

“Nonprofit Institution” means a nonprofit institution, as defined in 15 U.S.C. § 3703 as an organization owned and operated exclusively for scientific or educational purposes, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.

“Small Business” is defined under Section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632) “Innovative” means any new technology, process, method, or business practice; or any new application of an existing technology, process, method, or business practice that contributes to enhancing military effectiveness and sustaining global peace and U.S. national security.

“Request for White Paper” (RWP) means an announcement posted on Sam.gov which may result in the award of an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA).

SECTION 3 – SUBMISSION AND EVALUATION OF WHITE PAPERS AND PROPOSALS

3.1 GENERAL GUIDELINES

1. Unnecessarily elaborate brochures or proposals are not desired.

2. The U.S. Government does not fund preparation of proposals or support work efforts or tasks that are inferred from discussions with technical project officers. The Offeror will not be reimbursed for any costs incurred prior to the effective date of the agreement. There are certain post-employment restrictions on former Federal officers and employees as defined in 18 USC 207 and FAR 3.104-3(d). If an offeror believes a post-employment restriction or conflict of interest exists, notification should be sent to the Agreements Officer prior to initiating efforts on a full proposal.

3. Technical data with military application may require appropriate approval, authorization, or license for lawful exportation.

4. All Solution White Papers and Proposals shall be submitted as UNCLASSIFIED or CUI. The Government team will handle this materiel as Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) category "Proprietary Business Information" (PBI). White Papers and Proposals containing data that is not to be disclosed to the public for any purpose or used by the Government except for evaluation purposes shall include the following sentences on the cover page:

“This [select one: White Paper or Proposal] includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government, except to non-Government personnel for evaluation purposes, and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed -- in whole or in part -- for any purpose other than to evaluate this submission. If, however, an agreement is awarded to this Company as a result of -- or in connection with – the submission of this data, the Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent agreed upon by both parties in the resulting agreement. This restriction does not limit the Government's right to use the information contained in this data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained in sheets [insert numbers or other identification of sheets]”

Each restricted data sheet should be marked as follows:

“Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject to the restriction on the title page of this proposal.”

5. Submissions must be submitted electronically via the instructions included in the RWP.

6. Submissions sent through other channels than required in the RWP or after the RWP period has ended will not be considered, reviewed nor evaluated.

7. Data Rights Assertions. The WP will identify any IP involved in the effort and associated restrictions on the Government’s use of that IP.

3.2 STEP 1- WHITE PAPER (WP)

WPs submitted in response to a RWP shall be submitted as specified in the RWP. The Government will evaluate White Papers against the criteria stated in this RWP. The Government will not pay Companies for the costs associated with White Paper submissions.

The Government may be unable to evaluate the WP if a Company fails to provide the information requested above.

WPs will be evaluated on the basis of the merit of the proposed concept in addressing the RWP, not against other Solution Briefs submitted in response to the same RWP.

The Army expects receiving more WPs than has the resources to award. All submissions will be fairly evaluated; however, only a select few will be invited to submit a proposal. The Government reserves the right to limit the number of companies invited to submit a proposal. As such, a company’s solution may be evaluated to be of merit but not invited to submit a proposal. WPs that are chosen for the Step 2 Prototype Proposal will be notified in writing as soon as practicable.

Upon completion of evaluations, the Government will notify the Company that:

a. The proposed concept/technology/solution has been selected for possible agreement award the Company is invited to submit a full proposal; or

b. The proposed concept/technology/solution is not of interest to the Government; or

c. The proposed concept/technology/solution is of interest, but not eligible for a proposal due to the availability of Government resources.

If the proposed concept/technology/solution is of interest, but not eligible for a proposal due to availability of Government resources, the Company may be contacted with a request to respond to an Request for Prototype Proposal (RPP) within 180 calendar days from white paper submission. If the Government does not send an RPP to the Company within 180 calendar days from the pitch date, the Company will no longer be eligible for an award under the associated RWP.

