10/28/2019 -- Distributed Common Ground System Navy Commercial Solution Opening------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ Purpose The purpose of this announcement is to notify Industry that the Distributed Common Ground System Navy (DCGS-N) program anticipates the release of a Commercial Solution Opening (CSO), in accordance with Navy Memo Class Deviation Defense Commercial Solutions Opening Pilot Program, dated 26 June 2018, in order to procure potential prototype solutions for a Knowledge Base (KB) capability.--------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ What is a CSO? CSO is a merit-based source selection strategy to acquire innovative, commercial items, technologies or services that directly fulfill requirements, close capability gaps, or provide potential technological advances. Contract awards may consist of Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs) or Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) based procurements. This process is similar to that of Broad Agency Announcements (BAA), which the science and technology community utilizes to acquire basic and applied research. Currently, under CSOs, Department of Defense (DoD) organizations with OT authority can acquire prototypes based on innovative technologies that are maturing into commercial applications. CSOs were authorized in the FY2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as part of the on-going efforts to improve the acquisition process and increase access to new technology. CSOs are a vehicle utilized to meet the needs of the warfighter and deliver rapid, relevant capabilities. Please see Navy Memo Class Deviation Defense Commercial Solutions Opening Pilot Program, dated 26 June 2018, and Fiscal Year 2017 NDAA section 879 for further details.------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------- For additional information regarding this announcement, see the attached special notice.