Global Situational Awareness Assessment Event

Global Situational Awareness
Assessment Event
UPDATED NLT 15 June 2020

CLOSED on 09 April 1:00 PM EST
This event took place between 18 May – 02 June

SOFWERX, in concert with USSOCOM Program Executive Office for Special Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Exploitation (PEO-SRSE), seeks to accelerate the application of commercially‐derived software innovation into deployable warfighting capabilities in support of Special Operations Forces (SOF). Early identification of Warfighter needs and continuous engagement with users during software development and fielding will support increased lethality and efficiency.

This activity is an Assessment Event (AE) under USSOCOM Commercial Solution Opening (CSO) for Mission Support Systems. Potential prototype projects will be directly relevant to enhancing the effectiveness of software intensive programs, platforms, components, algorithms or processes for Global Situational Awareness. The CSO and assessment will result in awards for solutions for innovative, commercial technologies through a multi‐phased, competitive process.

What is an Assessment Event (AE)?

USSOCOM submits specific problems to solve and SOFWERX utilizes its ecosystem and market research to attract best-of-breed submissions to solve the problem. USSOCOM, subsequently, reviews and selects participants with the highest value to present and/or demonstrate their capability in a one-on-one session with Government Stakeholders.

CSO Technology Area of Interest: Global Situational Awareness

USSOCOM seeks industry innovation in the creation of a scalable next generation Mission Command System to unify the SOF Enterprise via a Common Operational Picture (COP) providing global situational awareness. The system will maximize Service-common capabilities and provide a SOF-unique foundation to support unity of effort and enhance high impact decision-making across Warfighting functions.

The Technology Area of Interest (AOI) is focused on new, novel or provocative commercial solutions with architectures and technical attributes that can be demonstrated via a unified SOF COP prototype during a two- to four-month evaluation period and operationally fielded through a number of agile iterations within the first year.

Global Situational Awareness Objectives

Global Situational Awareness
Information Integration
Secure Network Domains
Cloud Native
Visualization
Standards-Based Interoperability
Automated Production
Data/Track Object Management
Next Generation Capabilities

See bottom of the page for a link to additional information regarding the technology focus area and technical objectives.

Timeline

Completed Phase I – 27 February 2020 to 09 April 2020 CSO Technology AOI Open: Solution Briefs addressing the specific AOI will be accepted. Submissions will be reviewed independently against evaluation criteria in the CSO announcement linked below.

Questions Due – 05 March 2020 NLT 6:00 PM EST: Interested offerors may submit questions regarding specific technology objectives or preparation of the Solutions Brief. Responses to questions will be posted to this website after 11 March 2020. See below to submit questions.

Downselect – 10 April 2020 to 23 April 2020: Companies with favorably evaluated Solution Briefs will receive an invitation for advancement on or around 24 April 2020. USSOCOM may proceed directly to Phase III after a successful Phase I evaluation.

Phase II – 25 May 2020 to 15 June 2020 – Assessment Event: USSOCOM will host Phase II invitees at one of its facilities in Tampa wherein each company will have a standard amount of time to pitch or demonstrate its proposed solution to stakeholders and hold any discussions necessary for assessment. Capabilities will be reviewed independently against evaluation criteria in the CSO linked below. Participation in Phase II is at the company’s expense. Discussions may occur outside of the pitch/demonstration session. Favorably evaluated solutions will advance to Phase III. Invited companies may be scheduled to conduct demonstrations for user assessment in Tampa between 25 May-15 June.

Note: Phase II is optional, and may not always be conducted, or may not be required for every successful Phase I submission. We aim to complete Phase II evaluations and Company notification within 30 calendar days of the assessment and/or receipt of additional requested information. All companies will receive Phase II notification, however, only favorably evaluated solutions will enter Phase III of the CSO process.

Phase III – Through 15 June 2020 Request for Prototype Proposal (RPP): USSOCOM will issue an RPP only to those companies that we intend to award a contract or agreement for their proposed solution. Companies will collaboratively build Statements of Work for their specific solutions with the Government team and negotiate contract/agreement terms and conditions for award. The purpose of the prototype is to demonstrate a meaningful first version of the innovative commercial solution including working software that users can interact with on operational networks.

Awards under this CSO will be either FAR-based Firm Fixed Price contracts or Other Transaction Agreements under 10 U.S.C. 2371b for Prototypes Projects with potential follow‐on non‐competitive Production Agreements. Contract type will be determined during Phase III. Multiple awards may be made to pursue dissimilar solutions should they all meet the technical criteria and funds are available.

Phase IV – June 2020 to September 2020 Competitive Prototyping: Companies will have an opportunity to demonstrate the viability and effectiveness of capabilities for operational use via an agile methodology. Prototypes for new, novel or provocative commercial solutions for Global Situational Awareness include architectures and technical attributes that enable a unified SOF COP prototype and can be tested during a two- to four-month evaluation period.

Phase V – October 2020 Final Downselect: USSOCOM will complete the final capability assessment of the prototype(s) and may exercise an option for follow on production without further competition. The successful company(ies) will field increments of operational capability to the global SOF enterprise through a number of agile iterations within the first year of the contract or agreement. Increments satisfy an initial set of Warfighter/End-User needs, security and testing with working features to meet minimum functional capabilities in the above technical objectives and shape future iterations.

Questions?

For event related questions, please contact Tania Steele, tania.steele@sofwerx.org
Questions on the CSO may be sent to the Contracting/Agreements Office: lanora.means@socom.mil