The Naval Warfare Centers work on ever changing Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) projects for various customers/sponsors across the DoD. However, being able to match project needs with available personnel is a challenge. With the help of a workshop with Begin Morning Nautical Twilight (BMNT), the Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC Pacific) have derived that the Naval workforce could benefit from an online, interactive Gig economy. Therefore, we are looking to leverage novel concepts and new technologies currently being used to create the emergent “Gig Economy” and develop an internal capability to more efficiently and effectively solicit short-term project needs and find skilled workers to help with tasks.
Motivation
When the Navy needs something for operational use, typically there is not readily available thing on the “shelf” that these customers can just go and buy, so they reach out to the Warfare Centers to help create and/or modify technologies. To achieve the desired end state, Warfare Centers will develop and staff projects to meet the operational objectives. Much of this staffing is done with levels of Full Time Equivalents (FTEs). That is, folks come and join the project team at some level up to full time work. Fairly often staffing a new start can be hard since in theory a person can’t work more than a certain level of FTE and it becomes a zero-sum game where you have to stop working on a project in order to pick a new one up.
However, internal research has shown that many tasks are repeated across projects and that many of these tasks could be compartmentalized and worked on separately. With the proliferation of the Gig Economy, we started to see parallels with “hiring someone to build a bookcase” on something like TaskRabbit, to our work, like “build a custom voltage regulator”.
From this, the Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific would like to post the following challenge: “Can you build a gig economy marketplace to easily bring together projects and personnel to quickly satisfy Navy needs?” If so, this could break the mold of having folks joining teams in a permeant fashion to now work across teams to accomplish tasks that are well suited to their various skill sets.
The Ask
This Challenge is to create a web-based tool that matches a project manager’s needs with engineers’ skill sets. This needs to be done in a similar way to how the gig economy works so that we can have a continuous pool of engineering talent available and facilitate rotation and knowledge sharing across projects. Some commercial examples include TaskRabbit, Qwick and Handy.
Overall goal would be a tool that would allow engineers to create profiles about the type of work they do and then managers enter in the type of work that they need. The tool would then have a matching algorithm and suggest possible matches that the manager can then call to set up a meet and great to see if there’s a good fit.
The prototype would be a tool that would have the following features:
- 1. Intuitive and fun user interface (UI) that allows engineers to create profiles.
- Requires the ability to easily input both pre-populated and manually entered skills (e.g., mechanical design, 3D printing, embedded programmer, python, machine learning, circuit design, RF radios, etc…).
- Requires the ability of the engineers to provide information about their availability, interests, and desired outcomes.
- Attempts to gather this information from engineers in the past has been laborious and resulted in low-fidelity data. The Challenge winner would have a way to engage the engineer to make this fun.
- 2. Intuitive and fun UI for Program Managers that allows them to break down a task.
- Requires both the ability to input free text and suggest text. For example, it might start with “I need” and then as the PM types “Communications” then it may suggest text or give blocks below that they can then select (say “Communications … Circuits / Software / Procurement / Etc…”
- Requires the ability to search through past and active projects easily by different filters (e.g., type of task, length of task, and cost)
- 3. Development of matching algorithms that connects #1 & #2 above to offer the PM suggestions of engineers they can reach out to with a certain level of confidence that the engineer can achieve their tasking.
- Requires the ability to easily search through matches.
- Every successful match is then used to reinforce the algorithm and update a “rating” for the engineer, which would be more of a +1 to a certain skill set used to make the match vs. a star rating.
- 4. Intuitive and user-friendly homepage UI that includes robust search algorithm that lets project managers to easily search through engineer profiles and allow engineers to see posted projects.
- 5. Ability to set alerts that will ping users when certain key words, skills, or project tasks are posted.
- 6. The tool needs to be containerized. The entire application needs to be able to be built with a DockerFile.
- 7. The complete code repository needs to be provided for review.
Questions or clarifications regarding the request can be emailed to: [email protected].
The winner of this challenge will be eligible for an award of a prototype project under 10 USC 71B to continue to develop, refine and finalize the tool.
Prize Breakdown
NIWC Pacific has established $100,000 as the total amount set aside for cash prizes under this Challenge. Prizes will be awarded for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd submissions in the amounts of $50,000, $30,000, $20,000, respectively. Tax treatment of prizes will be handled in accordance with U.S. Internal Revenue Service guidelines. The winner must provide a U.S. taxpayer identification number (TIN) (e.g., a TIN or employer identification number (EIN)) to receive the cash prize.
