Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) DTFACT-16-R-00021 BIRD STRIKE MITIGATION PROCESSES AND/OR PILOT AVOIDANCE PROCEDURES FOR ROTORCRAFT 1. Background Bird strikes to rotorcraft pose a major threat. Not only does a bird strike have the potential to cause significant and costly damage to the aircraft itself, but the potential for human injury or death is a risk as well. At present time, manufacturers of rotary-wing aircraft must assume that birds will strike the vehicle while in flight at speeds up to and including VNE (Never Exceed Speed). Because of this, the FAA has regulations in place to provide for safe flight after a bird strike in the form of 14 CFR 29.631. The FAA is interested in investigating potential solutions that will mitigate bird strikes with rotorcraft in the areas of visual/audio cues that divert birds away from the aircraft and/or radar to detect birds and provide the information to the pilot. 2. Purpose The purpose of this BAA is to solicit and fund research proposals from the rotorcraft community that offer practical and achievable solutions for providing mitigation of bird strikes on rotorcraft. Specific areas of interest include: • Bird strike mitigation techniques that center around visual and/or audio cues that deter birds from approaching the rotorcraft. • Pilot avoidance technologies/procedures that provide the pilot with knowledge of the birds in the aircraft vicinity and allow the pilot to alter the flight path as needed to avoid contact with the birds, i.e. radar or other similar technology • Any other methodology that may divert a bird from striking an aircraft. Submitted proposals should focus on solutions to one or more of the above challenges. The goal of this program is to have a system that will reach a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 4/5 (see definitions at http://esto.nasa.gov/files/trl_definitions.pdf) that will make the system a candidate to fly on an FAA helicopter for flight testing. The program will include a design review which will determine the technical capability of the system. This design review will be the decision point for moving forward with a working testable system. These efforts should be properly documented in the project plan (Paragraph 7.d). 3. Submission Deadlines Phase I Technical summary proposals (see section 4) prepared in accordance with this announcement will be accepted within 90 days of BAA announcement. Upon request of the FAA, formal Phase II proposals shall be submitted within 120 calendar days after the date of the request. This request will be made via email. The overall BAA schedule is in the table below. Issue BAA Phase I White Papers Submitted NLT 90 days from BAA announcement date Phase I White Paper Evaluated Within 45 days of receipt of white paper Phase I Notification/Request for Proposal 15 days after white paper evaluation Phase II Proposal Submitted Within 120 days after RFP Phase II Proposal Evaluated Within 60 days after receipt of proposal Award Within 90 days of receipt of proposal, extenuating circumstances not withstanding 4. Submission Requirements This BAA is an expression of interest only and does not commit the Government to make an award. The FAA will not pay for any information received or for costs incurred in preparing the response to this BAA Announcement. Any costs associated with the BAA Announcement submittal are solely at the interested vendor’s expense. All foreign owned companies are subject to forging disclosure review procedures. Only a Contracting Officer (CO) can legally authorize any expenditure or commitment by the US Government. No work is to begin without written authorization from the CO. The submission process is two-phased as previously described, with more detail below. Offerors will submit a three-page Phase I technical summary. The three page technical summary shall meet the requirements described below in paragraph 5. Offerors shall submit the Phase I technical summary to the following email addresses: Project Manager;
[email protected] and Contracting Officer;
[email protected]. The Phase I technical summary shall be provided in Microsoft Word or PDF format. No later than 60 days after receipt of the three-page Phase I technical summaries, the FAA will respond to offerors in one of four ways: a. Request for the submission of a formal Phase II proposal. b. Recommendation to submit a formal Phase II proposal if certain changes are made or conditions met. c. Notification that the Phase I proposal was good but due to insufficient funding, a formal proposal request is delayed until funding becomes available. d. Rejection of the Phase I proposal and no request for a formal Phase II proposal. If requested by the FAA, the offeror may submit a formal Phase II proposal, containing a detailed discussion of the subject presented in the three-page Phase I technical summary. The formal proposal must address the requirements described in the ‘Formal Proposal Requirements’ section of this announcement. The formal proposal must be mailed to the FAA to the address provided in the formal Phase II proposal request within 120 days of the request. An electronic copy must also be provided. 5. Three-Page Phase I Technical Summary Requirements There is no specific format for the three page technical summary. The summary may be preceded by a cover letter, but the cover letter will not be considered in the evaluation, nor will pages in excess of three be considered. At a minimum the summary shall contain the following items: a. The specific purpose of the proposed research; b. A description of the proposed research and the science of how and why it works; c. The current state of development of the proposed research; d. The estimated time it would take to complete the proposed research; e. A description of any proposed testing and evaluation procedures for the proposed research; and f. The estimated funds required for the proposed effort. 