Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY - FEDBIZOPPS ISSUE OF FEBRUARY 03, 2017 FBO #5551
SOURCES SOUGHT

18 -- BAA-RVKV-2014-0005 CALL 001 - RMDC - Sources Sought - RMDC

Notice Date

2/1/2017
 

Notice Type

Sources Sought
 

NAICS

541712 — Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
 

Contracting Office

Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, AFRL/RVKV - Kirtland AFB, 3550 Aberdeen Ave SE, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, 87117, United States
 

ZIP Code

87117
 

Solicitation Number

BAA-RVKV-2014-0005
 

Point of Contact

Francis M. Eggert, Phone: 5058467603, Michael LaBerge, Phone: 505-846-0946
 

E-Mail Address

Francis.Eggert@us.af.mil, Michael.La_Berge@us.af.mil
(Francis.Eggert@us.af.mil, Michael.La_Berge@us.af.mil)
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

BAA-RVKV-2014-0005 FULL TEXT UPDATED 1 Feb 17 Sources Sought File RMDC to BAA-RVKV-2014-0005 CALL 001 Note! See the Sources Sought Attachment and the Updated FULL TEXT to BAA-RVKV-2014-0005 updated 1 Feb 17. I. DATE: 1 Feb 17 SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS to BAA-RVKV-2014-0005 CALL 001. Title: Space Environment Sensor Data Management and Analysis (RMDC). Reference: (A) FULL TEXT of BAA-RVKV-2014-0005, Amendment # 01, dated 1 February 2017, which updated this BAA posted on FedBiz Ops on 9 April 2014. Note, this BAA has basic Proposal Instructions. (B) FULL TEXT of BAA-RVKV-2014-0005, Amendment # 01, dated 1 February 2017, Technical Topic Area, (a), Solar, Solar Wind, Radiation Belt, and Ionospheric Effects found on pages 4 and 5 of Reference (A). AFRL/RVKVB Sources Sought tracking number: FA9453-17-S-0036 SYNOPSIS: The Air Force Research Laboratory, Battlespace Environment Division, is issuing this sources sought synopsis as a means of conducting market research to determine the availability of industry and academic sources with the capabilities and capacity to provide research and development with respect to Space Environment Sensor Data Management and Analysis. The result of this market research will contribute to determining the method of procurement. The applicable North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) code assigned to this procurement is: 541712. NOTE!! THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. This request for capability information does not constitute a request for proposals; submission of any information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary; the government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred. This notice is for planning purposes only and does not commit the Government to any contractual agreement. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate, Battlespace Environment Division (AFRL/RVB) is interested in applied research and development and advanced technology to enhance the development and implementation of space environment models and sensors to meet various Air Force space weather system needs in order to specify, forecast, mitigate, and exploit environmental impacts on Department of Defense (DOD) space and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems. The Space Environment Branch (AFRL/RVBX) full text BAA-RVKV-2014-0005 outlines the general objectives of this Sources Sought. AFRL/RVBX is interested in advancing the state-of-the-art and scientific knowledge in understanding and quantifying the impact of the space environment on operational systems that enable communication, command, and control; and radio frequency (RF) remote sensing capabilities. This effort will be performed at the AFRL/RVB Mission Data Analysis Center (RMDC) located at Kirtland AFB, NM to provide Data Analysis and Modeling for multiple aspects of space environment modeling and prediction. RMDC data analysis design provides a capability and architecture for the changing research, model, and data environments as necessary for ARFL/RVBX projects. New modeling approaches and data systems for AFRL/RVBX projects continue to be defined to improve space environment specification and impact on DOD space and ISR systems. The fact that new research, models, and data streams are expected in the next several years demonstrates the need to design and development new RMDC data processing resource. The RMDC provides the capability for data processing and assessment of multiple space experiments for application in existing and future operational space environment models. RMDC provides an end-to-end handling of space experiment data from acquisition, processing, cataloging, archival, and product distribution to various Research and Development (R&D) communities. The RMDC research and development effort will encompass data analysis, model adaptations and innovative telemetry processing and archiving. Through the introduction of new technology, enhanced capabilities, and process improvement, AFRL/RVBX is interested in the following: (1) application of space environment specification and forecast verification; (2) enhancements to modeling components to incorporate new data sources in the forecasting; (3) develop data management, data fusion and validation techniques for assimilating space and ground base sensors; (4) apply and develop new research model techniques to extend prediction; and (5) enhanced data specification to define space environment impacts on Air Force and ISR systems. RMDC research efforts will require a potential offeror to have the technical skills and abilities and demonstrable working knowledge of Government, Air Force and other community research, and software development processes to ensure operational implementation of space environment specification and prediction algorithms to support the transition of technologies into DOD operational units. The offeror shall have the technical skills and abilities to design, develop, implement and test algorithms for expanding the RMDC capabilities to process additional space sensor systems. This includes design and development of scientific algorithm applications, documentation, expanding database management systems, providing test procedures, and configuration management of components developed. RMDC mission includes activities required to execute the R&D, testing, data collection, and subsequent data dissemination and specifically applies to the unique cross-discipline effort for development, integration and exploitation. The Government is not seeking sources for fundamental data analysis and model development, but rather for the integrating research to develop those components toward meeting AFRL's goals. It is anticipated that this effort will require access to and processing of classified information. A DD254 will be required; the successful offeror will need the appropriate security clearance prior to award. Responsive offerors will demonstrate depth of knowledge in and breadth of knowledge across the relevant discipline areas, experience in integrating research across those disciplines, and experience in the development of advanced technology from those integrated results, as evidenced by past projects. Professional software development capability and experience are also required. Information regarding your organization's capabilities and experience must be in writing and should include information relevant and specific to the technical areas below. It should address each of the following qualifications: (1) Experience: An outline of previous similar projects, specific experience in performing the items listed below; (2) Personnel: Name, professional qualification and specific experience of scientists and/or technical personnel who may be assigned as project director and other key positions; and (3) Any other specific and relevant information about this particular area of procurement that would improve the government's knowledge of interested organization's' capabilities. Interested organizations must demonstrate and document, in any capability statements submitted, extensive experience with and the ability to perform the below tasks. Organizations should clearly demonstrate the capability to administer and coordinate interrelated tasks in an effective and timely manner. Documentation may include, but not be limited to, contracts both Government and commercial, identification of the organization for whom the work was performed (include government points of contact both technical and contractual), references, (i.e. names, titles, telephone numbers), and any other information serving to document the organization's capability, e.g., awards, commendations, etc. The successful offeror will be required to: 1. AFRL/RVB's Applied Research (6.2) related to this Sources Sought is oriented toward the goal of developing, implementing and exercising new space weather models, products, and data visualization tools. The research and development work effort will encompass data analysis of existing products and modeling approaches used to specify the space environment impacts on Air Force and ISR systems. Researchers are expected to implement new data sources and the development of research based technologies for the prediction of space weather phenomena, which are envisioned to improve existing capabilities and provide transition to the operational community. Researchers are expected to provide enhanced data management capabilities to the existing RVB Mission Data Analysis Center (RMDC) capabilities, and to develop methods to manage new space experiment data, provide methods to quantify sensor data use, demonstration of technology, new approaches in data visualization and develop data distribution methods for net-centric and web based discovery. 