WHAT’S CANADA BUYING? Some Recent Buys & Questions

Some intriguing tidbits about what Canada’s defence community is buying or looking for these days.

In an era of “whole of government” ops, how can we get people from different departments, ministries and agencies to trust each other and work together better?

…. The Organizational Behavior Group (OB Group) within the Collaborative Performance and Learning Section (CPL Section) of Defence Research and Development Canada – Toronto (DRDC Toronto) has received approval to conduct a three year Applied Research Project (ARP) to explore and identify the mechanisms of establishing and maintaining interagency trust. More specifically, the purpose of the Interagency Trust ARP is to understanding the psychological processes associated with trust in such environments in order to contribute to and enhance the development of this mission critical capability…. (PDF of Statement of Work here).

How do we work better in teams made up of people from different countries, organizations and cultures?

…. As part of a global community, Canadian Forces (CF) personnel must be able to work effectively as part of a team, either in the context of co-ordinated joint operations or in collaboration with various government and non-government agencies and organizations, international organizations, or multinational military forces, embedded in diverse social and cultural settings. Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) will conduct research that will facilitate the realization of the full synergistic potential of teams operating in Joint, Interagency, Multinational, and Public (JIMP) environments. The objectives of the Applied Research Project (ARP), entitled “JIMP Essentials in the Public Domain: Implications for the Tactical Commander,” include: 1) a conceptual clarification of the aspects of JIMP, with implications for the development of knowledge, education and training tools for the tactical commander; 2) identification of individual differences/aptitudes that facilitate effective collaboration in a JIMP environment, with implications for training, selection and teamwork; and 3) integration of historical and international perspectives on the Public aspects of JIMP. The challenge is to understand the critical human-centric, psychosocial and cognitive aspects of collaborative work and to develop methods and models to foster collaborative behaviour …. (PDF of Statement of Work here)

“Ballistic Blankets”, round 2 (supercedes this round)

…. The Department of National Defence requires the alteration of Government furnished Ballistic Blankets to provide additional occupant protection in light armoured vehicles. The alterations will consist of cutting, sewing and installing hardware.
Scope of Work:
This requirement consists of the following elements:
(a)    Quantity of twenty-five (25) kits of Ballistic Blankets within one (1) month of contract award;
(b)    Three (3) options of up to quantity seventy-nine (79) kits of Ballistic Blankets to be delivered within 1 month after each option is exercised ….

Tools to help build better reactive armour?

…. REQUIREMENT: Defence Research and Development Canada – Suffield has a requirement for which the objective is to generate a coherent high-speed reactive structural material jet and to experimentally study the reaction and interaction of this coherent jet with a nearby structure, and in particular, to determine the impulse applied to a structure. The second objective of this work is to develop metallurgy for desired shapes of a class of more advanced reactive structural materials with great mechanical strength and density and to characterize the critical shock initiation and energy release of the most promising materials ….

Goggles or systems to help armoured vehicle drivers drive at night better

…. This requirement is for the Department of National Defence (DND) to procure Driver’s Vision Enhancer (DVE) systems. This device provides a primary day/night driving aid to enhance mobility and survivability of the Armored Vehicules (sic) for the Canadian Forces (CF) by enabling the driver to better negotiate terrain and assist in crew surveillance tasks. The DVE System must aid the driver in negotiating obstacles such as ditches, craters, railways, water, etc. The DVE System must be capable of providing sufficient fidelity for the driver to manoeuvre tactically by assisting the driver in obstacle avoidance and route selection that provides the best cover and concealment when performing tasks during Canadian operations ….

Privatizing bulk fuel storage at CFB Goose Bay

….The Department of National Defence (DND) is the owner of the Tank Farm and Fuel Distribution System located on the Canadian Forces Base (5 Wing) and is adjacent to the 5 Wing Goose Bay military airport and in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador. Work under his contract shall include:
a.     Development of a business / financial model to evaluate future operations and maintenance of the tank farm facility under a Terminal Model of operations.
b.     In general terms, a Terminal Model is a mode of operation wherein the prospective operator of the facility would provide fee-based fuel storage and related services to multiple public and private sector users of the facility. Fuel product owned by the various clients could be co-mingled within the fuel storage tanks.
c.     Potential clients would include public and private sector entities having requirement for bulk fuel storage….

50.5 kilometres (31.5 miles) o’ velcro

…. The Department of National Defence (DND) has a requirement for Fasteners, Tape, Hook and Pile …. A firm quantity of 33,000 meters to be delivered to Montreal, Quebec and 17,500 meters to be delivered to Edmonton, Alberta for a total quantity of 50,500 meters….