The purpose of this modification is to republish the original announcement pursuant to FAR 35.016(c). Previous modifications are incorporated into this republishing, as well as the deletion of the requirement to send a cover page to the Small Business office, and deletion of the Ombudsman program. No other changes have been made. Technical POC: Mr. Daniel R. Kupiak, Program Manager, (315) 330-3206, email:
[email protected]. Contracting POC: Lori L. Smith, Contracting Officer, (315) 330-1955, email:
[email protected]. All questions prior to the submission of a technical and cost proposal, including inquiries regarding white papers should be addressed to the technical POC. The Information Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is soliciting white papers under this announcement for various scientific studies and experiments to increase the Air Force Research Laboratory's knowledge and understanding of correlation and fusion techniques and algorithms required in support of Air Force operations. Solutions using new and innovative approaches are sought. The scope of this effort covers a broad range of requirements in the area of SIGINT correlation and fusion. Major areas of interest include, but are not limited to, (1) collection, (2) analysis, (3) processing, and (4) dissemination of SIGINT related information. Emphasis is placed on the insertion of technology into existing and planned intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems. Deliverables will be technical reports and, when appropriate, demonstrations and associated data. Principal funding for proposals selected from this announcement will begin in FY00 with awards not normally exceeding $500,000 in value and eighteen (18) months in duration. Awards of efforts as a result of this BAA will be in the form of contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or other transactions depending upon the nature of the work proposed. Total funding for the BAA is $4.75M. Selected offerors may be required to review classified material up to the TOP SECRET SCI level, therefore, personnel identified for assignment to those proposed efforts must be already cleared for access to TOP SECRET SCI information. In addition, the offeror may be required to have, or have access to, a certified and Government-approved facility to support work under this BAA. Data subject to export control constraints may be involved and only firms on the Certified Contractor Access List (CCAL) will be allowed access to such data. Foreign or foreign-owned offerors are advised that their participation is subject to foreign disclosure review procedures. Foreign or foreign-owned offerors should immediately contact the contracting focal point, Joetta A. Bernhard, (315) 330-2308, for information if they contemplate responding. DO NOT SUBMIT PROPOSALS AT THIS TIME. THIS PUBLICATION ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ENTIRE SOLICITATION. Offerors are required to submit five (5) copies of a two (2) to ten (10) page white paper on their proposed research topic to: Air Force Research Laboratory/IFEE, ATTN: Mr. Daniel Kupiak, 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome NY 13441. White papers must reference BAA 00-03-IFKPA. White papers will be accepted until 30 Sep 2005, however, it is recommended that white papers be received by the following dates to maximize the possibility of award: FY00-30 Apr 2000, FY01-30 Jan 2001, FY02-30 Jan 2002, FY03-30 Jan 2003, FY04-30 Jan 2004, FY05 – 30 Jan 2005. Multiple white papers addressing different areas of applicability may be submitted by each offeror and are encouraged. The purpose of the white paper is to preclude unwarranted effort on the part of an offeror whose proposed work is not of interest under this BAA. The white paper will be formatted as follows: Section A: Title, Period of Performance, Cost of Task, Name of Offeror; Section B: Task Objective; and Section C: Technical Summary. Offerors of those white papers found to be consistent with the intent of this BAA will be invited to submit a proposal. Complete proposal instructions will be contained in the letter requesting a proposal. Such invitation does not assure that the offeror will be awarded a subsequent contract. Options are discouraged and unpriced options will not be considered for award. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this announcement is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting contract or any other contract. It is, however, an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost specified in FAR 31.205-18. Proposals submitted as the result of a favorable white paper will be evaluated as they are received. Individual proposal evaluations will be based on acceptability or non-acceptability without regard to other proposals submitted under this announcement. Evaluation of white papers and proposals will be performed using the following criteria: (1) The overall scientific and/or technical merits of the proposal. (2) The potential contributions of the effort to the Air Force Research Laboratory mission and the extent to which the proposed effort will contribute to balancing the overall research and development program of the Air Force Research Laboratory. (3) The offeror's capabilities, related experience, facilities, techniques, or unique combinations of these which are integral factors for achieving the proposal objectives. (4) The qualifications, capabilities, and experience of the proposed principal investigator, team leader, and other key personnel who are critical to achieving the proposal objectives; (5) The offeror's record of past and present performance. (6) The reasonableness and realism of proposed costs and fees, if any. No further evaluation criteria will be used in source selection. The technical and cost information will be evaluated simultaneously. An informational briefing is not planned, but may be scheduled should conditions warrant. A copy of the Rome “BAA & PRDA: A Guide for Industry,” Sep 1996 (Rev), may be accessed at: http://www.if.afrl.af.mil/div/IFK/bp-guide.html. All responsible organizations may submit a white paper, which shall be considered. Respondents are requested to provide their Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) number with their submission, reference BAA 00-03-IFKPA. All responses to this announcement must reference the above topic as well as BAA-00-03-IFKPA. This announcement is open and effective until 30 Sep 2005. Only Contracting Officers are legally authorized to commit the Government.