This announcement constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (NEXWC) under FAR 6.102(d)(2) and 35.106. A formal Request for Proposals (RFP), other solicitation, or additional information regarding this announcement will not be issued.

FAR Part 35 restricts the use of BAAs, such as this, to the acquisition of basic and applied research and that portion of advanced technology development not related to the development of a specific system or hardware procurement. Contracts made under BAAs are for scientific study and experimentation directed towards advancing the state of the art and increasing knowledge or understanding. This announcement is not for the acquisition of technical, engineering, or other types of support services.

The Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, through the Living Marine Resources (LMR) program, is soliciting pre-proposals for efforts related to the need topic listed below. If invited, offerors will be asked to submit a full proposal.

NEED TOPIC N-0226-21: SHIP SHOCK TRIAL ACOUSTIC MEASUREMENT

Each new class (or major upgrade) of surface ships constructed for the Navy may undergo an at-sea shock trial. A shock trial is a series of underwater detonations that sends a shock wave through the ship’s hull to simulate near misses during combat. A series of up to four underwater detonations per event will be conducted at various distances from the ship (with charges set closer to the ship as the trial progressives). While the Navy collects, data on the acoustic shock waves effects on the ship and equipment and has estimated the impact to the environment though acoustic models, few in situ measurements on the extent of the acoustic propagation have been undertaken. There is a research need to collect in situ data on propagation in the marine environment to enhance the Navy’s predictive acoustic modeling methods.

The LMR program is seeking pre-proposals on measuring the sound produced from a ship shock trial involving explosives from 10,000 -58,000 lbs. net explosive weight (NEW). Pre-proposals should include an approach to measure the sound from several locations, distances, and depths to get a representation of the ocean’s physical environment and how it affects acoustic propagation. Proposed methods should include remote recording capability with appropriate sensitivity, bandwidth, and hardware survivability to completely capture and measure the signal using the appropriate metrics from a safe standoff distance. This will likely require a minimum of 72-hour recording capacity per device to allow for deployment prior to the test.  Additionally, the pre-proposal should include methods to collect data on the physical environment, such as water column structure and depth, wave height, wind speed, etc.  The pre-proposal should seek existing data on bathymetry and sediment properties of the study site. Resulting data collected will be provided to the Navy for further analysis.

The pre-proposal should be structured to include a Phase I base task of developing the test plan, participating in field test planning discussions, and presenting at the annual LMR In-Progress Review. A Phase II optional task would include procuring and/or assembly of any equipment. The Phase III optional task would be everything involved to conduct the field measurements and prepare data for analysis and delivery to the Navy. Assume a planned field date sometime within June 1- November 14 2021. Assume the field location is off the coast of Jacksonville Florida, in water deeper than 600 ft. Also, assume that Navy will provide the vessel to support deployment and recovery of equipment during the field event.  A Phase IV optional task can include analysis of the data. 

NEED TOPIC N-0237-21: STANDARDIZING AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIAL HEARING THRESHOLDS WITH BEHAVIORAL HEARING THRESHOLDS

The use of Auditory Evoked Potential (AEP) methods to study hearing capability in marine mammals has expanded the audiogram data available, both for species we have in captivity as well as from stranded animals. AEPs continue to be the primary means by which sample sizes of audiograms will increase due to the ease of implementation and the ability to be used in untrained or stranded animals. However, the use of behavioral methods to study hearing thresholds remains the standard for assessing absolute hearing sensitivity. Due to the uniform, frequency-dependent elevation of AEP thresholds over behavioral hearing thresholds, AEPs are currently only used for defining species’ upper-frequency limit of hearing. The ability to study and account for these differences in methods would enable AEP audiograms to be adjusted and comparable to audiograms using behavioral audiogram approaches. This would allow a greater number of AEP audiograms available for use in weighting function development and other Navy environmental compliance efforts.

The LMR program is seeking pre-proposals on investigating the relationship between AEP and behavioral hearing thresholds. The intent would be to develop a standard by which AEP hearing thresholds could be adjusted and compared to behavioral thresholds. This work would potentially broaden the capability and use of AEP results in criteria development for future Navy environmental compliance efforts.

