DEFENSE SCIENCES RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY – PART II

SOL: BAA07-21  DUE: 2/14/08  POC: Dr. Barbara McQuiston, DARPA/DSO
FAX: (571) 218-4553
WEB: http://www.darpa.mil/dso/solicitations/solicit.htm
E-MAIL: BAA07-21@darpa.mil

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION AND DEADLINES

Proposals may be submitted and received at any time until the final proposal deadline of 4:00PM ET February 14, 2008. Proposals will be evaluated against the criteria set forth in this solicitation, and a proposer will be notified either that: (1) the proposal has been selected for funding, or (2) the proposal has not been selected for funding. Proposers may elect to have their proposal withdrawn from consideration at any time during the evaluation process. If a formal request is not made, DARPA will assume that continued evaluation is desired. One copy only of proposals that are not selected for funding will be retained in DSO files for one year after the signing of the last instrument resulting from this BAA.
 
The Government reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals received in response to this announcement, including those that do not strictly adhere to the division of technical and cost sections. The Government also reserves the right to fund proposals in phases with options for continued work at the end of one or more of the phases. Proposals identified for funding may result in a procurement contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or "Other Transaction," depending upon the nature of the work proposed, the required degree of interaction between parties, and other factors. The proposer must submit a separate list of all technical data or computer software that will be furnished to the Government with other than unlimited rights (see DFARS Part 227).

FORMAT AND CONTENT OF FULL PROPOSAL

The descriptions contained in this section are to help proposers ensure that proposals have sufficiently detailed information to be evaluated. Proposals not conforming to the instructions of this section may not, at the discretion of the Government, be evaluated. Full proposals shall consist of two volumes, technical and cost. Both volumes should be included as a single document when uploading to the website. A website http://www.sainc.com/dsobaa has been established to facilitate the submission of full proposals electronically. This site will allow proposers to fill in contact information and upload a full proposal created with the requirements listed below in either Word or PDF format. Note: if the website is not used, please use the U.S. mail system or the BAA e-mail account BAA07-21@darpa.mil. If submitting via e-mail, the body of the e-mail and the attachment must include name, mailing address, phone number, and fax number of the proposer. If this information is not contained in the body, the e-mail will be returned for inclusion of that information. If proposers choose to submit by U.S. mail, they should submit one (1) original copy of the full proposal to the address shown below (see Administration section). Proposals will not be accepted by way of facsimile transmissions.
 
Volume 1: Technical.

The technical volume is limited to a maximum of 30 pages including a cover sheet, all figures, references, tables, charts, and appendices and consists of the following sections:
 
a) Executive Summary (two pages or less);
b) Technical section that clearly describes the innovation of the work to be accomplished, specific metrics for the effort, the risks to achieving those metrics and approaches for mitigation of those risks. All milestones should be clearly delineated, especially those early (12 to 18 months) milestones that are critical to demonstration of the concept or approach. Supporting rationale for performance enhancements should be included. The perceived need for this research and the potential impact on the DoD should be described, and a Statement of Work (SOW) that summarizes critical tasks to be accomplished should be presented;
c) Time-phased schedule-milestone chart;
d) Summary of relevant prior work;
e) Brief description of applicable facilities and equipment;
f) Short resumes of key individuals. The level of effort and specific roles and qualifications of key individuals should be included. If the team is large (greater than 3 separate entities), a management plan for coordination of the effort should also be included; and
g) Current and pending support (award title, amount, period of performance, and degree of overlap with this proposal).

Proposers are cautioned not to submit supporting material (articles, CDs, etc.) as these will not be used in evaluation of the proposal.

Volume 2: Cost.
 