Eligibility Requirements
Open to all. CAGE or DUNS code required (available at sam.gov). All Teams must have a TIN or EIN in order to receive a prize. Eligibility is subject to verification before any prize is awarded.
Rules
Team entries must have an individual identified as the primary point of contact and prize recipient. By submitting an entry, a Participant authorizes their institution’s name to be released to the media.
The submission package must include:
· white paper
· corresponding tool/application
White Paper Submission Guidelines:
White papers should provide an overview of the proposed tool and technical approach (e.g. UI, architecture, deployment overview, algorithm description, features, etc.), the benefits and novelty of the approach within the context of existing tools the dependencies necessary to operate the proposed tool. White papers must be no more than five pages in length. All white papers must be submitted along with the Participants tool per the instructions outlined in the tool submission guidelines below.
Tool/Application Submission Guidelines:
The entire application stack should be created using containerized micro-service containers with each service created via Dockerfile. Submission should be a link to downloadable executable, source code and read.me files (e.g., a GitHub repository). The Stack should be able to be launched using a docker-compose.yml file to ensure proper networking configuration between services, and required environment variable initialization. An example docker-compose.yml file should be included in the code repository along with read.me file explaining environment configuration details. The images created from the Dockerfiles should be stored on a cloud image repository which can be accessed from public internet. (Example: Dockerhub, gitlab’s built in container registry). A good introductory example can be seen here (https://docker-curriculum.com/).
Term and Conditions
The Participant agrees to comply with and be bound by the Narwhal Background and Rules (“the Rules”) as well as the Terms and Conditions contained herein. The Participant also agrees that the decisions of the Government, in connection with all matters relating to this Challenge are binding and final.
Data Rights
NIWC Pacific does not require that Participants relinquish or otherwise grant license rights to intellectual property developed or delivered under the Challenge. NIWC Pacific requires sufficient data rights/intellectual property rights to use, release, display, and disclose the white paper and/or tool, but only to the evaluation team members, and only for purposes of evaluating the Participant submission. The evaluation team does not plan to retain entries after the Challenge is completed but does plan to retain data and aggregate performance statistics, resulting from the evaluation of those entries. By accepting these Terms and Conditions, the Participant consents to the use of data submitted to the evaluation team for these purposes.
NIWC Pacific may contact Participants, at no additional cost to the Government, to discuss the means and methods used in solving the Challenge, even if Participants did not win the Challenge. Such contact does not imply any sort of contractual commitment with the Participant.
Because of the number of anticipated Challenge entries, NIWC Pacific cannot and will not make determinations on whether or not third-party materials in the Challenge submissions have protectable intellectual property interests. By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether participating individually, as a team, or as a commercial entity) warrants and assures the Government that any data used for the purpose of submitting an entry for this Challenge, were obtained legally and through authorized access to such data. By entering the Challenge and submitting the Challenge materials, the Participant agrees to indemnify and hold the Government harmless against any claim, loss or risk of loss for patent or copyright infringement with respect to such third party interests.
This Challenge does not replace or supersede any other written contracts and/or written challenges that the Participant has or will have with the Government, which may require delivery of any materials the Participant is submitting herein for this Challenge effort.
This Challenge constitutes the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the Challenge. NIWC Pacific may update the terms of the Challenge from time to time without notice. Participants are strongly encouraged to check the website frequently.
If any provision of this Challenge is held to be invalid or unenforceable under applicable federal law, it will not affect the validity or enforceability of the remainder of the Terms and Conditions of this Challenge.
Results of Challenge
Winning submissions will be announced on the challenge.gov website and via email to the winners.
Release of Claims
The Participant agrees to release and forever discharge any and all manner of claims, equitable adjustments, actions, suits, debts, appeals, and all other obligations of any kind, whether past or present, known or unknown, that have or may arise from, are related to or are in connection with, directly or indirectly, this Challenge or the Participant’s submission.
Governing Law
This Challenge is subject to all applicable federal laws and regulations. ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS WILL BE GOVERNED BY THE FEDERAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
Judging Criteria
Submissions will be judged based on ability to adhere to list of 7 feature requests in the description of the above as well as end user feedback/rating of tool use.
How to Enter
Email submissions to: [email protected] with subject line: Narwhal Challenge Submission.
Awards:- $100,000
Deadline:- 05-09-2022
