READINESS AND DECISION SUPPORT · ALL FREE

Readiness tools
for cleared work.

Every free tool Salian Defense publishes, in one place, with the question each one answers and the decision each one does not make. They are built to organize a hard question early, when the answer is still cheap to act on.

›DIRECT ANSWER
/ ANSWER CAPSULE

What are these tools?

They are free readiness and decision-support tools covering the questions that come up before cleared work can start: whether a facility clearance can begin, what a secure facility will cost, what a program still needs before it is scoped, where an accreditation package stands, why a project has stalled, and what CMMC Level 1 actually requires.

Each one organizes a question and shows the gaps. None of them makes a determination. The authorities that do are named on every tool and again at the bottom of this page.

I.THE TOOLS

Eleven questions, answered without a sales call.

Listed roughly in the order a program encounters them: eligibility first, then the facility, then the accreditation, then the recovery, then the training. Each entry says what the tool answers, who it is for, and what it explicitly does not decide.

Capture Readiness Checklist

Pursuit checklist

Should we pursue this opportunity, and what has to close before we spend more capture time on it?

For
Capture managers, business development leads and executives deciding whether to keep pursuing a specific opportunity.
Does
Maps the pursuit across customer fit, set-aside eligibility, facility and clearance dependencies, competition and proposal burden. Twenty-two questions across six areas, run entirely in your browser, return a plain pursuit picture rather than a score.
Does not
Tell you to bid or not to bid. Size standard eligibility is determined by the SBA, facility clearance by DCSA or the applicable Cognizant Security Agency, and the pursuit decision stays yours.
Check this pursuit ›

FCL Readiness Self-Check

Readiness picture

Can our facility clearance even start, and what is missing from the five gates that decide it?

For
Companies that have never held a facility clearance, and FSOs inheriting a stalled one.
Does
Maps readiness across the areas that decide an FCL: sponsorship, SF-328 and FOCI, key management personnel, corporate readiness and the classified requirement itself. Runs in your browser and returns a readiness picture with the open items named. There is no score and no verdict.
Does not
Determine eligibility. Facility clearance determinations are made by DCSA or the applicable Cognizant Security Agency, on the specific facts of your company, ownership, personnel and contract.
Run the self-check ›

FCL Navigator

Guided workflow

We are going to pursue an FCL. What exactly do we have to assemble, in what order?

For
FSOs, general counsel and executives preparing a DCSA facility clearance package.
Does
Walks the package item by item: sponsorship, the SF-328 and FOCI questions, KMP roles and exclusions, and DD-441 corporate readiness. Produces a prep worksheet you can keep and work from. Asks for a work email and a CAGE code before it runs.
Does not
Submit anything, sponsor you, or determine the outcome. Sponsorship requires a classified requirement from a government contracting activity or a cleared prime, and the determination remains DCSA's.
Open the navigator ›

Secure Facility Project Readiness

Requirements intake

We think we need a secure facility. Is the program ready to start one, and what is still undefined?

For
Program offices and cleared companies with a requirement in hand and no facility behind it yet.
Does
A short intake across contract, funding, workforce, timeline and current security posture that maps what is settled and what is still open before design money is committed.
Does not
Price the build, commit a schedule, or stand in for a site evaluation. It establishes whether the project is ready to be scoped, not what it will cost.
Start the intake ›

Site Selection Checklist

Checklist and comparison

Before we sign a lease, what should we verify about this site, and should we lease, build, or use a flexible option instead?

For
Program managers, FSOs and executives choosing space for a secure facility before a lease is signed.
Does
Two modules. A fifteen-item checklist across landlord rights, shared occupancy, structure, power, connectivity and location, and a comparison of six ways of getting secure space set against your own constraints. Both run entirely in your browser.
Does not
Approve a building, price a lease, or replace a site evaluation. Facility accreditation rests with the applicable Accrediting Official or Cognizant Security Authority, on the specific site.
Check your site ›

What should we put in the budget for a SCIF, and what actually drives that number?

For
Program offices, security officers, ISSMs and capture teams sizing a budget before design.
Does
The cost guide explains the ranges and the drivers behind them: storage type, size, sound attenuation, RF shielding, AA&E and starting condition. The Project Estimator turns those inputs into a budgetary rough order of magnitude that tightens as the intake is completed. It asks for a work email and a CAGE code before it runs.
Does not
Produce a bid, an engineering estimate, or a guarantee. Actual cost depends on site conditions, the accrediting authority's requirements and market pricing at the time of construction.
Read the cost guide ›

Accreditation Readiness

Scored self-check

Is this facility ready for the accreditation review, or are we about to fail an inspection?

For
FSOs, security specialists and program managers approaching an inspection, or holding a facility whose posture they did not build.
Does
Works through the readiness categories an accreditation package turns on: construction and the Fixed Facility Checklist, doors and hardware, intrusion detection, access control, acoustics, and the documentation that has to exist alongside them. Names what is open.
Does not
Accredit anything or predict an outcome. Accreditation is granted by the applicable Accrediting Official or Cognizant Security Authority, per site and per system.
Check readiness ›

Our project has stalled. Which of the usual causes is ours, and what has to happen first?

For
Owners of a facility project that is late, over budget, half built, or blocked against a security or accreditation gate.
Does
Sorts the symptom into the causes that actually stall secure construction: a design that was never accreditable, a sequence that put the package after the walls, a specialty scope nobody owned, or a schedule that lost its alignment with the program.
Does not
Assign fault, replace a site assessment, or commit anyone to a recovery plan. It sorts the problem so the first real conversation starts in the right place.
Run the diagnostic ›

CMMC Readiness Position

Planning tool

Where are we in the CMMC process, readiness, assessment or certification, and what does CMMC actually mean for our company?

