The intent of this Sources Sought notice is to gauge industry interest, capabilities, and relevant experience to support Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research & Engineering (OUSD (R&E)) personnel in performing highest quality Research, Development, Test, Evaluation (RDT&E), Engineering and Technical Services (“RETS”). The mission of OUSD (R&E) as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is clearly defined (website: https:///cto.mil ) to foster technological dominance across the Department of Defense and ensure the advantage of the American warfighter. USD (R&E) serves as the primary advisor to Department of Defense (DOD) leadership on all matters of technology development and transition, developmental prototyping, experimentation, and administration of testing ranges and activities. USD (R&E) has the lead responsibility within the Department for synchronizing Science & Technology (S&T) efforts across the DOD, the Joint Staff and the Services. The OUSD (R&E) Enterprise encompasses three Assistant Secretary of Defense (ASD) offices; the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Mission Capabilities (ASD/MC); the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Science & Technology (ASD/S&T); and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies (ASD/CT). While many technologies may cross between these 3 offices, OUSD (R&E) currently focuses efforts and investments into 14 areas for transitioning key capabilities to the Military Services and Combatant Commands.

The ASD (MC) recognizes, identifies, explores, and ensures the development, integration, and funding of new technology and capabilities to maintain U.S. technological superiority. It takes a unified, missions-level view across the entire DoD enterprise to analyze joint missions and identify cross-cutting technology gaps critical to military readiness. It maintains a focus on the innovative application of technology and works with a robust network of transition partners within and external to the DoD to mitigate gaps through accelerated prototyping, demonstration, and fielding, with the ultimate goal of operational sustainment.

The ASD (S&T) oversees the Department’s entire Science and Technology (S&T) portfolio and ensures that DoD’s S&T enterprise is postured to develop the next generation of game-changing technologies and enable rapid delivery of superior capabilities to the warfighter. It serves as the chief steward and advocate for the Department’s S&T workforce and laboratory infrastructure, oversees the Department’s Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC) and University Affiliated Research Centers (UARC), and cultivates the next generation of S&T Professionals for the Department.

The ASD (CT) is responsible for unifying and advancing the Department’s investments and capabilities in the following 14 areas: Trusted Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy, Biotechnology, Directed Energy, Integrated Network Systems-of-Systems, Renewable Energy Generation and Storage, Hypersonics, Microelectronics, Space Technology, Quantum Science, Advanced Materials, Advanced Computing and Software, Human-Machine Interfaces, Integrated Sensing and Cyber, and Future Generation Wireless Technology. As the Department’s technology strategy evolves and technologies change, the Department will update its 14 critical technology priorities.

The anticipated portfolio of six (6) task areas for RETS are:

1. Mission Engineering (ME), Systems Engineering (SE), Software Engineering, & Developmental Test and Evaluation (DT&E): ME is the planning, analyzing, and integration of current and emerging operational and system capabilities to achieve desired warfighting mission effects. ME treats the end-to-end mission as the “system”. ME goes beyond data exchange among systems to address cross cutting functions, end-to-end control, and trades across systems. SE is applied to the systems of systems supporting operational mission outcomes. SE is the systematic application of engineering approaches to the development of software, and has an overlap with computer science and management science. DT&E includes developing test strategies that provide data needed to support critical engineering and acquisition decisions, including analyzing that data for technical assessments.
2. Prototyping, Experimentation, and Demonstration: Rapidly formulate, integrate, demonstrate and test developmental and experimental concepts with planned transition to end-users. Includes conducting experimentation under measured conditions to explore unknown effects of manipulating proposed warfighting concepts, technologies, or conditions to explore technologies, or conditions to explore technology limits and develop concepts of operation with end-user involvement. It also includes planning, coordinating, and conducting major technology demonstration events with multiple prototype mission capabilities in operationally relevant environments.
3. Modeling & Simulation: Provide employee skill sets and expertise in the use of physical, conceptual, or logical representation of a given system to generate data and assist in decisions or making predictions about the system performance.
4. Operations Research: Provide employee skill sets and expertise employing techniques (e.g., mathematical modeling, statistical analysis, mathematical optimization, etc.) to arrive at optimal or near-optimal solutions to complex decision-making problems. Operations research also includes Net Technical Assessment of military capabilities, including Kill chain Analysis, and evaluations of operational scenarios.
5. Science and Technology (S&T) Research and Assessment:  Provide employee skill sets and expertise to evaluate and document the capabilities, accomplishments, and investment of S&T with performance metrics. Identify and bridge technology gaps and provide recommendations and options.
6. Data Management & Analysis: Provide employee skill sets and expertise in the data management process that includes acquiring, validating, storing, protecting, and processing of data to ensure the accessibility, reliability, and timeliness of data for users. Must be proficient in systematically applying statistical and/or logical techniques to describe, illustrate, condense, and analyze/evaluate data.