2. Applied Research (6.2) and development is needed that is directed toward new and improved data management techniques, which provides for the accessibility of space environment data from public and government sources. Retrieve, store, disseminate and integrate data from AFRL flight missions to provide access, data fusion and interfaces to advance model development and technology demonstration. This effort does not represent separate, discipline scientific and engineering activities. The Government's existing and planned contracts and in-house research teams have produced and continue to produce substantial discipline knowledge and technologies. The objective of this effort relate to the interdisciplinary development and integration of those products and products of the greater research community leading to innovative new space environment awareness, mitigation and exploitation capabilities. In such a body of work, the various research activities are expected to be tightly coupled, with requirements from one aspect driving scientific investigations of another, with the combined results feeding into novel technologies. A full range of research, development, and test and evaluation expertise is anticipated to expand the RMDC facility to meet future RVB missions. 3. Applied Research (6.2) to provide research, development, test and evaluation capabilities to improve the development and implementation of space environment models and sensor data sources to meet various Air Force space weather system needs in order to specify, forecast, mitigate, and exploit environmental impacts on Department of Defense (DOD) space and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems. Data and other space weather inputs are provided by the AFRL/RVB Mission Data Analysis Center (RMDC), which supports a myriad of Battlespace Environment Division (AFRL/RVB) space weather missions, and enables these RVB missions to transition technologies to operational units within DOD. AFRL/RVBX requires capabilities to determine and demonstrate the detailed association between environmental conditions and specific impacts on space systems and services; establish the utility of environmental models to specify or forecast specific conditions; and quantitatively characterize the occurrences of specific environmental effects on space systems and services. AFRL/RVBX research efforts will require technical skills to improve remote sensing analysis capabilities; develop modeling techniques specifically designed to increase the accuracy and timeliness of space environment specification and forecast; develop multi-model ensemble techniques; and development of automated techniques for extracting the characteristic features from existing measurement systems. Expand the RMDC capabilities to address present and future RMDC requirements with innovative methods to improve information access, analysis, and dissemination. Expand the RMDC capability to perform data analysis, model development, and data visualization and distribution of processed and gathered mission data. Enhance RMDC data management to address the large quantity of space environment monitoring data to support multiple space experiments with improved analysis and modeling of space environment's effects on space systems and services. Enable the RMDC to provide reliable and timely end-to-end handling of space experiment data from acquisition, processing, cataloging, archival, and product distribution to various R&D communities. Submission Instructions: Any proprietary information should be marked accordingly. Interested organizations that believe they possess the capability and capacity necessary to successfully undertake the tasks described above are invited to submit their capability statement via email or standard mail (FedEX, UPS, etc., is a ok) by 3 pm MDT (1500 hours) on 22 FEB 2017. If your organization has the potential capacity to perform these contract services, please provide the following information: 1) Organization name, address, email address, Web site address, telephone number, NAICS codes, and size and type of ownership for the organization as well as any claimed socio-economic status (e.g. 8(a) certified program participant, small disadvantaged, veteran-owned, service-disabled veteran owned, HUB Zone or women-owned); and 2) Tailored capability statements addressing the particulars of this effort, with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability. If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements. Submit Statement of Capabilities to the personnel outlined below. All work performed under the contract will be limited to U.S. citizens only. Please send your e-mail or by US Mail to the individuals listed below. Contracting Office standard mail address vis US. Mail or FedEX, UPS, etc., is a ok. Det 8 AFRL/RVKVB Attn: Contracting Officer, General Mail Room Mr. Francis M. Eggert 3550 Aberdeen Ave Kirtland AFB, NM 87117-5773 (505) 846-7603 phone Francis.Eggert@us.af.mil Det 8 AFRL/RVKVB Attn: Contract Specialist, General Mail Room Mr. Michael LaBerge 3550 Aberdeen Ave Kirtland AFB, NM 87117-5773 (505) 846-0946 phone Michael.La_Berge@us.af.mil Technical POC. Mr. Nelson A. Bonito. nelson.bonito.1@us.af.mil II. Below is the Amend# 1 to BAA-RVKV-2014-0005 Updated 1 Feb 17 from the Original dated 9 April 2014. AMENDMENT #01 TO THE FULL TEXT BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA) BAA-RVKV-2014-0005 Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate Original: 9 April 2014 Revised and Updated: 1 February 2017 ANNOUNCEMENT OVERVIEW NAICS CODE: 541712 FEDERAL AGENCY NAME: Air Force Research Laboratory, Space Weather Center of Excellence, 3550 Aberdeen Avenue SE, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117 BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT TITLE: Research Interests of the Space Weather Center of Excellence - Kirtland BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: This is the initial Announcement BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: BAA-RVKV-2014-0005 CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NUMBER(S): 12.800 Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program. BRIEF PROGRAM SUMMARY: This is a 5-year Closed Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) with individual CALLs to solicit research proposals for the United States Air Force Research Lab, Space Vehicles Research Directorate, Battlespace Environment Division, Space Weather Center of Excellence. This closed BAA approach allows for proposal submittals at a specified date and time which will be posted through the issuance of CALLs at various times against this BAA. This BAA will be reviewed no less frequently than annually and updates will be published in FedBizOpps and Grants.gov. Any changes or cancellation of the BAA will be posted as amendments to this BAA. This annual review and subsequent amendment to the BAA shall meet the requirement of FAR 35.016 to publish the BAA no less frequently than annually. As technical topic areas are identified, proposal call announcements (CALLs) may be issued at FedBizOpps and Grants.gov to request proposals for specific research efforts. If there are no assistance opportunities, the CALL will only be posted in FedBizOpps. These subsequent CALLs will contain specific descriptions of the research effort to be addressed, anticipated period of performance, information peculiar to the specific research technical topic area, and the estimated funding profile for the CALL. PROPOSAL DUE DATE AND TIME: NO PROPOSALS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED AGAINST THIS BASELINE BAA. Proposal due dates and times will be specified in each CALL. Proposals received after the due date and time specified in the CALL shall be governed by the provisions of FAR 52.215-1(c)(3). It should be noted that this installation observes strict security procedures to enter the facility. These security procedures are NOT considered an interruption of normal Government processes, and proposals received after the due date and time specified in the call as a result of security delays will be considered "late". Furthermore, note that if offerors utilize commercial carriers in the delivery of proposals, they may not honor time-of-day delivery guarantees on military installations. Early proposal submission is encouraged. ESTIMATED PROGRAM COST: Anticipated funding for the program (not per CALL, contract or award) is $3.2M, with the following anticipated budgets: FY 18: $850K; FY 19: $850K; FY 20: $750K; FY 21: $750K. This funding profile is an estimate only and will not be a contractual obligation for funding. Each CALL will contain funding profiles specific to that effort. All funding is subject to change due to government discretion and funds availability. All potential offerors should be aware that due to unanticipated budget fluctuations, funding in any or all areas may change with little or no notice. GENERAL INFORMATION: The applicable NAICS code for this