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BAA

Well here it is. The BAA is out and is asking for a really quick 
turnaround. I will be pulling together the themes and papers submitted to 
me for a first draft of the abstract and proposal ove r the next week in 
light of the BAA. We need to arrange times to formalize the teaming and 
we will be asking for individual meetings to do that over the next five days.

The BAA does not have any surprises, except perhaps a significant slant 
to DoDDS and addressing real DoDDS needs , which is fine by me as it puts 
us well ahead in that department.

I would like initial reactions from everyone.

Tim and I were discussing a meeting in Baltimore on the 6th. I would like 
to go for that to get close to a final abstract and to be clear about 
what needs to be done for the proposal. Tim please indicate time and 
place for us all. 


Due to the possibility of transcription errors, the official CBD
announcement takes precedence over this transcription in any
disagreement between the two. The transcription is provided for your
convenience only.

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COMPUTER AIDED EDUCATION AND TRAINING INITIATIVE SOL BAA95-10 DUE
010995 POC Kirstie Bellman, Technical POC, ARPA/SISTO, Ed Brown,
Administrative POC, ARPA SISTO, E-mail: BAA95-10@arpa.mil.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) is soliciting proposals
for research in and development of advanced education and training
technologies in support of the goals of the ARPA Computer Aided
Education and Training Initiative (CAETI). Proposed research should
investigate innovative approaches and techniques that lead to or
enable revolutionary advances in the state-of-the-art. Specifically
excluded is research which primarily results in evolutionary
improvement to the existing state of practice or focuses on a specific
system or hardware solution.  The purpose of this program is to
dramatically improve the learning performance of students and increase
the teaching productivity and effectiveness of instructors by the
developments and evaluation of advanced computer based technology. The
focus of this program's applications will be the Department of Defense
Dependent Schools (DODDS) which serves children of military personnel
serving overseas.  The CAETI program will provide enhanced educational
capabilities by (1) expanding and customizing intelligent access and
integration of digital educational resources, (2) supporting
individualized learning through the use of intelligent tutors,
mentors, and associates, (3) supporting learning that is
learner-centered, collaborative, authentic, and interactive regardless
of a student's location, and (4) providing to DODDS, capabilities and
software architectures that are affordable, in a scalable and easily
maintainable system where both performance and technical evaluation
are a key part of the development process.  From the earliest phases
of the program, DODDS students and personnel will participate in the
assessment of the products.  In later phases, the technology will be
transitioned to meet the needs for adult education and training of the
active forces, the reserves and the National Guard.  The specific
details of the CAETI program plan including descriptions of selection
criteria and instructions for proposal submission are described in the
Proposal Information Packet (PIP). Proposers should consult the PIP
for guidance before responding to the BAA. Note: The PIP will not be
published in the Commerce Business Daily (CBD). To obtain a copy of
the PIP see instruction listed under section ''PROPOSAL PREPARATION
AND SUBMISSION'' of this announcement.  This announcement and the PIP
constitute the BAA as defined in FAR 6.102(d)(2), and is the only
information ARPA provides. Requests for additional information, other
than purely administrative questions or correspondence, will be
disregarded. No other solicitation regarding this announcement will be
issued. Requests for same will be disregarded.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION: The CAETI will develop and demonstrate
affordable and effective learning technologies that will significantly
improve learning productivity in the DODDS system. CAETI will follow a
systems development approach that begins with DODDS requirements and
systematically develops technology, integrates it with educational
goals and continually evaluates the results to ensure the products
support DODDS educational objectives. To achieve these goals, CAETI
will (1) adapt and advance technology that will alter the current
educational paradigm.  This includes advances in simulation and
synthetic environments, data visualization, intelligent associates and
agents, and affordable simulation networks, (2) provide information
navigation, customization and integration tools to students and
teachers that will increase their effective use of networked digital
resources, and (3) apply advances in software engineering, languages,
and architectures to reduce the costs of technology use and support.
The objectives of these advances in educational technology are to
improve student performance and enhance their readiness for future
education or employment by at least 1 sigma and significantly decrease
the amount of time teachers spend performing administrative tasks and
lesson preparation. Proposals submitted under this BAA can be directed
towards any combination of the three technology themes or to the
advanced system engineering and evaluation technologies that will be
used to create a CAETI open systems architecture and evaluation
framework. The three CAETI themes, EAGIL, CAPER, and SNAIR, are
explained in the PIP. The system engineering process to be used in
CAETI must allow the rapid and iterative development of a scalable and
open architecture that will support both near term and long term
inclusion of components developed under CAETI. Also, the system
engineering and evaluation technology considered for this project must
support the creation of an affordable and maintainable system, one
that minimizes the requirements on maintenance personnel at DODDS
sites. All selected proposals will be expected to cooperate with the
selected system engineering, architecture, and evaluation efforts.

PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION: Prospective proposers are
encouraged to submit an initial proposal abstract in advance of actual
proposals. Proposal abstracts are due under this solicitation by 4:00
PM, December 12, 1994. ARPA will attempt to respond to all proposal
abstracts by December 19, 1994.  Proposals are due NLT 4:00 PM,
January 9, 1995. Proposers must follow the guidance provided by
Proposal Information Packet (PIP), "BAA 95-10 Proposal Information
Packet."  The PIP describes the process of proposal submission and
evaluation, the format for submission, and contains other pertinent
guidelines.  The packet may be obtained by electronic mail, fax, or
mail using the contact addresses included in this announcement.
Additional information concerning DODDS may be obtained by sending an
E-mail request to CAETI@arpa.mil. Copies of relevant materials will be
sent to you by mail so you must include your postal address with your
request for DODDS information.

SELECTION PROCESS: Sources for research will be selected by a
scientific review process using criteria set forth below.  Individual
proposal evaluations will be based on acceptability or unacceptability
without regard to other proposals submitted under the announcement,
however, all selected proposals may not be funded due to budgetary or
programmatic constraints. The Government reserves the right to select
for award all, some, or none of the proposals received in response to
this announcement.  All responsible sources capable of satisfying the
Government's needs may submit a proposal which shall be considered by
ARPA.  Full proposals may be reviewed and acted on as they arrive.
Evaluation of proposals will be performed using the following
criteria.  The first PRIORITY is equal in importance to the other two
combined. The second and third PRIORITIES are of equal importance. The
criteria within each PRIORITY are listed in descending order of
relative importance. 1. FIRST PRIORITY: - Quality.  Overall
scientific, technical and socioeconomic merit of the proposal. -
Relevance. Potential contributions of the effort to the agency's
specific mission, including military relevance and contribution to the
national technology base. This includes the offerors' plans and
capability to appropriately transition the technology to the research
and industrial communities, in such a way that U.S. defense and
industrial capabilities are enhanced. - Personnel. The qualifications,
capabilities, and experience of the proposed principal investigator,
team leader, and key personnel who are critical in achieving the
proposal objective. 2. SECOND PRIORITY: - Related Experience.  The
offerors' qualifications, capabilities, and experience in related
technical areas.  - Capability.  The offeror's facilities and
demonstrated ability for achieving the proposal objectives.  For
proposal involving prototype development this will include
availability (either in-house, through subcontract, or through
industrial affiliates) of design and manufacturing tools appropriate
to the proposed prototype. 3.  THIRD PRIORITY: - Cost.  Realism and
amount of the proposed cost, and cost sharing. Note: (1) cost realism
will only be significant in proposals which have significantly under
or over estimated the cost to complete their effort, and (2) proposals
deemed non-competitive will not be reviewed further.

ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES: Proposals may range from small-scale efforts
that are primarily theoretical in nature, to medium-scale experimental
and prototyping efforts of hardware and/or software, to larger-scale
integrated systems efforts.  Proposed efforts may involve single
organizations, multiple research groups, collaboration with ongoing
projects, and/or industrial cooperation and cost sharing. While
collaborative efforts and teaming to increase the strength of research
or to fill technical or manpower gaps are strongly encouraged, teaming
per se does not increase the selectability of a proposed effort.  No
portion of this BAA will be set aside for Historically Black Colleges
and Universities (HBCU) and Minority Institution (MI) participation
due to the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable areas of
research. However, such institutions are encouraged to submit
proposals or to join others in submitting proposals.  Subject to
technical acceptability, it is anticipated that the approximate number
of contracts to be awarded could be 15-20. ARPA expects some
additional team formation once proposals are selected and team
synergies become apparent. Total funding for the CAETI is not
available at this time.  Restrictive notices notwithstanding,
proposals will be handled for administrative purposes by a support
contractor, and FFRDC employees may participate in the review process.

CONTACT ADDRESSES: Electronic mail: BAA95-10@arpa.mil. FAX: (703)
522-6367 (Addressed to: BAA 95-10)Mail: ATTN: BAA 95-10, ARPA/SISTO,
3701 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714. For additional DODDS
Information: CAETI@arpa.mil (Notes: Electronic mail and fax are
preferred for administrative questions and correspondence.  PROPOSALS
SENT BY FAX or ELECTRONIC MAIL WILL be DISREGARDED. ARPA will use
electronic mail and fax preferentially for correspondence regarding
BAA 95-10.) (0326)

SPONSOR: Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), Contracts
Management Office (CMO), 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA
22203-1714
SUBFILE: PSE  (U.S. GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENTS, SERVICES)
SECTION HEADING: A  Research and Development
PUBLICATION DATE: NOVEMBER 25, 1994
ISSUE: PSA-1229