Solicitation
Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) Support for the Center for Corrosion Science and Engineering (CCSE)
Department of Defense · Department of the Navy
AI summaryThis is a total small business set-aside: the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) plans one cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF: the Government pays your allowed costs plus a fixed fee) contract for research and development support to its Center for Corrosion Science and Engineering. It is an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract with a five-year ordering period from February 28, 2027 to February 27, 2032, and each order is priced between $10,000 and $85,000,000. Work is mainly in Washington, DC and Key West, FL, staff need Secret clearances, and the response due date is November 6, 2026, 1:30 PM Eastern. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
This summary may miss requirements: 1 of 11 attachments weren't read (Attachment 8 - Cost Proposal Format.xlsx). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
This is a total small business set-aside: the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) plans one cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF: the Government pays your allowed costs plus a fixed fee) contract for research and development support to its Center for Corrosion Science and Engineering. It is an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract with a five-year ordering period from February 28, 2027 to February 27, 2032, and each order is priced between $10,000 and $85,000,000. Work is mainly in Washington, DC and Key West, FL, staff need Secret clearances, and the response due date is November 6, 2026, 1:30 PM Eastern.
Who can bid (5)
- Small business eligible for this total small business set-aside, including joint-venture eligibility and compliance with limitations on subcontracting (the cap on work passed to non-small subcontractors)
- Staff holding the security clearance needed for the work, up to Secret, at proposal submission, kept for the life of the contract; Task Order 1 staff must hold Secret
- Three key personnel who meet the posted minimums: Science & Engineering Professional IV (master's or PhD, at least 8 years), Program Manager IV (master's or PhD, at least 5 years, two peer-reviewed publications) and IT Specialist IV (10 years, DoD certifications)
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- Financial responsibility and an accounting system adequate for cost-reimbursement contracting
- No actual or potential organizational conflict of interest, or an adequate plan to avoid or mitigate it
Things to watch (11)
From the version posted Oct 23, 2026.
- Serious: Total small business set-aside. Only small businesses can win, and limits apply on how much work may go to subcontractors that are not small.
- Serious: Secret clearance needed at proposal submission. Staff must already hold the clearance for the work, up to Secret, when the proposal is sent, and work involves classified information under a DD Form 254 (security classification form).
- Serious: Key personnel and commitment letters can make a proposal unacceptable. Missing a required key person, a missed minimum qualification or a missing signed commitment letter can get Factor 2 rated unacceptable, which makes the proposal unawardable.
Show all 11Show fewer
- Worth checking: Cost-reimbursement contract needs an adequate accounting system. The Government pays costs plus a fixed fee, so it reviews your accounting system and financial responsibility; a small firm without a cost-type system may not qualify.
- Worth checking: Proposed labor rate ceilings and cost realism review. You must propose maximum direct labor rates by labor category, level and year, and the Government may adjust your costs to its own estimate of probable cost.
- Worth checking: Recent and relevant past performance needed. Past performance must be within the five years before the solicitation issuance date; without it you get a neutral rating, and you must send questionnaires to customers yourself.
- Worth checking: Large Government-set staffing. The Base IDIQ level of effort lists dozens of labor positions, and the staffing matrix must cover Task Order 1 positions too, so a small firm needs many qualified, cleared people or partners.
- Worth checking: Key personnel lists differ between documents. Attachment 2 and the Base IDIQ level of effort name IT Specialist IV as key; the Task Order 1 level of effort marks IT Specialist III as key. Ask the contracting officer which governs.
- Worth checking: Task order pricing type differs between documents. Section G-9 says task orders will be cost-plus-fixed-fee; the statement of work says cost-plus-fixed-fee and/or firm-fixed-price orders. Ask the contracting officer which applies.
- Minor: Support team needed within 30 days of award. A full, cleared team must be in place within 30 days of award, and work transitions from the current contractor.
- Minor: Questions were due Oct 26, 2026. Check the amendments for the agency's answers.
Read from the notice and 10 attachments. 1 of 11 not read. Show which files.
