2026_2027 Atlanta Regional Household Travel S.pdf

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

2026-2027 Atlanta Regional Household Travel Survey (ARHTS)

The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is seeking proposals for the administration of an activity based Regional Household Travel Survey relating to the Atlanta Regional Activity-Based Travel Demand Forecasting Model and the creation of resultant data files. The major objective of the project is to develop a travel behavior database for the Atlanta Metropolitan Region that is designed to support periodic updates for ongoing testing of alternative future growth scenarios. The survey also is to provide a means to update and estimate the model components used in the ARC travel demand forecasting process. The household level travel data will supplement the Census journey-to-work data by collecting travel data by purpose, length, mode, origin-destination and household socio-economic characteristics. The survey will collect current trip patterns and socio-economic data from a minimum of 8,000 households (or about 1 of 200 households). ARC is looking for a proposal that demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of data requirements, data collection techniques and quality control measures needed to meet the study objectives. The draft scope of services is attached.

Through this RFP, ARC will award and manage a contract for data collection, analysis and tabulation required for the Regional Household Travel Survey. It is anticipated that available funds for the project will be approximately $1,875,000.00. Assuming completion of all necessary administrative processes, ARC expects to award this contract with an effective date of March 1, 2026. Any contract award for this study is contingent upon ARC receiving adequate funding for this purpose from the Georgia Department of Transportation.

ARC anticipates that a contract will be awarded in March 2026 with all work to be completed by July 31, 2027. The successful firm or team of firms should be prepared to begin work immediately. ARC reserves the right to award all or part of the available funds for this project.

Additional information should not be required to respond to this RFP. However, questions should be submitted in writing to Guy Rousseau no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, January 5, 2026. Written questions should be submitted by email to grousseau@atlantaregional.org. All questions received, and responses to those questions will be posted on the ARC website by 5:00 pm Wednesday, January 12, 2026.

Acceptable responses to this RFP must be in written form as well as electronic versions of their proposals in a PDF file and not exceed a total of 50 pages (8.5 x 11, front and back of sheet counted as two pages), inclusive of resumes and firm experience. Covers, end sheets, proposed budget, required forms, required certifications, and an introductory letter shall not count against this maximum. Font size shall be a minimum of 10 points in all cases.

ARC must receive ten (10) hard copies via the address below and one (1) digital PDF copy via thumb drive for each interested firm. All responses must be received by ARC no later than noon EST Monday, January 28, 2026.

Proposals must be submitted to the following address:

Atlanta Regional Commission ATTN: Guy Rousseau International Tower 229 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 100 Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Proposals should provide a recommended approach and schedule for accomplishing the scope of work and should be accompanied by the following documentation:

1. Name of lead firm and any sub-consultants.

2. Point of contact (name, title, and phone number) at lead firm.

3. The firm’s recent experience is directly related to the scope of work.

4. Qualifications and technical competence of consultant/or sub-consultants in the type of work required.

5. Description of experience on similar projects including a list of at least 3 references within the past 5 years, with current contact information.

6. Identification of personnel who would work on the study indicating their education and experience.

7. Geographic location of the consultant’s office performing the work.

8. Current workload and availability of such personnel in all required fields of expertise.

9. A proposed project budget in the format at Exhibit B and B-1 to this RFP.

10. Any other pertinent information.

Proposal evaluation will focus initially on the written proposals received by ARC by the deadline stated above. The review of written proposals will be based on the following evaluation criteria, with the relative weights in parentheses:

1. Extensive experience in the data requirements for estimation and calibration of regional travel models that are sensitive to a broad range of policy issues. (20%)

2. Working knowledge of statistically based small sample survey research techniques. (20%)

3. Experience in the training and management of data collection personnel for both smartphone apps and household travel survey online questionnaire. (20%)

4. Experience in editing and quality control of interviews to ensure accuracy and completion, and ability to perform data reduction tasks of coding, data entry, verification, and sample expansion. (25%)

5. Relative experience of staff members in firm assigned to project and ability of assigned staff members to complete the project on the required schedule and provide thorough documentation. (15%)

Proposal evaluation will focus initially on the written proposals. Should it be determined that interviews are required, a “short list” of firms will be selected from the proposals received. The short-listed firms will be invited to participate in an interview process with the evaluation committee to be scheduled for the week of February 9, 2026. ARC will confirm an interview time with those firms selected for an interview.

