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Geo-Spatial Intelligence Information Visualization Program (GI2Vis) Phase II Announced
(The full text of this BAA can be found here)
Background on GI2Vis Advanced R&D Program
GI2Vis has been developed under ARDA's guidance and direction by representatives from a number of Intelligence Community Agencies. NIMA has agreed to issue the solicitation for GI2Vis. The evaluation of white papers and proposals, the selection of awardees, the execution of the resulting contracts, and the overall management of GI2Vis will also be accomplished jointly by NIMA and other Intelligence Community Agencies under the guidance and direction of ARDA.
While Phase II of the GI2Vis R&D Program continues many of the research topics and areas of interest established in Phase I, Phase II is a new solicitation and as such stands on its own. All Phase II contract awards will be made to Offerors who submit proposals to this current BAA solicitation and who are selected for award based upon the government's evaluation of all submitted optional white papers and full proposals. No Phase I contracts will be carried over into Phase II.
Phase II of the GI2Vis R&D Program, with a performance period of 24 months, will be devoted to in-depth research within the three GI2Vis topics of interest listed below and described in far more detail in Part II, Section 5 of the GI2Vis BAA identified above. Innovative ideas that address the following research areas of interest are encouraged:
- Integration and Representation of Disparate and Large Information Sources
- Maximizing Visualization Effectiveness and Facilitating Visualization Use;
- Visualization of Tacit Knowledge.
ARDA believes that Information Visualization has high potential to be a powerful force multiplier within a number of distinct analysis and reporting functions used by all types of Intelligence Community Analysts across the entire spectrum of the Intelligence Community.
But for any number of reasons the high potential that information visualization appears to tantalizingly offer has not yet been fully realized. ARDA does not believe that there is a single, simple, elegant way to correct this situation. Rather ARDA believes that significant, marked progress can be achieved towards achieving this potential by focusing advanced R&D activities against several key, underlying roadblocks to this progress. ARDA's GI2Vis R&D Program has been established to focus on these selected areas of Information Visualization on behalf of the Intelligence Community.
The Phase II GI2Vis Program BAA document describes three similar, yet distinct "Analytic Uses of Information Visualization" that ARDA and the GI2Vis Program have identified within the Intelligence Community that will focus and drive the research that will conducted throughout the GI2Vis Program.
It is within the scope and context of these three analytic uses that the technical problem descriptions of the three research areas, that are identified above and that are described in more detail in the BAA, need to be interpreted and understood by potential offerors of technical proposals developed and submitted in response to this BAA.
The three Analytic Uses of Information Visualization that ARDA and the GI2Vis Program have identified are:
" Exploration of Massive, Complex, Heterogeneous Data
(Or more simply "Exploration")
The goal of this use of visualization is to more effectively and efficiently assist the Analyst is performing varying degrees of undirected knowledge discovery against potentially unknown data sources that may be massive, diverse, and/ or complex. In this environment, the hope is that Analysts will recognize the importance of information and knowledge when they see it. "I'll know it when I see it".
" Deep Analysis of Relevant, Related, Topical Information
(Or more simply "Deep Analysis")
The starting assumption in this use of visualization is that the Analyst, by one means or another, has accumulated a manageable collection of information that he or she believes is relevant or otherwise related to the current intelligence requirement that the Analyst is currently working on. The goal of the Analyst at this stage is to discover and understand how the individual pieces of information that he or she is starting with fit together in a larger mosaic. The hope is that information visualization will make this process far more effective and efficient from the Analyst's perspective.
" Presentation of Intelligence Analysis Results to Senior Decision Makers/Intelligence Community Customers
(Or more simply "Presentation")
In this case the Analyst has completed his or her analysis of the data and information associated with a given intelligence requirement to a sufficient level that reportable intelligence results are now available. The hope is that more formal information visualization presentations will make this reporting function far more effective and efficient particularly when complex, detailed intelligence results involving potentially alternative scenarios/analyses need to be presented in a succinct, yet comprehensive manner.
IMPORTANT DATES FOR GI2Vis Phase II BAA
" Release of BAA by NIMA: Friday 3 May 2002
" Optional White Papers due to Government: Friday 24 May 2002 (14:00 EDT)
" White Paper Feedback from Government: Monday 10 June 2002
" Full Proposals due to Government: Friday 28 June 2002 (14:00 EDT)
" Acknowledge Receipt of Proposals: Friday 28 June 2002
" Letter of intent to recommend for award: Friday 2 August 2002 (Estimated)
" Contract Award: 15 September 2002 (Estimated)
The Government evaluation completion, selection announcement, and award dates are estimates.
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