04a. MITRE_RISE_JOFOC_FINAL_SB316_APPROVED.pdf

U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Railroad Administration

JUSTIFICATION FOR

OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

Solicitation # FR26RDI20000000023

1. Contracting Agency: United States Department of Transportation (DOT), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Office of Acquisition (RAD-30), 1200 New Jersey, Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590.

2. Action to be Approved: The FRA awarded a contract to MITRE Corporation for “Rail Information Sharing Environment (RISE) Program Development Support Services” without full and open competition on September 26, 2024. The current action is a continuation of the subject contract 693JJ624C000049 to complete the work outlined in the base award. While the foundational work for the subject contract 693JJ624C000049, including a landscape assessment, program roadmap, founding documentation, and a technical report of RISE program activities, had been completed, much of the developmental work to mature RISE as a data trust, complete a demonstration, and engage stakeholders had not been completed. Therefore, it is necessary to complete the additional requirements. Due to unforeseen delays in the approval process to exercise the option in the original contract, the period of performance for the subject contract 693JJ624C000049 ended on March 29, 2025. Final approval to continue the work outlined herein was received on February 4, 2026. Therefore, a new contract is requested.

3. Description of Services: FRA requires a contractor to perform the following: (1) Advance and mature RISE as a data trust for the railroad industry, consistent with the DOT Order on Data Trusts; (2) Demonstrate RISE value through targeted projects, measurable data-driven outcomes, and stakeholder use cases; and, (3) Promote coordination and information exchange among industry participants and stakeholders to enhance safety and effectiveness.

The total estimated value of this requirement is $3,000,000.00.

4. Authority Cited: The statutory authority for this non-competitive action is derived from 41 U.S.C. § 3304(a)(3), as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-3 “Industrial mobilization; engineering, developmental, or research capability; or expert services.”

and FAR 6.302-3 (a)(2)(ii) “Competition need not be provided…to establish or maintain an essential engineering, research, or development capability to be provided by an educational or other nonprofit institution or a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC).”

5. A Demonstration that the Proposed Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or the Nature of the Acquisition Requires Use of the Authority Cited: FRA has a requirement for program development support for RISE. FRA conducted market research on data trust program development and found MITRE Corporation. MITRE operates six federally funded research and development centers and is a leading expert and possesses unique expertise in transportation. As such, the statutory authority implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-3, “(FAR) 6.302-3 Industrial mobilization; engineering, developmental, or research capability; or expert services.” is applicable to this proposed acquisition because MITRE Corporation will perform the work through one of its federally funded research and development centers. MITRE has noted expertise in the establishment and development of two existing DOT data trusts for DOT, Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) program and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Partnership for Analytics Research in Traffic Safety (PARTS) programs in which MITRE has served as the Program Developer. If this J&A is not approved and, consequently, the required service not provided, then FRA’s RISE program will not fulfill its mission to address complex railroad safety challenges through data sharing and collaboration with railroad stakeholders and will ultimately be unable to further FRA’s overall mission to enable the safe, reliable, and efficient movement of people and goods for a strong America, now and in the future.

6. Description of the Effort Made to Ensure that Offers are Solicited from as many Potential

Sources as Practicable: In accordance with the exception provided in FAR 5.202(a)(10), the Contracting Officer need not submit a notice of a proposed contract action when “the proposed contract action is made under conditions described in FAR 6.302-3 and advance notice is not appropriate or reasonable.”

7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable: The Contracting Officer determines that the anticipated cost will be fair and reasonable based on market research, previous acquisition history on similar requirements at DOT, and a price analysis that the Contracting Officer will conduct on the Contractor’s quotation using a combination of the techniques provided under FAR Subpart 15.404-1.

8. Market Research: Market research methods used include conversations and interviews with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and Contracting Officer Representatives (CORs) on similar requirements of NHTSA’s PARTS and FAA’s ASIAS, and discussions with MITRE to determine their capabilities. After thorough analysis, FRA has determined that MITRE, as an expert in the program development of data trusts within DOT, is the most qualified vendor this requirement.

9. Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other Than Full and Open Competition: The Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD) FFRDC, in which MITRE is the contractor, was established by the FAA and is available to any organization within DOT.

10. A List of Sources, If Any, that Expressed, in Writing, An Interest in the Acquisition: None.

11. A Statement of Actions, If Any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome Any Barriers to Competition Before Any Subsequent Acquisition for the Supplies or Services Required: Prior to embarking on a follow-on effort, the agency will conduct market research and explore whether use of a federally funded research and development center remains the best approach to support data trust program development efforts.

Technical Requirements Certification:

I certify that the technical requirements and technical justifications are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

SHALA BLUE

Contracting Officer’s Representative Date https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-6#FAR_6_302_3

APPROVAL:

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve awarding a contract to MITRE Corporation on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of 41 U.S.C. § 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(3) as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-3 “Industrial mobilization; engineering, developmental, or research capability; or expert services” and competition need not be provided per FAR Part 6.302-3(a) and (a)(2)(ii) “to establish or maintain an essential engineering, research, or development capability to be provided by an educational or other nonprofit institution or a federally funded research and development center,” subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

AKWASI KANKAM Date Contracting Officer, RAD-30

PAUL SZYMANSKI Date Acting Director of Acquisition, RAD- 30 Chief of the Contracting Office

JOSH JORDAN Date Competition Advocate http://uscode.house.gov/browse.xhtml%3Bjsessionid%3D114A3287C7B3359E597506A31FC855B3

Date8_af_date: 3/25/26