NEED TOPIC N-0238-21: UNDERSTANDING MARINE MAMMAL HEARING AND BEHAVIORAL RESPONSE TO CONTINUOUSLY ACTIVE SONAR

It has been noted from previous behavioral response studies that signal type and duration of Navy sonar signals may play a role in observed responses in marine mammals. In 2017, LMR began investing in studying and collecting behavioral response data to continuously active sonar as part of the third phase of the Sea Mammals and Sonar Safety (3S3) project (LMR Project 29). However, there is an expanded need to further understand the effects of continuously active sonar on marine mammals, particularly with additional marine mammal species.

We are soliciting pre-proposals to study the effects of continuously active sonar on marine mammal hearing and behavioral response. Pre-proposals must include an approach that will investigate exposure to operational Navy sonar sources or simulated scaled-sources with continuous signals. See Appendix A for LMR priority species and geographic regions. Pre-proposals should include appropriate research approaches including but not limited to controlled exposure experiments on free-ranging animals, observational studies of incidental exposure such as during actual Navy training exercises or testing activities, and studies involving captive animals.

NEED TOPIC N-0239-21: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERCEIVED LOUDNESS OF A SIGNAL AND SIGNAL LENGTH

Unlike physiological impacts (i.e., Temporary Threshold Shift, Permanent Threshold Shift), marine mammal behavioral response to noise is likely mediated by both context and perceived components of the signal rather than physical characteristics alone. One of the perceptual components of sound is the perceived loudness. Loudness is a psychoacoustic measure which does not track linearly with increase in signal amplitude (i.e., in humans loudness is doubled every 10db while signal energy or amplitude is doubled every 6db [Suzuki & Takeshima 2004]). One factor that may lower perceived loudness and therefore reduce the potential for a behavioral response is the length of the signal. Previous research in humans shows a significant decline in perceived loudness with signals shorter than a certain length. In other words, signals were perceived as louder as signal length increased until ~300ms at which no further increase of loudness was reported with increasing signal length (Small et al. 1963 and Ekman et al. 1966). There is a research need to further investigate the potential relationship between perceived loudness and signal length in marine mammals in order to understand the duration of which the signal is no longer perceived. Some related investigations on the topic of perceived loudness include Kastelein et al. 2011, Finneran et al. 2011, and Mulsow et al. 2015.

The LMR program is seeking pre-proposals on investigating the relationship between perceived loudness and signal length for short duration signals, between 25 millisecond and 1 second in length, with the objective of understanding at what duration the subject no longer perceives the signal. Frequency range of the study signals should be within one octave above and one octave below the best hearing frequencies of the proposed species being evaluated. The pre-proposal can include additional frequencies as appropriate to better characterize the relationship.  Pre-proposals should consider studies with captive marine mammals with a priority to study 1) delphinids, 2) pinnipeds, and 3) porpoises.

Ekman, Gosta, Berglund, Birgitta, and Berglund, Ulf 1966. Loudness as a function of the duration of auditory stimulation. Scand. 1. Psychol., Vol. 7,1966 201-208

Finneran, James J., and Schlundt, Carolyn E. 2011. Subjective loudness level measurements and equal loudness contours in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 130 (5) 3124-3136 doi: 10.1121/1.3641449

Kastelein, Ronald A., Wensveen, Paul J., Terhune, John M., and de Jong, Christ A. F. 2011. Near-threshold equal-loudness contours for harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) derived from reaction times during underwater audiometry: A preliminary study. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 129 (1) 488-495 doi: 10.1121/1.3518779

Small, Arnold M., Brandt, John F., and Cox, Phillip G. 1963. Loudness as a function of signal duration. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 34 (4) 513-514 doi: 10.1121/1.1918157

Suzuki, Yoˆiti, and Takeshima, Hisashi 2004. Equal-loudness-level contours for pure tones. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 116 (2) 918-933 doi: 10.1121/1.1763601

Mulsow, Jason, Schlundt, Carolyn E., Brandt, Lacey, and Finneran, James J. 2015. Equal latency contours for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and California sea lions (Zalophus californianus). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 138 (5) 2678-2691 doi: 10.1121/1.4932015

NEED TOPIC N-0240-21: STUDYING MARINE MAMMAL BEHAVIORAL RESPONSE TO SURTASS LFA SONAR

The Navy plans to continue to train and test with the Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System (SURTASS) Low Frequency Active (LFA) sonar systems in the western and central North Pacific and eastern Indian oceans. More information about the SURTASS LFA system, where and how it operates, and an assessment of the potential effects to marine species can be found at http://www.surtass-lfa-eis.com/.

