ONHS Report: FA875024S7003

Coordinating Austere Nodes through Virtualization and Analysis of Streams (CANVAS)

Solicitation ID: FA875024S7003

Agency: AFRL/Information Directorate

Type: Presolicitation

Deadline: 2029-05-21T16:00:00 ET

Eligibility: Maybe (Dual Approval Required)

Funding: Total funding is approximately $24.9M, with individual awards normally ranging from $200K to $3M.

Doc Type: BAA

Clearance: TS/SCI

Program Manager: ryan.hilliard.3@us.af.mil

Last Updated: 2025-11-24 13:16

Analyzed File: 24-03 Amend 6 first repub_updated.docx

Eligibility Reasoning

Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and Government entities... are subject to applicable direct competition limitations and cannot propose to this BAA in any capacity unless they meet the following conditions: FFRDCs must clearly demonstrate that the proposed work is not otherwise available from the private sector; and FFRDCs must provide a letter on official letterhead from their sponsoring organization citing the specific authority establishing their eligibility... FFRDC and Government entity eligibility will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Note: This is an AI-generated summary...

Summary

The Department of the Air Force seeks innovative research for the Coordinating Austere Nodes through Virtualization and Analysis of Streams (CANVAS) program. The goal is to develop a prototype system for continuous orchestration of command and control (C2) processes in distributed, contested environments, supporting the Agile Combat Employment (ACE) concept. The program is structured into two technical areas (TAs): TA1 involves creating a virtual C2 layer for commanders to simulate and analyze the impact of business rule changes and condition-based authorities on dynamic workflows before implementation. TA2 focuses on a decentralized C2 framework to execute these workflows across physically dispersed nodes. For fiscal years 2025 and 2026, the solicitation is strictly limited to white papers for specific components of TA1 only, such as policy generation, tradeoff analysis, intent-based orchestration, and visualization. This is a two-step Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) with approximately $24.9M in total funding available until May 2029, with individual awards expected to range from $200K to $3M.

Overall Technical Areas

Distributed Workflow ExecutionCommand and Control (C2) VirtualizationDecentralized Execution FrameworksIntent-Based Networking (IBN)Predictive System OptimizationDistributed Control AlgorithmsModeling and Simulation IntegrationSoftware Defined PoliciesWorkflow Tradeoff AnalysisMicroservice-Based ArchitectureReal-Time Data VisualizationDynamic Workflow ManagementResource Constrained OptimizationSystem Prototype Development

Probable LBNL Areas

BSACSAEESAETA

Focus Areas

Example Priorities:

conduct tradeoff analysis of business rule changes and conditions-based authorities, through simulating the execution of dynamic workflows under operationally relevant conditions
For a given mission thread or subset of mission threads within a scenario, provide the assessment of where to re-route tasks and reaggregate resources to prioritize mission success, while adhering to commander’s intent.
Identify the gaps and risk if intent constraints are violated.
Use what-if analysis to determine where missions could fail based on formulated intent.

Specific Technical Skills:

Modeling & SimulationWhat-If AnalysisTrade-off AnalysisWorkflow ModelingSystems AnalysisRisk AssessmentOperations ResearchBusiness Process Management Notation (BPMN)Systems Modeling Language (SysML)Resource Optimization

Potential PIs for this Area:

Name	Score	Organization
Oluwamayowa Amusat	0.70	CSA \| SciData \| Data Science Applications
Thomas Hendrickson	0.69	ETA \| Energy Analysis & Environmental Impacts \| Sustainable Energy Dept
Nica Campbell	0.69	ETA \| Energy Analysis & Environmental Impacts \| Sustainable Energy Dept
Julie Mulvaney Kemp	0.69	ETA \| Energy Analysis & Environmental Impacts \| Energy Markets & Policy
Donghun Kim	0.69	ETA \| Building Technology & Urban Systems \| Bldg Technologies Dept
Michael Wetter	0.68	ETA \| Building Technology & Urban Systems \| Bldg Technologies Dept
Gregory Lemieux	0.68	EESA \| CESD \| Earth System Sciences
Jennifer Stokes-Draut	0.68	ETA \| Energy Analysis & Environmental Impacts \| Sustainable Energy Dept
Alexandre Moreira da Silva	0.68	ETA \| ESDR \| Energy Storage & Dist Dpt
Michael Sohn	0.68	ETA \| Energy Analysis & Environmental Impacts \| Sustainable Energy Dept

Example Priorities:

translates the mission thread objectives from plans or updated guidance into software defined policies.
Algorithm development for this effort will focus on predictive system-level optimization by applying rules-based and intent-based cost function logic.
The distributed control algorithms should instantiate policy generated within the virtual C2 layer to the decentralized C2 framework.
Delegate mission level tasking to austere nodes through mapping of conditions-based authorities to each mission type order.
The decentralized execution algorithms should focus on routing logic that efficiently coordinates distributed forces in a contested environment that adhere to system generated policies.

