Silicon Valley Office Innovation
RFP Summary provided by the agency
The DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) is keeping pace with the innovation community to tackle the hardest problems faced by DHS and the Homeland Security Enterprise. SVIP expands DHS S&T’s reach to find new technologies that strengthen national security with the goal of reshaping how government, entrepreneurs, and industry work together to find cutting-edge solutions.
The following topics are examples of calls that may be issued by DHS under this OTS, but are representative only:
- Internet of Things Security (IoT Sec)
- Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Security
- Aviation Security
- Border Security
- Cybersecurity
- Support to First Responders
- Distributed Ledger/Blockchain Technologies.
Currently Open Calls: full list here
1. Flood Data Collection and Analysis
The Flood Data Collection and Analysis topic call addresses the limitations DHS faces in making predictive, precise, and immediate actions to speed recovery after flooding occurs.
This SVIP solicitation seeks technical capabilities that could serve the mission needs of DHS operational components and programs, including Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration (FIMA). Applications must be able to describe alignment to at least one of the following technical topic areas:
- Data Sources: seeking a variety of data related to flooding (e.g., named and unnamed storms, coastal flooding, overflow of inland or tidal waters, mudslides, etc.)
- Data Analytics: capabilities for both situational awareness and predictive analytics.
The first cycle deadline is May 4, 2022 at 12 noon PT and the second cycle deadline is September 2, 2022 at 12 noon PT.
2. Securing Soft Targets
The Securing Soft Targets topic call seeks to address recent changes in the threat landscape and trends in global and domestic incidents by finding cutting edge solutions that improve DHS’s ability to detect risks and deter threats.
This SVIP solicitation seeks technical capabilities that could serve the mission needs of DHS operational components and programs, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Applications must be able to describe alignment to at least one of the following technical topic areas:
- Broad, Flexible, Anomaly Detection: The development of anomaly detection that is accurate, flexible, and sufficiently broad to cover the needs of a variety of soft target sites.
- Challenges from Occlusion, Lighting, and Distance: Implementation of video analytics systems with objective performance, while navigating the challenges presented by occlusion, lighting, and distance.
- Real-time Performance: Development of systems, composed of appropriate Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and other components in innovative hardware architectures to serve as a platform for novel software algorithms, that offer real-time performance for a specific set of object identifications in a suite of video data, with accuracy increasing over time.
The first cycle deadline is April 28, 2022 at 12 noon PT and the second cycle deadline is August 29, 2022 at 12 noon PT.
3. Human-Human Performance and Resiliency
This SVIP topic call seeks technical capabilities that could serve the mission needs of operational components and programs including U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Applications must be able to describe alignment to at least one of the following technical topic areas.
- Biometric Wearables: Wearable biometric device(s) that capture several biometric and metabolic leading indicators that can alert the user to initiate mitigating action.
- Sleep/Recovery Enhancement: Capability that evaluates sleep quality and recovery and/or recreates the restorative benefits of sleep.
- AI-enabled Mobile App: Mobile application that allows personnel to input persona information (diet, exercise, mood, injuries, etc.) and/or compile information from various wearable biometric monitoring devices in order to generate outputs describing factors contributing to their overall wellness.
The application deadline is April 13, 2022 at 12pm PT.
Funding Details
- Up to $800K over 24 months
- Up to four phases of funding ($50 – $200K) each lasting between three and six months
| Phase 1 | $50-$200K | 3-6 months | Proof-of-Concept Demo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 2 | $50-$200K | 3-6 months | Demo Pilot-ready Prototype |
| Phase 3 | $50-$200K | 3-6 months | Pilot-test Prototype in Operation |
| Phase 4 | $50-$200K | 3-6 months | Test in Various Operational Scenarios |
What is the mission and focus of the program: research, social, economic or others?
Through a streamlined application and pitch process leveraging the Innovation Other Transaction Solicitation, SVIP seeks solutions to requirements ranging across the entire spectrum of the homeland security mission space, including cybersecurity and technology solutions for Customs and Border Protection and first responders.
How do you submit to this opportunity?
Applying to the Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) can be done in five steps.
- Review “Current Funding Opportunities” to determine whether your solution applies. Additional information regarding eligibility and application templates are available on fbo.gov via the link on the SVIP homepage.
- Complete the application to the specific funding opportunity you identified, and email your application to [email protected].
- If we select your application, prepare a 15-minute oral pitch and register in Sam.gov. Registering in Sam.gov ensures we can pay you.
- If selected for funding, contracts will provide you our standard Other Transaction Agreement (OTA).
- Award timeframe average is 45 days.
Who are the target applicants: cities, universities, companies, small business, nonprofits, or others?
Open to U.S. and internationally based companies. Only the following applicants are eligible for award under this program:
- Applicants having fewer than 200 employees or full-time equivalents and
- Applicants that have not been a party to any Federal Acquisition Regulation based contracts and/or federally awarded grants totaling more than $1,000,000 in the past 12 months, whether as a prime contractor or subcontractor.
Additional Information
Example project(s) summaries from past RFPs:
Internet of Things (IoT) Security
- Bastille Networks, Inc. (Atlanta, Georgia) will focus on identifying enterprise IoT protocols. (Initial award January 2017) – Currently in Phase 2
- Factom Inc (Austin, Texas) will create an identity log that captures the identification of a device, who manufactured it, lists of available updates, known security issues and granted authorities while adding the dimension of time for added security. (Initial award June 2016) – Currently in Phase 3
- Ionic Security (Atlanta, Georgia) will apply a novel distributed data protection model to solve the authentication, detection and confidentiality challenges that face distributed IoT devices, specifically, to improve the integrity of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems and industrial control infrastructure as well as critical components deployed in the DHS network. (Initial award July 2016) – Currently in Phase 4
Real-Time Intelligent Traveler Wayfinding
- Arup USA (New York City, New York) proposed to develop a Bluetooth-enabled wayfinding technology to increase the efficiency of processing international travelers through customs. – Currently in Phase 1
- LocusLabs (Oakland, California) will further develop LocusMaps, an opt-in, interactive navigation tool that provides bi-directional communication between travelers and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to aid in traveler navigation within airports and the customs process. – Currently in Phase 1
Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) Capabilities
- Asymmetric Technologies (Columbus, Ohio) proposes to develop a platform-agnostic Secure UAS Flight Controller (SUFC) that improves the cybersecurity of commercial SUAS systems. This will reduce the risk of cyber attacks on the Department’s SUAS platforms by ensuring secure communication and control mechanisms with operators, secure surveillance telemetry streams, and on-board hardware security to prevent unauthorized access of data. (Initial award March 2017) – Currently in Phase 2
- Cryptomove, Inc. (San Mateo, California) proposes a dynamic defense data protection system that uses a data fragmentation approach for sUAS platforms to ensure data confidentiality, integrity, and availability. (Initial award February 2017) – Currently in Phase 2