Location of work to be performed: Contractor facility(s) and onsite at various Government locations in the Washington D.C. area National Capital Region (NCR). The anticipated security classification to be completed under this requirement will be up to TS/SCI.

The anticipated NAICS Code for this effort is 541715, Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Aircraft, Aircraft Engine and Engine Parts), with a corresponding size standard of 1,500 employees.

Sources Sought Response Format:

Responses will be evaluated solely for market research purposes. Consequently, the Government is primarily interested in Qualified Sources providing specific technical details indicating how that source can meet the Government’s needs. Interested parties, at a minimum, should provide the following information:

1. Name of Company and Point(s) of Contact
2. Address, Telephone Number, Fax Number, and Email Addresses(s) of POC
3. Vendor CAGE Code & Unique Entity ID (UEI)
4. Identify business size, & applicable Socioeconomic Categories and number of employees in relation to the proposed NAICS Code, 541715, Exception 1.
5. Number of full-time employees (including company subsidiaries, and if partial ownership by Private Equity (PE) include full-time employees of all companies owned by PE in the total count)
6. Identify whether your company currently possesses a Top Secret (TS) Facility Security Clearance (FCL) from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA). If your company does not hold the required facility clearance, indicate that a TS FCL is not held and include a statement of how your firm will meet the clearance requirement.
7. Concise technical description of company capabilities (including relevant employee skill sets) in any of the six (6) RETS task areas and 14 critical technologies listed above.
8. Indicate if your company would respond to a Request for Proposal as a prime or subcontractor.
9. Briefly describe your company's ability to perform each of the six (6) RETS task areas as the prime contractor or if subcontractor teaming would be required. If subcontracting or teaming would be required, specify for which task areas.
10. Provide in this response a list of up to three (3) contracts (comparable to RETS scope and tasks) supported currently or during the past six (6) years by the company with a brief description of the supply or services provided for the same or similar type of work (incl. labor categories, dollar value, scope of work). Department of Defense (DoD) specific examples are highly preferred.

Response to this Sources Sought Notice should not exceed 10 pages, single-spaced, 12 point font and 1 inch margins, inclusive of charts, graphs, or other illustrations. All responses to this notice must be UNCLASSIFIED and must be received electronically no later than 3:00 pm (Eastern) on 13 November 2023. Submit responses to: [email protected].

When submitting a response, please use “WHS10112023 RETS Sources Sought Notice” in the email subject line. Any responses submitted through different channels or to a different email address will not be considered. The Government will NOT acknowledge receipt of submissions, and is under no obligation to provide feedback. The Government will review the responses to assess relevance and potential performance capabilities.

Disclaimers and Important Notes

This announcement contains all information required to submit a response. Submission of a response is entirely voluntary and is not required to propose to a subsequent solicitation. This announcement does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals. This Sources Sought Notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes; it does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released in the future it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities website. It is the responsibility of any potential offerors/bidders to monitor this site for release of any solicitation or synopsis. The Government will NOT provide reimbursement for costs incurred in responding to this notice.

To the maximum extent possible, please submit non-proprietary information. If proprietary information is submitted, it must be appropriately and specifically marked. It is the submitter’s responsibility to clearly define to the Government what is considered proprietary data. Any proprietary information should clearly be labeled as “Proprietary”. The Government will not publicly disclose proprietary information obtained as a result of this notice. Submissions may be reviewed by Government personnel and support contractors bound by appropriate non-disclosure agreements.