- Solicitation - N0017326RGF02.pdf (read)
- Attachment 3 - Task Order 1 SOW.docx (read)
- Attachment 1 - IDIQ SOW.docx (read)
- 26-R-GF02 Attachment 9 - Requirements for Onsite Contractors.docx (read)
- Exhibit A - CDRL.pdf (read)
- Attachment 7 - Task Order 1 Level of Effort.docx (read)
- Attachment 4 - Draft DD254.pdf (read)
- Attachment 2 - Personnel Qualifications and Locations.docx (read)
- Attachment 6 - IDIQ Level of Effort.docx (read)
- Attachment 5 - Past Performance Questionnaire.pdf (read)
- Attachment 8 - Cost Proposal Format.xlsx: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
What they want
- Scientific, engineering, technical and analytical research and development (R&D) for NRL corrosion mitigation, coatings, environmental and prevention programs, ordered through task orders
- Corrosion science and engineering: design, build and test cathodic protection systems (systems that stop metal from corroding), scaled ship and submarine models, and corrosion sensors and software
- Materials science and mechanical testing of alloys and parts such as bearings, with seawater and spray exposure
- Marine coatings work: formulate, test and apply coatings and surface treatments, with specialists in abrasive blasting, paint application, thermal spray and coating inspection at Key West
- Field demonstrations, technology transfer, and fleet and shipyard support, including ship alteration (SHIPALT) and temporary alteration (TEMPALT) packages
- Administrative, programmatic and IT support: purchasing, travel, cost and progress tracking, IT accreditation support, and quarterly Integrated Product Team meetings
- Task Order 1: 12 months from award plus four 12-month options, with Secret-cleared staff at NRL in Washington, DC and Key West, FL
- Deliverables listed in the statement of work include drawings, software and source code, technical reports, and monthly progress, funds, labor, travel and property reports; a support team must be working within 30 days of award
- Contract type
- Single-award cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF) indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract, with level-of-effort and cost-only contract line item numbers (CLINs: priced lines of the order); fixed fee on R&D Labor CLIN 0001 only
- Period of performance
- Ordering period of 60 months; period of performance February 28, 2027 to February 27, 2032. Each task order sets its own period; Task Order 1 is 12 months plus four 12-month options
- Place of performance
- Principal place: Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Ave SW, Washington, D.C. 20375. Technical work also at the NRL facility in Key West, FL; other Navy sites and travel are possible, and task orders name secondary places
- Estimated value
- Each order: minimum $10,000, maximum $85,000,000; the Government's minimum and maximum to order are also $10,000 and $85,000,000 (Section B of the solicitation)
- How they'll choose
- Best-value tradeoff among four factors; the Government intends to award without discussions but may hold them. Relative importance is set in Section M-3, which was not read
- Offers due
- November 6, 2026, 1:30 PM Eastern
What they'll judge offers on
- Factor 1, Technical Understanding and Approach: four scenario responses (predictive hull-coating damage detection; internal seawater piping corrosion and marine growth; repair coatings for pier-side or deployed use; rapid corrosion-detector development and ship alteration), rated on one combined technical and risk rating
- Factor 2, Staffing and Key Personnel Qualifications: staffing matrix, key personnel resumes and commitment letters, rated acceptable or unacceptable only
- Factor 3, Past Performance: recency, relevance and quality, giving one performance confidence rating
- Factor 4, Cost/Price: completeness, cost realism, reasonableness and fee, using the five-year IDIQ evaluated cost
What to include when you submit
- The proposal instructions (Section L) were not read, so volumes, file format, page limits and how to send the offer are not known; check the full solicitation on SAM.gov
- Answer the four scenarios in Factor 1 as Section L requires
- Send a Staffing Matrix listing every required Base IDIQ and Task Order 1 Key Personnel position and each non-Key labor category in the Task Order 1 level of effort, with employing entity, staffing source, clearance and availability
- Send resumes showing each proposed Key Person meets the minimum education, experience, clearance and certification requirements as of the proposal submission date
- Include a signed commitment letter for each Key Person not currently employed by the prime, and a subcontractor signature or commitment letter where it applies
- Past performance: show efforts from the five years before the solicitation issuance date (an ongoing effort needs at least six months of performance), and send the Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment 5) to your customers on time
- Cost proposal: use the Cost Proposal Workbook (Attachment 8), a cost narrative, supporting data and subcontractor submissions, with separate Base IDIQ and Task Order 1 build-ups
- Use the Government's labor categories, hours, and travel and materials plug amounts, and propose maximum direct labor rate ceilings by labor category, level and ordering year
- Fill in the fixed fee percentage (Section B-2); fee applies to R&D Labor CLIN 0001 only, not to cost-only CLINs or the plug amounts
- Sign the offer, acknowledge amendments, and include representations and certifications
Current contractor
An incumbent is mentioned but not named: the statement of work says the contractor will transition all activities from the incumbent, as required.
Not in the notice text
- The middle of the solicitation was left out: the rest of Section H, Sections I to K, Section L (proposal instructions) and Sections M-1 to M-4, which include the relative importance of the factors. Check the full solicitation on SAM.gov
- Attachment 8, the Cost Proposal Format spreadsheet, is attached but not read
- Volumes, page limits, file format and how to send the offer are not known, because Section L was not read
- The draft DD Form 254 (Attachment 4) could not be read; check it on SAM.gov for the facility clearance and classified-access terms
- The exact question deadline is not clear: the notice says questions are due 15 days from the publication date
- The Government's small business size standard for the NAICS code is not given in the documents read
Eligibility and how to respond
- Set aside for small businesses: only a business that counts as small under this notice's NAICS code can bid as the prime contractor. More open small business set-asides under NAICS 541715
- How and where to submit is in the notice text and its attachments on SAM.gov.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 23, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Office
- Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC
- Product/service code
- AC11 · National Defense R&D Services; Department of Defense – Military; Basic Research
- Business type
- Engineering, architecture & research (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 541715)
- Versions
2 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 23, 2026 · Amendment 0001 (this version)Due Nov 6, 2026
- Sep 25, 2026 · SolicitationDue Nov 6, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
- Set-aside contracts explained
Terms on this notice: Solicitation, Set-aside
Full notice text from SAM.gov
This is a Request for Proposals. Please see attached Solicitation and all attachments. Questions are due to the contract specialist no later than 15 days from the publication date of this announcement. UPDATE 10/23/2026: DUE TO SYSTEM ISSUES NRL WILL POST ANSWERS TO VENDOR QUESTIONS DURING THE WEEK OF 10/26/2026. IN THE MEANTIME, NRL CONSIDERS THE PROPOSAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE OF 11/6/2026 LISTED ON SAM.GOV AS SUPERSEDING THE PROPOSAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE OF 10/26/2026 ON THE SF-33. PLEASE CONTINUE TO MONNITOR THIS POSTING FOR ALL UPDATES TO THIS REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.
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