6. Formal Phase II Proposal Requirements ONLY OFFERORS WHOSE PHASE I TECHNICAL SUMMARY IS CONSIDERED CAPABLE OF MEETING EXISTING OR FUTURE PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS WILL BE ASKED TO SUBMIT A FORMAL PHASE II PROPOSAL. REQUEST FOR SUBMISSION OF A FULL PROPOSAL DOES NOT GUARANTEE AWARD SELECTION. Proposals shall be submitted in original, with the signature of an authorizing official, electronically and mailed to the address provided in the formal request letter. Proposal submission is not restricted in any way to any particular entity. Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Minority Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Small, Small Disadvantaged, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small, HUB Zone Small, Veteran Owned Small, and Women Owned Small Businesses are encouraged to participate. The NAICS Code for this BAA is 541712. Submit Full Proposals in two (2) volumes; (1) VOLUME I – TECHNICAL PROPOSAL, not to exceed forty (40) pages, should include the following: a. Offerors shall propose to the FAA a validation plan. b. Offerors shall develop a visual/audio method that diverts birds from rotorcraft or develop pilot avoidance technologies/procedures that provide the pilot with knowledge of the birds in the aircraft vicinity and allow the pilot to alter the flight path as needed to avoid contact with the birds, i.e. radar or other similar technology, or any other methodology that may divert a bird from striking an aircraft. (2) VOLUME II - COST/FUNDING PROPOSAL. Cost/funding proposals are not restricted in length, and should address funding periods of performance. Formal Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) and certified cost or pricing data may be required, depending upon the type of contract utilized. Upon completion of negotiations and agreement on contract price, a Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data may be required. Furthermore, any offeror who is required to submit and certify cost or pricing data shall submit accurate, current and complete cost or pricing data from his prospective subcontractors. Offeror’s proposals may be subject to audit for cost realism. Organize Cost/Funding proposals to include four (4) sections in the following order: • Section 1 - Total Project Cost: This section will give a detailed breakdown of costs of the project. Cost should also be broken out for each task appearing in the Performance Work Statement (PWS) and should include all of the proposed costs to the Government and cost shared by the offeror. Present the following information for each phase of the effort: total cost of the particular project phase; total offeror cost share (mandatory for certain "other transaction agreements" see below); funding requested from the Government; and elements of cost (labor, direct materials, travel, other direct costs, equipment, software, patents, royalties, indirect costs, and cost of money). Sufficient information should be provided in supporting documents to allow the Government to evaluate the reasonableness of these proposed costs, including salaries, overhead, equipment purchases, fair market rental value of leased items, and the method used for making such valuations. Profit should not be included as a cost element if the contract type to be awarded will be cost sharing. . • Section 2 - Cost Sharing and In-Kind Contributions (if any): This section will include: (i) the sources of cash and amounts to be used for matching requirements; (ii) the specific in-kind contributions proposed, their value in monetary terms, and the methods by which their values were derived; and (iii) evidence of the existence of adequate cash or commitments to provide sufficient cash in the future. Affirmative, signed statements are required from outside sources of cash. Provide sufficient information regarding the sources of the offerors’ cost share so that a determination may be made by the Government regarding the availability, timeliness, and control of these resources. For example: How will the funds and resources be applied to advance the progress of the proposed effort? What is the role of any proposed in-kind contributions? • Section 3 - Cost to the Government: This section will specify the total costs proposed to be borne by the Government and any technical or other assistance including equipment, facilities, and personnel of Federal laboratories, if any, required to support these activities. The cost to the Government should be that portion of the proposed effort, which is not covered, by the contractor's portion of the cost share. The costs incurred and work performed by any DoD or national laboratory "partnering" with the offeror under the proposal shall normally be considered costs of the Government and not costs of the offeror for purposes of the cost-sharing requirement. Present sufficient information regarding the resources to be provided by the Government so that an evaluation of their availability, timeliness, and control may be made. • Section 4 - Off-Budget Supporting Resources: This section will show cash or in-kind resources which will support the proposed activity but which are not intended to be included in the total project cost. Items in this category do not count as cost share or as Federal funds, which must be matched. Examples of items to place in this category include: Commitments of cash or in-kind resources from other Federal sources, such as national laboratories, and projections of fee-based income where there is substantial uncertainty about the level which will actually be collected and where the income is not needed to meet cost-share requirements. 7. Method Of Evaluation Proposals will be evaluated in the four technical areas listed in order of decreasing importance: a. Technical merit and the science driving the program. b. Utility to the FAA Rotorcraft R & D program. c. Team competency and experience. d. Effective plan for project completion. Cost and cost realism will be evaluated as acceptable or unacceptable only. 8. Period of Performance: Efforts lasting between one and three years will be considered based on available funding. Proposals should not exceed $750K or longer than three years or they will be dismissed as non-responsive. If you're viewing this announcement from a source other than Federal Aviation Administration Contract Opportunities (FAACO), visit https://faaco.faa.gov/index.cfm/announcement/view/23365 to view the original announcement.