announcement is 541712 with a size standard of 1000. This acquisition is unrestricted. This BAA is issued under the provisions of Federal Acquisition Regulation paragraph 6.102(d)(2), Use of Competitive Procedures, that provides for the competitive selection of research proposals. Proposals submitted in response to CALLs issued pursuant to this BAA that are selected for award are considered to be the results of full and open competition and in full compliance with the provisions of PL 98-369, the Competition In Contracting Act of 1984. There will be no other announcement issued for this requirement. Offerors must monitor FedBizOpps: https://www.fbo.gov and/or Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov in the event this announcement is amended and for the posting of CALLs. TYPE OF CONTRACTS/INSTRUMENTS: The Air Force reserves the right to award the instrument best suited to the nature of research proposed. Accordingly, the Government may award any appropriate contract type under the Federal Acquisition Regulation, Grant, Cooperative Agreement, or Other Transactions for Research. Other Transactions for Research (See 10 U.S.C. §2371) are assistance instruments that, with the exception of a funds recovery provision, will generally be similar in format to a Cooperative Agreement. Specific instructions for assistance awards are in Section VI 3.f of the full text BAA. It is anticipated that awards under this BAA will generally be cost reimbursable, which require successful offerors to have an accounting system considered adequate for tracking costs applicable to the contract. ON-LINE REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS: Potential offerors are notified that to be eligible for an award and in compliance with FAR 52.204-7 and DFARS 252.204-7007 Alternate A, they must submit annual Electronic Representations and Certifications, otherwise known as the On-line Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) via the System for Award Management (SAM) at https://www.sam.gov. Before submitting the Electronic Representations and Certifications, contractors must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) Database. On-line registration instructions can be accessed from the System for Award Management at https://www.sam.gov. These FAR and DFAR level representations and certifications are required in addition to the representations and certifications that will be attached to each CALL. ANTICIPATED NUMBER OF AWARDS: The Air Force anticipates awarding a minimum of one contract or assistance instrument per specific CALL. However, the Air Force does reserve the right to make multiple awards or no awards pursuant to a CALL. POINTS OF CONTACT: Technical Points of Contact (TPOC): Primary Technical Manager: Dr. Todd R Pedersen, AFRL/RVBXI, Kirtland AFB, NM Phone: 505-853-7972, Email: todd.pedersen@us.af.mil Alternate Point of Contact: Ms. Sheila Cole, AFRL/RVBXT, Kirtland AFB, NM Phone: 505-846-7744, Email: sheila.cole.2@us.af.mil Contracting Points of Contact: Contracting Officer: Mr. Francis M. Eggert, Det 8 AFRL/RVKVB, Kirtland AFB, NM Phone 505-846-7603, Email: francis.eggert@us.af.mil RVKVB Branch Chief: Mr. Teofilo Bautista, Jr., Det 8 AFRL/RVKVB, Kirtland AFB, NM Phone: 505-846-1075, Email: teofilo.bautista@us.af.mil Specific Technical and Contracting Points of Contact will be identified in each CALL. The aforementioned POCs should be used only for this BAA Full Text Announcement. AMENDMENT # 01 to BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT BAA-RVKV-2014-0005 Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate Original: 9 April 2014 Revised and Updated: 1 February 2017 FULL TEXT ANNOUNCEMENT NAICS CODE: 541712 FEDERAL AGENCY NAME: Air Force Research Laboratory, Space Weather Center of Excellence, 3550 Aberdeen Avenue SE, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117 BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT TITLE: Research Interests of the Space Weather Center of Excellence - Kirtland BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: This is the initial Announcement. BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: BAA-RVKV-2014-0005 CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NUMBER(S): 12.800 Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program. I. REQUIREMENT DESCRIPTION 1. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Space Vehicles Directorate (RV) Battlespace Environment Division (RVB) Space Weather Center of Excellence (RVBX) is interested in receiving proposals that advance the state-of-the-art and scientific knowledge in understanding and quantifying the impact of the Earth's space environment on Air Force (AF) systems and in achieving a capability to specify, predict, mitigate, and exploit the effects of the space environment that can disrupt or degrade operational systems. Of particular interest to the USAF are effects on operational systems that enable communication, command, and control; positioning, navigation, and timing; and radio frequency (RF) remote sensing capabilities. Proposals that will enable future operational systems to meet performance, reliability, maintainability, supportability, and affordability goals, or which enhance performance or significantly reduce cost, schedule, or risk of existing technologies, are of particular interest. 2. This is a 5 year Closed Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) describing the research areas of interest for the AFRL/RVB Space Weather Center of Excellence. This closed BAA approach allows for proposal submittals at a specified date and time which will be posted through the issuance of CALLs at various times against this BAA. Periodically over the 5-year period (calculated from the baseline BAA publication date), proposal call announcements (CALLs) under the BAA may be issued at FedBizOpps and Grants.gov to request proposals for specific research efforts in the technical topic areas identified below. These subsequent CALLs will contain specific descriptions of the research effort to be addressed, anticipated period of performance, information peculiar to the specific research technical topic area, and the estimated funding profile for the CALL. Each CALL will specify a proposal due date and time. Proposals received after the stated due date and time will be governed by FAR 52.215-1(c) (3). Multiple subsequent CALLs are anticipated and may be announced sequentially or concurrently on FedBizOpps and/or Grants.gov, if assistance opportunities are available under the CALL. The Government reserves the right to re-issue a previously announced CALL area with a second subsequent proposal period. The Government also reserves the right to issue no CALLs for any given technology area. 3. Technical Topic Areas: In order to predict and mitigate space environmental effects on AF systems, RVBX conducts basic and applied research on the space environment, extending from the Sun to the Earth, including its impacts on space-based and ground-based operational systems. The research efforts generally fall into three main technology topic areas: (1) Solar, solar wind, radiation belt, and ionospheric effects; (2) thermosphere and satellite drag and the reentry environment; and (3) plasma physics and chemistry. Current activities include forecasting of solar and interplanetary conditions which cause electromagnetic interference and geomagnetic disturbances; understanding, specifying, and ultimately predicting the state of the Earth's ionosphere, thermosphere, and radiation belts, including the associated electric fields and currents and high altitude energetic particles; quantifying environmentally induced effects on space and ground systems; and developing and applying active techniques for space environment mitigation, modification, or exploitation. Detailed knowledge of the space environment impacts have important implications for issues of satellite survivability and affordable design; satellite anomalies; radio frequency (RF) wave transmission, propagation, and remote sensing; positioning, navigation, and timing; and satellite orbits and reentry. Additional details on these main research areas follow. a) Solar, Solar Wind, Radiation Belt, and Ionospheric Effects The solar energetic emissions that impact Department of Defense (DOD) systems include both quasi-continuous sources, such as the solar wind, as well as sudden violent eruptions such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections. The objectives for the Solar and Solar Wind Effects research effort are to (1) provide improved solar models, including electromagnetic radiation, energetic particles, and plasma, that impact the space environment and support operational end user products and tools; and (2) develop and improve space- and ground-based solar and heliospheric instrumentation and data products necessary to drive the models Research thrusts include: improved radiation (F10.7, EUV) and Solar Energetic Particles modeling and forecasts; development of an operational state-of-the-art 3-D Magneto-Hydrodynamic (MHD) coronal/solar wind model and a coronal mass ejection (CME) propagation model; development of solar activity, flare, and CME specification and prediction tools; development of specialized solar instrumentation to observe solar signals from ground and space; analysis