If your firm does not wish to propose on the study, you should notify us of this fact in writing. A negative response will not prejudice consideration of your firm in competing for future ARC contracts. However, failure to respond either positively or negatively will be considered a lack of interest and will result in deletion of your firm from ARC’s consultant file.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST

ARC is subject to the Georgia Open Records law. All proposals submitted will become public records to be provided upon request. Any information containing trade secrets or proprietary information, as defined by state law, must be marked as confidential to prevent disclosure. Confidential markings must be limited to protected information. Entire proposals marked confidential will not be honored.

Additionally, conflicts of interest are governed by the ARC Standards of Ethical Conduct available here: Standards of Ethical Conduct. Respondents must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that may arise from the provision of services described herein. Such disclosure should include the name of individual(s) with whom there is a conflict, any relevant facts to the potential conflict, and a description of the internal controls proposed to mitigate any such conflict. ARC’s Staff Legal Counsel will determine whether such disclosure presents a potential organizational conflict of interest that should preclude award to the respondent.

EXHIBIT A

SCOPE OF WORK

I. General:

The work to be accomplished by the Consultant is in support of the following Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) Cost Center:

Cost Center 606EHS – Atlanta Regional Household Travel Survey (ARHTS)

II. Definition of Study Area:

The Consultant will perform all the necessary services provided under this contract within the Atlanta Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) area (“Metro Atlanta”), including the 21-county modeling region. This modeling area currently includes all or parts of the following nineteen counties: Barrow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Spalding, and Walton. Two additional counties are currently part of the air quality maintenance areas: Bartow and Hall. Any work activities related to the air quality planning responsibilities of the MPO need to survey travel behavior in those counties as well.

III. Work and Services:

Work will involve the development, deployment, data collection, and administration of the Atlanta Regional Household Travel Survey.

The Consultant will conduct project management meetings once a month throughout the duration of the contract. The Project Management Plan will define the time, date, location, and format of the meetings.

The Consultant will attend ARC committee, planning team, external stakeholder meetings, and other meetings critical to the successful performance of this scope of services, not to exceed the project budgeted hours and fee. The Project Management Plan will define the total number of meetings.

It is anticipated that available funds for the project will be approximately $1,875,000.00 ($618,750.00 in 2026 and $1,256,250.00 in 2027). Any contract award for this study is contingent upon ARC receiving adequate funding for this purpose from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT).

IV. Background and Objectives:

ARC’s last Atlanta regional household travel survey was conducted in 2011. Survey efforts have been delayed due to the 2020-2021 pandemic. Since then, GDOT has started the 2024-2025 NextGen NHTS statewide add-on survey, which includes the ARC modeling region. The goal of the Atlanta regional household travel survey consists of surveying about 1 of 200 households in the region, or 0.5% of all households. This data will then be utilized to re-estimate and re-calibrate the ARC travel demand model, in conjunction with other travel surveys and origin-destination “Big Data”.

Comprehensive progress reports detailing progress on each task will be submitted to ARC with each invoice, which will occur monthly.

V. Work Tasks:

The Consultant will complete the tasks described in the Scope of Services to ARC’s satisfaction. This scope of work outlines the deliverables that the Consultant will provide to ARC to complete the project successfully and meet the project’s overall goals.

Task 1 – Project Management Work Plan & Schedule

With input from ARC staff, the Consultant will describe their technical approach, including a work plan, for implementing this scientific survey. The work plan will identify specific survey data products, schedules, and staff assignment. Please note, all survey questionnaires and materials must be in compliance with Section 508 (see https://www.section508.gov), and available in both English and Spanish language forms, including the survey smartphone app and telephone support. Furthermore, survey data privacy and security plans will be provided by the consultant to ARC to ensure the privacy of survey respondents.

The contractual delivery of this task will document the work plan.

Task 2 – Rigorous Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QA/QC) Plan

This technical task will describe a multi-stage process to ensure survey data accuracy from survey conceptualization to final data analytics. Key components will include check points for inconsistent survey data, and survey non-response, just to name a few. Automated survey data checks using https://www.section508.gov/ machine learning should be deployed to flag implausible survey data entries or inconsistent trip patterns. A structured framework with indicators to evaluate the quality of the survey data will be developed, from how survey data is collected to its usefulness and statistical representativeness, including, but not limited to, completeness, logical consistency (for instance on trip start and end times), real-time location and data consistency checks, intra-household travel consistency checks, and outlier detection.

