DHS Public Safety and Violence Prevention (PSVP) Program - Broad Agency Announcement

Solicitation / RFP / RFQ

This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Call, 0001, issued under BAA 70RSAT21RB0000004, seeks research and development to enhance public safety and threat prevention efforts. The program aims to understand evolving threats, develop tools and techniques to improve public safety, and prevent acts of violence. It focuses on proactive approaches, utilizing social science research, and collaborating with stakeholders to develop products that mitigate risks to individuals and communities.

The solicitation covers three Technical Topic Areas (TTAs):

• TTA #1: Evaluation of Privacy Concerns to Counter Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation: Conduct evaluation research to understand how stakeholders analyze trafficking of vulnerable populations, focusing on data sharing challenges and privacy concerns. Recommendations for legal and policy changes are expected.

• TTA #2: Future of Flood Insurance: Conduct evaluation research to understand threats to public safety related to flooding and the future of flood insurance. This includes exploring new product offerings, pricing paradigms, and delivery mechanisms.

• TTA #3: Countering Foreign Influence Survey: Design and conduct a nationally representative survey to understand public opinion on election security, foreign influence, and mitigation efforts.

• Contract Type: Type IV effort is anticipated.

• Period of Performance: Not explicitly stated, but the base BAA is 5-year.

• Estimated Value:

  • TTA #1: Not to exceed $150,000.00
  • TTA #2: Not to exceed $300,000.00
  • TTA #3: Not to exceed $2,294,576.76

• Current Stage: White papers are being requested. Full proposals will be invited based on white paper evaluation.

• White Paper Due Date: July 20th, 2021

• Anticipated Notification of Encouraged Full Proposals: August 3rd, 2021

• Anticipated Proposal Due Date: 30 days from notification of encouraged full proposal.

• Submission Instructions: White papers must be submitted in accordance with BAA 70RSAT21RB0000004, Section 8.

• Questions: Technical and contractual inquiries must be emailed to PSVP@HQ.DHS.GOV no later than one week after opening.

This Call is open to all responsible sources and is considered full and open competition.

• DHS has a strong preference for open source licensing of software.
• Foreign participation is allowed but responses must be in English and proposals in U.S. dollars.
• Offerors should anticipate travel to three project meetings per year in Washington D.C.

Statement of Objectives (SOO)

This document outlines the objectives for research and development (R&D) aimed at evaluating privacy concerns related to counter human trafficking and child exploitation. The goal is to identify potential solutions and expertise from social sciences to support the Public Safety and Threat Prevention (PSVP) program.

• Identify best practices and develop new capabilities for data collection and analysis related to human trafficking and child exploitation.

• Enhance understanding of the threat landscape to inform policy makers and operational end users.

• Enable informed decisions to divert vulnerable individuals, prevent potential offenders, mitigate vulnerabilities, and enhance community resiliency.

• Conduct evaluation research to understand misconceptions, lack of education, and inaccuracies in how stakeholders analyze trafficking of victims.

• Address technology shortfalls and threats in the counter human trafficking space, including prevention initiatives and technology outreach.

• The proposed solution must include a Project Management Plan, Data Collection Plan, Privacy Evaluation Plan, Sample Data and Report, Draft Final Report, and Final Report.

• The contractor shall identify NGOs with data on trafficked individuals and evaluate technology requirements addressing privacy challenges.

• A report will be provided as a decision guide on data security and analysis.

• A stakeholder meeting will be convened to discuss challenges and risks of data collection, storage, and analysis.

• The contract length will be determined on a case-by-case basis under a Five (5) Year BAA Announcement.

• DHS may require the contractor to perform critical design reviews and/or product presentations at DHS-specified locations.

• The estimated value is anticipated to be a total of $15M over 5 years, subject to appropriation and change.

• The contractor shall engage with NGOs, cybersecurity experts, and human trafficking experts.

• The contractor shall identify necessary storage and maintenance requirements for the proposed solution.

Statement of Work (SOW) / Performance Work Statement (PWS)

This Statement of Objectives (SOO) aims to identify potential solutions and leverage expertise from social sciences to support the Public Safety and Threat Prevention (PSVP) program. The goal is to improve understanding of evolving threats, enhance public safety, and prevent acts of violence. Specifically, this effort focuses on evaluating threats to public safety related to natural causes, particularly flooding.

• Conduct an assessment and evaluation of the current state and future of the flood insurance market.

• Gain a deeper understanding of the flood insurance market's impact on public safety.

• Research and analyze the future of the flood insurance marketspace.

• Investigate how innovation is stimulating new insurance line offerings and how the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) can learn from these.

• Examine new products and offerings proposed by insurers based on innovations.

• Analyze how insurance providers factor purchasing behavior into new product creation and customer reactions to price increases.

• Explore how insurers are helping to close the coverage gap for populations unable to pay for full coverage, including new offering types.

• Develop protocols on how other insurance companies have adapted their business processes to incorporate technology (e.g., AI/ML).

• Answer specific questions regarding efficiencies gained in customer acquisition, claims processing, costs, and customer satisfaction.