In either circumstance where a Company is not invited to submit RPP at the end of Step 1, the Government will notify the Company with a non-selection letter. The non-selection letter will give a summary of why the Government did not choose the solution for Step 2. The Government will provide general feedback summarizing the rationale that led to the non-selection decision.

3.3 STEP 2- PROTOTYPE PROPOSAL

Proposals are requested by invitation only. Those Companies whose WP are evaluated to be of merit and are selected for potential award of a Prototype OTA may, if funding is available, be invited to submit a full proposal. The Government will not pay Companies for costs associated with the Request for Prototype Proposal RPP (e.g., proposal development, negotiations) unless otherwise stipulated.

Proposals submitted in response to a RPP shall be evaluated as specified in the RWP. The Government will evaluate White Papers against the criteria stated in the RWP.

Note- Proposals submitted in response to a RPP shall not include any pass-through charges or fees for purchasing hardware.

SECTION 4– AWARDS

4.1 GENERAL GUIDELINES

Upon favorable review and available funds, the Government may choose to make one or more Team Lead awards. Awards will be made using OT agreements. The Agreements Officer will negotiate directly with the Company on the terms and conditions of the OT agreement, including payments, and will execute the OT agreement on behalf of the Government. Only an Agreements Officer has the authority to enter into or modify a binding agreement on behalf of the Government.

Companies must register in the System for Award Management (SAM) and have a Unique Entity Identification (UEI) to receive an award. Companies are advised to commence SAM registration upon receipt of an RPP and must maintain registration in SAM throughout Step 2 of the CSO process.

Companies are required to maintain registration in SAM throughout the period of performance of the prototype project and during any subsequent follow-on production transaction or contract.

Companies must also register in the prescribed Government invoicing system (e.g. Wide Area Work Flow). The Agreements Officer can assist those Companies from whom a full proposal is requested.

The Company must be determined to be responsible by the Agreements Officer and must not be suspended or debarred from award by the Federal Government nor be prohibited by Presidential Executive Order and/or law from receiving an award.

Receipt of a RPP does not guarantee that a Company will receive an award. The Government reserves the right, at any point prior to award of an OT agreement, to cancel the RPP.

4.2. COMPTROLLER GENERAL ACCESS TO INFORMATION

In projects that provide for payments in a total amount exceeding $5,000,000, the Agreement will include a mandatory clause that provides the Comptroller General with the ability to examine the records of any party to the agreement or any entity that participates in the performance of the agreement.

4.3. PROCUREMENT INTEGRITY ACT (PIA)

As required by 10 U.S.C. § 4022(h), all OT agreements awarded under this CSO shall be treated as Federal Agency procurements for purpose of 41 U.S.C. Chapter 21. Accordingly, the CSO competitive solicitation process and awards made thereof must adhere to the ethical standards required by the PIA.

SECTION 5 - ITERATIVE PROTOTYPING

As it is the intent of the Army to enable access to commercially derived disruptive capabilities, Prototype OTAs awarded against this CSO will allow for an iterative prototyping process.

An iterative prototyping process will allow the Government to modify, by mutual agreement, the work in a prototype project to allow the adaptation and modification of the technology being prototyped to meet additional unique and discrete purposes/mission sets. These additional unique and discrete purposes/mission sets can be generated by the original Government customer or originate with other organizations within the Federal Government.

SECTION 6 – SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION

A transaction for a prototype project is complete upon the written determination of the appropriate approving official for the matter in question that efforts conducted under a Prototype OTA: (1) met the key technical goals of a project; (2) satisfied success metrics incorporated into the Prototype OTA; or (3) accomplished a particularly favorable or unexpected result that justifies the transition to production.

Furthermore, successful completion can occur prior to the conclusion of a prototype project to allow the Government to transition any aspect of the prototype project determined to provide utility into production while other aspects of the prototype project have yet to be completed. Any Prototype OTA shall contain a provision that sets forth the conditions under which that prototype agreement must be successfully completed.