The contractual delivery of this task will document the QA/QC plan.

Task 3 – Survey Data Sampling Plan & Statistically Significant Representation & Validity (Including Confidence Levels)

This task will leverage the already developed survey design based on the 2024-2025 ARC/GDOT NextGen NHTS statewide add-on survey sampling methodology, with a goal of completing surveys for a minimum of 8,000 households. The plan should take into consideration that over-sampling may be needed to ensure that a statistically representative number of observations are available for zero-car households, low-income households and renters.

Households will be stratified by household income and household size while ensuring a representative sample for each county. Data collection time periods will coincide with schools being in session in the Spring, Fall, and Winter, hence excluding summer months survey data collection.

The contractual deliveries associated with this task will document the survey data collection sampling plan demonstrating a statistically significant representation encompassing all households in the Atlanta region with corresponding confidence levels.

Task 4 – Survey Data Specs & Weighting (Including Under-Reporting) & Survey Data Expansion (“Raking”)

This task is associated with Monday through Friday travel days household-level weights and person-level weights to adequately and effectively reflect typical weekday traffic conditions represented in the ARC travel demand model. For survey data consistency purposes, this task should reflect methods used for the ARC/GDOT NextGen NHTS Georgia Add-On Survey. As part of this task, household-level and person-level weighting and expansion steps will be clearly defined, including the computation of vehicle and trip weights.

The contractual deliverable of this task will document the statistical techniques to adjust survey sample weights so that the proportions of the sample match target population demographics.

Task 5 – Incentive Plan

A multi-stage incentive plan will be developed to maximize response rates, including gamification.

The incentive structure should promote an equitable and inclusive survey experience for all types of households.

The contractual deliveries of this task will describe the incentive plan and corresponding monetary amounts and methods (gift cards, cash, etc.).

Task 6 – Mail-Based Household Survey Recruitment & Recruitment Mailings

This task will develop a sample frame using address-based sampling, recruitment of households, survey data collection including a smartphone app, and any other relevant info. For data consistency purposes, the ARC survey will leverage the Georgia Add-On NextGen NHTS (2024-2025) survey questionnaire, so there is no need for pilot / pre-test, unless otherwise advised by the survey consultant. The household recruitment phase shall involve a series of contacts with each sampled household, including SMS text messaging. Upon completion of the household recruitment surveys, specific travel dates shall be assigned to the households, according to a randomly assigned sample day of the week (weekdays only, no weekends), while ensuring a balanced day of the weekdays’ distribution. This task will describe data collection contacts with households, including invitations, reminders, and non-response follow-ups. A multi-stage contact and recontact method to recruit households will be strategically developed, including hard-to-reach population groups.

The contractual delivery of this task will detail the address-based household recruitment approach.

Task 7 – Administration of the Household Travel Survey & Data Collection

The Consultant will conduct a full survey using the survey procedures finalized in previous tasks. For a survey to be considered complete, travel data for all household members must be collected for all survey questions.

Contractual deliverables will include monthly field status reports and a summary of the unweighted data from the interim unweighted data file. This monthly report will include a summary of the responses to all survey questions (including add-on questions) as well as details about app users in the interim dataset. Those will include statistics on households where members downloaded the app vs. how many people used the app to capture at least some portion of their travel, plus unweighted metrics that ARC will independently monitor with each interim file. At this stage, ARC fully realizes that this data is unclean and preliminary and provided for QA/QC purposes and progress monitoring. This will also include dot maps of unidentifiable household home locations surveyed and a summary of survey distribution by county to visually evaluate county representativeness in the overall survey.

The end products of this task are the completed surveys, expanded/weighted datasets, metadata and data dictionaries which document response rates. Survey data delivered in CSV format must be formatted in a way that can facilitate geodatabase processing, spatial joins, and potentially be spatially attached to various geographies such as traffic analysis zones. Ultimately, the survey dataset will be fused with the Atlanta-specific survey data from 2024-2025 NextGen NHTS Georgia Add-On Survey (about 3,500 Atlanta regional survey records).