For
Defense suppliers and the people inside them, FSOs, ISSMs and executives who inherited a CMMC obligation without a clear position.
Does
Works out the level the conversation is likely about and whether you are in readiness, assessment or certification, then lists what is open and in what order. Plain language, no score, no rank.
Does not
Certify anything. Salian is not a C3PAO. CMMC certification is issued by an authorized C3PAO or the Department of Defense; this tool supports readiness only.
Check your position ›

CMMC Academy

Course and certificate

What does CMMC Level 1 actually require of us, and can our team learn it without a consultant?

For
Defense contractors handling federal contract information, and the people inside them who just inherited compliance.
Does
A free self-paced course covering the framework, the seventeen Level 1 practices, self-assessment and SPRS scoring, with knowledge checks, a final exam and a certificate of completion.
Does not
Certify your organization. CMMC certification is issued by an authorized C3PAO or the Department of Defense. The certificate here records that a person completed the course, nothing more.
Start the course ›

Transaction Diligence Checklist

Diligence checklist

What should we check before acquiring a cleared contractor, and what needs a licensed professional before we close?

For
Investors, acquirers and corporate development teams evaluating a target that holds a facility clearance, classified contracts, accredited space or a CMMC obligation.
Does
Works through eleven areas, facility clearance, FOCI, KMP continuity, classified contracts, accreditations, CMMC posture, export control and novation, and marks each item in hand, not yet, or not applicable.
Does not
Grade the target, price the deal, or make any determination. Facility clearance and FOCI mitigation are decided by DCSA or the applicable Cognizant Security Agency; novation is a contracting officer decision.
Check your diligence ›
II.WHAT YOU MAY ENTER

The rule these tools are built to.

This is the standing rule for every public tool Salian publishes. It is stated on each tool as well, because it matters more than anything else on this page.

/ PUBLIC TOOL DATA RULE

Public website tools assume no CUI and no classified input. They request only planning-level, unclassified, non-proprietary information, state that rule on screen, and transmit a structured summary to Salian only with the user's consent.

In practice: results appear on screen as you work, with no email required to see them. Two tools, the Project Estimator and FCL Navigator, ask for a work email and a CAGE code before they run, because their output is scoped to qualified organizations. Nothing you enter reaches Salian unless you choose to send it, and what you send is a structured planning summary rather than a transcript.

Do not enter classified information, controlled unclassified information, or the as-built details of a fielded accredited facility such as its location or its accredited configuration. If a question cannot be answered without one of those, that is the point to stop using the tool and write to us instead.

III.WHO ACTUALLY DECIDES

None of these tools makes a determination.

Every readiness question on this page ends with an authority that is not Salian and not a website. Knowing which one is holding your answer is usually the most useful thing a readiness tool can tell you.

A · FACILITY CLEARANCE
DCSA, or the applicable CSA

Facility clearance eligibility is determined by DCSA or the applicable Cognizant Security Agency, on the specific facts of the company, its ownership, its personnel and its classified requirement. A readiness score is preparation, not eligibility.

B · FACILITY ACCREDITATION
The AO or CSA

Facility accreditation is granted by the applicable Accrediting Official or Cognizant Security Authority, per site. A self-check tells you what an inspection is likely to raise; it does not anticipate the determination.

C · SYSTEM AUTHORIZATION
The Authorizing Official

Authorization to operate a system rests with the Authorizing Official. Software can be built to a control set and can carry the evidence a package asks for, and that is a different thing from holding the authorization.

D · CMMC CERTIFICATION
A C3PAO, or the Department of Defense

CMMC certification is issued by an authorized C3PAO or the Department of Defense. Training and a self-assessment prepare an organization for that process; neither replaces it.

IV.COMMON QUESTIONS

The tools, answered.

What may I enter into these tools?
Public website tools assume no CUI and no classified input. They request only planning-level, unclassified, non-proprietary information, state that rule on screen, and transmit a structured summary to Salian only with the user's consent. Do not enter classified information, controlled unclassified information, or the as-built details of a fielded accredited facility.
Do I have to give an email address to see my result?
Not for the self-checks. The readiness scores and the course material appear on screen as you work. Two tools, the Project Estimator and FCL Navigator, ask for a work email and a CAGE code before they run, because their output is scoped to qualified organizations. A structured summary reaches Salian only when you choose to send it.
Do these tools decide anything?
No. They organize a question and show where the gaps are. Facility clearance determinations are made by DCSA or the applicable Cognizant Security Agency. Facility accreditation is granted by the applicable Accrediting Official or Cognizant Security Authority. System authorization rests with the Authorizing Official. CMMC certification is issued by an authorized C3PAO or the Department of Defense. Cost ranges are budgetary planning figures, not bids.
What does it cost to use them?
Nothing. Every tool listed here is free and there is no paid tier behind any of them. They exist because the questions they answer are the ones Salian gets asked before an engagement is ever discussed, and answering them well is cheaper for everyone than answering them in a meeting.
V.START HERE
/ NEXT STEP

Tell us what you are trying to accomplish.

If a tool surfaced something you did not expect, or your situation does not fit any of them, describe it in plain language. The first conversation is unclassified and costs nothing but the time to have it, and we will tell you plainly when the answer is that you do not need us yet.