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The Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (NFEXWC), through The DoD Lock Program, is soliciting pre-proposals for efforts related to the Research Need topics listed below. If i... The Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (NFEXWC), through The DoD Lock Program, is soliciting pre-proposals for efforts related to the Research Need topics listed below. If invited, offerers will be asked to submit a full proposal. Background: The DoD Lock Program conducts research, development, test and evaluation (RDTE) activities as part of improving security effectiveness and operations in support of wide ranging DoD Missions. The Lock Program conducts RDTE to transition technology protecting Arms, Ammunition and Explosives (AA&E) classified material, and special missions. The DoD Lock Program is soliciting pre-proposals for efforts related to the research table topic needs listed below. Topic # Table Topic Description and Research Need Advanced Materials Protecting Against Mechanical, Energetic and Ballistic Threats to Facilities and Critical Infrastructure Research Need Topic#1: Research and testing of innovative materials to be used for protecting against physical security threats. Research can range from small-scale laboratory testing to inclusion into full-scale prototypes and system integrations. Advanced Installation Access Control Research Need Topic#2: Systems and components that provide faster, more secure and safer ingress and egress of people, and items into DOD facilities Wireless Radio Frequency Signal Attenuation, Facility and Expeditionary Applications Research Need Topic#3: Low-cost and visually attractive Radio Frequency (RF) shielding upgrades for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIF) and other specialized facilities requiring signal attenuation. Robust and durable shielding for facilities, containers, and vehicles. Advanced Large Door Systems Technology Research Need Topic#4: Design, fabrication, testing and/or evaluation of technology and systems for large door systems protecting Arms, Ammunition and Explosives and other specialized munitions Detect/Track/Classify Technology Supporting AA&E Operations Research Need Topic#5: Advanced all-weather sensor systems that detect, track and classify targets while reducing nuisance and false alarms. Conform with Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation (HERO) safety requirements for ordinance. Evaluate innovative advances in personnel, perimeter, and area monitoring and surveillance technologies Advanced Modelling and Simulation of Physical Security Systems Research Need Topic#6: Development of advanced modeling to show proof of concept or test validation of different physical security systems or measures This can include both physical security Security System Demonstration and Integration Research Need Topic#7: Identify and develop technologies to more effectively integrate and demonstrate physical security concepts Risk Assessment Tools Research Need Topic#8: Methods, procedures, and tools for conducting facilities and special mission security risk assessments and defining effective security risk mitigation strategies Advanced Construction and Retrofit Techniques and Methods Research Need Topic#9: Research of lightweight material & construction techniques to improve design and construction efficiency of Security Barriers to meet blast and forced entry requirements. Asset Visibility Tracking Systems Research Need Topic #10: Arms, Ammunition & Explosives (AA&E) end-to-end asset visibility from: manufacture, transportation, storage, deployment and retrograde. Conform with Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation (HERO) safety requirements for ordinance. Intermodal Physical Security Research Need Topic #11: Physical Security and Asset Tracking technology for large facilities and expeditionary applications Advanced Containers, Barriers, and Protective Equipment Research Need Topic #12: Lightweight, forced entry resistant security containers and related technology for intermodal, expeditionary and special missions Rapid Prototyping of Security Hardware Research Need Topic #13: Development of advanced finite element and physical modeling to show proof of concept or test validation of different physical security systems. This can include both physical security systems as well as mechanical, energetic and ballistic threats. Security Seals Research Need Topic #14: Technology and systems aiding in inventory, asset management and intermodal transit surety, that detect signs of tamper. Personal protective equipment and protective barriers Research Need Topic #15: Technology and systems that provide personnel protection and aid the force protection mission. CCDE Integration Research Need Topic #16: Emerging unmanned, remotely manned, and asset identification technologies for facility and perimeter defense and remote monitoring providing situational awareness Unmanned Systems Research Need Topic #17: Provide solutions for robotic sentries, perimeter intrusion alarms or mobile cameras Force Multiplier Research Need Topic #18: Adaptation, and integration of new and emerging technologies for use in force multiplication of security operations The DoD Lock Program is looking for academic and independent groups that can further develop the research topics above. This includes using existing technology to develop or optimize current designs, using novel material in an innovative way, or development of technology that meets any of the research topics. Offeror’s submission must identify which Research Needs Topic is being proposed. The DoD Lock Program requests pre-proposal submittal outlining the expected costs associated with the Research Needs Topic. Specific instructions and data requests will be provided at a later date if selected for further consideration. SUBMISSION PROCESS: The pre-proposal submittal process is an email-based submission. Preproposals shall be submitted via email to: michael.d.kwast.civ@us.navy.mil and lynsey.d.reese.civ@us.navy.mil. There is no specific format required for the pre-proposal, however, the pre-proposal should be consolidated into one single file and not exceed 5 pages in length. All preproposal submissions must be received before the deadline. SUBMISSION DEADLINE: To be considered for funding in FY 2023-2024 pre-proposals shall be received no later than 4:00 pm, Pacific Standard Time on 29 May 2023 with the table topic number and research need offerors are responding to. Respondents to this BAA will receive a confirmation email message within one business day acknowledging successful submission. It is the responsibility of responding parties to confirm receipt of their submission. If invited to submit a full proposal, these will be due 30 days after notification. EVALUATION PROCESS: Following an evaluation and selection process, successful pre-proposal offerors will receive an email inviting submission of a full proposal. Unsuccessful pre-proposal offerors will receive an email with a brief description of the reasons for preproposal rejection. Awards to nongovernment entities (academic institutions, not-for-profit organizations, industry) will be in the form of contracts. The nominal duration of this work is expected to be several months of work spread over the course of 1-2 years. Applicants are strongly encouraged to use realism of cost for the proposed effort as their metric, as this will be a critical element in the review process. Otherwise, meritorious