Task 8 – From Travel Survey Data Analytics to Travel Behavior Storytelling

This task will creatively and effectively combine descriptive statistics narrative with survey data visualization dashboards to make survey data more compelling and understandable for a broad audience, ranging from the public to decision-makers and policymakers, to planning partners and stakeholders, and savvy technical modelers and planners. This task should be able to answer a variety of questions and provide insightful information, such as, but not limited to: Are people making fewer trips than before the pandemic, or shorter trips? Are trips distributed differently across weekdays than they were pre-pandemic? What about work-from-home, return-to-office, and telecommuting frequency by NAICS code? Which population segments, for instance, low income or higher income, have experienced the biggest changes in terms of trip frequency and trip length? A detailed trip length frequency distribution illustrating how many trips fall into specific length categories (distance and time separately) will allow the reader to visualize trip patterns and calibrate ARC’s travel demand model via a histogram where the horizontal axis represents meaningful trip length bins, while the vertical axis will show the relative frequency of trips in each bin. Trip chaining from a travel behavior perspective will also be explicitly represented from the survey data, illustrating the perspective of “a day in the life of” various demographic and ethnic groups, just to name a few examples. Consolidated daily activity patterns will be described and characterized, as well as intra-household interactions. Furthermore, since the add-on survey component includes enriching attitudinal variables, those will query general attitudes, mode-specific perceptions, and socio-economic characteristics of metro Atlanta residents’ travel behavior.

The contractual deliverables of this task will include a series of insightful dashboards and visualization tools, as well as thematic narratives describing travel behavior in the Atlanta region, while creatively weaving in attitudinal findings with travel survey data trends and patterns.

Task 9 – From Travel Survey Data to Travel Demand Modeling: The Seamless Data Pipeline

This task will break down the data silos and bridge the gaps between the travel survey database and travel model estimation with the ActivitySim Estimation Data Bundle (EDB), including Larch, an open-source Python library for estimating discrete choice models, and to estimate parameters for specific model components, such as auto ownership as an example. The data pipeline architecture will clearly illustrate the process for transforming travel survey data into a format ready for the EDB while eliminating the need for manual data handling. The strategic design and framework will define how survey data is processed and moved to the EDB, ultimately delivering it to its final EDB destination for model estimation use, while ensuring efficient and reliable data flows. Furthermore, as deemed necessary, data fusion techniques and methods will be developed and implemented, as well as machine learning to detect travel behavior patterns in the survey data.

The contractual deliverables of this task will include data pipelines diagrams and scripts needed to transfer the consolidated survey data (including statewide add-on surveys for metro Atlanta) into useable formats for the ActivitySim Estimation Data Bundle.

EXHIBIT B-1

PROPOSED PROJECT BUDGET

Budget Category

Total Cost

1. Direct Labor

Staff Person / Position # Hours $ Rate / Hour $ -----

Direct Labor Total Cost

2. Overhead Costs (per OMB Circulars A-87 & A-122)

Overhead Percentage Rate Direct Labor Total Cost (from #1)

Total Overhead (Overhead Rate * Labor Cost)

3. Other Direct Costs

Item Unit or Total Cost $ -----

Total Other Direct Costs

4. Subcontracts

Subcontractor / Role $ -----

Total Subcontracts

% Rate

5. Travel

Air Travel Taxi / Shuttle Rental Auto Private Auto

Total Travel

6. Profit

Profit Margin

Total Direct Labor (#1) + Overhead Costs (#2)

Total Profit

Total Estimated Budget

# Trips $ Fare $ -----

# Trips $ Fare $ -----

# Days $ Daily Rate $ -----

# Miles $ Mileage Rate $ -----

% Rate

TOTAL

EXHIBIT B-2

PROPOSED PROJECT BUDGET BY TASK

2026-2027 Atlanta Regional Household Travel Survey (ARHTS) Total Budget ($)

Task 1 – Project Management Work Plan & Schedule

Task 2 – Rigorous Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QA/QC) Plan

Task 3 – Survey Data Sampling Plan & Statistically Significant Representation & Validity (Including Confidence Levels)

Task 4 – Survey Data Specs & Weighting (Including Under-Reporting) & Survey Data Expansion (“Raking”)

