ADVANCING MULTISTATIC ACTIVE SONAR EMPLOYMENT (AMASE) TECHNOLOGY
DEMONSTRATION PROJECT (TDP)

Trade Agreement: NONE
Tendering Procedures: 
Attachment: None
Competitive Procurement Strategy: N/A - P&A/LOI Only
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Nature of Requirements: 
ADVANCING MULTISTATIC ACTIVE SONAR EMPLOYMENT (AMASE) TECHNOLOGY
DEMONSTRATION PROJECT (TDP) 

Introduction
A Request for Information (RFI) is not a bidding opportunity but
a document requesting information from the Supplier community
based on a potential requirement.  In this case, industry
feedback is sought from Suppliers on their ability to satisfy
potential requirements for the proposed procurement strategies
described herein before the issuance of a solicitation document. 

This RFI is issued by Public Works and Government Services
Canada (PWGSC) on behalf of Defence R&D Canada - Atlantic,
herein referred to as "DRDC", to gather information related to
the procurement strategy for the Advancing Multistatic Active
Sonar Employment (AMASE) Technology Demonstration Project (TDP),
herein referred to as the "project". DRDC has a requirement to
obtain research, design, development, software implementation,
systems integration and testing services for the project, herein
referred to as the "requirement".  The approximate value of the
requirement will be in the range of $2M to $3.25M depending upon
which procurement strategy is ultimately employed.  The intended
meaning of the terms "Supplier", "Contractor", "Industry" and
"Industrial Partner" are interchangeable for the purposes of
this RFI.

Suppliers may also provide ideas and suggestions on how the
eventual solicitation might be structured.  While not a bid
document, it is an opportunity to help shape the resulting
requirements and provide Supplier input and advice to the Crown.
 No contract will be awarded as a result of a RFI.  This RFI, or
any supporting information provided with this RFI, shall not
constitute an authorization by the Crown to undertake any work
that would result in any obligation or costs to the Crown.

Participation in this RFI is not a pre-qualification for
procurement, nor a prerequisite to participation in any
subsequent request for proposals (RFP) from PWGSC. 

Intent
The RFI will assist DRDC in its understanding of the viability
of the proposed procurement strategies for the requirement with
the overall aim to mitigate procurement risk associated with the
competitive tendering process.  The RFI may assist DRDC to: 
·	Determine whether to proceed with requirements/strategy as
planned, and if so, further developing internal planning,
approval and solicitation documents that may potentially lead to
a solicitation;
·	Refine the procurement strategy, project structure, cost
estimate, timelines, requirements definition, and other aspects
of the requirement;
·	Become a more "informed buyer" with an enhanced understanding
of industry offerings in the areas of interest, and;
·	Assess potential alternative solutions that would meet the
requirement.

The RFI will allow Suppliers to: 
·	Assess and comment on the adequacy and clarity of the
requirements as currently expressed;
·	Offer suggestions regarding potential alternative solutions
that would meet the requirement;
·	Comment on the procurement strategy, preliminary basis of
payment elements, and timelines for the project.

Supporting information for this RFI is inserted into the
Solicitation Document.
Annex A: Project overview

Annex B: Multistatic sensor use cases and initial concept

Annex C: Trials campaign and assets 

Annex D: Proposed system engineering process 

Annex E: Proposed procurement strategies and draft solicitation
information for the requirement

Annex F: Potential for in-kind contributions

Annex G: Glossary and acronyms


Request for Information
Participation in this RFI is entirely optional and is not a
pre-qualification for procurement, nor a prerequisite to
participation in any subsequent request for proposals (RFP) from
PWGSC.   

If Suppliers would like to provide feedback based on the
information expressed in this RFI, the following questions are
provided as guidelines.

The project

1.	 Please comment on the adequacy and clarity of the background
and description of the project as currently expressed. What
other type of information would be required to provide an
adequate background and description for future solicitation
documents?

The procurement strategies for the potential requirement

2. 	Please comment on the adequacy, clarity and feasibility of
the procurement strategies as currently expressed. 

Suggestions for alternatives

3. 	Offer suggestions regarding potential alternative solutions
or strategies that could be achieved within the preliminary
basis of payment elements, funding and timeline envelopes.

4.	Are there commercial off-the shelf (COTS) solutions available
that may be tailored to meet the requirement presently
expressed?  

5.	Does the cost of integrating an existing supplier solution
potentially offset the cost of extending the DRDC System
Test-bed (STB) for certain functionality?

In-kind contributions:

6.	Are there industrial in-kind contributions that could be
offered to share the costs associated with performing the
project?  This includes non-monetary contributions of goods or
services such as equipment, staff-time and facilities that may
be either donated or evaluated as point rated criteria in future
bid solicitation and evaluation.  

Other questions:

7. 	Please provide other questions and comments to PWGSC based
on this RFI.

Available documentation:

[1]	DRDC Atlantic System Test Bed (STB) Overview, DRDC Atlantic
CR 2007-271, October 2007
[2]	Description of the Sonar Test Bed Data Architecture, DRDC
Atlantic CR 2003-042, June 2003
[3]	Non-exclusive System Test Bed License Agreement Template.

This PWGSC office provides procurement services to the public in
English.

Delivery Date: Above-mentioned

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any
procurement.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.