of solar ground and space data from imagers and spectroscopic probes; numerical and physics based modeling of solar processes and assimilation of data into the models; and development of models of the near- and far-term solar impacts on space weather including solar specification models and predictive and forecast physics-based models. Radiation belt dynamics are an important consideration in the planning, operation, and survivability of both civilian and military space missions. Stably-trapped natural radiation belts occupy large volumes of near-Earth space, presenting a variable and often harsh environment for orbiting spacecraft. The dynamics are driven by natural energization and loss processes for the electrons comprising the belts and by electromagnetic waves. These waves, generated by lightning, plasma processes, and anthropogenic sources, are thought to largely control the shape of the natural belts over long periods of time. Improved understanding of wave sources (natural and manmade, terrestrial or in space), wave propagation and amplification, and wave-particle interactions, coupled with better models and new validation data are required to adequately predict and mitigate radiation belt impacts to satellite systems. The research domain encompasses a broad range of energies and species, including both those trapped within the Earth's magnetic field or not, over a vast region of space extending through low, medium, geosynchronous, and highly elliptical orbits. In order to fully understand the impacts of the radiation belt dynamics on Air Force assets, it is also necessary to provide sufficient measurements of the natural environment as well as understand the effects of the environment on the structure and operation of space assets. Ensuring sensors have sufficient fidelity to provide meaningful discrimination between particle populations responsible for environmental impacts while minimizing SWAP (size, weight, and power) is a key goal. Utilizing the information from environment specification models in order to support design aids is the other application of interest. Supporting design to minimize low-energy (charging) and high-energy (dose) impacts through modeling, experiment, and design aids is another application of interest. Choosing the correct risk to assume in the spacecraft design can save shielding mass. Understanding the behavior of materials at end-of-life can allow for better design of components resistant to spacecraft charging and arcing. Particular topics of interest are: 1) Energetic Particle Specification and Forecast Models: Through theoretical and computational modeling, advance the state-of-the-art in radiation belt and magnetospheric plasma specification and forecast, including wave growth, particle transport, and the environmental impacts on DOD systems; 2) Spacecraft-Plasma Interactions: Collaborate with in-house personnel to develop detailed understanding of space environment effects on spacecraft materials, components, and systems to include spacecraft charging, material aging, deep dielectric charging, and the interrelationship between the three. Develop advanced computer models for predicting these effects over the lifetime of a spacecraft; 3) Spacecraft environmental effect design aids: Develop innovative tools to assist in spacecraft design. Develop user-friendly interfaces to allow easy application of environment models to non-specialist designers and interface with common spacecraft design tools; and 4) Space Particle Detectors: Develop new and innovative space particle detectors for space environment hazard discrimination with emphasis on low-SWAP, high-fidelity techniques to provide maximal science return while minimizing SWAP for DOD systems. Use particle transport modeling techniques to provide detailed understanding of detector behavior and capabilities. The fundamental concern underlying RVBX's ionosphere research is the geospace environment's effects on space systems and services, since the state of the ionosphere affects the degree to which an operational system can meet requirements for assured delivery of communications or for robust positioning, navigation, timing, surveillance, or reconnaissance information, or whether the transmissions will be degraded or disrupted. System operators or users must determine whether poor or aberrant system function is due to environment effects or other causes. Meeting this need requires capabilities to: (1) determine and demonstrate the detailed association between environmental conditions and specific impacts on space systems and services; (2) establish the utility of environmental models to specify or forecast specific conditions, or proxies for those conditions, that cause impacts on space systems and services; and (3) quantitatively characterize the occurrences of specific environmental effects on space systems and services. An important aspect of the research focuses on improvements in diagnostic technologies that allow ionospheric properties related to impacts to be detected, measured, and studied. Accordingly, research activities cover a broad range; general areas of effort include: (1) basic and applied research into ionosphere and thermosphere coupling during quiet and disturbed conditions; (2) basic and applied research into the stability of the equatorial, subauroral, auroral, and polar ionosphere during quiet and disturbed conditions; (3) space environment impacts on positioning, navigation, timing, and communication systems and radars; (4) improved high frequency (HF) GeoLocation capabilities; (5) the causes of electromagnetic interference on RF systems; and (6) data collection, analysis, and data archiving supporting the technical efforts. In addition to the science/technical activities cited above, topics for potential CALLs include: development of a real-time monitoring system for equatorial ionospheric plasma drifts, incorporating data from a variety of sensors; development of a model of global ionospheric scintillation based on ground and satellite measurements; development of a forecast model for equatorial plasma bubbles and irregularities; development of a first-principles model for nowcasting and forecasting global ionospheric electrodynamics; development of ionospheric modeling techniques specifically designed to increase the accuracy and timeliness of bottomside ionosphere profile specification and forecast; development of multi-model ensemble techniques applied to ionospheric specification and forecast; physics based and/or phenomenological modeling of traveling ionospheric disturbances; development of automated techniques for extracting the characteristics of transient ionospheric features, such as traveling ionospheric disturbances, from existing measurement networks; full wave or ray based modeling of point-to-point RF propagation, especially efforts directed towards enhanced implementation on modern computational systems; development or improvement of ionospheric specification sensors including, but not limited to, low cost and/or low power ionosondes, scintillation receivers, beacons and/or beacon receivers, GPS receivers, and optical systems; development of low cost Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar (AMISR) components to help support a global AMISR network; development of tools for ionospheric phase screen reconstruction using available ionospheric sensor data including, but not limited to, satcom receivers, LEO (low Earth orbit) beacon receivers, and GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receivers. The latter includes development of a frequency scaling capability based on empirical models and/or phase screen reconstructions. b) Thermosphere and Satellite Drag and the Reentry Environment The primary objective of this research area is to develop empirical and physics-based models, sensors, and data products to accurately specify and forecast the neutral atmosphere and satellite drag in order to identify space objects that orbit the Earth, to provide precision orbit determination and prediction, including re-entry predictions, and to assess the likelihood of collisions. Meeting these needs requires an accurate climatology of the various orbital regimes, knowledge of present and forecast conditions, and expected impacts on operations. A major source of error for orbital determination and prediction for satellites operating below about 600 km is aerodynamic drag. The two most important influences on satellite drag are thermospheric neutral densities and neutral winds, but at satellite altitudes the density and wind models do not adequately account for dynamic changes in these fields, leading to significant errors in predicted satellite positions. Relevant research activities in this area include: 1) quantifying the energy input into the thermosphere during both quiet and active solar conditions; 2) developing empirical, physics-based, and data assimilative methods for global specification and forecast of the thermosphere/ionosphere system; 3) developing satellite- and ground-based instrumentation for sensing the neutral and ionized upper atmosphere; 4) predictive modeling of space weather conditions and events impacting the thermosphere/ionosphere system; and 4) developing an orbital propagator and orbital drag error estimator. c) Plasma Physics and