Task 5 – Incentive Plan

Task 6 – Mail-Based Household Survey Recruitment & Recruitment Mailings

Task 7 – Administration of the Household Travel Survey & Data Collection

Task 8 – From Travel Survey Data Analytics to Travel Behavior Storytelling

Task 9 – From Travel Survey Data to Travel Demand Modeling: The Seamless Data Pipeline

TOTAL COST

EXHIBIT C

TITLE VI

ARC, in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 252, 42 U.S.C. 2000D to 2000D4, and Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Department of Transportation Subtitle A, Office of the Secretary, Part 21, Nondiscrimination in Federally assisted programs of the Department of Transportation, issued pursuant to such Act, hereby notifies all Respondents that it will affirmatively insure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, minority business enterprises shall be afforded full opportunity to submit proposals in response to this invitation and shall not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, sex, handicap, or national origin in consideration for an award.

GEORGIA SECURITY AND IMMIGRATION COMPLIANCE ACT AFFIDAVIT

CONTRACTOR AFFIDAVIT

By executing this affidavit, the undersigned person or entity verifies its compliance with O.C.G.A. §13-10-91, stating affirmatively that the individual, firm or entity which is engaged in the physical performance of services under a contract with the Atlanta Regional Commission has registered with and is participating in a federal work authorization program, in accordance with the applicability provisions and deadlines established in O.C.G.A. 13-10-91.

The undersigned person or entity further agrees that it will continue to use the federal work authorization program throughout the contract period, and it will contract for the physical performance of services in satisfaction of such contract only with subcontractors who present an affidavit to the undersigned with the information required by O.C.G.A. 13-10-91(b).

The undersigned person or entity further agrees to maintain records of such compliance and provide a copy of each such verification to the Atlanta Regional Commission within five (5) business days after any subcontractor is retained to perform such service.

EEV / E-VerifyTM Company Identification Number Date of Authorization

Company Name

Signature of Authorized Officer or Agent

Title of Authorized Officer or Agent

Printed Name of Authorized Officer or Agent

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN BEFORE

ME ON THIS THE

DAY OF , 20

[NOTARY SEAL]

Notary Public

My Commission Expires:

EXAMPLE CONTRACT

EXHIBIT D

ARC Contract Number

UP _______________

CONSULTANT AGREEMENT

THIS AGREEMENT, entered into as of this _____ day of __________, 202_, by and between CONSULTANT/VENDOR in Atlanta, Georgia (hereinafter referred to as the "Consultant") and the ATLANTA REGIONAL COMMISSION (hereinafter referred to as "ARC").

WITNESSETH THAT:

WHEREAS, ARC desires to engage the Consultant to render certain services hereinafter described in connection with an undertaking or project (hereinafter referred to as the "Project") which is to be wholly or partially financed by a grant from the United States Department of Transportation, (hereinafter, along with the appropriate auditing agency of the entities making such grant, referred to as "the Concerned Funding Agencies");

WHEREAS, the Consultant desires to render such services in connection with the project;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the mutual covenants and agreements hereinafter contained, the parties hereto agree as follows:

1. Engagement of the Consultant. ARC hereby agrees to engage the Consultant and the

Consultant hereby agrees to perform the services hereinafter set forth in accordance with the terms and conditions herein.

2. Scope of Services. The Consultant shall do, perform and carry out in a satisfactory and proper manner, as determined by ARC, the work and services described in Attachment "A" which is attached hereto and made a part hereof.

3. Time of Performance. The services of the Consultant are to commence immediately upon execution of this agreement. Work and services shall be undertaken and pursued in such sequence as to assure their expeditious completion and as may be required in Attachment "A."

All work and services required hereunder shall be completed on or before DATE.

4. Compensation. The Consultant shall be compensated for the work and services to be performed under this agreement as set forth in Attachment "B" which is attached hereto and made part hereof. Compensation for work and services in the performance of this contract shall not exceed $AMOUNT.

5. Approval of Subcontracts. None of the work or services to be performed under this agreement by the Consultant shall be subcontracted without the prior written approval of ARC's Executive Director or her authorized agent. If such approval is requested, all subcontract documents shall be submitted to ARC's Executive Director or her authorized agent, for her review and approval prior to the execution of such subcontract. Further, if requested by ARC's

Executive Director or her authorized agent, the Consultant shall provide ARC with such documentation as ARC's Executive Director shall require, regarding the method the Consultant used in selecting its subcontractor. The Consultant acknowledges that if work or services to be performed under this agreement is financed solely or partially with federal funds, the selection of subcontractors is governed by regulations requiring competition between potential subcontractors or adequate justification for sole source selection. The Consultant agrees to abide by such regulations in its selection procedure.

