The Defense Forensic Science Center (DFSC) (formerly the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory (USACIL)) provides forensic laboratory services to DoD military criminal investigative organizations (Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the Army Criminal Investigation Command) and other DoD customers. It is a full service forensic laboratory, providing state-of-the-art forensic examinations in the following disciplines:
The DFSC has three primary objectives: (1) Analyze forensic evidence and provide expert testimony to support worldwide criminal investigation across all military services (2) Provide expeditionary and reach-back forensic services to U.S. military forces in active theaters of operation (3) Coordinate and execute research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E) projects to advance forensic capabilities.
The Department of Defense Forensic Research and Development Program (“Program”) is administered by the U.S. Army Research Office and the Defense Forensic Science Center. The Program aims to enhance the capability of forensic science applications in traditional law enforcement/criminal justice purviews and in expeditionary environments. The Program accomplishes this mission by funding research projects that lead to the production of useful knowledge, materials, devices, systems, or methods that have forensic function.
The Program is seeking proposals for funding to support forensic research and its application. The requested proposals should focus on adding to general forensic knowledge and/or DFSC activities and needs. Forensic research proposals should focus on the creation of new and improved field or laboratory functional capabilities that result in faster, more robust, more informative, less costly, or less labor-intensive recognition, preservation, collection, and/or analysis of forensic evidence. Proposals involving the development of equipment that is portable, sustainable, and useful in an expeditionary or field environment are also solicited. The expeditionary and field environments require systems that are lightweight, portable, inexpensive, fast, and capable of operating in extreme environments of temperature, dust, humidity, etc. The systems must also be capable of secure data communications.
This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) is a continuously open five-year announcement valid throughout the period beginning 18 October 2016 and ending 15 October 2021.
Proposals are sought from educational institutions, non-profit/not-for-profit organizations, and commercial organizations, domestic or foreign, for research and development (R&D) in those areas specified in Part II Section A of this BAA. Foreign owned, controlled, or influenced organizations are advised that security restrictions may apply that could preclude their participation in these efforts. Educational institutions, nonprofit/not-for-profit organizations, and commercial organizations based in countries included on the U.S. State Department List of Countries that Support Terrorism are excluded from participation in these efforts.