Chemistry The RVBX plasma physics and chemistry investigations cover a variety of plasma states, from collisional to magnetized, as well as a variety of compositions, including typical atmospheric species as well as exotic neutral and ionized species and their reactions. Research areas of particular interest include theoretical and computational modeling of natural and man-made ionospheric perturbations, including self-consistent development and evolution, chemistry and transport effects, and impacts on and interactions with the background ionospheric plasma and electrodynamics; development of coherent radar systems for ionospheric sensing and measurement in the HF - VHF range, including near-vertical incidence, near-horizontal incidence, and long-range systems, as well as identification and interpretation of various echo types/sources and propagation paths/effects; high-resolution array-based HF imaging of ionospheric structure to include advanced imaging techniques, long baselines, and active or passive operations; development of ionospheric modification technologies and delivery systems to include non-traditional platforms, new materials, and advanced techniques; compact modular low-power HF ionospheric sounding systems including arbitrary waveform capability, automated synchronization to allow oblique reception, automated trace recognition, scaling of vertical-incidence and oblique modes, and advanced portable antennas; and theoretical and numerical modeling of kinetic and plasma processes affecting energy interchange in the magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere system, including plasmaspheric boundary layer phenomena such as diffuse electron and proton aurora, radiation belt electron and ring current proton precipitation, Sub-Auroral Ion Drifts (SAIDs), Sub-Auroral Polarization Streams (SAPS), Stable Auroral Red (SAR) arcs, the Sub-Auroral density trough, ion outflows, and artificial ionosphere perturbations. 4. Deliverable Items: Hardware, software, or data will be identified in the CALL. The following data deliverables are representative of the types of data that may be required: (a) a Program Plan with updates as needed; (b) Monthly Status/Financial Reports; (c) a Final Report, in both draft and final form; (d) Presentation Materials; and (e) Patent Reports. Data deliverables are subject to negotiations on each individual CALL. 5. Schedule: The period of performance will be stated in the CALL. II. AWARD INFORMATION 1. Anticipated Funding: Anticipated funding for the program (not per CALL, contract or award) is $49.8M, with the following anticipated budgets: FY 14: $7.8M; FY 15: $12.4M; FY 16: $14.2M; FY 17: $10.1M; FY 18: $5.3M. This funding profile is an estimate only and will not be a contractual obligation for funding. Each CALL will contain funding profiles specific to that effort. All funding is subject to change due to government discretion and availability of funds. Due to unanticipated budget fluctuations, funding in any or all areas may change with little or no notice. 2. Anticipated Number of Awards: The Air Force anticipates awarding a minimum of one contract or assistance instrument per specific CALL. However, the Air Force does reserve the right to make multiple awards or no awards pursuant to a CALL. III. POINTS OF CONTACT 1. Technical Points of Contact (TPOC): Primary Technical Manager: Dr. Todd R Pedersen, AFRL/RVBXI, Kirtland AFB, NM Phone: 505-853-7972, Email: todd.pedersen@us.af.mil Alternate Point of Contact: Ms. Sheila Cole, AFRL/RVBXT, Kirtland AFB, NM Phone: 505-846-7744, Email: sheila.cole.2@us.af.mil 2. Contracting Points of Contact: Contracting Officer: Mr. Francis M. Eggert, Det 8 AFRL/RVKVB, Kirtland AFB, NM Phone 505-846-7603, Email: francis.eggert@us.af.mil RVKVB Branch Chief: Mr. Teofilo Bautista,Jr., Det 8 AFRL/RVKVB, Kirtland AFB, NM Phone: 505-846-1075, Email: teofilo.bautista@us.af.mil Specific Technical and Contracting Points of Contact will be identified in each CALL. The aforementioned POCs should be used only for this BAA. 3. Ombudsman: Air Force Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (AFFARS) clause 5352.201-9101 Ombudsman is hereby incorporated into this BAA and will be made a part of any awards based on this solicitation. An Ombudsman has been appointed to hear and facilitate the resolution of concerns from offerors, potential offerors, and others for this acquisition announcement. Before consulting with an ombudsman, interested parties must first express their concerns, issues, disagreements, and/or recommendations to the contracting officer listed above for resolution. The ombudsman for AFRL is Ms. Kimberly L. Yoder, AFRL/PK, 1864 4th Street, Bldg 15, Room 225, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, 45433-7130, Phone: 937-255-4967, Fax: 937-904-7024, Email: kimberly.yoder@us.af.mil. IV. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION 1. Eligible Offeror/Applicants: All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit a proposal. Small Businesses, Historically Black Colleges (HBCU), Minority Institutions (MI), Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), Woman-Owned Businesses, and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses are encouraged to submit proposals; however, no part of this announcement will be a set-aside. Foreign or foreign-owned offerors are advised that their participation is subject to foreign disclosure review procedures. Foreign or foreign-owned offerors should immediately contact the contracting office point of contact identified in the CALL for information if they contemplate responding. All correspondence must reference the BAA number, the BAA title, and the CALL number. 2. Cost Sharing or Matching: Cost sharing is not a requirement unless stated in the CALL. 3. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs): DOD-sponsored FFRDCs that function primarily as research laboratories (C3I Laboratory operated by the Institute for Defense Analysis, Lincoln Laboratory operated by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Software Engineering Institute operated by Carnegie Mellon) may respond to solicitations and announcements (Section 217, Pub. L. 103-337) (DFARS 235.017-1). The following guidance is provided for other DOD sponsored and non-DOD sponsored FFRDCs contemplating submitting a proposal, as either a prime or subcontractor, against this BAA. FAR 35.017-1(c) (4) prohibits an FFRDC from competing with any non-FFRDC concern in response to a Federal agency request for proposal for other than the operation of an FFRDC. There is no regulation prohibiting an FFRDC from responding to a solicitation or announcement. However, the FFRDC's sponsoring agency must first make a determination that the effort being proposed falls within the purpose, mission, general scope of effort, or special competency of the FFRDC and that determination must be included in the FFRDC's proposal. In addition, the non-sponsoring agency must make a determination that the work proposed would not place the FFRDC in direct competition with domestic private industry. Only after these determinations are made would the FFRDC's eligibility to receive an award be considered. 4. Government Agencies: If a Government agency is interested in performing work it should contact the Program Office identified in the CALL. If those discussions result in a mutual interest to pursue the agency's participation, the effort will be pursued independent of this Broad Agency Announcement. 5. Export Control: Research areas may involve technology that is subject to U.S. Export Control Laws. Therefore, only offerors who are certified by the Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS) may submit proposals. For questions, contact DLIS on-line at https://www.dlis.dla.mil/jcp or at DLIS, US/Canada Joint Certification Center, Federal Center, 74 North Washington, Battle Creek MI 49017-4312, Phone: 800-352-3572. DFARS 252.225-7048, Export Controlled Items (June 2013), is incorporated into this announcement and any contracts resulting from the CALLs. 