SECTION 7 – FOLLOW-ON PRODUCTION

Awards resulting from this CSO are deemed competitive. In accordance with 10 U.S.C 4022, subsection (f), a follow on other transaction or contract for production may be awarded directly from (i) any resultant CSO prototype agreement, or (ii) NGC2 scope/stack related contracts or agreements previously awarded through other solicitation methods. Any concept/technology/solution successfully proven through a Prototype OTA can be transitioned to production.

RWPs posted by the Government under this CSO and Prototype OTAs awarded will include language providing for the potential award of a follow-on production contract or agreement as authorized under 10 U.S.C. § 2371b(f). Individual RWPs and CSO prototype OTAs will explicitly identify follow-on Production OTAs as a potential outcome of a successful prototyping effort.

The Government may evaluate responses and contract/agreement performance received pursuant to this competitive CSO with responses and performance obtained as a result of other competitive processes to execute additional procurement actions as a result of submissions/awards under 10 USC 4022 or other available procurement mechanism

SECTION 8-ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

8.1 CONTRACTOR ACCOUNTABILITY

During Agreement performance, each prime contractor will be held accountable for the successful performance as defined in individual agreements. However, the Government anticipates the need for collaborative communication, as deemed appropriate, between the USG, contract awards under the CSO, external contracts related to NGC2 or its ecosystem, and subcontractors under the CSO despite not having direct privity, to ensure requirements are being met.

Associate Contractor Agreements (ACA) or other similar agreements may be a necessary augmentation to individual CSO agreements to accomplish joint participation in the success of the Government’s requirements. The intent of the ACAs should be to share information between contractors, data and/or technical expertise to ensure cooperation and success to the greatest degree to meet the terms of an order. Contractors will not be relieved of any agreement terms and conditions as a result of a disagreement under an ACA, nor is the Government liable for improper disclosure of any proprietary as a result of an ACA or similar agreements.

The Government reserves the right to specify subcontracts, service providers and/or license agreements in agreements.

The Government encourages competent providers (and any sub-contractors) to be on multiple teams to achieve the vision and best solutions.

8.2 ORGANZITIONAL CONFLITS OF INTEREST

An organizational conflict of interest means that because of other activities or relationships with other persons, a person/company is unable or potentially unable to render impartial assistance or advice to the Government, or the person's/company’s objectivity in performing the contract work is or might be otherwise impaired or has an unfair competitive advantage. The Government seeks to acquire unbiased advice and/or goods and services from offerors/contractors that are free from, or have mitigated, Organizational Conflicts of Interest, relating to Agreements under this CSO.

In order to prevent an OCI issue relating to NGC2 ecosystem needs, contractor’s performing on this CSO agree that the Contractor’s future procurement with the Government may be restricted if the Offeror/contractor and the Government are unable to avoid, neutralize, or mitigate actual or potential OCI before an OT agreement award.

The Government will not automatically exclude an offeror due to an actual or potential OCI. Agreements Officers are committed to working with potential contractors to eliminate or mitigate actual and potential OCI situations, without detriment to the integrity of the competitive process, NGC2 mission, or the legitimate business interests of the community.

If the Offeror or contractor is aware, or should have been aware, of an OCI before award of this contract or any order against the contract and does not fully disclose that conflict to the Agreements Officer, the Government may terminate the Contractor for default.

The Offeror or contractor, by submitting an offer and/or signing the agreement, warrants that it is not now aware of any actual or potential OCI relating to any agreement awarded under this CSO.

The Contractor shall have an ongoing obligation to make “a prompt and full disclosure” to the Agreements Officer of any OCI that arises during the performance of the Agreement, as well as newly discovered conflicts that existed before contract award.

The OCI Mitigation Plan shall become part of the resultant agreement, and the Contractor shall update its OCI Mitigation Plan within 30 days of any changes to the legal construct of the organization, subcontractor changes, or significant management or ownership changes that would result in an actual or potential OCI under this Agreement.

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