Specific Technical Skills:

Intent-Based Networking (IBN)Distributed SystemsOptimization AlgorithmsPredictive Routing LogicPolicy GenerationRules EnginesDistributed Control AlgorithmsCost Function OptimizationSoftware Defined Policies

Potential PIs for this Area:

Name	Score	Organization
John Wu	0.70	CSA \| Scientific Networking (ESNET) \| Tech Adv and Engagement
Vinay Sawal	0.70	CSA \| NERSC \| Data Center Department
Ronal Kumar	0.69	CSA \| NERSC \| Data Center Department
Dan Bonachea	0.68	CSA \| AMCR \| Computer Science
Alexandre Moreira da Silva	0.68	ETA \| ESDR \| Energy Storage & Dist Dpt
Khaled Ibrahim	0.68	CSA \| AMCR \| Computer Science
Anand Krishnan Prakash	0.68	ETA \| Building Technology & Urban Systems \| Bldg Technologies Dept
Aydin Buluc	0.68	CSA \| AMCR \| Computer Science
Alexander Sim	0.68	CSA \| SciData \| Data Science Research
Jean Luca Bez	0.68	CSA \| SciData \| Data Science Research

Example Priorities:

CANVAS will need a visual representation of the virtual C2 layer that includes a data analysis dashboard, a representation of the physical C2 layer, and environmental factors dynamically enacted on the system.
The data analysis dashboard should maintain specific user properties that display updated capacity, efficiency, resiliency of overall system as well as individual subsets of functions.
The dashboard should display the predicted topology of blue C2 nodes within a scenario or real-time event stream that ingests and updates the status of each C2 node.

Specific Technical Skills:

Data VisualizationUI/UX DesignDashboard DevelopmentNetwork Topology VisualizationReal-time Data IngestionHuman-Computer InteractionCommon Operating PictureGeospatial Data Handling

Potential PIs for this Area:

Name	Score	Organization
Sarah Poon	0.72	CSA \| SciData \| Data Science Applications
Cody O'Donnell	0.72	CSA \| SciData \| Data Science Applications
Drew Paine	0.71	CSA \| SciData \| Data Science Applications
Danielle Svehla Christianson	0.70	CSA \| SciData \| Data Science Applications
Rajshree Deshmukh	0.70	CSA \| SciData \| Data Science Applications
Hannah Cohoon	0.69	CSA \| SciData \| Data Science Applications
Sufi Kaur	0.69	CSA \| SciData \| Data Science Applications
Gazi Mahmud	0.68	BSA \| Environmental Genomics & Systems Biology \| Molecular Ecosystems Bio
Annette Greiner	0.68	CSA \| NERSC \| Sci Eng & Workflows Department
Chris Harris	0.67	CSA \| NERSC \| Sci Eng & Workflows Department

Potential LBNL PIs (Overall)

Note on PI Matching: These suggestions are generated through an AI-driven semantic analysis of LBNL staff profiles.

Name	Score	Organization
Kameshwar Poolla	0.76	ETA \| ESDR \| Energy Storage & Dist Dpt · Distributed Control Algorithms
Alexandre Bayen	0.76	ETA \| Energy Analysis \| Systems & Energy Tech Analysis · Predictive System Optimization
Anna Giannakou	0.76	CSA \| SciData \| Data Science Applications · Distributed Workflow Execution
Cees De Laat	0.75	CSA \| ESNET \| Tech Adv and Engagement · Decentralized Execution Frameworks
Zachary Needell	0.74	ETA \| Energy Analysis \| Systems & Energy Tech Analysis · Modeling and Simulation Integration
Alexandre Moreira da Silva	0.73	ETA \| ESDR \| Energy Storage & Dist Dpt · Resource Constrained Optimization
Arpit Gupta	0.73	CSA \| ESNET \| Tech Adv and Engagement · Intent-Based Networking (IBN)
Steven Hofmeyr	0.73	CSA \| AMCR \| Computer Science · System Prototype Development
Abdelilah Essiari	0.72	CSA \| SciData \| Data Science Applications · Software Defined Policies
Dan Gunter	0.72	CSA \| SciData \| Data Science Applications · Real-Time Data Visualization

Fundamental Research Exemption (FRE)

As of the date of publication of this BAA, the Government cannot identify whether work proposed under this BAA may be considered fundamental research and may award both fundamental and non-fundamental research. Proposers should indicate in their proposal whether they believe the scope of the research included in their proposal is fundamental or not. While proposers should clearly explain the intended results of their research, the Government shall have sole discretion to select award instrument type and to negotiate all instrument terms and conditions with selectees. Appropriate clauses will be included in resultant awards for non-fundamental research to prescribe publication requirements and other restrictions, as appropriate.