6. Security Requirement: If a Contract Security Classification Specification per FAR 52.204-2 is required, it will be identified in the CALL. V. COMMUNICATIONS 1. Prospective offerors are reminded to contact the technical point of contact to verify interest in the effort to be proposed and the funding availability PRIOR to committing any resources to the preparation of any proposals in response to a CALL. 2. Dialogue between prospective offerors and Government representatives is encouraged until submission of proposals. Discussions with any of the points of contact shall not constitute a commitment by the Government to subsequently fund or award any proposed effort. Offerors are advised that only contracting officers are legally authorized to contractually bind or otherwise commit the Government. Any dialogue that takes place will not be taken into consideration during the evaluation of the proposals. VI. PROPOSAL/APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION 1. General Information: a) NO PROPOSALS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED AGAINST THIS BASELINE BAA. Proposal due dates and times will be specified in each CALL. Proposals received after the due date and time specified in the CALL shall be governed by the provisions of FAR 52.215-1(c) (3). b) DO NOT SUBMIT CLASSIFIED INFORMATION IN THE PROPOSAL. c) There will be no other announcement issued for this requirement. Offerors MUST monitor FedBizOpps https://www.fbo.gov and/or Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov in the event this announcement is amended or CALLs are issued. Monitoring these websites will ensure that offerors receive the maximum time for proposal preparation for subsequent CALLs or amendments as these are the official notification vehicles to request proposals. d) Future Broad Agency Announcement CALLs for research that may result in grants or assistance instruments issued by this office will invite electronic proposal submission through the Grants.gov government-wide portal. e) Potential offerors are requested to advise the contracting officer if they intend to submit a proposal in response to a CALL. Such notification is merely a courtesy and does not commit the offeror to submit a proposal. f) This BAA and associated CALLs are expressions of interest only and do not commit the Government to pay for proposal preparation cost. The cost of preparing proposals in response to CALLs placed pursuant to this BAA is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting contract or to any other contract. However, it may be an allowable indirect expense as specified in FAR 31.205-18. g) DOD policy, per DFARS 227.7103-1, is to acquire only the technical data and the rights to that data necessary to satisfy government needs. The Government anticipates receiving, at a minimum, "Government Purpose Rights" to technical data developed under contracts awarded based on proposals received in response to this announcement. Data rights offered other than "Unlimited Rights," as defined in DFARS 227.7103-5, should be identified in accordance with DFARS clause 252.227-7017, Identification and Assertion of Use, Release, or Disclosure Restrictions, and addressed in the business section of the cost proposal. h) There are no limits to the number of proposals an offeror may submit for any given CALL unless otherwise specified in the CALL. i) Offerors may be ineligible for award if all requirements of this announcement and requirements in the CALL are not met by the proposal due date and time identified in each CALL. 2. Proposal Submission: a) Offerors should apply the restrictive notice prescribed in the provision of FAR 52.215-1(e) Instructions to Offerors-Competitive Acquisition. Properly marked proprietary information will be treated in accordance with DFARS 252.227-7016, Rights in Bid or Proposal Information. b) Technical/management and cost volumes should be submitted in separate volumes, and shall be valid for 180 days. Proposals must reference the BAA announcement number, the CALL number, and include a unique contractor generated proposal identification number. Unnecessarily elaborate brochures or presentations beyond that sufficient to present a complete and effective proposal are not desired. c) Submit with a cover letter, an original, three paper copies, and one electronic copy of the technical proposal and the cost/business proposal. The original and paper copies of technical and cost/business proposals must be in separate volumes. The electronic copy must be submitted on a compact disk (CD-R) in a PC compatible file format and must be readable by Microsoft Office. The electronic copy of the cost proposal worksheets must be in Microsoft Office Excel 2003 or later version and must contain all cell formulas. d) Proposals for FAR type contracts should be submitted to the address identified in the CALL. Proposals sent to any inappropriate address are ineligible for award. Proposals for FAR contracts sent via facsimile or electronic means will not be accepted. e) Offerors are advised that data included in the technical and cost/business proposals submitted to the Government in response to this BAA may be released to non-Government advisors for technical advice. Any non-Government advisor will strictly serve in an advisory capacity only to the Government evaluators. Non-Government advisors will have appropriate Organizational Conflict of Interest clauses in their contracts with AFRL and will initiate any required Non-Disclosure Agreements. The use and identification of non-Government advisors will be identified in the CALL. All offerors must clearly indicate in their proposals if they have any objections or concerns regarding the use of non-Government advisors. f) Special Instructions for Applications for Federal Assistance (Grants and Cooperative Agreements): If there are no Assistance Opportunities, it will be stated in the CALL. 1) Proposal Cover Page: SF 424 (R&R) Form: All proposals, both electronic and hard copies, for grants or assistance must include SF 424 (R&R) as a cover page. Forms are available on Grants.gov. To access the forms, go to: http://www.grants.gov 2) Proposals for Grants or Assistance Instruments: Proposals for grants or assistance instruments may be submitted either (1) directly with a hard copy to the contracting POC listed in the CALL or (2) electronically through the Grants.gov government-wide electronic portal. 3) For Hard Copy Submission: The original proposal and the number of copies specified in this announcement must be delivered directly to the contracting POC and address identified in the CALL at the time and date specified in the CALL. 4) For Electronic Submission: i. Advance Preparation - Electronic proposals must be submitted through Grants.gov. There are several one-time actions your organization must have completed. Long before the proposal submission deadline, you should verify that the persons authorized to submit proposals for your organization have completed these actions. If not, it may take them up to 21 days to complete the actions before they will be able to submit proposals. ii. Electronic Submission Process: The process your organization must complete includes obtaining a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, registering with the Central Contract Registry (CCR), registering with the credential provider, and registering with Grants.gov). To register as an individual or an organization go to the grants.gov website; applicants tab. iii. Your organization's E-Business POC, identified during CCR Registration, must authorize someone to become an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). This safeguards your organization from individuals who may attempt to submit proposals without permission. Note: In some organizations, a person may serve as both an E-Business POC and an AOR. iv. Should you have questions relating to the registration process, system requirements, how an application form works or the submittal process, call Grants.gov at 1-800-518-4726 or: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/support.html. 5) Submitting the Electronic Proposal: i. Application forms and instructions are available at Grants.gov. To access these materials, go to: http://www.grants.gov. Select "Apply for Grant" under the Applicants tab, and then select "Download Application Package". Enter the CFDA number identified in the CALL. You should also enter the BAA number and CALL number, and then follow the prompts to download the application package. ii. The applicant will receive a confirmation page upon completing the submission to Grants.gov. This confirmation page is a record of the time and date stamp that is used to determine whether the proposal was submitted by the deadline. A proposal received after the deadline is "late" and will not be considered for an award. 3. Specific Proposal Preparation Instructions a) Cover letter - A cover letter shall accompany each proposal. The cover letter should identify the BAA number, CALL number, and technology area under which the proposal is submitted, a statement that the proposal is valid for 180 days from the due date specified in the CALL, provide technical and contracting points of contact, CAGE code, and include statement indicating if the firm is a small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUB Zone small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a), or women-owned small business concern. The proposal must be signed and dated by an authorized official of the organization. b) Technical Proposal 1) Page Limitation: The Technical Proposal shall be limited to 30 pages unless stated otherwise in the CALL. The proposal will be prepared and submitted in Word format. Font shall be an easy to read font no smaller than 12 pitch or proportional font size 10 or larger. Character spacing must be normal, not condensed in any manner. Pages shall be single-spaced, double-sided (each side counts as one page), 8.5 by 11 inches, with at least one-inch margins on all sides. Smaller type may be used in figures and tables as long as it is clearly legible. Pages shall be numbered starting with the cover page being Page 1. The page limitation covers all information including indices, photographs, foldouts (counted as 1 page for each 8.5 by 11 portion), tables, charts, appendices, attachments, resumes, etc. Blank pages, title pages, tables of content, lists, tabs, or cover sheets are not included in the page count. The proposal page limit does not include the offeror's proposed non-proprietary Contractor Statement of Work (C-SOW); however, the same formatting rules apply to the C-SOW. A CD-R with the Microsoft Word version of the Technical/Management Proposal and the C-SOW must be submitted with the hard copies of the proposal and must match the hard copy. Please note: The Government will check the proposal and C-SOW for conformance to the stated requirements. Any pages in excess of the stated page limitation after the format check will not be considered. 