The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Maritime Capabilities and Innovation - Commercial Solutions Opening Pilot Program (CSOP) General Solicitation

The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Commercial Solutions Opening Pilot Program (CSOP) is a Non-Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) based solicitation authority for acquiring innovative and commercial solutions. Section 880 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2017 (Pub. L. 114-328) authorized DHS to implement a pilot program to competitively procure innovative commercial items, technologies, and services using CSOP procedures. CSOP is a new acquisition mechanism that provides a streamlined acquisition process and simplified contract terms that is designed to maximize efficiency and economy and minimize burden and administrative costs for both the Government and industry.

DHS's Office of Program Accountability and Risk Management (PARM) is issuing the subject CSOP General Solicitation for DHS and all its Components to rapidly procure innovative commercial maritime capabilities and solutions. The Department's maritime responsibilities span a wide array of missions, including homeland defense readiness, law, border, and trade enforcement, disaster response, counter-illicit trafficking, humanitarian response, and critical infrastructure protection. These missions depend on a broad ecosystem of platforms, technologies, port systems, and operational capabilities that must be acquired, sustained, and modernized in a fiscally responsible, secure, and mission-driven manner.

The Maritime Capabilities and Innovation CSOP General Solicitation aims to identify new ideas, approaches, tools, and partnerships that can help the Department address critical challenges and accelerate transformation across its maritime enterprise. This General Solicitation provides a flexible mechanism to solicit, evaluate, and fund exploratory and applied work that does not fit neatly into traditional acquisition frameworks, but that has the potential to improve DHS's ability to acquire, oversee, and operate with their maritime enterprise.

The procurement is limited to innovative commercial products or services relevant to one or more of the Strategic Focus Areas outlined in the solicitation. Within the meaning of the statute, innovative is defined as, Any new technology, process, or method, including research and development, or any new application of an existing technology, process, or method.

Potential Submitters are hereby advised of the following:

1. This CSOP General Solicitation will stay open for a period of 12 months, until August 5, 2026. Industry is invited to respond to this open call for innovative solutions at any time during the stated period. Submissions will be accepted on a rolling basis, allowing for continuous engagement and the opportunity to present solutions as they are developed.

2. It is within the Government's discretion to accept more than one solution for a contract award resulting from this CSOP Solicitation.

3. All costs of preparing and submitting solution videos, written submission, and additional presentations/demonstrations related to this CSOP Solicitation are the responsibility of the submitting entity and not eligible for funding or reimbursement by the Government.

4. The evaluation will include an assessment of whether the proposed commercial product or service is innovative within the meaning of the statute. Submission and proposals are evaluated on individual merit rather than on a comparative basis.

5. To be eligible for award, Companies must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov), prior to DHS making a CSOP contract award.

Please review the attached CSOP General Solicitation for general information, submission instructions, and evaluation procedures.

See attachments:

1. CSOP General Solicitation Document: DHS Maritime Capabilities and Innovation - CSOP General Solicitation 70RDA125R00000013