Description
Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division is interested in receiving proposals for the development of novel polymeric compounds of highly fluorinated materials such as Teflon® and Viton® which contain magnesium. Magnesium Teflon® Viton® (MTV) formulations are often used in countermeasure flares, igniters, and primers. Past history of MTV formulations has shown that there have been persistent problems with the degradation of these formulations during long term storage. These problems include ignition delays, hydrogen gas generation, and general performance degradation, which have been linked to the oxidation of magnesium. Magnesium is a highly reactive metal that easily oxidizes when exposed to moisture, even at low levels. NSWC Crane is interested in proposals that investigate novel compounds to mitigate oxidative nature of magnesium or provide a mechanism to stabilize the magnesium while at the same time retaining the highly exothermic reactivity with fluorine, ease of ignitability, and safe handling characteristics. This new material shall be characterized to understand its elemental, polymeric, and reactivity properties. The materials are ultimately intended for high energy applications such as igniters, primers and decoy flare expendables. AWARD INFORMATION The Government may make multiple awards. The amount of resources made available to this BAA will depend on the quality of the proposals received and the availability of funds. The Government reserves the right to select for negotiation all, some, one, or none of the proposals received in response to this solicitation and to make awards without discussions with proposers. The Government also reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined to be necessary. Proposals identified for negotiation may result in a procurement contract or other transaction depending upon the nature of the work proposed, the required degree of interaction between parties, and other factors. Proposers should note that the required degree of interaction between parties will be to the maximum extent possible as allowed by the contractual vehicle. The Government reserves the right to request any additional necessary documentation once it makes the award instrument determination. Such additional information may include but is not limited to Representations and Certifications. The Government reserves the right to remove proposers from award consideration should the parties fail to reach agreement on award terms, conditions, and cost/price within a reasonable time or the proposer fails to timely provide requested additional information. Technical Proposal a. Content. The technical proposal must convey an understanding of the problems or limitations of the general technology area and the intended application(s). The technical proposal shall include the following items. (1) Executive Summary: Describe the proposed program, objectives, and approach. A description of the innovation and benefits of the proposed approach and relationship to previous efforts should be discussed. It should summarize the technical issues addressed by the offerors proposal without repeating the requirements. This should provide a vision of what will ultimately be achieved and what solution this effort will produce. (2) Program Description: Describe the techniques, methods, materials, or ideas that will be addressed in this proposal, their innovation, and to what degree they advance the state-of-the-art. (3) Program Plan: Describe in detail the planned approach and how the plan will be executed. This section should include all technical aspects of the approach. Provide technical detail and analysis necessary to support the technical approach proposed. Clearly identify the core of the intended approach. The new and creative solution to the problem(s) should be developed and analyzed in this section. Include a risk assessment of key technical, schedule or cost areas and their potential impact on the program. Identify why proposed subcontractors were selected and what tasks they are to perform. (4) Contractors Statement of Work (C-SOW): (A) The C-SOW, a stand-alone document, should detail the research to be accomplished under the technical area and should be suitable for incorporation into the awarded document. The proposed C-SOW should summarize the technical methodology and the task description, but not to the extent to make the awarded instrument inflexible. Do not include any proprietary information in the C-SOW. Contractors may request copies of our contracts under the Freedom Of Information Act. Consequently, it is imperative that no company-sensitive information be included in the C-SOW. The C-SOW should include the anticipated deliverables (hardware, software, reports, etc.). (B) The following is offered as a recommended format for the C-SOW. The C-SOW should be structured in three sections; Scope, Applicable Documents, And Requirements. SCOPE: This section includes a statement of what the program covers. This should include the technology area to be investigated, objectives/goals, and major milestones for the effort. It defines the breadth and limitations of the work to be done. APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS: This section includes reference documents needed to identify or clarify the work to be performed. REQUIREMENTS: This section identifies the specific work to be performed. The work effort should be arranged into major tasks and identified in separately numbered paragraphs. Each numbered major task should delineate by subtask the work to be performed and should follow an outline numbering scheme. The C-SOW must identify all reviews and when/where (identify by milestone or task) that will be conducted. It must also identify any and all items (hardware, software, reports, etc.) to be delivered to the Government as a result of the program. (5) Milestone Chart: A Milestone Chart should indicate when specific objectives are expected to be met in the overall program schedule and should identify the specific accomplishments necessary to proceed to the next task. Provide a schedule of when the