The cost volume shall contain the following:
 
a) Cover sheet to include: (1) BAA number; (2) Technical area; (3) Lead organization submitting proposal; (4) Type of business (Lead organization), selected among the following categories: “LARGE BUSINESS,” “SMALL BUSINESS,” “SMALL DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS,” “8A,” “OTHER SMALL BUSINESS,” “EMERGING SMALL BUSINESS,” “VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS,” “SERVICE-DISABLED VETERAN OWNED,” “OTHER VETERAN,” “WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS,” “HUBZONE,” “JWOD PARTICIPATING NONPROFIT AGENCY,” “OTHER NONPROFIT,” “HOSPITAL,” “ FOREIGN CONCERN OR ENTITY,” “DOMESTIC FIRM PERFORMING OUTSIDE U.S.,” “HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY (HBCU),” “MINORITY INSTITUTION (MI),” “OTHER EDUCATIONAL,” “FFRDC (INCLUDING DOE LABORATORIES),” “DOD COMPONENT,” “OTHER GOVERNMENT,” “OTHER”; (5) Contractor’s reference number (if any); (6) Other team members (if applicable) and type of business for each; (7) Proposal title; (8) Technical point of contact to include: salutation, last name, first name, street address, city, state, zip code, telephone, fax (if available), electronic mail (if available); (9) Administrative point of contact to include: salutation, last name, first name, street address, city, state, zip code, telephone, fax (if available), and electronic mail (if available); (10) Award instrument requested: cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF); cost-contract--no fee; cost sharing contract--no fee; or other type of procurement contract (specify), grant, cooperative agreement, or other transaction; (11) Place(s) and period(s) of performance; (12) Total proposed cost separated by basic award and option(s) (if any); (13) Name, address, and telephone number of the proposer’s cognizant Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) administration office or Office of Naval Research; (14) Name, address, and telephone number of the proposer’s cognizant Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) audit office; (15) Date proposal was prepared; (16) DUNS, TIN, CAGE CODE; and (17) All subcontractors’ proposal backup documentation to include items 1-16 above, as applicable and available.
b) Detailed cost breakdown to include: (1) total program cost broken down by major cost items (direct labor, subcontracts, materials, travel, other direct costs, overhead charges, etc.), and (2) an itemization of major subcontracts (labor, travel, materials and other direct costs) and equipment purchases. Where the effort consists of multiple portions that could reasonably be partitioned for purposes of funding, these should be identified as options with separate cost estimates for each.
c) Supporting cost and pricing information in sufficient detail to substantiate the summary cost estimates in b) above. Include a description of the method used to estimate costs and supporting documentation. Note: “cost or pricing data” as defined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 2.101 shall be required if the proposer’s proposal is for a procurement contract award of $550,000 or greater unless the proposer requests an exception from the requirement to submit cost or pricing data. “Cost or pricing data” is not required if the proposer proposes an award instrument other than a procurement contract (e.g., a grant, cooperative agreement, or other transaction). The requirements for submission of “cost or pricing data” are specified in FAR Subpart 15.403-4 (see http://www.arnet.gov/far).

OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION FOR PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Teaming and Team Composition

Teaming is encouraged, especially when interdisciplinary approaches to a problem are required.

Proposals may include, or be led by, foreign firms and/or personnel provided all export control laws and U.S. national security requirements are adhered to in the conduct of the effort and that the work relating to the foreign firm or personnel is unclassified. The onus of understanding and complying with export control rests with the proposer, not the Government.

Small Disadvantaged Businesses, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Minority Institutions (MIs) are encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals. However, no portion of this BAA will be set aside for Small Disadvantaged Businesses, HBCU, and MI participation due to the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable areas of this research for exclusive competition among these entities.

Organizational Conflict of Interest

Awards made under this BAA are subject to the provisions of the FAR Subpart 9.5, Organizational Conflicts of Interest. Consequently, all proposers and proposed subcontractors must, therefore, affirm whether they are providing scientific, engineering and technical assistance (SETA) or similar support to any DARPA technical office(s) through an active contract or subcontract, either sponsored and awarded by DARPA through the Contracts Management Office (CMO) or through an outside Contracting Agent acting on behalf of DARPA (i.e. Army, Navy, Air Force issued contract award). All affirmations must state which office(s) the proposer supports, and identify the prime contract numbers. Affirmations should be furnished at the time of proposal submission. All facts relevant to the existence or potential existence of organizational conflicts of interest, as that term is defined at FAR 9.501, must be disclosed. The disclosure shall include a description of the action the proposer has taken or proposes to take to avoid, neutralize or mitigate such conflict.