pre-proposals and full proposals will be rejected if cost does not accurately reflect the proposed scope of work. EVALUATION CRITERIA: The pre-proposals and full proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria, of approximately equal weight. TECHNICAL APPROACH: The scientific/technical merits and objectives in terms of meeting the stated need topic, as well as evidence that the science/technology is mature enough for applied research funding, and the performance criteria to measure success of the research effort. OFFEROR’S EXPERIENCE: For the pre-proposal phase, the offeror should clearly provide evidence showing experience related to the proposed solution. This includes the proposing organization’s capabilities related to experience, techniques, or a unique combination of these that are integral factors in achieving the contractor's proposed objectives. This equates to past performance, and will be assessed based on both relevance and confidence. If invited to submit a full proposal, NAVFAC also requires the offeror to provide their EMR and DART ratings. Safety is an integral and important aspect in all NAVFAC work. If the offeror does not have an EMR/DART rating, they should state this and provide a narrative rationale. See NPGI 15.304. PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS AND KEY MEMBERS RELATED EXPERIENCE: For the pre-proposal phase, the offeror should provide the name, highest degree earned, organization/affiliation, location, and years of experience for the Principal Investigator and key personnel who are critical in achieving the objectives of the proposal. Principal Investigators and key personnel should be identified in the pre-proposal as such. If invited to submit a full proposal, the offeror will need to submit CVs for the Principal Investigator and key personnel. COST/PRICE: The cost relative to the proposed scientific/technical approach. For the pre-proposal phase, this information may be limited to a total cost estimate by calendar year (Jan 1 – December 31). If invited to submit a full proposal, additional guidance on cost/price information will be provided. PROJECT BENEFITS: Expected benefits of the proposed work, key issues the proposed solution addresses, potential application of the results, and advantages over current approaches. PRODUCT IMPLEMENTATION: Describe the intended product(s) and all associated deliverables, the requirements for implementing the proposed products of this effort, and the potential technical risks that may pose a challenge to successful implementation. All offerors are required to be U.S. Citizens and U.S. owned companies. Contractors shall be able to view, store and handle Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). NOTES: An eligible pre-proposal or full proposal does not guarantee a contract. Multiple contracts may result. An offeror is required to register with the system for award management (SAM). No contract award will be made to any offeror that is not registered. Registration may take up to three weeks. SAM may be accessed at https://www.sam.gov. Registration is not required for proposal submission, but must be completed prior to initiation solicitation of full proposal. To avoid delays in the award process, applicants are encouraged to initiate SAM registration (SAM.gov | Entity Registrations) early in the submission and review process. Non-government awardees will also need to provide a UEI (Unique Entity ID) number and CAGE (Commercial and Government Entity) code before an award can be made. The preceding data should be sufficient for completing a pre-proposal. There are no solicitation documents applying to this BAA. Request for a solicitation package will not be acknowledged. Those interested in participating in the BAA must follow the instructions to submit a pre-proposal. There is no commitment by the Navy either to make any contract awards or to be responsible for any money expended by the contractor before a contract award. Funding has been reserved in advance for this contract. Some Federal Government activities may employ civilian contractors to determine the applicability of an offered technology to specific projects. Technical and cost pre-proposals and full proposals submitted under this BAA will be protected from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with FAR 3.104-4 and 15.207. The cognizant Program Manager and other scientific experts will perform the evaluation of technical proposals. Restrictive notices notwithstanding, one or more support contractors may be utilized as subject-matter-expert technical consultants in accordance with FAR 37.204. However, pre-proposal and full proposal selection and award decisions are solely the responsibility of Government personnel. Each support contractor’s employee having access to technical and cost pre-proposals and full proposals submitted in response to this BAA will be required to sign a non-disclosure statement prior to receipt of any pre-proposal or full proposal submissions. An offeror may require the nongovernment personnel to execute a supplemental non-disclosure agreement by including a copy of their institutional NDA with their proposal. However, note that a failure to come to an agreement may impact the ability to make an award. Please review FAR 37.204. Eligibility notification will be sent to all contractors who have submitted a pre-proposal, after the Review Committee reviewed all pre-proposals submitted by the solicitation cut-off date. For questions regarding this BAA, contact NAVFAC EXWC at (805) 982-1567 (or via the following email addresses: michael.d.kwast.civ@us.navy.mil or lynsey.d.reese.civ@us.navy.mil). Correspondents are advised not to include Personally Identifiable Information (PII), business proprietary or competition-sensitive information via email. Offerors will receive an automated email message acknowledging successful submission. If the contractor does not receive a notification of pre-proposal receipt, the contractor should call or e-mail NEXWC by using the phone number or e-mail address provided in this section. No portion of this BAA will be set aside for HBCU and MI participation, due to the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable items of this research for exclusive competition among the entities. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) including Department of Energy National Laboratories, are not eligible to receive awards under this BAA. However, teaming arrangements between FFRDCs and eligible principal bidders are allowed so long as they are permitted under the sponsoring agreement between the Government and the specific FFRDC. DFARS 235.017-1 allows DoD FFRDCs which function primarily as research laboratories to apply. Naval laboratories and Warfare Centers as well as other DoD and civilian agency laboratories are not eligible to receive awards under this BAA and should not directly submit proposals in response to this BAA. If any such organization is interested in one or more of these program areas, they should contact the NEXWC program office to discuss its interest. As with the FFRDCs, these organizations may team with other responsible sources from industry and academia that are submitting proposals under the BAA. University Affiliated Research Centers (UARC) are eligible to submit proposals under this BAA unless precluded from doing so by their DoD UARC contract or an organizational conflict of interest. Do not call the Contracting Office for verification. The pre-proposal is not received by the Contracting Office.