Since acoustic stimuli from use of SURTASS LFA sonar during training and testing has the potential to cause harassment of marine mammals, there is a need to study and collect new data on these potential effects, with a priority towards understanding behavioral response to the LFA source. The goal of this effort is to update previous studies done with LFA sources circa 1990s based on lessons learned and best practices from controlled and observational behavioral response studies using other sonar sources conducted over the last 10 years.

LMR is seeking pre-proposals on a Phase I feasibility study to develop a plan to study marine mammal behavioral response to LFA sonar. The Phase I feasibility study will investigate the best approach to designing a scientific study to assess behavioral response to LFA sonar. This will involve discussions with the program managers about identifying Navy participation, availability of sources, and developing a final plan to conduct a study to collect data to best characterize behavioral responses to LFA sonar. Initial assumptions to consider in the pre-proposal include:

1. Navy will provide the source
2. Source options potentially include a 3-elementscaled source or a 19-element full scale source on a SURTASS LFA vessel
3. Regions of data collection are unknown at this time, assume that it will be in the United States (either contiguous or non-contiguous)
4. Priority species include mysticetes and beaked whales, along with any other priority species within the specific region that data collection will occur.

The Navy’s preference is for collection of in situ data via field trials, but are open to other approaches. The Phase I final plan will form the basis of the proposed scope of work for a Phase II proposal submission.

This BAA announcement is for the Phase I effort only and awardees will compete for a Phase II award. In the pre-proposal submission, include your approach to developing a Phase I plan, anticipated required information you will need to develop the plan, potential challenges with developing and conducting a study and proposed means of overcoming them, and your team’s experience to conduct the study. All offeror’s that are awarded Phase I awards originating from this announcement will be eligible to participate in the Phase II competition. The program managers will provide, either in the Phase I award or by subsequent notification, full details on the due date, content, and submission requirements of the Phase II proposal.

Phase I Kick-Off Brief will be required as the first deliverable on the Phase I contract. Phase I period of performance will be 12 months and approximately $150,000. While the program managers may provide updated information throughout Phase I, awardee’s are required to seek information that is necessary to develop the plan from the program managers. The program managers will work to address questions, and share information to all awardees in a consistent and fair manner.  Final deliverables for Phase I will be a Final Brief and the Phase II proposal submission. Anticipate Phase II period of performance to be based on proposed study design requirements, not to exceed 5 years, in total, from Phase I award date.

SUPPORTING INFORMATION:

For more information on what is required in a proposal, how to submit a proposal, and how proposals are evaluated, refer to Appendix A (Proposal Submission and Evaluation Guide). Offerors need to understand and adhere to the requirements outlined in Appendix B (Data Rights and Handling Procedures) and the geospatial data requirements in Appendix C (Geospatial Data Requirements). Modifications to the data rights and handling procedures agreement or geospatial data requirements should be discussed with the LMR program staff prior to proposal submission. Offerors will also need to comply with the LMR Ocean Observing Systems (OOS) Notification Procedures (Appendix D).  Offerors should note, however, that locations labelled in red in Appendix D as incompatible with acoustic OOS actually overlap with some of the LMR priority geographic regions outlined in Appendix A. Strict adherence to passive acoustic monitoring site selection, passive acoustic device deployment notification and data custody guidance will be required. Site selection should be discussed with the LMR program staff prior to submission of the proposal package. DoD is still finalizing their plan to meet the goals and requirements of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) memorandum titled Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research issued 2013 February 22. All projects funded by LMR would be subject to DoD policy once it is finalized.

Proposed efforts involving interaction with and contact with marine mammals or endangered species may require research permits including but not limited to a Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) Research Permit, Endangered Species Act (ESA) scientific research permit, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), and/or Department of Defense Animal Care and Use authorization. It is the expectation that all offerors will complete any necessary regulatory compliance permitting/consultations, necessary to conduct the research. If the offeror currently possesses a permit or other documentation, it should be mentioned in the pre-proposal and submitted as part of the full proposal. If your project involves developing or demonstrating a technology, an agreement with NAVFAC EXWC will need to be established to describe the ownership/use of the technology. Contract award may be delayed if appropriate regulatory documentation and agreements are not in place.