2) Content: The proposal shall include a discussion of the nature and scope of the research and the technical approach. The technical proposal must convey an understanding of the problems or limitations of the general technology area and the intended application(s). The technical proposal shall include the following items: i. Executive Summary: Describe the proposed project, objectives, and approach. Provide a vision of what will ultimately be achieved and what solution this effort will produce. Summarize the technical issues addressed without repeating the objectives. Discuss the innovation and benefits of the proposed approach and its relationship to previous efforts. ii. Project/Program Description: Describe the techniques, methods, materials, or ideas that will be addressed in this proposal, their innovation, and to what degree they advance the state-of-the-art. iii. Project/Program Plan: Describe in detail the planned approach and how the plan will be executed. This section should include all technical aspects of the approach. Provide technical detail and analysis necessary to support the technical approach proposed. Clearly identify the core of the intended approach. The "new and creative" solution to the problem(s) should be developed and analyzed in this section. Include a risk assessment of key technical, schedule, or cost areas and their potential impact on the project. If subcontractors are involved, identify why the proposed subcontractors were selected and what tasks they are to perform. iv. Contractor's Statement of Work (C-SOW): The C-SOW, a stand-alone document, should detail the research to be accomplished under the technical area and should be suitable for incorporation into the award document. The proposed C-SOW should summarize the technical methodology and the task description, but not to the extent to make the awarded instrument inflexible. Do not include any proprietary information in the C-SOW since contractors may request copies of previously awarded contracts under the Freedom of Information Act. Consequently, it is imperative that no company-sensitive information be included in the C-SOW. For assistance in preparing the C-SOW, refer to the BAA Guide for Industry which can be accessed on line at http://www.wpafb.af.mil/Portals/60/documents/afrl/AFRL-broad-agency-announcement-guide.pdf?ver=2016-07-08-141724-390 The C-SOW should include the anticipated deliverables (hardware, software, reports, etc.). v. Milestone Chart: A Milestone Chart should indicate when specific objectives are expected to be met in the overall program schedule and should identify the specific accomplishments necessary to proceed to the next task. Provide a schedule of when the deliverable items identified in the CALL are to be delivered. vi. Facilities and Equipment description: Describe the facilities that will be used to achieve the goals of the project in terms of manufacturing capability, testing facilities, and/or any relevant specialized equipment as appropriate. vii. Description of Relevant Prior Work: Provide a list of related previous or current government, commercial, or internally funded work during the past five years. For each such effort, provide the principal investigator, title of effort, contract number, a brief summary of results, the dollar value, and a technical and contracting point of contact, including phone numbers, for the funding organizations. viii. Management Plan: Offerors should provide an approach that demonstrates the ability to effectively and efficiently manage and administer the research project to a successful conclusion. ix. Resumes of Key Individuals: Include brief summaries of resumes of relevant key individuals including any consultants or subcontractors that might be proposed. c) Cost/Business Proposal: Separate the proposal into a business section and cost section. 1) Business Section: The business section should contain all business aspects of the proposed contractual arrangement, such as type of contract/instrument, any exceptions to the terms and conditions of the announcement or the CALL, including a rationale for the exception, any information not technically related, etc. Include the completed representations and certifications and any specific representations and certifications identified in a CALL. There is no page limit for this section; however, offerors are requested to limit the business section to 20 pages. Include the completed representations and certification and any specific representations and certification identified in a CALL and the completed proposal content checklist. 2) Cost Section: Cost proposal instructions will be provided with each CALL. d) Proposal Content Summary: A proposal may be ineligible for award if all requirements of this announcement and the requirements specific to a CALL are not met by the proposal due date. Failure to provide a complete proposal may result in a determination that the proposal is non-responsive and may be eliminated from consideration for award. e) Submission Dates, Times and Address: Will be posted in the CALL. VII. PROPOSAL REVIEW and EVALUATION PROCEDURES: 1. Criteria: The selection of one or more sources for award will be based on an evaluation of each proposal to determine its overall merit in response to a CALL. Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with FAR 35.016, Broad Agency Announcement. The evaluation will utilize a peer or scientific review process and shall be based on the following criteria that are listed in descending order of importance: Overall scientific and technical merits of the proposal Importance to AFRL/RVBX programs Funds availability Once selected for possible award, the price will be evaluated for realism and reasonableness. The government reserves the right to change the evaluation criteria for a specific CALL. If the evaluation criteria differ from the above it will be stated in the CALL. 2. Review and Selection Process: Proposals will be categorized as follows: a. Highly Recommended: Proposals are recommended for acceptance if sufficient funding is available; the overall scientific and technical merits exceed the requirements; and the technology/development path is directly applicable to AFRL/RVBX programs and are highly important to those programs. A proposal may be displaced only by a Selectable proposal prioritized over a Highly Recommended proposal if the Selectable proposal presents a unique approach unlike any of the Highly Recommended proposals. b. Selectable: Proposals are recommended for acceptance if sufficient funding is available; the overall scientific and technical merits meet the requirements; and the technology/development path is applicable to AFRL/RVBX programs. However, these proposals are at a lower priority than Highly Recommended proposals and the proposals may require additional development. To ensure a diversity of approaches, a Selectable proposal may be prioritized over a Highly Recommended proposal if the Selectable proposal presents a unique approach unlike any of the Highly Recommended proposals. c. Not Selectable: Proposals are not recommended for acceptance even if sufficient funding is available; the overall scientific and technical merits do not meet the AFRL/RVBX requirements. VIII. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION 1. Award Notices: Offerors will be notified in writing whether their proposal is recommended for award. An award recommendation does not mean that an award is assured since availability of funds and successful negotiations are prerequisites to any award. 2. Debriefings: When requested, a debriefing will be provided. The debriefing process will follow the guidelines set out in FAR 15.505 and 15.506, but the debriefing content may vary to be consistent with the procedures that govern BAAs (FAR 35.016). IX. OTHER INFORMATION 1. Organizational Conflict of Interest: Organizational Conflict of Interest may apply to this action but cannot be determined prior to issuance of this the CALLS. This issue and the need for applicable clauses will be resolved prior to the award of any instrument resulting from an offeror's proposal. 2. Support Contractors: Only Government employees will evaluate the proposals for selection. AFRL Directed Energy (RD) and Space Vehicles (RV) Directorates have contracted for various business and staff support services, some of which require contractors to obtain administrative access to proprietary information submitted by other contractors. Administrative access is defined as "handling or having physical control over information for the sole purpose of accomplishing the administrative functions specified in the administrative support contract, which do not require the review, reading, or comprehension of the content of the information on the part of non-technical professionals assigned to accomplish the specified administrative tasks." These contractors have signed general non-disclosure agreements and organizational conflict of interest statements. The required administrative access will be granted to non-technical professionals. Examples of the administrative tasks performed include: a.) Assembling and organizing information for R&D case files; b.) Accessing library files for use by government personnel; and c.) Handling and administration of proposals, contracts, contract funding and queries. Consent to administrative access is included in the representations and certifications that will be provided as an attachment to each CALL. Any objection to administrative access must be in writing to the Contracting Officer and shall include a detailed statement of the basis for the objection. 