deliverable items identified in the CALL are to be delivered. (6) Facilities and Equipment description: Describe the facilities that can be used to achieve the goals of the program, in terms of manufacturing capability, testing facilities, and/or any relevant specialized equipment. (7) Description of Relevant Prior Work: Provide a list of related previous or current government, commercial, or internally funded work during the past five years. For each such effort, provide the principal investigator, title of effort, contract number, brief summary of results, dollar value, and a technical and contracting point of contact, including phone numbers, for the funding organizations. (8) Management Plan: Offerors should provide an approach that demonstrates the ability to effectively and efficiently manage and administer the research program to a successful conclusion. (9) Resumes of Key Individuals: Include brief summaries of resumes of relevant key individuals including any consultants or subcontractors that might be proposed. b. Page Limitations. The technical proposal including the C-SOW shall be limited to 30 pages single spaced, double-sided, 8.5 by 11-inch pages. Select an easy to read font no smaller than 12 pitch fixed or proportional font size 10 or larger. Smaller type may be used in figures and tables as long as it is clearly legible. The page limitation includes all information i.e., indices, photographs, foldouts (2 page), appendices, attachments, resumes, C-SOW, etc. Each printed side counts as one page. Blank pages, title pages, tables of content, lists, tabs or cover sheets are not included in the page count. The Government will not consider pages in excess of this limitation. 3. Cost/Business ProposalSeparate this proposal into a Cost section and a Business section. a. Cost Section. The cost proposal containing other than cost or pricing data shall be submitted in the format provided in the announcement and is necessary for the Government to perform a cost realism analysis. Adequate price competition is anticipated for each CALL issued unless stated otherwise in the announcement. A determination as to the existence of adequate price competition will be made by the cognizant Procuring Contracting Officer on a case by case basis. If adequate price competition is determined not to exist, the Government reserves the right to obtain certified cost or pricing data from the offeror. Each CALL issued will contain the appropriate cost proposal instructions based upon the type of instrument the Government anticipates awarding. Offerors are required to submit the electronic copy of their cost proposal worksheets on a compact disk in a PC compatible file format in Microsoft Office Excel 2003 or later version. The file must contain all cell formulas. Cost proposals have no page limitations but offerors are requested to keep cost proposals to 75 pages as a goal. b. Business Section. The business section should contain all business aspects to the proposed contractual arrangement, such as type of contract/instrument, any unique terms and conditions, any exceptions to terms and conditions of the announcement or CALL, and any information not technically related. Provide rationale for exceptions. As a goal, offerors are requested to keep the business section to 20 pages. 9. PROPOSAL REVIEW AND EVALUATION PROCEDURESA. GENERAL. The Government reserves the right to select for award to responsible offerors.Contractors any, all, part, or none of the proposals that are received in response to this announcement, subject to the availability of funds. The technical and cost proposals will be evaluated at the same time. You may be ineligible for award if all requirements of this announcement and subsequent CALLS are not met by the proposal due date and time. At minimum, incomplete proposals may be given lower priority and, although technically acceptable, not awarded due to funding limitations. No further evaluation criteria will be used.B. EVALUATION CRITERIA.The selection of one or more sources for award will be based on an evaluation of each offerors proposal to determine the overall merit of the proposal in response to this announcement. Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with FAR 35.016, Broad Agency Announcement. The proposals will be evaluated utilizing a peer or scientific review process and shall be evaluated based on the following criteria that are listed in DESCENDING order of importance:1. Overall scientific and technical merits of the proposal; 2. Importance to NSWC programs; 3. Fund availability/affordabilityPrice will be a substantial consideration in selecting proposals for awards, but will be secondary to technical considerations. Cost realism and reasonableness shall also be considered to the extent appropriate. Price will be evaluated and may be negotiated if necessary on proposals selected for award. C. REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESSThe technical and cost proposals will be evaluated at the same time and categorized as follows: 1. CATEGORY I: Well-conceived, scientifically and technically sound proposals important to program goals and objectives. Proposals in Category I are recommended for acceptance subject to funding constraints. 2. CATEGORY II: Scientifically or technically sound proposals that may require further development and may be recommended for acceptance, but are at a lower priority than Category I proposals and are not always funded. 3. CATEGORY III: Proposals not technically sound or do not meet agency needs and may be recommended for rejection.D. AWARD NOTICESOfferors will be notified in writing whether or not their proposal is recommended for award. An award recommendation is not to be construed to mean the award of a contract, grant or assistance instrument is assured, as availability of funds and successful negotiations are prerequisites to any award. E. DEBRIEFINGSWhen requested, a debriefing will be provided. The debriefing process will follow the time guidelines set out in 10 USC 2305(b)(5), but the debriefing content will vary to be consistent with the procedures set out in FAR 35.016 governing BAAs.