• Assess the future of agent and adjuster compensation in a digital world and its link to customer satisfaction.

• The contractor shall provide a Project Management Plan detailing tasks, steps, and expected durations.

• A Technological Advancement Assessment is required.

• A Formative Assessment answering specific questions is required.

• An Actionable Recommendations Report on how innovation can stimulate new insurance line offerings is required.

• A Draft Final Insurance Innovation Report and a Final Insurance Innovation Report are required.

• The contract length will be determined on a case-by-case basis under a Five (5) Year BAA Announcement.

• DHS may require contractors to perform critical design reviews and/or product presentations at DHS-specified locations.

• Engagement with key stakeholders from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be necessary.

• The estimated value is anticipated to be $15M over the next 5 years, subject to appropriation and government discretion.

• Deliverables include a Project Management Plan, Technological Advancement Assessment, Formative Assessment, Actionable Recommendations Report, Draft Final Insurance Innovation Report, and Final Insurance Innovation Report.

Solicitation / RFP / RFQ

This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate, Mission Capability and Support Division, solicits research and development (R&D) for the Public Safety and Violence Prevention (PSVP) program. The BAA is open for five years and will issue individual Calls for white papers and proposals throughout its duration. The PSVP program aims to leverage cutting-edge technologies and scientific expertise to enhance public safety and prevent violence by understanding evolving threats and developing solutions. This research supports national strategies related to countering terrorism, targeted violence, national preparedness, critical infrastructure security, and combating human trafficking.

• The BAA outlines anticipated Topic Areas (TAs) including Countering Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation, National Preparedness and Emergency Response, and Countering Foreign Influence Survey. Specific TAs will be identified in each Call.

• Offerors must identify the Type Classification of their proposed technology (Type I: New Technologies, Type II: Prototype Technologies, Type III: Mature Technologies, Type IV: Basic Research), each with different period of performance limits.

• Submissions will initially involve white papers, followed by proposals from selected offerors.

• Deliverables will include research tasks, milestones, and potentially prototypes or samples.

• Anticipated total funding of $15M over 5 years, subject to appropriations.

• Awards may be jointly funded with foreign governments.

• Award types are anticipated to be cost reimbursement contracts, but firm-fixed-price contracts, cooperative agreements, or Other Transactions (OTs) may also be used.

• Individual award amounts and periods of performance will vary per Call and Type Classification.

• White papers and proposals must be submitted through the DHS S&T BAA Portal.

• Registration in the DHS S&T BAA Portal is required prior to submission.

• Submission dates and times will be specified in each individual Call.

• Evaluation will be based on Quality and Technical Merit, Capabilities and Experience, and Cost Reasonableness and Cost Realism.

• DHS reserves the right to fund all, some, or none of the proposals received.

• This BAA is open to ALL responsible sources, both domestic and foreign.

• No portion of this BAA will be set aside for small business concerns.

• Eligible entities include single entities or teams from private-sector organizations, Government laboratories, FFRDCs, HBCUs, Minority Institutions, various Small Business concerns, academic institutions, and non-profit organizations.

• All inquiries must be submitted in writing to PSVP@HQ.DHS.GOV.

• Contractual questions and answers will be posted on beta.sam.gov.

• Offerors must execute a Company to Company Agreement with the SETA Contractor prior to submitting white papers.

Statement of Objectives (SOO)

This Statement of Objectives (SOO) seeks to identify potential solutions and expertise from social sciences to support the Public Safety and Threat Prevention (PSVP) program. The goal is to enhance data collection and analysis to better understand the nature of foreign disinformation campaigns and their impact on public opinion, election security, and foreign influence. This research aims to improve the general public's resilience against acts impacting public safety.

• Conduct an annual, nationally representative longitudinal survey of U.S. citizens to understand the impact of foreign disinformation campaigns and messages on public opinion and attitudes regarding election security and foreign influence.

• The effort will involve a phased approach including design, execution, and analysis of the survey, with pre/post-tests and control experiments.

• The 24-month base period includes designing and developing the survey, conducting field surveys, segmenting data, creating Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and analyzing disinformation campaigns.

• The research will not develop government messaging or directly support a public messaging campaign.

• Findings will inform policy makers and operational end users with data, tools, and techniques to make informed decisions.

• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) will be developed to measure the impact of messages on citizen opinion, attitude, and confidence, based on sub-groups.

• The survey must be nationally representative and of sufficient fidelity for sub-group analyses.

• The contract length will be determined on a case-by-case basis under a Five (5) Year BAA Announcement.

• The estimated value is anticipated to be a total of $15M over the next 5 years, subject to fiscal appropriation and government discretion.

• Offerors must include a Project Management Plan, draft and finalized protocols for cognitive interviews, Paperwork Reduction Act supporting statements, and conduct multiple field surveys.

• Deliverables include project management plans, protocols, PRA statements, field surveys, progress reviews, message development, KPI development, and final analysis and reporting.

• The contractor shall support necessary requirements for compliance approval for each research study.