SUBMISSION PROCESS:

The pre-proposal submittal process is an email-based submission.  Pre-proposals should be submitted via email to [email protected]. There is no specific format required for the pre-proposal, however, the pre-proposal should be consolidated into one single file (PDF) and should not exceed five pages in length (CVs are not included in the page limit). All pre-proposal submissions must be received before the deadline.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE:

To be considered for funding in FY 2021, pre-proposals must be received no later than 11:59 pm, Pacific Daylight Time on 12 November 2020. Offerors will receive a confirmation email message acknowledging successful submission within 1 business day. It is the responsibility of the offeror to confirm receipt of the submission. If invited to submit a full proposal, these will be due 30 days after notification.

EVALUATION PROCESS:

Following an approximately 3-month 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, but will not receive a detailed description of the reasons for pre-proposal rejection, due to the anticipated volume of submissions. Awards to non-government entities (academic institutions, not-for-profit organizations, industry) will be in the form of contracts. A nominal award amount has not been provided because the scope of the need topics varies considerably. However, proposals less than $300K/year are more likely to be funded given the available budget of the LMR program in FY 2022. Proposals costing over $300K per year will still be considered, but we would expect a strong justification for the increased cost. The nominal duration of a project is expected to be 1-3 years, with a maximum of 5 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. Cost realism means that estimated costs are based on a coherent logic and are corroborated by authoritative or factual data. 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.

1. 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.
2. OFFEROR’S EXPERIENCE: For the pre-proposal phase, the offeror should clearly provide evidence or examples showing the offeror’s (academic institution, organization, firm, etc.) experience related to the solution being proposed. The offeror’s capabilities related to experience, techniques, or a unique combination of these that are integral factors in achieving the offeror'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, DART, and TRC ratings. Safety is an integral and important aspect in all NAVFAC work. If the offeror does not have an EMR/DART/TRC rating, they should state this and provide a narrative rationale. See NFAS 15.304.
3. PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR’S AND KEY MEMBER’S RELATED EXPERIENCE: For the pre-proposal phase, the offeror should provide a summary table with the names, highest degree, organization/affiliations, location, and years of experience for each Principal Investigator (PI) and key team member. Principle Investigators and key personnel should be identified in the pre-proposal as such. Provide a one-page CV for each Principal Investigator (PI) and key team member.  
4. 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). Assume for Year 1 of your project that effort will begin in September 2021 due to availability of funds and the time it takes to get a contract in place (Year 1 = 1 Sep – 31 Dec 2021). In addition to any other relevant travel required for the project, please include a trip for the PI to attend the In-Progress Review (IPR) meeting each year (Fall) in Ventura, CA to present on the progress of the project. The IPR meeting is 3 full days and offerors are required to attend for the duration of the meeting. However, if you have an existing LMR project and costs to attend the IPR are already covered, please do not include these costs again. If invited to submit a full proposal, additional guidance on cost/price information will be provided.
5. PROJECT BENEFITS: Expected benefits of the proposed project, key issues the proposed solution addresses, potential application of the results of the project, and advantages over current approaches.
6. 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.

NOTES:

1. An eligible pre-proposal or full proposal does not guarantee a contract. Multiple contracts may result.
    
2. 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 of award negotiation. To avoid delays in the award process, applicants are encouraged to initiate SAM registration early in the submission and review process. Non-government awardees will also need to provide a DUNS (Dunn & Bradstreet) number (http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/displayHomePage.doc) and CAGE (Commercial and Government Entity) code (http://govwin.com/knowledge/ccr-registration) before an award can be made.
    
3. The preceding data should be sufficient for completing a pre-proposal.
    
4. 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.
    
5. 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.
    
6. For need topics that may be applicable to other Federal Government activities, NEXWC will be sharing qualified pre-proposals to seek demonstration sites and/or funding. 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 non-government 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 and NFAS 15.303(d)(4). Eligibility notification will be sent to all offerors who have submitted a pre-proposal, after the Review Committee reviews all pre-proposals submitted by the solicitation cut-off date.
    
7. For questions regarding this BAA, contact NAVFAC EXWC via this email address: [email protected]. 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 offeror does not receive a notification of pre-proposal receipt, the offeror should call or e-mail NEXWC by using the phone number or e-mail address provided in this section.
    
8. Historically Black Colleges/Universities and Minority Institutions (HBCU/MI) will be recognized according to DFARS 226.3. All responsible sources from academia and industry may submit proposals. 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.
9. Do not call the Contracting Office for verification. The pre-proposal is not received by the Contracting Office.