6. Prompt Payment and Retainage. The prime contractor agrees to pay each subcontractor under this prime contract for satisfactory performance of its contract no later than 30 days from the receipt of each payment the prime contract receives from ARC. The prime contractor agrees further to return retainage payments to each subcontractor within 30 days after the subcontractor’s work is satisfactorily completed. Any delay or postponement of payment from the above referenced time frame may occur only for good cause following written approval of ARC. This clause applies to both DBE and non-DBE subcontracts.

Any contractor found not to be in compliance with this clause will be considered in breach of contract and any further payments will be withheld until corrective action is taken. If contractor does not take corrective action, contractor may be subject to contract termination.

7. Assignability. The Consultant shall not assign, sublet or transfer all or any portion of its interest in this agreement without the prior written approval of ARC.

8. Amendments. ARC may require changes in this agreement. Except for termination for cause or convenience, such changes, including any increase or decrease in the amount of the Consultant's compensation shall be incorporated in written amendments to this agreement.

Amendments to this agreement may be executed on behalf of ARC only by ARC's Executive Director and Chairman.

9. Insurance. The Consultant will have and maintain insurance coverage that complies with the laws of the state of Georgia, as well as reasonable and prudent business practices. Such insurance shall at least include Worker’s Compensation, Public Liability, Property Damage, and Valuable Papers coverage.

10. Indemnification. The Consultant shall hold harmless and indemnify ARC, its officers, directors, and employees form and against losses, reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, that may be based on any injury to persons or property caused by the negligent performance of services under this agreement by the consultant or any person employed by the consultant.

11. Formal Communication. Formal communications regarding this agreement shall include, but not necessarily be limited to correspondence, progress reports and fiscal reports.

All formal communication regarding this agreement shall be in writing between the person executing this agreement on behalf of the Consultant (executor) and ARC's Executive Director. However, the Consultant executor and ARC's Executive Director shall each have the right to designate in writing to the other an agent to act in his or her behalf regarding this agreement. Any restrictions to such designation must be clearly defined in the written designation.

In this regard, ARC’s Executive Director hereby designates the ARC Chief Operating Officer as her agent for purposes of this contract only, except for Amendments and Terminations.

12. Reports. The Consultant shall furnish ARC with narrative progress reports, in such form and frequency as may be specified by ARC's Executive Director or her authorized agent, outlining the work accomplished by the Consultant during the period, including the current status of the Project, and the percentage of work which has been completed.

13. Financial Reports. In addition to other records required by this contract, the Consultant agrees to provide to ARC such additional financial reports in such form and frequency as ARC may require in order to meet ARC's requirements for reporting to the Concerned Funding Agencies.

14. Review and Coordination. To ensure adequate assessment of the Consultant's project and proper coordination among interested parties, ARC shall be kept fully informed concerning the progress of the work and services to be performed hereunder. The Consultant may be required to meet with designated representatives of ARC and the Concerned Funding Agencies from time to time to review the work and services performed. The Consultant shall be given reasonable written notice of such meetings.

15. Inspections. Authorized representatives of ARC and the Concerned Funding Agencies may at all reasonable times review and inspect the Project activities and data collected pursuant to this agreement. Except where specifically prohibited by law, all reports, studies, records, and computations prepared by or for the Consultant under this agreement shall be made available to authorized representatives of ARC and the Concerned Funding Agencies for inspection and review at all reasonable times in the Consultant's office where data is normally accumulated.

Approval and acceptance of such material shall not relieve the Consultant of its professional obligation to correct, at its expense, any errors found in the work unless such errors can be shown to be caused by inaccurate or incomplete information provided by ARC.

16. Maintenance of Cost Records. The Consultant shall maintain all books, documents, papers, accounting records and other evidence pertaining to costs incurred on the Project and shall make such material available at all reasonable times during the period of the agreement, and for three years from the date of final payment under the agreement, for inspection by ARC, the Concerned Funding Agencies, and if the work and services to be performed under this agreement is wholly or partially funded with federal funds, the Comptroller General of the United States, or any of their duly authorized representatives. The Consultant shall include the provisions of this paragraph in any subcontract executed in connection with this Project.