3. Wide Area Workflow Notice: Any contract or award resulting from this announcement must comply with DFARS 252.232-7003, Electronic Submission of Payment Requests, which requires electronic submission of all payment requests. The Department of Defense adopted the Wide Area Workflow Receipt and Acceptance (WAWF-RA) system as the electronic format for submission of payment requests. Any contract resulting from this announcement will establish a requirement to use WAWF-RA for invoicing and receipt/acceptance and will provide coding instructions applicable to the contract. Contractors are encouraged to take advantage of available training, both web-based and through their organization's cognizant Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) office, and to register in the WAWF-RA system. Information regarding WAWF-RA, including the web-based training and registration, can be found at https://wawf.eb.mil/. Note: the WAWF-RA requirement does not apply to universities that are audited by an agency other than the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA). 4. Item Identification and Valuation: Any contract award resulting from this announcement may contain the clause at DFARS 252.211-7003, Item Identification and Valuation, which requires unique item identification and valuation of any deliverable item for which the government's unit acquisition cost is $5,000 or more; subassemblies, components, and parts embedded within an item valued at $5,000 or more; or items for which the government's unit acquisition cost is less than $5,000 when determined necessary by the requiring activity for serially managed, mission essential, or controlled inventory. Also included are any DOD serially managed subassembly, component, or part embedded within a delivered item and the parent item that contains the embedded subassembly, component, or part. Per DFARS 211.274-3 policy for valuation, it is DOD policy that contractors shall be required to identify the government's unit acquisition cost for all items delivered, even if none of the criteria for placing a unique item identification mark applies. Therefore, your proposal must clearly break out the unit acquisition cost for any deliverable items. Per DFARS 211.274-3 policy for valuation, "the government's unit acquisition cost is the contractor's estimated fully burdened unit cost at time of delivery to the government for cost type or undefinitized line, subline, or exhibit line items" (per DOD, "fully burdened unit costs" to the government would include all direct, indirect, G&A costs, and an appropriate portion of fee.). If you have questions regarding the unique item identification requirements, please contact the contracting point of contact listed above. The contract will also include DFARS 252.211-7007, Reporting of Government-Furnished Equipment in the DOD Item Unique Identification (IUID) Registry IAW the clause. 5. Forward Pricing Rate Agreements: Offerors who have forward pricing rate agreements (FPRAs) and forward pricing rate recommendations (FPRRs) should submit them with their proposal. 6. Pre-Award Clearance: Pursuant to FAR 22.805, Procedures for Equal Employment Opportunities, a pre-award clearance must be obtained from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) prior to award of a contract or subcontract of $10,000,000 or more unless the contractor is listed in OFCCP's National Pre-award Registry at: https://ofccp.dol-esa.gov/preaward/pa_reg.html. This registry indicates that the contractor has been found to be "in compliance" within the past two years with the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) regulations that the OFCCP is mandated to enforce. The registry is updated nightly; facilities reviewed more than 2 years ago are removed and new ones are added. An award may be delayed if the offeror's organization is not currently listed in the registry and the contracting officer must request a pre-award clearance from the OFCCP. 7. Excessive Pass-Through Charges: Any contract award resulting from this announcement may contain the clause at FAR 52.215-22, Limitations on Pass-Through Charges - Identification of Subcontract Effort, and FAR 52.215-23 Alt I, Limitations on Pass-Through Charges. The offeror shall identify in its proposal the total cost of the work to be performed by the offeror and the total cost of the work to be performed by each subcontractor under the contract, task order, or delivery order. If the offeror intends to subcontract more than 70 percent of the total cost of work to be performed under the contract, task order, or delivery order, the offeror shall identify in its proposal: (i) The amount of the offeror's indirect costs and profit/fee applicable to the work to be performed by the subcontractor(s); and (ii) A description of the added value provided by the offeror as related to the work to be performed by the subcontractor(s). If any subcontractor proposed under the contract, task order, or delivery order intends to subcontract to a lower-tier subcontractor more than 70 percent of the total cost of work to be performed under its subcontract, the offeror shall identify in its proposal: (i) The amount of the subcontractor's indirect costs and profit/fee applicable to the work to be performed by the lower-tier subcontractor(s); and (ii) A description of the added value provided by the subcontractor as related to the work to be performed by the lower-tier subcontractor(s). 8. Associate Contractor Agreements: Associate Contractor Agreements (ACAs) are agreements between contractors working on government contract projects that specify requirements for sharing information, data, technical knowledge, expertise, or resources. The contracting officer may require ACAs when contractors working on separate government contracts must cooperate, share resources, or otherwise jointly participate in working on contracts or projects. Prime contractor to subcontractor relationships do not constitute ACAs. For each award, the contracting officer will identify associate contractors with whom agreements are required. 9. Post-Award Small Business Program Representation: As prescribed in FAR 19.308, FAR Clause 52.219-28, "Post-Award Small Business Program Representation," is incorporated by reference in this -announcement. This clause will be contained in any contracts resulting from this -announcement. This clause requires a contractor to represent its size status when certain conditions apply. The clause provides detail on when the representation must be complete and what the contractor must do when a representation is required. 10. Subcontracting Plans: Small Business Subcontracting Plans are required under FAR 19.702 for efforts anticipated to exceed $700,000. Prospective offerors shall submit applicable subcontracting plans in accordance with the requirements set forth in FAR 19.704, DFARS 219.704 and AFFARS 5319.704. Small business is exempt from this requirement. If a company has a master subcontracting plan, as described in FAR 19.701 or a comprehensive subcontracting plan, as described in DFARS 219.702, a copy of the plan shall be submitted with the proposal. The subcontracting plan is a part of the cost/business section of the proposal and will not be included in the page count. For proposed Subcontracting Plans that are below the DOD goals at the Office Of Small Business (SB) Programs Web Site at: http://www.acq.osd.mil/osbp/ the offeror shall provide additional information which demonstrates how it intends to provide meaningful subcontracting opportunities and rationale as to why the goals were not attainable. Finally, in accordance with FAR 19.702, Statutory requirements, if the apparent successful offeror fails to negotiate a subcontracting plan acceptable to the contracting officer within the time limit prescribed by the contracting officer, the offeror will be ineligible for award. X. Attachments All attachments will be provided at the CALL level.
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USAF/AFMC/AFRLPLSVD/BAA-RVKV-2014-0005/listing.html)
 

Place of Performance

Address: Det 8 AFRL/RVKVB, Attn: Contracting Officer, General Mail Room, Mr. Francis M. Eggert, 3550 Aberdeen Ave, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117-5773, (505) 846-7603 phone, Francis.Eggert@us.af.mil, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, 87117, United States

Zip Code: 87117
 

Record

SN04387190-W 20170203/170201234147-54fb94063aa64973a9e4478b38ddabd6 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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