Request for Solutions: Exercise Planning and Assessment Capability 28 November 2018 Amendment 1 (17 December 2018)- Update to paragraphs 4.1 Technical Assessment and 4.2 Verification Event. Removal of language of Secure but Unclassified (SBU) 1.0 Purpose The Army desires an Exercise Planning and Assessment Capability (EPAC) capability that will provide soldiers with a realistic, digital representation of an operational Planning, Preparing, Executing and Assessment environment with tactical command and control systems. The Government will evaluate the solutions with the intent of negotiating an Other Transaction Agreement under the Training and Readiness Accelerator (TReX). 2.0 Summary and Background 2.1 The Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Combined Arms Center for Training (CAC-T) as part of the development of the Integrated Training Environment (ITE), the Army s current training environment, is seeking a technology solution to fulfill its requirement for an Exercise Planning and Assessment Capability (EPAC). The EPAC will fulfill a critical need at Warfighter Computer Assisted Simulation Exercises and at US Army Combat Training Centers. The non-systems Training Aids, Devices, Simulators, and Simulations (TADSS) of the ITE currently lack the ability to efficiently allow units and soldiers to Plan, Prepare, Execute and Assess from Brigade to Army Service Component Command echelons, anywhere in the world, and require significant training overhead (time, money, people) to utilize. The EPAC will leverage emerging Data Distribution, Networks, Web Enabled Services, Collaborative Planning, Resource Management and Training Assessment Tools and Data Sharing Services that can enable a full range of operations, systems, environmental conditions, and control processes. This software must also accurately enable specific processes of Combat Arms, Combat Support, and Combat Service Support for the six specific Warfighting Functions of Mission Command, Sustainment, Protection, Movement & Maneuver, Intelligence, and Fires. The EPAC software will also support modifications, additions and adjustments to operational and mission variables and their effects such as Political, Military, Economic, Social, Information, Infrastructure, Physical Environment, & Time (PMESII-PT) and Mission, Enemy, Troops, Time Available, Civilian Considerations (METT-TC). Setting the dynamic conditions in the representation of Multi-Domain Battle with the land, air, sea, space, and cyber domains. 1
The end-state of EPAC is a software tool that provides capabilities to add, modify or adjust the dynamic operational environment and the military capabilities within a respective training scenario; and to support collective training from Brigade through Army Service Component Command. 2.2 This prototyping effort will be conducted as an agile development and demonstration activity to evaluate the technical feasibility and military utility of vendordeveloped Exercise Planning and Assessment Capability solutions as the foundation for the ITE. The results of the EPAC prototyping activity will inform the solution for the U.S. Army s training and simulation capabilities, thus EPAC will be directly relevant and influential to enhancing the effectiveness of the U.S. Army s current and future systems and non-systems TADSS, along with U.S. Army mission command platforms. 2.3 Attachment 1, EPAC Statement of Need, contains a robust description of the technical objectives and overview outlined in Paragraph 3 below. Vendors are encouraged to challenge any assumptions or restrictive requirements in their individual solutions and should articulate any major discrepancies between the Statement of Need and their technical solution. 2.4 The Government anticipates that a follow-on prototyping or production effort may be awarded to the Vendor(s) for this effort, via either contract or transaction, without the use of competitive procedures if the participants in this transaction successfully complete the prototype project as awarded from this document. A follow-on effort could involve, though is not limited to, the potential requirement for additional prototype development, scaling of the solution, or integration of the tool to fit within the Army s future state of the Synthetic Training Environment. 2.5 Vendors interested in responding to this Request for Solutions must be members of the Training and Readiness Accelerator (TReX). 3.0 Technical Overview 3.1 The convergence of training capabilities will open new opportunities for enterprise management of Army unit collective training and allow for greater visibility of objective metrics on training. The ITE will support the breadth of training activities consistent with the Plan, Prepare, Execute, and Assess framework found in FM 7-0 (Training to Win in a Complex World) and ADP 5-0 (The Operations Process). 3.2 Plan. Units will need greater control over planning their own training exercises, without external support. This will require a tool that includes planning, resource scheduling, and scenario and exercise design capabilities that allows commanders, staffs, and support personnel to plan training events. 3.3 Prepare. Leaders will require a tool to layout a training roadmap to ensure exercise elements can be accomplished. (e.g., training objectives and scenarios). This includes facilitating coordination for resources outside of ITE simulations. This capability enables mission rehearsal to ensure the scenario works as desired. 2
