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For the period of 7 February 2024 to 30 March 2024 Air Force CyberWorx has a focused interest in exploring emerging technologies supporting network defense and security operations with an emphasis on securing endpoints within and enterprise.
**See attachment 2 for details**
Requiring Agency Name: United States Air Force (AF) CyberWorx
Commercial Solutions Opening Number: FA7000-23-S-C001
Commercial Solutions Opening Title: AF CyberWorx Commercial Solutions Opportunity (CSO)
Commercial Solutions Opening Type: FA7000-23-S-C001 Amendment 0001
NAICS: 541511, Custom Computer Programming Services; 541519, Other Computer Related Services; 511210, Software Publishers; 541330,` Engineering Services; 541512, Computer Systems Design Services; 541715, Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology.
THIS A HYBRID SOLICIATION AGAINST WHICH CALLS AND OPEN PERIODS CAN BE RELEASED. This CSO is open for Solution Brief submissions until 09 August 2028 or until superceded, to be updated annually and posted to Sam.gov. See the full text announcement below for instructions.
1. INTORDUCTION AND BACKGROUND
AF CyberWorx is a problem-solving organization focused on human centered design that builds rapid prototypes to improve the user experience. It is located at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) in Colorado Springs, CO. USAFA is designated as a federal laboratory, with the unique position to establish various partnerships and agreements with academia and industry and is chartered with solving the AF’s mission problems by engaging users, industry, and academia in human centered design processes that result in solutions for the war fighter. There is interest in capturing the most creative and advanced technologies where the department can make use of defense specific projects and dual-use technologies to further its technological gain. In realizing the potential to leverage superiority in innovative technologies, AF CyberWorx endeavors to create valued partnerships by aligning itself with partners that assist in technology transfer/transition by spin-off technologies and guiding small business economic development with the primary goal of broadening the defense industrial base. This Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) is a competitive solicitation seeking proposals for innovative, commercial technologies, and services that accelerate attainment of critical defense capabilities as detailed in Attachment 8. This CSO may result in the award of prototype projects, which include not only commercially available technologies fueled by commercial or strategic investment, but also concept demonstrations, pilots, and agile development activities that can incrementally improve commercial technologies, existing government-owned capabilities, or concepts for defense application.
2. PURPOSE
2.1. This CSO is issued in accordance with DFARS Class Deviation 2022-O0007 and is a competitive solicitation of proposals focused on technologies to meet the AF CyberWorx’s mission. AF CyberWorx is soliciting solution briefs in response to Areas of Interest (AoI) which will be posted as calls to this CSO. Nontraditional defense contractors and small businesses are encouraged to submit solution briefs or proposals under this CSO.
2.2. “Nontraditional Defense Contractors” is defined in 10 U.S.C. § 2302(9) as an entity that is not currently performing and has not performed, for at least the one-year period preceding the solicitation of sources by the DoD for the procurement or transaction, any contract or subcontract for the DoD that is subject to full coverage under the cost accounting standards prescribed pursuant to 41 U.S.C. § 1502 and the regulations implementing such section. This includes all small business concerns under the criteria and size standards in 13 C.F.R, § 121.
2.3. "Innovative" means any technology, process, or method, including research and development that is new as of the date of submission of a proposal, or any application that is new as of the date of submission of a proposal of a technology, process, or method existing as of such date.
3. CSO APPROACH AND OVERVIEW
3.1. This CSO seeks innovative, commercial approaches to meet various technology objectives of AF CyberWorx. All items, technologies, and services acquired using a CSO will be treated as commercial items. The Government encourages proposals that span a wide spectrum of possible technical and business solutions in response to the specific AoI in Attachment 8 or posted as separate calls. The Government reserves the right to award any combination of proposals which offer the best overall value to the Government, and to oversee any and all processes and approaches once initiated. Awards as a result of this announcement will be in the form of FAR Part 12 commercial contracts. The AF also reserves the right to award Other Transactions (OT).
3.2. OT for Research, Prototype, and Production: Upon favorable review and available funds, the government may choose to award an OT for Research, Prototype, and Production as deemed appropriate for the transaction. The Agreements Officer will negotiate directly with the offeror on the terms and conditions of the OT, including payments, and will execute the OT on behalf of the government. Upon successful completion of a prototype project under an OT for Prototype agreement, the government and offeror may negotiate a follow-on production contract or agreement without further competition as authorized under 10 U.S.C. § 2371b(f). Any concept/technology/solution successfully proven through an OT for Prototype can be transitioned to production. Any resultant OT for Prototype awarded under this CSO will include language providing for the potential award of a follow-on production contract or agreement.
3.3. Awards resulting from this CSO will be made based on the evaluation results of a two or three phased proposal process described in Section 5. The Government reserves the right to fund all, some, one, or none of the proposals submitted; may elect to fund only part of a submitted proposal; and may incrementally fund any or all awards under this CSO. All awards are subject to the availability of funds.
3.4. All coordination and communication between offerors and the Government will be conducted using (www.sam.gov) and the points of contact associated with this CSO, as specified in Section 4.