Technology Transition

Proposals that have currently identifiable commercial or military end-product are strongly encouraged to engage commercial and military end-users and commercial manufacturers. The engagement of these communities also helps ensure that the various technologies being developed will be commercially viable (cost effective, manufacturability, etc.) and available to the military. Thus, proposals are strongly encouraged to include/involve the user-community that intends to bring the technology to practice as a result of this research. This relationship encourages the participation of researchers, end-users and manufacturers as collective contributors to the technology definition, implementation, and performance evaluation.

Intellectual Property

Please include documentation proving your ownership of or possession of appropriate licensing rights to all patented inventions (or inventions for which a patent application has been filed) that will be utilized under your proposal for the DARPA program. If a patent application has been filed for an invention that your proposal utilizes, but the application has not yet been made publicly available and contains proprietary information, you may provide only the patent number, inventor name(s), assignee names (if any), filing date, filing date of any related provisional application, and a summary of the patent title, together with either: 1) a representation that you own the invention, or 2) proof of possession of appropriate licensing rights in the invention. Please also provide a good faith representation that you either own or possess appropriate licensing rights to all other intellectual property that will be utilized under your proposal for the DARPA program. If you are unable to make such a representation concerning non-patent related intellectual property, please provide a listing of the intellectual property to which you do not have needed rights, and provide a detailed explanation concerning how and when you plan to obtain these rights. The proposer must submit a separate list of all technical data or computer software that will be furnished to the Government with other than unlimited rights (se DFARS Part 227).

Proprietary Information and Restrictive Markings on Proposals

All proprietary information should be marked on both the white paper and the full proposal. It is the policy of DARPA to treat all proposals as competitive information and to disclose their contents only for the purpose of evaluation. Standard proprietary disclaimers notwithstanding, proposals may be reviewed by non-Government technical experts who have signed a nondisclosure agreement with DARPA, unless the specific phrase “TO BE REVIEWED BY GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES ONLY” appears on the cover sheet. In any case, personnel under exclusive contract with DARPA who have completed the appropriate nondisclosure agreements will handle the proposals for administrative purposes.
All proposals should clearly indicate limitations on the disclosure of their contents. Proposers who include in their proposals data that they do not want disclosed to the public for any purpose, or used by the Government except for evaluation purposes, shall-

(1) Mark the title page with the following legend: This proposal includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed-in whole or in part-for any purpose other than to evaluate this proposal. If, however, a contract is awarded to this proposer 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 provided in the resulting contract. This restriction does not limit the Government's right to use 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]; and
(2) Mark each sheet of data it wishes to restrict with the following legend: Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject to the restriction on the title page of this proposal.

Markings like "Company Confidential" or other phrases that may be confused with national security classifications shall be avoided. The proposer may be required to remove such markings before the proposal will be accepted. “Proprietary” or “Company Proprietary” are acceptable notations.

Guidance for Classified Information and Data

The Government anticipates that proposals submitted under this BAA will be unclassified. In the event that a proposer chooses to submit a classified proposal, the following information is applicable.

Proposals and white papers may contain classified information or data (up to the level of Top Secret/SCI). HOWEVER, DO NOT SEND CLASSIFIED WHITE PAPERS OR FULL PROPOSALS BY EMAIL OR VIA ONLINE SUBMISSION SYSTEMS. Proposers that intend to include classified information or data in their proposals should contact DARPA security at (571) 218-4842 (or alternatively, the point-of-contact for this BAA) for guidance and direction in advance of proposal preparation. Proposers must have existing approved capabilities (personnel and facilities) to perform research and development at the classification level they propose.