3.4 Execute. Provide training event tools that allows Unit leaders/trainers, exercise/training, and the support staff to begin the exercise event and monitor the status and the progress of the training event. It also provides a data management process and capabilities that implement a data warehousing strategy to support posttraining event analysis and activities. 3.5 Assess. Assessment is an ongoing capability throughout the entire training cycle. The Assess Phase includes automated After Action Review (AAR) capabilities and the necessary tools for the Units to assess the effectiveness of the training event and recommendations on future training needs or remediation events. The assessment is key in providing the training audience for each event with useful feedback that will help them improve and plan future training events. 3.6 The EPAC internal architecture must be extensible and employ a Modular Open System Architecture strategy. The EPAC must operate within the larger Army Enterprise and support interoperability with Mission Command Information Systems (MCIS), as well as current and future authoritative data sources such as Army Training Management Capability (ATMC). The EPAC will also support interoperability with current Army, Joint, and multi-national MCIS through specifications and protocols and be extensible to support future systems as they are deployed. The EPAC will operate over Army networks and adhere to standards defined by the Army s Common Operating Environment. 4.0 Technical Assessment and Verification Events 4.1 Technical Assessment: Vendors will demonstrate their technical solutions to a panel of Soldiers to capture feedback on the military utility of their developed solutions. This will take place either on a commercial, Army network or within a laboratory environment on or about late February 2019. 4.2 Verification Event: Vendors will provide a final demonstration of their solution through an operational verification event for evaluation against technical requirements and User feedback responses. This will take place on a commercial or Army network on or about mid-to-late March 2019. 5.0 RFS Responses: 5.1 The Vendor s proposed solution should describe its approach to delivering a unique solution for the EPAC, as outlined in in the RFS and the Statement of Need. 5.2 The response should provide specific emphasis in addressing the following focus areas: 3
1. Exportability: How can the EPAC solution operate across multiple network environments, to include closed-networks, deployed networks, and classified environments? 2. Modularity: Can the EPAC solution efficiently adapt to accommodate existing and emerging non-systems TADSS and COTS peripheral devices? 3. Proprietary Nature of Solution: Does the EPAC solution leverage an open systems architecture approach? Does the solution include any proprietary interfaces? If so, where are these interfaces located within the architecture? What level of data rights are provided for proprietary solutions? 4. Proposed Schedule and Risk: What is the proposed schedule to develop the EPAC capability? What risks are identified? Can the risks be mitigated, if so how? While these focus areas are of significant importance, responses will be considered as a whole. 5.3 Please ensure any assumptions made are clearly stated in your response. 5.4 Intellectual Property Rights and Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software and Computer Software Documentation: All IP and data and software rights are negotiable based on individual Vendor solutions. It is the Government s desire to receive government purpose rights to all development and deliverables of technical data, computer software, and computer software documentation funded under the transaction agreement, for at least a five-year period. overnment purpose rights means the right to use, modify, reproduce, release, perform, display, or disclose technical data within the Government without restriction; and release or disclose technical data outside the Government and authorize persons to whom release or disclosure has been made to use, modify, reproduce, release, perform, display, or disclose technical data for United States government purposes. The five-year period, or such other period as may be negotiated, would commence upon execution of the Other Transaction Agreement that required development of the items, components, or processes or creation of the data. Upon expiration of the five-year or other negotiated period, the Government would receive unlimited rights in the technical data and computer software. Government purpose rights means the right to use, modify, reproduce, release, perform, display, or disclose technical data and computer software within the Government without restriction; and release or disclose technical data, computer software, and computer software doucmentation outside the Government and authorize persons to whom release or disclosure has been made to use, modify, reproduce, release, perform, display, or disclose technical data,computer software, and computer software documentation for United States government purposes. 4
The Vendor will have the exclusive right, including the right to license others, to use technical data in which the Government has obtained government purpose rights under this agreement for any commercial purpose during this five-year period. Upon expiration of the five-year or other negotiated period, the Government would receive unlimited rights in the technical data. Proprietary data modules, developed with private funds, integrated within an open systems architecture foundation are acceptable. The Government will examine proprietary data for the purposes of evaluation, but does not require government purpose rights to this material at the time of demonstration. The Government may choose to license or purchase proprietary data upon successful delivery of the prototype. The vendor will be required to provide appropriate interface control documents between the systems architecture and proprietary data models. Your response should clearly outline the offered rights in technical data, computer software and software documentation that will be delivered with your solutions, as well as understanding that the US Army has release authority on any publications related to this prototype project. 5.5 Anticipated Delivery Schedule: Vendor shall include the anticipated delivery schedule to reflect its individual solution. 5.6 Proposed Pricing and Milestone Payments: Vendors shall submit a fixed price for their solution, further divided into severable increments with milestone payments identified within each increment as appropriate. The proposed pricing submission shall be submitted as a separate document from the technical response. No pricing details shall be included in the technical response. 5.7 Provide your nontraditional* business status or your ability to meet the eligibility requirements of 10 U.S. C. 2371b on the cover page of your response. Within your response, please check the applicable box -- with appropriate justification: There is at least one nontraditional defense contractor or nonprofit research institution participating to a significant extent in the project. All significant participants in the transaction other than the Federal Government are small businesses or nontraditional defense contractors. At least one third of the total cost of the project is to be provided by sources other than the Federal Government. *Nontraditional an entity that is not currently performing and has not performed, for at least the one-year period preceding the solicitation of sources by the Department of Defense (DoD) for the procurement or transaction, any contract or subcontract for the DoD that is subject to full coverage under the cost accounting standards prescribed pursuant to 41 U.S. Code 1502 and the regulations implementing such section. 5
