Office of Naval Research, 800 North Quincy St., Arlington, VA 22217-5660

A -- OPERATION OF THE GULF COAST REGION MARITIME TECHNOLOGY CENTER SOL BAA 98-001 DUE 121597 POC Mr. Dale Rome, cdswc, code 25, BAA 98-001 This announcement constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in FAR 6.102(d)(2). There will be no formal request for proposals or other solicitation regarding this announcement, and offerors should be alert for any BAA amendments that may be published. Technical Point of Contact: Mr. Dale Rome, CDSWC, Code 25 -- email: rome@dt.navy.mil or fax: (301) 227-5753. Contracts Point of Contact: Regina Williams, ONR, Code 253 -- email: williar@onr.navy.mil or fax:(703) 696-0066. Background: The Navy Manufacturing Technology (MANTECH) program is seeking proposals to extend the operation of the Gulf Coast Region Maritime Technology Center (GCRMTC) and its simulation based design lab (currently located in Lamar, TX) via this announcement. The mission of the GCRMTC is to manage and conduct research projects which promote the competitiveness of the U. S. maritime industry. The existing GCRMTC, located in New Orleans, LA is one of the Navy's Centers of Excellence. The GCRMTC hasbeen in existence since 1994 and has been operated by the University of New Orleans, Office of Business Affairs under a Cooperative Agreement with the Office of Naval Research. The existing agreement is scheduled for completion on 31 December 1997. Current projects at the GCRMTC include: Shipbuilding Production Technology Program for the Maritime Industry; Waterjet Inlet Nozzle and Hull Integration; Proof of Concept for Closing the RAM/SHIPNET Feedback Loop; Shipboard OnLine Neural Network Training for Diesel Engine Operating Characteristics; Reliability Centered Maintenance Pilot Study; Rationally Based Process for Lofting and Fabrication of Compound Curved Plates; Large-Scale Fiber-Bragging-Grating Sensor Systems for Shipboard Temperature, Strain and Fire Damage Monitoring; and other projects in the shipbuilding area. An additional technology area, to be continued, is Simulation Based Design (SBD). The GCRMTC SBD program involves developing and demonstrating the concepts of virtual prototyping in orderto exploit the time and cost saving benefits of simulation and modeling technology in the design of complex systems. In addition, the program encompasses the manufacturing, cost, performance, and lifecycle considerations to be coordinated and integrated throughout the entire process, from concept development to manufacture and operations. The objectives of this effort are as follows: reduce design times by half; investigate advanced technologies "on-the-fly"; eliminate physical prototypes; improve initial design quality, resulting in significant lifecycle cost reduction; enhance communication via virtual reality technologies, giving the sense of experiencing the design; assess manufacturing and operations prior to construction, via real-time physics-based simulations/assessments. These objectives require a virtual development environment consisting of high end hardware and software applications, immersive display tools, and stereoscope projectors -- all supported by a high-speed, high-bandwidth ATM network for remote collaboration. Potential offerors should have proven experience in SBD and related areas and be equipped with state-of-the-art hardware and software computing resources to support government and commercial SBD endeavors. Page 1All research projects shall include a non-academic industry partner involved in research tasks. Projects may be multi-year but must be broken into logical phase not to exceed one year in length. The GCRMTC funding shall be distributed such that funds for research projects are divided equally between those projects that are conducted in-house and those for which a Principal Investigator is subcontracted. In-house projects shall be designated as those for which the Principal Investigator is primarily funded by the GCRMTC host facility. Effective technology transfer within the maritime industry will be one of the primary objectives of the GCRMTC. Results of research projects will be included in national publications and distribution systems. Presentations of findings must be made at shipyards, symposia, SNAME (Society for Naval Architecture and Marine Engineers) conferences, and similar venues. A requirement of the GCRMTC is to make the reports, publications, and other information relevant to the maritime industry and internet accessible to facilitate technology transfer. Those proposing to operate the GCRMTC must demonstrate an understanding of the goals and mission of the Manufacturing Technology program. This understanding should be reflected in an offeror's: 1) proposed resources; 2) management structure; 3) organization; 4) use of subcontracting; 5) leveraging of government funds; 6) adequacy and availability of facilities, equipment, and personnel (both available and proposed) for program execution; and 7) proposed development of relationships, both regionally and nationally (e.g., linkages to other consortia, professional organizations, academia, regional, state and local economic development and extension organizations, and state and local education and training organizations focused on maritime issues). At a minimum, the proposed management structure for the Center should include the following elements: an Executive Director, Principal Investigator(s), and a Government-Industry Advisory Board for approval and prioritization of projects. To preserve the mission of the GCRMTC, it is anticipated that the GCRMTC will remain