Security Classification guidance on DD Form 254 will not be provided at this time since DARPA is soliciting ideas only. After reviewing the incoming proposals, if a determination is made that the award instrument may result in access to classified information, a DD Form 254 will be issued and attached as part of the award. Proposers choosing to submit a classified proposal must first receive permission from the Original Classification Authority to use their information in applying to this BAA. An applicable classification guide should be submitted to ensure that the proposal is protected appropriately. For instructions on submitting Classified White Papers or Full Proposals, contact Security & Intelligence Directorate (SID) Classification Management at (571) 218-4842.

Export Licenses

(1) The contractor shall comply with all U. S. export control laws and regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120 through 130, and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730 through 799, in the performance of a resulting contract. In the absence of available license exemptions/exceptions, the Contractor shall be responsible for obtaining the appropriate licenses or other approvals, if required, for exports of hardware, technical data, and software, or for the provision of technical assistance.
(2) The Contractor shall be responsible for obtaining export licenses, if required, before utilizing foreign persons in the performance of this contract, including instances where the work is to be performed on-site at any Government installation, where the foreign person will have access to export-controlled technical data or software.
(3) The Contractor shall be responsible for all regulatory record keeping requirements associated with the use of licenses and license exemptions/exceptions.

Research Involving Human Use

Proposals selected for funding are required to comply with provisions of the Common Rule (32 CFR 219) on the protection of human subjects in research (http://www.dtic.mil/biosys/downloads/32cfr219.pdf) and the DoD Directive 3216.2 (http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/html2/d32162x.htm). All proposals that involve the use of human subjects are required to include documentation of their ability to follow Federal guidelines for the protection of human subjects. This includes, but is not limited to, protocol approval mechanisms, approved Institutional Review Boards (IRB), and Federal Wide Assurances. These requirements are based on expected human use issues sometime during the entire length of the proposed effort.

For proposals involving “greater than minimal risk” to human subjects within the first year of the project, performers must provide evidence of protocol submission to a Federally approved IRB at the time of final proposal submission to DARPA. For proposals that are forecasted to involve “greater than minimal risk” after the first year, a discussion on how and when the proposer will comply with submission to a Federally approved IRB needs to be provided in the submission. More information on applicable Federal regulations can be found at the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Human Research Protections website: (http://www.dhhs.gov/ohrp/).

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Evaluation of proposals will be accomplished through a technical review of each proposal using the following criteria. Factors appear in descending order of importance.

Scientific and Technical Merit of the Proposal

Proposers must demonstrate that their proposal is innovative and unique, that the technical approach is sound, that they have an understanding of critical technical issues and risk, and that they have a plan for mitigation of those risks. A significant improvement in capability or understanding above the state of the art must be demonstrated. All milestones must be clearly and quantitatively described.

Value to Defense

Proposers must demonstrate the potential of successful research to radically change military capability or improve national security with a clear statement of the goals of their program and a quantitative comparison with existing technology.

Capability of the Personnel and Facilities to Perform the Proposed Effort

Proposers must demonstrate that their team has the necessary background and experience to perform this project. The balance of the technical capabilities of the team must match that required in the program plan. The relevant experience of key personnel must be sufficient to provide confidence that the proposers can accomplish their objectives. Proposers must demonstrate that the combined facilities of the team are sufficient to accomplish the objectives of the proposal.

Cost Realism and Reasonableness

Costs of the proposal must be reasonable, realistic, and provide a high value to the Government.

ADMINISTRATION

Mailing Address for Submission of White Papers or Full Proposals (Except Classified Proposals):
DARPA/DSO, ATTN: BAA07-21
3701 North Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203-1714

Web Address for White Paper and Full Proposal Submission: http://www.sainc.com/dsobaa/

Those offerors proposing efforts under Grant instruments may alternately submit white papers and full proposals through the Grants.gov website (http://www.grants.gov/).

Fax Number and Email Address for Administrative Questions:
Fax: (571) 218-4553 (Addressed to: DARPA/DSO, BAA07-21)
Electronic Mail: BAA07-21@darpa.mil

This announcement may be retrieved via the WWW at URL: http://www.darpa.mil/dso/solicitations/solicit.htm.