Solicitation Announcement

Dept of Homeland Security (DHS) – SBIR Program Solicitation – FY 13.2

Solicitation Number: HSHQDC-13-R-00032

KEY DATES:

  • Pre-solicitation Issued: April 2, 2013
  • Solicitation Released:    April 18, 2013
  • Phase I proposals submitted and accepted: April 18, 2013 – May 22, 2013
  • Direct contact with technical points of contact permitted (This Deadline has passed): April 2, 2013 through April 17, 2013
  • Last day to submit questions to: STSBIR.PROPOSALS@hq.dhs.govMay 8, 2013 no later than 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET)
  • Last date replies posted on FedBizOpps and on the SBIR S&T Directorate’s SBIRProgram website at:  https://sbir2.st.dhs.gov:   May 15, 2013
  • Proposal Submission Deadline:    May 22, 2013, 2:00 p.m. ET

 

IMPORTANT:

Changes Made to this Solicitation Since the Pre-solicitation was Released on April 2, 2013:

  • Appendix A.
    • For additional clarification, an additional reference entitled “StructuralCollapse Prediction Operational Requirements Document” has been added to the following topic description:
      • H-SB013.2-004 Structural Collapse Prediction Technology.
    •  
    • For additional clarification, an update has been made to the following topic description:
      • H-SB013.2-008 Pre-Shot Sniper Detection in Urban Environments
    • The contact information for each of the topic descriptions has been removed. Direct contact with the topic authors is no longer permitted.  Technical questions about the topic descriptions should be submitted to:  STSBIR.PROPOSALS@hq.dhs.gov .

 

Changes Made in the SBIR Program and in this Solicitation. This solicitation has beenrewritten and incorporates changes as a result of the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of2011. Guidance provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA) via the updated SBIR Policy Directive (dated August 6, 2012) has been incorporated in this solicitation, where applicable. Please note that some of the guidance provided in the updated SBIR Policy Directive will be implemented over time and not necessarily implemented in this solicitation.

For your reference, the updated SBIR Policy Directive is available at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-08-06/pdf/2012-18119.pdf .

Please read this entire solicitation carefully prior to submitting your proposal. Guidance provided by Final Rule for the SBIR Size Rules (published on December 27, 2012) is incorporated by reference in this solicitation. The Final Rule (13 CFR Part 121) is available at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-12-27/pdf/2012-30809.pdf .

Majority Ownership in Part by Multiple Venture Capital, Hedge Fund, and Private Equity Firms. For this FY13.2 solicitation, the S&T Directorate’s SBIR Program will not accept proposals from or make awards to small business concerns that are owned in majority part by multiple venture capital operating companies, hedge funds, or private equity firms.Small business concerns with such ownership are ineligible to submit proposals under this solicitation.

Phase I to Phase II Transition Rate Benchmark. Beginning with this solicitation, and in accordance with guidance from the SBA, the DHS S&T Directorate’s SBIR Program will implement and apply the Phase I to Phase II Transition Rate benchmark required by the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011. The Phase I to Phase II Transition Rate establishes a minimum level of successful transitions for Phase I applicants that have received more than 20 Phase I awards across all federal SBIR agencies. For DHS, the Phase I to Phase II Transition Rate is 0.25 over the past five (5) fiscal years. That is, an applicant to this solicitation that has received more than 20 Phase I awards across all federal SBIR agencies over the past five (5) years must have received at least one (1) Phase II award for every four (4) Phase I awards. Small business concerns that do not meet this minimum rate are not eligible to receive a new SBIR Phase I award from the DHS Science and Technology Directorate for one year from the date of proposal submission to DHS. See Section 1.3.b. of this solicitation for further details.

About the Topics in this DHS S&T Directorate’s SBIR Program FY 13.2 Solicitation.  There are eight (8) topics in this solicitation for which Phase I proposals are sought. Topicdescriptions for the following topics can be found in Appendix A:

  • H-SB013.2-001 Bulk Currency Vapor Detection in Confined Spaces
  • H-SB013.2-002 Software Based Roots of Trust for Enhanced Mobile Device
  • Security
  • H-SB013.2-003 Lost Person Locator for First Responders
  • H-SB013.2-004 Structural Collapse Prediction Technology
  • H-SB013.2-005 Commodity Goods Counterfeit Detection
  • H-SB013.2-006 Management of Mass Casualty Triage
  • H-SB013.2-007 Affordable Non-Destructive Anomaly Detection for Perceived
  • Hollow Spaces
  • H-SB013.2-008 Pre-Shot Sniper Detection in Urban Environments

Deadline for Receipt of Phase I Proposals. Proposals must be completely uploaded and submitted via the DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate’s SBIR Program electronic proposal submission system at https://sbir2.st.dhs.gov and electronically date stamped no later than 2:00 p.m. ET on May 22, 2013.

DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate’s SBIR Program Proposal Submission System. The DHS Science and Technology Directorate’s SBIR Program utilizes an online proposal submission system which was implemented in April 2011. Please allow sufficient time to register your company in the DHS S&T Directorate’s SBIR Program proposal submission system, and submit your full complete Phase I proposal via the system. Register early and begin the submission process early.

Company Registration is Also Required in the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Company Registry Database. The Small Business Administration (SBA) maintains and manages a Company Registry at www.SBIR.gov to track ownership and affiliation requirements for all companies applying to the SBIR Program. The SBIR Policy Directive (dated August 6, 2012) requires each small business concern (SBC) applying for a Phase I or Phase II award to register in the Company Registry prior to submitting a proposal to any federal agency participating in the SBIR Program. Please visit www.SBIR.gov and register your company prior to submitting your proposal to the DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate’s SBIR Program, and append the SBA registration information as the last page of your Technical Proposal.

Late Proposals and Proposals Received via Any Other Means Other Than the DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate’s SBIR Program Submission Website. Late proposals will not be accepted or evaluated. Proposals received via any other means except the DHS S&T Directorate’s SBIR submission website will not be accepted or evaluated. As the close date draws near, heavy traffic on the web server may cause delays. Plan ahead and leave ample time to prepare and submit your proposal. Proposers bear the risk of website inaccessibility due to heavy usage in the final hours before the solicitation closing time. In accordance with FAR 52.215-1, proposers are responsible for submitting proposals, and any modifications or revisions, so as to reach the Government office designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the solicitation. FAR Clause 52.215-1, Instruction to Offerors – Competitive Acquisition (JAN 2004) is hereby incorporated into this solicitation by reference. Section 6 of this solicitation provides registration and submission instructions. Proposers are also advised to review the step-by-step registration and submission instructions provided in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Public Portal: Registration and Submissions Training Guide can be found at:  https://sbir2.st.dhs.gov, click on “Reference Materials.”

Elimination of the Phase I Option. The Phase I option implemented in prior S&T Directorate SBIR solicitations is no longer effective. It has been discontinued as the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011 (Section 5105) eliminated the Phase II invitation process. All Phase I awardees receiving awards originating from this solicitation are eligible to submit a Phase II proposal and will be notified of the Phase II submission deadline no later than 30 days prior to the Phase II submission deadline.

Mandatory Briefing Chart. A mandatory one-page briefing chart must be submitted to summarize the proposed project. The Briefing Chart will not be evaluated or used in the evaluation process. It will be used to describe the project if the proposal is recommended foraward. It must not contain any proprietary or classified data. Submission of the Briefing Chart is not counted against the 25-page limit. See Section 3.5(a) for further details. The template for the mandatory Briefing Chart is provided in Appendix D.

Classified Proposals. Classified proposals are not accepted under the DHS S&T Directorate SBIR Program.

Proposer Questions. Proposers may submit questions to:  STSBIR.PROPOSALS@hq.dhs.gov no later than 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), May 8, 2013. DHS will post replies no later than May 15, 2013 on FedBizOpps and on the S&T Directorate’s SBIR Program website at https://sbir2.st.dhs.gov.

No Printed Solicitation Books. Solicitations are available only in electronic format from the FedBizOpps.Gov website, https://www.fbo.gov, in accordance with the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA). For convenience, the DHS S&T Directorate’s SBIR Program website at https://sbir2.st.dhs.gov will link to the FedBizOpps.Gov website after the solicitation is posted there.

Contracting Officer: The Contracting Officer for this SBIR competition is:
Mandy Wylie, (mandy.wylie@hq.dhs.gov).

Handling of Proposal Submissions. For administrative purposes only, submissions to this solicitation will be handled by DHS S&T Directorate’s Support Contractors.

Information. If you have questions about the DHS S&T Directorate SBIR Program, please submit your questions via email to:  STSBIR.PROPOSALS@hq.dhs.gov. If you have questions after April 17, 2013 about the technical topic descriptions included in this solicitation, please submit your questions by May 8, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), via email to:  STSBIR.PROPOSALS@hq.dhs.gov. If you have questions or problems related to theelectronic submission of your proposal, please contact the SBIR Help Desk at:  dhssbir@reisystems.com or call 703-480-7676.