THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This Request for Information (RFI) is a mechanism for obtaining feedback from industry in regard to the requirements stated below, for information and planning purposes pursuant to FAR 15.201 (e). This is not a synopsis preceding the issuance of a solicitation. Rather, it is market research issued solely for information purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP or Broad Area Announcement (BAA). The Government has no specific plans for procurement at this time. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service. Acquisition Services Directorate and Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness are not at this time seeking proposals. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay any cost incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Any information provided by industry to the Government as a result of this sources sought is voluntary. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP or BAA. If a solicitation is released, it will be distributed via the Federal Business Opportunities (http://www.fedbizopps.gov) website. It is recommended that interested parties monitor this website for any information that may pertain to this RFI. The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. Summary:This is a request for information for the purpose of obtaining market research to find potential offerors who may be able to modify their software application allowing the training audience to interact with autonomous socio-cognitive agents by playing the followers and leaders of contending factions. The training audience will be taught Counter-Insurgency (COIN) theory and Stability, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction Operations (SSTRO). In order to field the training capability in the minimum amount of time, the government seeks to leverage an existing application that already offers "sim-city" or "sim-village" capability with emergent behavior from autonomous socio-cognitive agents. The software will support a player through surveying the social landscape, making friends/co-opt the agenda, and fostering self-sustaining institutions so the player learns to use given resources judiciously and in a culturally sensitive manner to achieve a positive outcome. The software is intended to teach Stability, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction Operations (SSTRO) objectives. RESPONSE DATE: 12/04/2009 DESCRIPTION OF INFORMATION REQUESTED:The government is looking for preexisting software toolsets based on validated models supporting profiling and emulation of ethno-political actors and factions around the world. The concept allows the trainee(s) to interact with autonomous socio-cognitive agents exhibiting emergent behavior. These agents would play the followers and leaders of contending factions at a local level. These ethno-political factions offer a corrupt "sim-city" type of world where one would convince various "crime" families to convert to legit operations or where the software can simulate insurgent operations at the local level. The government is looking for software that may include: (1) Rich cognitive agents with a mind-body model built around well-regarded behavioral theories. Possible behavioral theories include but are not limited to Gibsonian ecological perception; physiology; integrated stress (Janis-Mann theory); cognitive appraisal theory (Ortony, Clore, Collins model); multi-attribute moralistic value systems based on personality instruments such as Hermann, UN Globe, and others; a social relations model that tracks relationship valences and strengths; and all of this organized within an Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act (OODA) loop governing affective agent decision making.(2) Represent social organization models including the leader and follower roles for agents to play in familial, religious, sectarian, commercial, and political groups and factions. This would be done by including models from well-regarded theories of social science concerning membership in groups, motivational congruence, mobilization such as in Hirshman's Exit, Voice, and Loyalty theory; Eidelson's inventory of group perceptions; assessment of relative group power and vulnerability based on resource distributions; and a taxonomy of inter-group grievances dynamically updating itself as village or city interactions take place.(3) Political economy models that can profile developing economies and a range of authoritarian to semi-democratic processes including tribal economics. These models could be based on Harod-Domar theory; the Solow exogenous growth model; institutional economy and public goods allocations based on the LRF model and theory; and various voting processes. Ideally, this capability would also include parameters for profiling institutions allocating public goods in terms of corruption, influence, and allocation schemes. (4) Conversational agents where all actors in the simulation are enabled with a dialog engine such that they can expose a question tree and permit users to query them about their actions, why they did them, and about any or all of the parameters of the models mentioned above. Further, agents would act self-aware and capable of initiating conversations where they ask the user to help solve problems in their world.(5) A unified model-driven framework for connecting above listed components into a single, interactive interface including the basic ability to incorporate population and cultural awareness training situations, ways to measure and gauge user performance, and coaching, feedback, and after action assessments. STRUCTURE FOR RESPONSES:All interested parties who believe they can meet the requirements are invited to submit in writing, complete information describing their ability to provide the software matching or similar to the above mentioned capabilities. Responses should include the name and telephone number of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. Only electronic submissions of information provided to the email address specified will be accepted. RFI responses should be sent to the following email address:
[email protected]. All emails should include in the subject line the RFI number and the submitting organizations name. To the extent possible, all responses should be unclassified and for general access by the Government and other evaluators working with the Government. All material provided (responses, discussions, questions/answers, and other data) that is not related to competition sensitive or contractor proprietary material may be provided (without attribution) to other respondents. Any material provided may be used in development of future solicitations. Any proprietary information submitted must be clearly and separately identified and marked and will be appropriately protected. The Government will NOT be responsible for any proprietary information not clearly marked. Contracting Office Address: Acquisition Services DirectorateATTN: Tonya Lovelace 381 Elden Street, Suite 4000 Herndon VA 20170 Point of Contact(s): Tonya Lovelace -Contracting OfficerEmail:
[email protected]