Holistic Health and Fitness Management System

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM SBIR 21.4 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Small Business Opportunity (SBO) Announcement November 3, 2021: SBO issued for pre-release December 1, 2021: Army begins accepting proposals December 29, 2021: Deadline for receipt of proposals no later than 12:00 p.m. ET IMPORTANT Deadline for Receipt : Proposals must be completely submitted no later than 12:00 p.m. ET, 29 December, 2021. Proposals submitted after 12:00 p.m. will not be evaluated. The final proposal submission includes successful completion of all firm level forms, all required volumes, and electronic corporate official certification. Classified proposals will not be accepted under the DoD SBIR Program. This BAA and the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP) sites are designed to reduce the time and cost required to prepare a formal proposal. The DSIP is the official portal for DoD SBIR/STTR proposal submission. Proposers are required to submit proposals via DSIP; proposals submitted by any other means will be disregarded. Proposers submitting through this site for the first time will be asked to register. The Small Business Administration, through its SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, purposely departs from normal Government solicitation formats and requirements and authorizes agencies to simplify the SBIR/STTR award process and minimize the regulatory burden on small business. Therefore, consistent with the SBA SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, the Department of Defense is soliciting proposals as a Broad Agency Announcement. SBIR/STTR Updates and Notices: To be notified of SBIR/STTR opportunities and to receive e-mail updates on the DoD SBIR and STTR Programs, you are invited to subscribe to our Listserv by visiting https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login and clicking “DSIP Listserv” located under Quick Links. Help Desk: If you have questions about proposal submission using DSIP, please contact the DoD SBIR/STTR Help Desk at [email protected]. The Help Desk is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET. Topic Q&A : From 4 November, 2021 to 30 November, 2021, this SBO is issued for Pre-Release with the names of the topic authors. During the pre-release period, proposing firms have an opportunity to contact topic authors through https://calendly.com/zach-harrell-aal/h2f-tpoc-calls to schedule a time to ask technical questions about specific BAA topics. Questions should be limited to specific information related to improving the understanding of a particular topic’s requirement. Proposing firms may not ask for advice or guidance on solution approach and you may not submit additional material to the topic author. If information provided during an exchange with the topic author is deemed necessary for proposal preparation, that information will be made available to all parties through the DSIP Topic Q&A module. Once the Army begins accepting proposals on 1 December, 2021 , no further direct contact between proposers and topic authors is allowed unless the Topic Author is responding to a question submitted during the pre-release period. However, proposers may submit written questions through the DSIP Topic Q&A module at https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login. The DSIP Topic Q&A for this BAA opens on 16 November, 2021 and closes to new questions on 15 December, 2021 at 12:00PM ET . Once the BAA closes to proposal submission, no communication of any kind with the topic author or through Topic Q&A regarding your submitted proposal is allowed. This Small Business Opportunity (SBO) is issued under the Army Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for SBIR/STTR 21.4. All proposals in response to the technical area(s) described herein will be submitted in accordance with the instructions provided under 21.4, found here: a. Eligibility The eligibility requirements for the SBIR/STTR programs are unique and do not correspond to those of other small business programs. Please refer to Section 3.1, Eligible Applicants, of BAA 21.4 for full eligibility requirements. Multiple venture capital operating companies (VCOCs), hedge funds, or private equity funds who own a majority part of a company, are not eligible to apply under this BAA. Companies that are more than 50% directly owned and controlled by one or more individuals (who are citizens or permanent resident aliens of the United States), and have VCOCs, hedge fund, or private equity funds who hold a minority stake in the business are eligible to apply under this BAA. b. Anticipated Structure/Award Information Please refer to Section 1, Funding Opportunity Description, provided in BAA 21.4 for detailed information regarding SBIR/STTR phase structure and flexibility. For this SBO, the Department of the Army will accept Phase II proposals for the cost of up to $500,000 for a 6-month period of performance. Proposers should refer to Section 4, Application and Submission information, of BAA 21.4 for detailed proposal preparation instructions. Proposals that do not comply with the requirements detailed in BAA 21.4 and the research objectives of this SBO are considered non-conforming and therefore are not evaluated nor considered for award. Phase II proposals shall not exceed 15 pages for the technical volume. Proposers can submit an optional slide deck of 10 slides in Volume 5: Supporting Documents. The slide deck can contain information on the technical approach, the team, commercialization plans, or relevant technology/research the proposers have developed, and it can contain additional/complementary information to the technical volume. If a proposer elects to submit a slide deck, its information will be used in the evaluation process. Please refer to Appendix A and Appendix B of BAA 21.4 for detailed instructions on proposal preparation. More detailed instructions for what information to include in your Phase I proposal and a sample Slide Deck template are attached to this SBO. Discretionary Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) will not be offered under this SBO. c. Evaluation of Proposals Section 5, Evaluation of Proposals, in BAA 21.4 provides detailed information