FedBizOpps notice Date: 2011-08-XXReference: Previous e-commerce Special Notice dated 5 August 2011 entitled Autonomous and Unmanned Systems Industry Day Follow-up, Industry Day for Autonomous and Unmanned Systems (AUS), held 21 July at SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific (SSC Pacific), San Diego, CA, Statement of Work (SOW) entitled Autonomous and Unmanned Systems Prototyping OTA, published 05 August 2011 and, White Paper entitled Autonomous and Unmanned Systems Industry Consortium, also published 5 August 2011. Introduction: SSC Pacific invites submission of Letters of Intent (LOI) from industry, academia, and other interested parties to form a consortium for autonomous unmanned systems (AUS) technology prototype development culminating in negotiation of an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) under the authority of Section 845(a)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal year 1994, Public law (P.L) 103-60, as amended, pending approval. Current consortiums may also submit a LOI. An OTA with a consortium would enable SSC Pacific to access a significant array of experienced and innovative companies, many of which are not traditional defense contractors, to execute prototype development objectives for autonomous systems. Background: The Department of Defense (DoD) is required to develop an implementation plan that includes establishment of programs to address technical, operational, and production challenges, and gaps in capabilities, with respect to unmanned systems. SSC Pacific is responsible for implementing the ground portion of such a plan. Successful implementation, however, can only be accomplished with participation of private industry. If industry members (to include academic institutions) can successfully self-organize to form a legally responsive consortium, it is the intent of SSC Pacific to enter into an OTA with a single consortium that will perform a range of tasks in the area of AUS technology prototype development. Scope: The OTA is initially planned for a period of performance of 5 years, with a ceiling price not to exceed $100M. For the initial award of the OTA, the membership of the consortium will be limited to U.S. companies and academic institutions. Expansion to partner nation company participation will be considered at some point in the future. Instructions: LOIs must be submitted to the Procurement Contracting Officer, Jessica Black, at the email address below no later than 5 p.m. EST, 30 September 2011. A LOI must address, at a minimum, the following: Identification of proposed or actual members (do not include Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCS) and Government Entities as members). Include name of company/academic institution, etc., and indicate the prospective or actual members status, i.e., small or large business, non-traditional or traditional contractor as defined by DoD Other Transactions (OT) Guide for Prototype Projects, January 2001, and whether the member is foreign owned or influenced. Also identify, for each prospective or actual member, which domains the member is currently performing AUS prototyping work in (space, air, ground, maritime surface, underwater); Briefly describe proposed or actual method the consortium will use to attract and ensure adequate representation by non-traditional participants and membership with cross domain experience; and Identify an authorized agent or designated representative for the proposed or actual consortium and provide proof of such authorization/designation; If the party is a currently formed and operating consortium identify current and prior collaborations, agreements, or contracts with Department of Defense activities. SSC Pacific intends on awarding an OTA to only one consortium. SSC Pacific will evaluate the LOIs and select only one actual or proposed consortium to continue with. SSC Pacific will use the following criteria for evaluating the LOIs: 1. Number of members; 2. Number of nontraditional members; 3. Depth and breadth of cross domain work in AUS prototyping efforts amongst all members and amongst nontraditional members. The five domains include surface, underwater, air, ground, and space. Experience across all domains is desired but is considered more important in some domains than others as follows: Surface and Underwater experience are equally important, but are more important than the remainder Air and Ground are equally important, but more important than Space; 4. Method of encouraging non-traditional membership participation; and 5. If current consortium, past performance with DoD. Note: SSC Pacific will conduct its own inquiry with respect to past performance and failure to have past performance will not adversely affect consideration. The first four factors are of equal importance and are significantly more important than factor five. As soon as the evaluation of a LOI is complete, the proposer will be notified of the results. These official notifications will be sent via e-mail to the Designated Representative identified in the LOI. Invitations to begin review of a Consortium Management Agreement (CMA) and/or negotiations do not assure that the submitting consortium will receive an award. SSC Pacific provides no funding for direct reimbursement of LOI or CMA development costs and prospective offerors are advised that only Contracting Officers are legally authorized to commit the Government. Only Government employees will review and evaluate the LOIs. No sensitive or classified information should be included in a LOI. Foreign-owned, controlled, or influenced firms are advised that security restrictions may apply that may preclude their participation in these efforts as members of a consortium or as an administrative agent for a consortium. Any questions concerning a submission of LOIs must be directed to the Procurement Contracting Officer, Ms. Jessica Black at
[email protected], 619-553-4537.