DHS center to focus on security studies, tech concepts

The Homeland Security Department will award a contract that could eventually be worth $330 million for an organization to establish a research and development center to provide specialized technical expertise to DHS program managers. The center would work in programs to prevent terrorism and catastrophic incidents through improved interoperability and information sharing. The Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute (HSSAI) would generally work on the most complex homeland security issues and provide recommendations for policy and operational changes, as well as technology concepts, the department said. The specialized technical expertise provided would help transform DHS’ mission-level goals into strategies, operational requirements and performance metrics, according to a solicitation first published by DHS on Nov. 28 and amended Dec. 1.DHS’ Science and Technology Directorate would provide a program office for the center to be a liaison between the research institute and the department’s component agencies.According to the request for proposal, over the long term the center would promote frameworks and strategies to enhance the general understanding of trade-offs inherent in preventing terrorism and catastrophic incidents through improved interoperability and information sharing. DHS plans to issue the award through an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract for a base year with four one-year options. The contract will comprise a series of task orders issued on a cost-plus-fixed-fee basis and can be renewed, the solicitation said.The contract is anticipated to be worth a maximum of $330 million over five years with an estimated $55 million for the first year and the subsequent years worth an estimated $60 million,  $65 million, $70 million and $80 million. Through task orders DHS plans to fund a variety of studies and analysis by the center that include:• Strategic assessments of homeland security threats, vulnerabilities and consequences, as well as national and international strategies.• Examinations of broad security topics, including the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.• Developing a top-level mission risk- and risk-reduction resource allocation models and system-of-system concepts to address the most critical needs.• Establishing top-level program requirements and system performance and effectiveness metrics based on mission goals.Proposals are due Jan. 2, 2009 with questions about the RFP due Dec. 12.