on proposal evaluation and the selection process for this SBO. d. Due Date/Time Full proposal packages (Proposal Cover Sheet, Technical Volume, Price/Cost Volume inclusive of supporting documentation, Company Commercialization Report (CCR), optional slide deck in Supporting Information, and Fraud, Waste and Abuse documentation) must be submitted via the DoD SBIR/STTR Proposal Submission website per the instructions outlined in BAA 21.4 Section 4.3 Electronic Submission no later than 29 December, 2021 at 12:00pm ET . A214-052 Holistic Health and Fitness Management System OBJECTIVE: Implement athlete management system (AMS) in the field to further develop, demonstrate, and deliver a solution for a Soldier Readiness interface tool that collects data from all five domains of the Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) System. DESCRIPTION: People First and Soldier Readiness are top priorities for Army senior leaders, however the technical tools used to evaluate readiness are not comprehensive, lack the ability to assist Soldiers in improving in areas of weakness, and are unable to provide leadership snapshots of the readiness level of their force. The Army uses the Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) domains to evaluate and improve readiness. The domains are physical fitness, sleep, nutrition, mental, and spiritual readiness, all of which define Soldier readiness in qualitative and quantitative metrics. Currently those metrics are disparate and are collected in a myriad of different tools, surveys, and subjective analysis from experts which are often analog in nature. Consolidating and simplifying the method in which we collect data for H2F domains in order to deliver interventions and drive performance across the force would enable leaders to methodically improve readiness over time. Ideally, the data collected would build a holistic performance picture of each Soldier over time and stay with them through various units across the Army to build upon performance throughout their career. The emphasis placed on these readiness domains varies. Soldiers conduct physical training on a daily basis but are not logging efforts, often have non-congruent fitness programs not tailored to individual needs, and are lacking education on how to conduct exercise/movements correctly. Sleep and nutrition are not routinely monitored, with most education efforts usually occurring in mass groups or only for those deemed at performance risk. Spiritual and mental readiness are left to personnel that are in short supply (the Soldier to professional ratio is 4000:1 in the cognitive and sleep specialities, and 500:1 in the spiritual domain)), and individual assistance is reactive rather than proactive, only coming after a soldier is far down a path and requires practitioner intervention. These domains are further described in FM 7-22, Holistic Health and Fitness, (October 2020). Soldier data across these five domains is usually logged locally on an excel sheet or written journal and only physical fitness data is collected (1 of 5 domains). Soldiers move to different units in the active component every 2-3 years and change positions frequently. During most transitions, the data described in H2F domains (aside from twice yearly physical fitness tests) is lost making it hard for Soldiers to improve above baseline performance. In addition, the lack of a cohesive system for data collection and display makes it difficult for leaders to understand the readiness level of their force and identify Soldiers who may be struggling before they fail a physical fitness test, or require practitioner intervention. The needed solution is a scalable and convenient user interface that is functional with or without wearable technologies, collects data across all five domains, provides individualized performance plans, and is capable of interfacing with the Army’s data fabric, allowing for the creation of leader dashboards across multiple unit configurations. This will allow data-informed interventions to occur sooner, improve performance and readiness across the unit, allow for a more persistent repository of Soldier data, and provide leaders who have different roles and requirements (command structure, different H2F practitioners, and others) with the tools to understand the individual and collective readiness of Soldiers across the formation. In this solicitation we are focused on creating the user interface that Soldiers can interact with on a daily basis. This tool will allow them to easily and quickly record their data, receive coaching, and interface with the Army’s data fabric. Key capabilities of this system could include but are not limited to: Solution should have three types of interfaces designed for ease of use: Soldier Interface: profile for individual, data entry locations, and statistics for the individual user, instructional tools and videos for reference, and an ability to auto refer soldier to practitioner. Tiered Supervisor Interface: leaders have access to summary information of subordinate data (ex. red-amber-green on status) for tracking and immediate intervention to improve readiness; generalized and aggregated data (i.e. dashboards) for ease of access and to alert the leaders of potential problems; suggestions to supervisor for recommended intervention H2F Performance Team Provider interface: Soldier performance summaries, alerts to Soldiers that indicate negative/positive trend thresholds, individual Soldier data to refer to appropriate care provider(s). Ability to display charts/graphs for individual and larger population sets. bility to send intervention protocols (inclusive of surveys, direct messaging, and appointment scheduling) . Easy to use solution that can be downloaded on a mobile device with web-based capability for access on a computer. Should be compatible with iOS and Android operating systems. Functionality for automatic emails and notifications based on defined data triggers. Ability to track soldiers throughout their career. Aggregate data anonymized for leader analysis at higher levels. Ability to record performance for all five H2F domains using a combination of either manual input, customizable questionnaires, or wearable sensors for existing commercial systems common in the AMS space (ex. Whoop, Polar, Garmin, Oura, Fitbit, Apple, etc.). Ability to deliver coaching for all five H2F domains, along with automatic recommendations to individual users based on thresholds established by practitioners. Need ease of access to the data for further manual analysis across all inputs from practitioners. Ability to download the data into a usable data set in ubiquitous spreadsheet format (xls, csv, etc.) Tool must be modifiable to allow for different questions/measurements within sub organizations across the Army that aggregate to an overall database for performance metrics. An onboarding and training program that allows for either the unit or the performer, to establish accounts and structure of the test population rapidly, with a goal of within 1 week. PHASE I: Design proof of concept solution for digital interface tool that allows data collection and programming for all five H2F domains (fitness, sleep, nutrition, spiritual, and mental readiness) and that has an API solution for Army Vantage or other government accredited cloud platforms. Solutions will be evaluated based on a holistic view of factors including: ease of data collection at the soldier level in all five domains, ease of programming at the coach level for all five domains, the ability to integrate with existing government databases such (i.e. Vantage, AWS GovCloud, Cloud 1, other accredited cloud services from the Department of Defense), cost of development, ability to customize inputs based on individual Soldier and coach needs, and any additional factors proposed. Final deliverable will be a concept design presentation, proof of technology demonstration inclusive of compatibility with government computers and mobile phones, and plans for follow-on Phase 2 work. DIRECT-TO-PHASE-II proposals must provide documentation to substantiate that the scientific and technical merit and feasibility described in the Phase I section of this topic has been met and describe the potential commercial applications of the solution. This could be accomplished through the proper demonstration of any viable athlete management system that meets the listed capabilities. Soldier touchpoint will be provided free of charge. PHASE II: Demonstrate a prototype user interface that is capable at a minimum of accepting inputs (manual), delivering individualized coaching and tracking performance data in at least one domain. Solution will be provided to three Soldier test groups that will evaluate and provide feedback on the device under realistic use conditions for 60 days. Units will include an Infantry Brigade Combat Team (4100 Soldiers), Armored Brigade Combat Team (4700 Soldiers), and one other brigade size element (4000 Soldiers) with embedded Army teams trained as providers and coaches across all given domains. Potential solutions will be evaluated on the usability of the interface, the number of domains included, ease of data input, ease of programming and analytic display at the coach level, ability to customize performance plans for each Soldier during the 90-day experiment. Access to Soldiers during the touchpoints for feedback is free of charge, and companies should include the estimated cost of travel (assume three, multi day trips, to each of three locations for set-up, midterm feedback, and final feedback) to these touchpoints in their budget. Companies should also include a two-day trip for an in-person outbrief. In addition virtual touch points with other relevant Army stakeholders will occur throughout the period of performance. During the experiment Soldiers will establish a baseline in the relevant domains at the start of app usage, and assess their performance at the end to evaluate the impact the interface had on improvement in that domain. Soldiers will also provide feedback at two-week intervals on the evaluation factors mentioned above, allowing the solicitation respondent to identify areas requiring additional development to adapt the prototype to Army use cases. In addition to the Phase II deliverable of a prototype for extended Soldier touch points, companies will provide monthly and final reports detailing performance analysis of the interface as well as modifications required based on the Soldier feedback received. The final report should also include plans to scale across the remaining domains (if needed) and how the interface will interact with the Army’s data fabric. PHASE III: The objective of Phase III, where appropriate, is for the small business to pursue commercialization objectives through the effort. Companies will scale interface across additional domains (as needed), make modifications in interface as identified through extended Soldier touch points and create API allowing the interface to interact with the Army’s data fabric or structure as determined. Phase III deliverables include a demonstrable prototype involving all five domains that interface with the Army’s data fabric allowing for creation of higher-level dashboards. Prototype should allow data from all 5 domains to be analyzed in relation to each other including basic and advanced statistical associations, regression and mediation analysis, and facilitate identification of and predictors of performance. Potential commercial uses include sports teams, wellness initiatives at interested commercial companies, and private security firms. WEBINAR DATES: Wednesday, November 10 and 18, 2021 10:00 am CT Registration Link: https://h2fms.eventbrite.com Links to video recordings of the webinars will be posted in the DSIP portal in the days following each. KEYWORDS: Human performance optimization, HPO, Holistic health and fitness, H2F, athlete management system, AMS, physical fitness, cognitive wellness, spiritual readiness, mental readiness, nutrition tracking, sleep tracking, sleep wellness, health intervention protocol, human performance, performance measurements, physical training, physical fitness, wellness. REFERENCES https://www.army.mil/e2/downloads/rv7/acft/h2f_operating_concept.pdf https://usacimt.tradoc.army.mil/H2FS.html https://www.army-fitness.com/h2f-holistic-health-and-fitness/ https://www.eis.army.mil/programs/army-vantage Author Information Technical POC Name: Nick Rinaldi, Zach Harrell Second Technical POC : Matt Helton, Karl Linderman https://calendly.com/zach-harrell-aal/h2f-tpoc-calls