The Department of Defense (DoD) community continues to be driven to do more with less by embracing opportunities to improve efficiency and life-cycle costs. The Defense Systems Information Analysis Center (DSIAC) serves as a gateway to seize upon untapped synergetic opportunities that lie within the Defense Systems community. DSIAC efficiently accesses the enormous repository of important DoD scientific and technical information (STI) that has been generated over the past half century and makes it available on demand to the DoD and supporting Defense Systems industrial and research communities. DSIAC provides access to this wealth of knowledge and information network via a consortium of scientists, engineers, and information specialists that are available to answer technical questions and perform specialized analyses.

FREE DSIAC TECHNICAL INQUIRY SERVICES

DSIAC’s core function is to answer technical questions from the community using our own knowledge management experts, vast DoD information resources, and extensive network of subject-matter experts (SMEs). The DSIAC SME network includes experienced engineers and scientists, military and civilian personnel, leading academic researchers, and industry experts who are readily available to help prepare timely and authoritative answers to complex Technical Inquiries (TIs). DSIAC’s free TI research service is limited to 4 research hours per inquiry, and requesters must meet the appropriate eligibility and need-to-know requirements to access export-controlled technical information, DoD technical information, and classified information.

TIs can be submitted to DSIAC via our website, or by e-mail, phone, or fax. Once submitted, the inquiry is forwarded to a research analyst who responds to the inquiry or identifies the SME(s) best suited to answer the question. DSIAC makes every effort to support fast-response, mission-critical TIs. Completed responses are compiled and delivered to the requester within 10 business days.

When appropriate, DSIAC may also provide additional information to clarify or augment TI responses, including supporting data, analysis results, or other technical information extracted from formal reports, papers, and other documents. If the level of inquiry research is expected to exceed DSIAC’s free 4-hour limit, the requester is contacted to determine if a more extensive, separately funded support is required. These distinct, customer-funded DSIAC activities are known as Core Analysis Tasks (CATs).

DSIAC CORE ANALYSIS TASK SERVICES

Challenging technical problems that are beyond the scope of the free 4-hour TI can be investigated with a CAT request. CATs are separately funded research activities that extend beyond the DSIAC Basic Center of Operation (BCO) services. Via a CAT request, DSIAC can be used as a contracting vehicle, enabling the DoD community to obtain specialized support for specific projects. The projects must be within the technical scope of DSIAC and must result in the generation of formal STI, such as a technical report, data, analysis, or other formal deliverable product. The DSIAC scope includes Advanced Materials; Autonomous Systems; Directed Energy; Energetics; Military Sensing; Non-Lethal Weapons; Reliability, Maintainability, Quality, Supportability, & Interoperability (RMQSI); Survivability and Vulnerability; and Weapon Systems.

ADVANTAGES OF DSIAC CAT SERVICES

• Fast Track Accessibility – DSIAC is a pre-competed, single-award, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, so work can begin in as little as 4 weeks.
• Expansive Technical Domain – DSIAC’s broad scope provides a wide and deep pool of resources for projects, which is especially valuable for efforts that cross multiple domains.
• Large SME Network – DSIAC can leverage support from its expansive SME network to perform CATs.
• Multiple STI Databases – DSIAC has access to an enormous repository of data and information to support the execution of CATs, including the STI collections from the six legacy Information Analysis Centers (IACs), the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) Research and Engineering (R&E) Gateway, and specialized DoD and Government databases and repositories not routinely accessible to the community.
• Up-to-the-Minute Information – DSIAC can draw from the most recent studies performed by for agencies across the DoD, as the results from all DSIAC CATs and Defense Systems Technical Area Tasks (TATs) are collected, stored, and used to support ongoing DSIAC efforts.

STARTING IS FREE & EASY

As shown in Figure 1, the first step to using DSIAC is to contact us with a TI, and the first 4 hours of TI research are conducted free of charge. If the scope of the effort exceeds the free threshold, DSIAC will contact the requester to determine if the scope of the effort qualifies as a CAT. DSIAC will then assist with the development of a statement of work (SOW). The SOW must be approved by the DSIAC Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), the IAC Program Management Office (PMO), and the DSIAC Contracting Officer to ensure it meets the requirements of the DSIAC contract. Based on the SOW requirements, DSIAC will then prepare a technical and cost proposal, which must also be approved by the customer and the Contracting Officer.

Figure 1: DSIAC Technical Inquiry Process.

Each CAT is limited to a 12-month period of performance and a cost ceiling of $1 million. CATs can be requested by anyone in the DoD community as well as non-DoD Government agencies and departments. For more information on the IAC CAT program, including the standard operating procedure for ordering CATs, contact us by phone at 443.360.4600 or by e-mail at contact@dsiac.org . You can also visit the DSIAC website at dsiac.org or the IAC website at http://iac.dtic.mil for more information. The IAC website also archives mission success stories from the many projects performed by the various IACs and provides excellent examples of how the IACs solve complex problems by providing expert service to the DoD community.