17. No Obligation by the Federal Government. ARC and the Consultant acknowledge and agree that, notwithstanding any concurrence by the Federal Government in or approval of the solicitation or award of the underlying contract, absent the express written consent by the Federal Government, the Federal Government is not a party to this contract and shall not be subject to any obligations or liabilities to ARC, the Consultant, or any other party (whether or not a party to that contract) pertaining to any matter resulting from the underlying contract.

The Consultant agrees to include the above clause in each subcontract financed in whole or in part with Federal assistance. It is further agreed that the clause shall not be modified, except to identify the subcontractor who will be subject to its provisions.

18. Status as Independent Consultants. Nothing contained in this agreement shall be construed to constitute the Consultant or any of its employees, servants, agents or subcontractors as a partner, employee, servant, or agent of ARC, nor shall either party to this agreement have any authority to bind the other in any respect, it being intended that each shall remain an independent Consultant.

19. Consultant's Personnel. The Consultant represents that it has, or will secure at its own expense, all personnel required to perform the services under this agreement. Such personnel shall not be employees of ARC, nor shall such personnel have been employees of ARC during any time within the twelve-month period immediately prior to the date of this agreement, except with the express prior written consent of ARC. Further, the Consultant agrees that no such former ARC employees shall be involved in any way with the performance of this agreement, without the express prior written approval of ARC.

20. Employees' Rate of Compensation. The rate of compensation for work performed under this project by a staff member or employee of the Consultant shall not exceed the compensation of such person that is applicable to his or her other work activities for the Consultant. Charges for salaries and wages of individuals shall be supported by time and attendance and payroll distribution records.

21. Interest of Consultant. The Consultant covenants that neither the Consultant, nor anyone controlled by the Consultant, controlling the Consultant, or under common control with the Consultant, nor its agents, employees or Consultants, presently has an interest, nor shall acquire an interest, direct or indirect, which would conflict in any manner or degree with the performance of its service hereunder, or which would prevent, or tend to prevent, the satisfactory performance of the Consultant's service hereunder in an impartial and unbiased manner. The Consultant further covenants that in the performance of this agreement no person having any such interest shall be employed by the Consultant as an agent, Consultant or otherwise. If the Consultant contemplates taking some action which may constitute a violation of this paragraph, the Consultant shall request in writing the advice of ARC, and if ARC notifies the Consultant in writing that the Consultant's contemplated action will not constitute a violation hereof, then the Consultant shall be authorized to take such action without being in violation of this paragraph.

22. Interest of Members of ARC and Others. No officer, member or employee of ARC, and no public official of any local government which is affected in any way by the project, who exercises any function or responsibilities in the review or approval of the project or any component part thereof, shall participate in any decision relating to this agreement which affects his or her personal interests or the interest of any corporation, partnership or association in which he or she is directly, or indirectly, interested; nor shall any such officer, member or employee of ARC, or public official of any local government affected by the project, have an interest, direct or indirect, in this agreement or the proceeds arising therefrom.

23. Officials Not to Benefit. No member of or delegate to the Congress of the United States of

America, resident commissioner or employee of the United States Government, shall be admitted to any share or part of this agreement or to any benefits to arise herefrom.

24. Compliance with Requirements of the Concerned Funding Agencies. The Consultant shall be bound by the applicable terms and conditions of the Grant Contract between ARC and the Concerned Funding Agencies which said Grant Contract is on file in the offices of ARC and is hereby made a part of this agreement as fully as if the same were attached hereto. ARC will notify the Consultant in writing of any applicable changes within a reasonable time after ARC has received appropriate notice of such changes from the Concerned Funding Agencies.

25. Federal Changes. Consultant shall at all times comply with all applicable U.S. DOT regulations, policies, procedures and directives as they may be amended or promulgated from time to time during the term of this contract. Consultant's failure to so comply shall constitute a material breach of this contract.

26. Rights in Documents, Materials and Data Produced. For purposes of this agreement, "data" includes, but is not limited to, writings, sound recordings, computer programs, photographs, films, videotapes or other graphic representations and works of a similar nature. ARC and the Concerned Funding Agencies shall have the right to use same without restriction or limitation and without compensation to the Consultant other than as provided in this agreement. The Consultant acknowledges that matters regarding rights to inventions and materials generated by or arising out of this agreement may be subject to certain regulations issued by the Concerned Funding Agencies.

