ADAPTIVE FUSION, & REASONING OF MULTI-SOURCE DATA (AFAR)

Amendment / Modification

This amendment updates the solicitation FA8750-23-S-7008 regarding Science and Technology (S&T) Protection requirements.

• Section III, Paragraph 5 (S&T Protection): Updates include revised language on Security Risk Review processes and requirements for proposal submissions.

• Section V, Paragraph 2.e (S&T Review): Language concerning the S&T review process has been updated.

• New Documentation Requirements: Applicants/Recipients must now submit the "Research and Related Senior and Key Person Profile (Expanded)" (for Grant/CA proposals) or "Research and Related Senior and Key Person Profile Worksheet" (for Contract/OTA proposals), along with the "Security Program Questionnaire" and a "Privacy Act Statement" consent form for each Covered Individual. These are detailed in Appendices 1, 2, 3, and 4, accessible via the provided link.

• Security Risk Review Process: Proposals are subject to a Security Risk Review prior to award. This review assesses potential undue foreign influence using information from the submitted questionnaires, publicly available data, and internal government databases. Nationality is not a determining factor.

• Covered Individuals: All Senior/Key Personnel are considered "Covered Individuals" and must disclose current and pending research support. Failure to disclose fully may have legal consequences.

• Post-Award Requirements: Annual resubmission of the Senior and Key Person Profile is required. New covered individuals added during performance also necessitate a new profile submission prior to continued performance.

• Foreign Talent Program Disclosure: Applicants/Recipients must notify the government within 5 business days if Senior/Key Personnel are believed to be participants in a Foreign Government Talent Program or have Foreign Components with strategic competitors. Failure to exercise due diligence in this regard may result in government remedies.

• Evaluation Impact: The Security Program Questionnaire and Privacy Act Statement will be reviewed in parallel with technical and cost evaluations. Identified security risks exceeding acceptable thresholds may lead to award declination.

Amendment / Modification

This amendment republishes the original Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) FA8750-23-S-7008, incorporating previous amendments. Key changes include:

• Information Protection Contact: Updated contact information in Part II, Section IV.3.
• Hard Copy Requirement: Removed the requirement for hard copy submissions (Part II, Section IV.3.c).
• Proposal Formatting: Updated language regarding proposal formatting (Part II, Section VI.1).

• Part II, Section IV.3 (Information Protection contact info)
• Part II, Section IV.3.c (Removal of hard copy requirement)
• Part II, Section VI.1 (Proposal Formatting language)

No changes to proposal deadlines or submission requirements were noted, beyond the removal of the hard copy requirement. Offerors should continue to adhere to all other submission instructions and deadlines as previously outlined.

Amendment / Modification

This amendment (Amendment 2) to Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) FA8750-23-S-7008 makes the following key changes:

• Increased BAA Ceiling: The overall estimated funding ceiling for the BAA has been increased to $37 million.
• Updated Award Instrument Language: The description of "type of instruments that may be awarded" has been revised.
• CFDA to Assistance Listing Number: The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number has been updated to the Assistance Listing number.
• Funding Breakout Update: Section II.1, detailing the BAA ceiling and fiscal year breakout of funding, has been updated.
• White Paper Format: Section IV.2, regarding the white paper format, has been updated.
• Debriefing Language: Section IV.3, concerning debriefing language, has been updated.
• Provisions Update: Section VII has been updated to reflect changes in provisions.
• Ombudsman Update: Section VII has been updated to reflect changes to the Ombudsman contact information.

• PART I, Overview Information (BAA Estimated Funding, Type of Instruments)
• Part II, Full Text Announcement (Assistance Listing Number, Section II.1, Section IV.2, Section IV.3, Section VII)

No changes to proposal submission deadlines or evaluation criteria are indicated by this amendment. Offerors should refer to the updated sections for current information.

Amendment / Modification

This amendment updates Part II, Section I: Technology Requirements of BAA FA8750-23-S-7008. Specifically, it adds information to Focus Area B1 - Nomination of High Value Targets.

• Part II: Section I: Technology Requirements (specifically Focus Area B1)

No changes to submission deadlines or overall proposal requirements are indicated by this amendment. Bidders should ensure their proposals for Focus Area B1 incorporate the updated information.

Solicitation / RFP / RFQ

This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) seeks innovative approaches for the fusion, analysis, and reasoning of multi-source data to advance the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) and Cyber Science mission. The program, titled Adaptive Fusion, Analysis & Reasoning (AFAR), aims to improve analytical operations by addressing challenges in handling large volumes of diverse data.

The BAA is divided into three research areas:

• (A) Adaptive Knowledge and Information for Target Analysis (AKITA): Focuses on automated extraction, mapping, spatio-temporal grounding, and system integration for intelligence data, aiming to create comprehensive knowledge graphs to reduce targeting research time. Submissions must address specific combinations of focus areas (A1, A2, A3).

• (B) Enhancing Moving Target Engagement at Scale (EMoTES): Aims to improve find/fix/track capabilities for high-value targets (HVTs) through automated nomination of HVTs (B1) and advanced sensor resource management and data fusion (B2).

• (C) Publicly Available Information (PAI) Ensemble Fusion (PEF): Focuses on analyzing and fusing Publicly Available Information (PAI) and Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) data with traditional intelligence sources. This includes veracity analysis (C1) and multi-modal fusion (C2) to enhance threat assessment and forecasting.

• BAA Number: FA8750-23-S-7008

• NAICS Code: 541715

• Estimated Funding: Approximately $25M total, with annual allocations from FY24 to FY28.

• Award Instruments: FAR-based Procurement contracts, CFR-based grants, cooperative agreements, or Other Transactions (OTs).

• Individual Awards: Typically range from $500K to $1.5M, not normally exceeding 36 months, but can be awarded up to any dollar value within the BAA ceiling.

• Anticipated Awards: Multiple awards are anticipated.

• Type: Two-step BAA. Only white papers are accepted for initial submissions.

• Submission Dates: White papers are accepted until August 29, 2028. Suggested dates for FY24-FY28 funding alignment are provided (e.g., FY24 by Sep 12, 2023).

• White Paper Format: 3-5 pages, double-spaced, 12-point font. Includes Title, Period of Performance, Cost, Company Info, Task Objective, and Technical Summary/Deliverables.

• Evaluation Criteria: Scientific and Technical Merit, Related Experience, Openness/Maturity/Assurance of Solution, and Reasonableness/Realism of Proposed Costs.

• General Eligibility: All qualified offerors.

• Foreign Participation: Closed to foreign participation, with exceptions for fundamental research and approved FOCI mitigation.

• FFRDCs/Government Entities: Subject to competition limitations; must demonstrate work is unavailable from the private sector.

• Offerors must be registered in SAM.gov.

• Specific requirements for S&T Protection, Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI), and accounting systems apply.

• Foreign nationals working on contracts require specific approvals and may be restricted from accessing certain IT networks or facilities unless they are U.S. citizens.