3.5. Notice to Offeror(s)/Supplier(s): Funds are not presently available for this effort. No award will be made under this solicitation until funds are available. The Government reserves the right to cancel this solicitation, either before or after the closing date. In the event the Government cancels this solicitation, the Government has no obligation to reimburse an offeror for any costs.
3.6. Access to unclassified sensitive or classified information is not anticipated for projects awarded under this CSO.
4. GENERAL INFORMATION
4.1. Points of Contact Questions regarding the content of this CSO must be addressed to the Contracting Office below.
Attn: Contracting/Agreements Officer, 10 CONS/PKC
5. SUBMISSION INFORMATION
5.1. Submission Overview This CSO is open for Solution Brief submissions continuously or until superseded. Phase I submissions shall include both the Quad Chart and Solutions Brief prepared in accordance with the formats in Attachments 1 and 2 respectively. Subject to funding availability, all solution briefs will be evaluated IAW Attachment 7. Calls may be placed against the CSO and specific information related to due dates will be provided in each call. The calls may also include specific terms which apply to the call such as further technical details, cut-off date for solution briefs and quad charts and/or proposal submission and any pertinent information. Proposals or solution briefs submitted in response to calls should be submitted according to directions contained within each individual call and in accordance with this CSO. Offerors should monitor (www.sam.gov) for specific calls or amendments to this CSO.
5.2. Two or Three Phased Submission This CSO may be conducted in two OR three phases as follows:
5.2.1. Phase I Quad Chart and Solution Brief: Interested offerors must submit Quad Charts and Solution Briefs in accordance with instructions provided in this CSO. Phase I submissions will be evaluated against criteria as described in Attachment 7 of this CSO.
All Quad Charts shall include the information indicated on the sample template in Attachment 1.
The Solution Brief narrative expands on the Quad Chart presentation. Instructions for format and content are located in Attachment 2.
Solution Briefs and quad chart submissions shall be sent to [email protected] for review. All solution briefs must be unclassified.
The government will not pay companies for the costs associated with solution brief submissions.
5.2.1.1. Notification of Selection. All offerors providing Phase I submissions will be contacted by the Government, either with an email letter informing them that the effort proposed is not of interest to the Government at this time or with a request for either a pitch session OR request for proposal by a specific date.
5.2.2. Phase II Pitch Session: Phase II submission will only be accepted from offerors who upon review of Phase I submissions, are invited by the Contracting Officer to a pitch session. In addition to the pitch, the government, at its discretion, may request an additional written submission to further supplement the information provided in the Phase I solution brief. Instructions for format and content are located in Attachment 3.
Please note: The government reserves the right to forgo Phase II and go directly to Phase III.
5.2.3. Phase III Technical, Cost, and SOW Proposal: Phase III proposals will only be accepted from offerors who upon review of either Phase I or Phase II submission, are invited by the Contracting Officer to submit a full proposal (Technical, Cost, and Statement of Work (SOW)). In order to be considered for award under Phase III, offerors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov, be considered responsible within the meaning of FAR Part 9.1, Responsible Prospective Contractors, have a satisfactory performance record, and otherwise be eligible for award based on federal law and regulation.
5.2.4. Proposal Submission: Upon notification for a proposal by the Contracting Officer, offerors will have 30 calendar days to prepare and submit a proposal in accordance with the format and instructions in Attachments 4-6.
5.2.5. Proposal Review, Evaluation and Selection Process: Each proposal will be evaluated by the Government and the proposal must stand on its own technical merit. Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria and process specified in Attachment 7. The primary basis for selecting proposals for acceptance shall be technical, importance to agency programs, and funds availability. In order to provide the desired evaluation, qualified Government personnel will conduct reviews and (if necessary) convene panels of experts in the appropriate areas. IAW Class Deviation 2022-O0007 price shall be considered to the extent appropriate, but at a minimum, to determine that the price is fair and reasonable. Proposals need not be evaluated against each other since they are not submitted in response to a common performance work statement or statement of work.
5.2.6. Small Business Subcontracting Plan: Large business offerors shall submit either an individual subcontracting plan and/or master subcontracting plan (if available) in accordance with FAR Clause 52.219-9 Small Business Subcontracting Plan (Nov 2021), DFARS 252.219-7003 Small Business Subcontracting Plan (DoD Contracts) – Basic (Dec 2019) and DFARS 252.219-7004 Small Business Subcontracting Plan (Test Program) (May 2019). The offeror's small business subcontracting plan shall include, but is not limited to, detailing the commitment/targets for each category of small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, small disadvantaged business, HUBZone, and women-owned small business concerns. The plan shall describe for each category the total value subcontracted expressed in dollars and percentage of total subcontracted value if an individual subcontracting plan. The plan shall also state the extent and nature of work to be performed by small business concerns, the method used to develop goals, the method used to locate potential suppliers, if the goals include indirect costs (if so, describe the cost allocation method) and describe the efforts the offeror will make to assure small businesses have an equitable opportunity to compete for subcontracts. If the planned goals do not meet or exceed DoD FY subcontracting goals found at https://business.defense.gov/About/Goals-and-Performance, substantial explanation/rationale shall be provided. The plan shall also provide the name and duties of the contractor's subcontracting plan administrator.
**See attachments for details**