located in the Gulf Coast area, which contains shipbuilders, shipbuilding suppliers, and offshore petroleum concerns of all sizes. Criteria: Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria: 1) the proposed mechanism to ensure technical and programmatic continuity of the ongoing project work from the current GCRMTC operator; 2) the potential significance of the proposed effort to enhance both commercial and military applications of maritime technologies; 3) the innovative aspects and the scientific merit of the proposed effort, and the feasiblity of the approach and technical objectives; 4) the proposed method for identifying and solving maritime problems, including the process(es) for involving industry, government and academia in identifying, developing, and executing the technical program agenda and deploying the resulting technologies and knowledge; 5) the offeror's capabilities, related experience, facilities, and techniques that are integral factors for the achievement of the proposed effort; 6) the qualifications, capabilities, experience, and time commitment of a Director, principal investigator(s) and personnel who are key to program success; and 7) defensibility of estimated costs. (NOTE -- Items 1 through 7 are in descending order of importance, with items 5 and 6 being moderately less important than items 1 through 4 and item 7 being significantly less important than items 1 through 6). Page 2 Response Format: An offeror responding to this Broad Agency Announcement should submit twelve (12) copies of its proposal in the following format. The proposal shall consist of two parts, Technical and Management (Part I) and Cost (Part II). Part I should not exceed 75 pages (single space, 10 pitch), excluding resumes and exhibits. Resumes and exhibits should not exceed 60 pages. Part I should consist of: 1) a cover page including title, technical point(s) of contact, administrative point(s) of contact, and pertinent phone numbers; 2) summary page(s) of organizations participating in the proposed bid with addresses and points of contact; 3) a summary of related experience in maritime technologies; 4) an overall plan with specifics on GCRMTC transition and project areas for the first year of operation (projects identified by the Navy may supplement or replace those submitted in the technical proposal); 5) a listing and description of relevant facilities and equipment that would be useful for operation of the Center; 6) an organization and management plan; 7) planned subcontracting; 8) statement regarding existence of, or intention to obtain, facility and personnel clearances; 9) authentication and commitment statements from GCRMTC members; and any other information deemed appropriate by the offeror. Part II should contain: 1) a one-to-two page cost summary; and 2) supporting pages, which should include a detailed breakdown of labor categories, labor rates, capital equipment needs, travel costs, and any other direct or indirect costs. Each page in Part I and Part II should be marked with the words "SOURCE SELECTION INFORMATION -- See FAR 3.104". A proposer should state in its proposal that it is submitted in response to this BAA, and all proposals should be accompanied by a completed certification package. The certifications can be accessed on the ONR Home Page at http://www.onr.navy.mil (see "Grants/funding" and then "How to submit a proposal"). For grant and cooperative agreement proposals the certification package is entitled "Certifications document". For contract proposals the certification package is entitled "Representations and Certifications". Proposals shall be submitted to the Office of Naval Research, Manufacturing Technology Division, Attn: Adrienne Gould, Code 361, Ballston Tower One, 800 North Quincy Street, Arlington, Virginia 22217-5660 and must be received by 4:00 p. m. on 15 December 1997. Any proposals received thereafter will not be considered. A "Cooperative Agreement" is anticipated to be awarded under this BAA. The Navy reserves the right to select for award any or none of the responses received and intends to incrementally fund any resultant agreement. The awardee may be required to have or obtain security clearances up to and including the Secret level for work contemplated under this announcement. It is anticipated that the resultant cooperative agreement will cover a five (5) year period with a ceiling value not-to-exceed $50M. Agreement award will be based on proposal merit and funding availability. This solicitation will remain open for forty-five (45) days. Proposals may be reviewed as they arrive. The Navy will treat all proposals as competition-sensitive information. All evaluators will be Government employees. However, the Navy may use selected support contractor personnel to provide technical assistance to the Government evaluators. These contractor personnel are restricted by signed nondisclosure agreements from disclosing proposal information or using it for other than performing the assessments. Page 3 The Government will not reimburse any proposal preparation costs in connection with this announcement. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this announcement is not an allowable direct charge to any resulting agreement. The Navy reserves the right to make award to other than the lowest cost offeror. No portion of this BAA has been set aside for small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, or historically black college or university or minority university participants. However, their participation is encouraged. (0303)

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