REQUEST FOR INFORMATION: Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2)

1. INTRODUCTION 

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI). The purpose of this posting is to notify industry of a Request for Information (RFI). Army Contracting Command- Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG) on behalf of Project Manager Next Generation Command and Control (PO NGC2) within Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T) is issuing this RFI as a means of continuing market research to help inform future contract activities enabled by experimentation, pilots, and prototyping in accordance with the Army Futures Command (AFC) Characteristics of Need (CoN) requirement dated 21 May 2024. 

This NGC2 requirement will include a multitude of objectives to include but not limited to: 1)

managing development environments and compute and storage requirements; 2) maximizing vendor access to capabilities and users; 3) collaboration with the Government on technical specs (API schema, reference architectures); and 4) the role of the Government and Industry in a collaborative space, including sub-contractor management. The solution and program will be heavily dependent upon advanced software analytics and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learned (AI/ML) capabilities to support feedback loops for performance monitoring and improvement. 

2. DISCLAIMER 

THIS IS NOT A NOTICE OF Request for Proposal (RFP) ISSUANCE. Responses to this request are voluntary and will not affect any contractor's ability to submit a proposal if, or when, an RFP is released for a future effort. The requested information is for planning purposes only and does NOT constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued. It is issued to invite industry to share their thoughts on the above topics and answer the requested questions in paragraph 5. 

No entitlement to payment by the Government of direct or indirect costs or charges will arise as a result of the submission of information in response to this request. 

Information received will not be considered confidential/proprietary unless marked accordingly. Company proprietary data will be reviewed by Government employees and authorized representatives only. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any improperly identified proprietary information. No award will be made as a result of this request. This request is for informational purposes only to promote exchanges of information with industry in accordance with FAR part 15.201. The Government will not pay for any information and/or materials received in response to this request for information and is in no way obligated by the information received. 

3. RESPONSES  

Responses related to this Government issued RFI are due no later than 09 October 2024 at 1700ET. 

Responses shall include:

• Point of contact (POC) information (name, phone number, email address)
• Company name
• Corporate address (for POC)
• CAGE Code(s)
• NAICS Code(s)
• Socioeconomic and size status

Responses and any potential questions shall be sent via email address to the Contracting Officer, Ms. Kelly Grifin at: KELLY.L.GRIFFIN11.CIV@ARMY.MIL; subject line: “NGC2 RFI”. Responses to this RFI should be limited to 5 pages or less. 

4. BACKGROUND 

On 16 September 2024, PEO C3T along with partners from AFC, Network Cross Functional Team (N-CFT), and ACC-APG hosted an Industry Day to discuss Operational Design and Capabilities, Persistent Experimentation, and Prototyping and Risk Reduction. The Army will continue persistent experimentation, requirements development and refinement, and demonstrations to inform future capabilities.  All of these activities and Industry's partnership will enable future capability development and program activities. 

5. QUESTIONS TO INDUSTRY 

1. NGC2 will be a system-of-systems delivering C2 capabilities at every echelon.  What are the optimal roles for the government and Industry partners as User/Development Team Leads (UDTLs) to optimize integration, aggregation, and administration of the program?    
2. How would you design and manage a common services architecture for warfighting applications and full stack integration that enables a plug-and-plan architecture?  Please comment on how you would leverage open APIs and microservices, ensure MOSA compliance, and your thoughts on data rights.
3. How would Industry leverage a common data layer to scale enterprise capabilities to meet warfighting needs?  If enterprise scaling isn’t an option due to technical maturity or tailored capabilities, what opportunities are there to deliver those exquisite capabilities at the point of need?
4. Open competition is an important part of the acquisition process for NGC2. If you perceive any potential barriers or roadblocks for the Army to achieving competition, please detail what you think the Government can do to mitigate these concerns.
5. How would you see the role of the Army’s Unified Data Reference Architecture in the design, acquisition and management of NGC2?

1. INTRODUCTION 

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI). The purpose of this posting is to notify industry of a Request for Information (RFI). Army Contracting Command- Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG) on behalf of Project Manager Next Generation Command and Control (PO NGC2) within Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T) is issuing this RFI as a means of continuing market research to help inform future contract activities enabled by experimentation, pilots, and prototyping in accordance with the Army Futures Command (AFC) Characteristics of Need (CoN) requirement dated 21 May 2024. 

This NGC2 requirement will include a multitude of objectives to include but not limited to: 1)

managing development environments and compute and storage requirements; 2) maximizing vendor access to capabilities and users; 3) collaboration with the Government on technical specs (API schema, reference architectures); and 4) the role of the Government and Industry in a collaborative space, including sub-contractor management. The solution and program will be heavily dependent upon advanced software analytics and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learned (AI/ML) capabilities to support feedback loops for performance monitoring and improvement. 

2. DISCLAIMER 

THIS IS NOT A NOTICE OF Request for Proposal (RFP) ISSUANCE. Responses to this request are voluntary and will not affect any contractor's ability to submit a proposal if, or when, an RFP is released for a future effort. The requested information is for planning purposes only and does NOT constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued. It is issued to invite industry to share their thoughts on the above topics and answer the requested questions in paragraph 5. 

No entitlement to payment by the Government of direct or indirect costs or charges will arise as a result of the submission of information in response to this request. 

Information received will not be considered confidential/proprietary unless marked accordingly. Company proprietary data will be reviewed by Government employees and authorized representatives only. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any improperly identified proprietary information. No award will be made as a result of this request. This request is for informational purposes only to promote exchanges of information with industry in accordance with FAR part 15.201. The Government will not pay for any information and/or materials received in response to this request for information and is in no way obligated by the information received. 

3. RESPONSES  

Responses related to this Government issued RFI are due no later than 04 October 2024 at 1700ET. 

Responses shall include:

• Point of contact (POC) information (name, phone number, email address)
• Company name
• Corporate address (for POC)
• CAGE Code(s)
• NAICS Code(s)
• Socioeconomic and size status

Responses and any potential questions shall be sent via email address to the Contracting Officer, Ms. Kelly Grifin at: KELLY.L.GRIFFIN11.CIV@ARMY.MIL; subject line: “NGC2 RFI”. Responses to this RFI should be limited to 5 pages or less. 

4. BACKGROUND 

On 16 September 2024, PEO C3T along with partners from AFC, Network Cross Functional Team (N-CFT), and ACC-APG hosted an Industry Day to discuss Operational Design and Capabilities, Persistent Experimentation, and Prototyping and Risk Reduction. The Army will continue persistent experimentation, requirements development and refinement, and demonstrations to inform future capabilities.  All of these activities and Industry's partnership will enable future capability development and program activities. 

5. QUESTIONS TO INDUSTRY 

1. NGC2 will be a system-of-systems delivering C2 capabilities at every echelon.  What are the optimal roles for the government and Industry partners as User/Development Team Leads (UDTLs) to optimize integration, aggregation, and administration of the program?    
2. How would you design and manage a common services architecture for warfighting applications and full stack integration that enables a plug-and-plan architecture?  Please comment on how you would leverage open APIs and microservices, ensure MOSA compliance, and your thoughts on data rights.
3. How would Industry leverage a common data layer to scale enterprise capabilities to meet warfighting needs?  If enterprise scaling isn’t an option due to technical maturity or tailored capabilities, what opportunities are there to deliver those exquisite capabilities at the point of need?
4. Open competition is an important part of the acquisition process for NGC2. If you perceive any potential barriers or roadblocks for the Army to achieving competition, please detail what you think the Government can do to mitigate these concerns.
5. How would you see the role of the Army’s Unified Data Reference Architecture in the design, acquisition and management of NGC2?