Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Procurement Operations issues this Request for Information on behalf of the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Office to solicit feedback on the CWMD FY24-FY28 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) that it anticipates publication of on or about September 29, 2023, with effective dates October 1, 2023, through September 29, 2028. A draft of the BAA will be available for comment June 7, 2023, through 5:00PM Eastern Time on July 5, 2023. DHS CWMD solicits feedback on the draft BAA. To guide the feedback the office is seeking, provide responses to the following questions:
1. Section 1.2 “Program Mission, Portfolios, and Research Areas” includes the portfolios of CWMD’s Research and Development Division (RDD) and are broad focus areas. Is there any information that should be added to these portfolios? If so, please explain which portfolios need clarification and what additional details are needed.
2. Section 1.6.1 and 1.6.2 offer a high-level overview of the Single-Phase Evaluation Process and the Two-Phase Evaluation Process, respectively. Is there a preference on the Evaluation Process type?
3. Are there suggestions for clarifying or streamlining the white paper and or proposal submission outlined in Section 5?
4. Section 5.2 includes information on oral presentations, which may be included at the white paper and/or proposal phase. Does industry have a preference on whether to include oral presentations? If so, is there a preference for use of oral presentations during the white paper stage (when the Two-Phase Evaluation Process), or proposal stage?
5. Is it clear that the fully executed Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with the SETA contractors only needs to be submitted once? When the Two-Phase Evaluation Process is used, the fully executed NDA is submitted with the white paper, or with the proposal (should Proposer choose not to submit a white paper). When the Single-Phase Evaluation Process is used, the fully executed NDA is submitted with the proposal.
6. Is it clear that as requirements arise that they will be communicated via an area of interest (AOI) issued as an amendment to the BAA?
7. What other information would be helpful to industry in increasing the likelihood of writing a successful white paper and/or proposal?
Please respond with any feedback, comments, or questions via e-mail to the Contract Specialist, Samantha Leap ([email protected]), and Contracting Officer, Evelyn Dean ([email protected]) by 5:00 PM Eastern on July 5, 2023.