5.8 In addition to your nontraditional business status, the cover page of the response shallalso include the company name, Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code (if available), address, and primary point of contact including phone number and email address. 5.9 All questions related to this RFS should be submitted in writing to initiatives@nstxl.org, with EPAC used in the subject line. Questions must be submitted no later than 12:00 PM EST on December 7th, 2018. Questions received after the deadline may not be answered. Questions shall not include proprietary data as the Government reserves the right to post submitted questions and answers, as necessary (and appropriate) to facilitate Vendor solution responses. 5.10 Responses will be submitted no later than 12:00 PM EST on December 21st, 2018. Your response should be submitted electronically to initiatives@nstxl.org, with EPAC used in the subject line. Any submissions received after this time on this date may be rejected as late and not considered. 5.11 Technical responses shall not exceed 10 pages in length, utilizing standard 12- point font. Charts and figures are not bound by the 12-pont font requirement; however, vendors shall not use this exception to fit a large amount of technical data in a small table or figure to stay under the page count limit. Cover page does not count towards page count. 5.12 Your submissions shall be submitted as a PDF document, with your company name listed as the first part of the file submission. (e.g. Company X EPAC Technical or Pricing ) 6.0 Selection Process 6.1 Individual responses will be evaluated with consideration given to the demonstrated expertise and overall technical merit of the response, feasibility of implementation, and total project risk with consideration aimed at the RFS focus areas in paragraph 5.2 above. The proposed project price, schedule, and intellectual property rights assertions will be considered as aspects of the entire response when weighing risk and reward. The Government will evaluate the degree to which the submission provides a thorough, flexible, and sound approach in response to the focus areas in Paragraph 5.2 as well as the ability to fulfill the requirements in Attachment 1, EPAC Statement of Need. 6.2 In the event that the Government finds two or more highly qualified technical solutions, a second Demonstration Phase may occur. Selected Vendors would then demonstrate the technology capabilities and concepts outlined in their Solution Responses to the Government during a two-hour technology assessment to be held at a Government location to be determined. 6.3 The Government will award this project, via TReX, to the respondent(s) whose solution is assessed to be the most advantageous to the Government, price, schedule, 6
technical risks and other factors considered. The Government reserves the right to award to a respondent that does not meet all of the requirements of the RFS, but provides attributes or partial solutions of value. 6.4 Assessment of risks is subjective. If the risk is obvious or the schedule seems overly aggressive, the Government will consider that in the total risk assessment. If sufficient validation of the proposed information is not provided, the Government may reject the submission. 7.0 Additional Information 7.1 The cost of preparing and submitting a response is not considered an allowable direct charge to any government contract or agreement. 7.2 Export controls: research findings and technology developments arising from the resulting proposed solution may constitute a significant enhancement to the national defense and to the economic vitality of the United States. As such, in the conduct of all work related to this effort, the recipient will comply strictly with the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (22 C.F.R. 120-130), the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (DoD 5220.22-M) and the Department of Commerce Export Regulation (15 C.F.R. 730-774). 7.3 Interaction and/or Disclosure with Foreign Country/Foreign National Personnel. The Vendor should comply with foreign disclosure processes IAW US Army Regulation (AR) 380 10, Foreign Disclosure and Contacts with Foreign Representatives; Department of Defense Directive (DoDD) 5230.11, Disclosure of Classified Military Information to Foreign Governments and International Organizations; and DoDD 5230.20, Visits and Assignments of Foreign Nationals. 7.4 All submissions will be unclassified. Submissions containing data that is not to be disclosed to the public for any purpose or used by the Government except for evaluation purposes will include the following sentences on the cover page: This submission includes data that will not be disclosed outside the Government, except to non-government personnel for evaluation purposes, and will not be duplicated, used, or disclosed -- in whole or in part -- for any purpose other than to evaluate this submission. If, however, an agreement is awarded to this Company as a result of -- or in connection with the submission of this data, the Government will have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent agreed upon by both parties in the resulting agreement. This restriction does not limit the Government's right to use information contained in this data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained in sheets [insert numbers or other identification of sheets] 7.5 Each restricted data sheet should be marked as follows: 7
Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject to the restriction on the title page of this submission. 8