27. Data and Software Licensing. During performance of the work covered by this Agreement

ARC may provide certain data or software products, such as aerial photography, roadway analytics/traffic data or commercially available planning data and software, to the Consultant that have been obtained from various sources under specific licensing agreements. The Consultant acknowledges that any data or software that ARC may provide hereunder is provided as a non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited license for the Consultant or its Sub-consultants to use the data or software for the work covered by this Agreement only. The Consultant shall not redistribute, republish or otherwise make this data or software available to any party not covered by this Agreement. The Consultant or any Sub-consultants shall not use this data or software for any work not covered by this Agreement. The Consultant further acknowledges that upon completion of the project covered by this Agreement all data and software provided by ARC will be returned to ARC and all copies of the data or software residing on the Consultant’s or Sub-consultant’s computer systems will be removed.

28. Publicity. Articles, papers, bulletins, reports or other material reporting the plans, progress, analysis or results and findings of the work conducted under this agreement shall not be presented or published without first submitting the same to ARC for review and comment.

No such presentation shall be made until comments have been received from ARC regarding such review; provided, however, if such comments have not been received by the Consultant within thirty calendar days after such submission, it shall be presumed that ARC has no objection thereto. ARC's comments, objections, reservations or disagreements regarding such material shall be accommodated as ARC shall specify.

29. Assurances. The Consultant hereby assures and certifies that it will comply with the appropriate regulations, policies, guidelines and requirements (as applicable), including, but not limited to, 2 CFR Part 200, “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards,” 48 CFR 31, “Contract Cost Principles and

Procedures,” Executive Order 12372, “Intergovernmental review of Federal programs,” U.S. Office of Management and Budget Circular Nos. A 21, “Cost Principles for Educational Institutions,” and A 133, “Audits of States, Local Governments and Non-Profit Organizations,” or other requirements imposed by ARC or the Concerned Funding Agencies concerning requirements of law or project matters as expressly made applicable by ARC herein, as they relate to the application, acceptance, use and audit of federal funds for this federally assisted project. Also, the Consultant gives assurance and certifies with respect to this agreement that:

a. For all agreements:

i. It possesses legal authority to apply for this agreement, and, if appropriate, to finance and construct any proposed facilities; and, any required resolution, motion or similar action has been duly adopted or passed as an official act of the Consultant's governing body; that proper authorization exists for the filing of the application, including all understandings and assurances contained therein, and directing and authorizing the person identified as the official representative of the Consultant to act in connection with the application and to provide such additional information as may be required, and, upon ARC approval of its application, that the person identified as the official representative of the Consultant is authorized to execute an agreement incorporating the terms of its application.

ii. It understands that the phrase "federal financial assistance" includes any form of loan, grant, guaranty, insurance payment, rebate, subsidy, disaster assistance loan or grant, or any other form of direct or indirect federal assistance.

iii. It will comply with Title VI of the Civil Right Act of 1964 (P.L. 88-352 and 42 USC 2000d) and in accordance with Title VI of that Act, no person in the United States shall, on the ground of age, handicap, religion, creed or belief, political affiliation, sex, race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any project or activity for which the applicant receives federal financial assistance and will immediately take any measures necessary to effectuate this assurance. The Consultant shall take affirmative action to ensure that qualified applicants are employed and qualified subcontractors are selected, and that qualified employees are treated during employment, without regard to their age, handicap, religion, creed or belief, political affiliation, race, color, sex or national origin. Such action shall include but not be limited to the following: employment, upgrading, demotions, or transfers; recruitment or recruitment advertising; layoffs or terminations; rates of pay or other forms of compensation; selection for training including apprenticeship, and participation in recreational and educational activities.

The Consultant shall in all solicitations or advertisements for subcontractors or employees placed by or on behalf of the Consultant, state that all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, handicap, religion, creed or belief, political affiliation, race, color, sex or national origin. The Consultant shall not discriminate against any qualified client or recipient of services provided through this agreement on the basis of age, handicap, religion, creed or belief, political affiliation, race, color, sex or national origin. The Consultant shall cause foregoing provisions to be included in all subcontracts for any work covered by this agreement so that such provisions will be binding upon each subcontractor.

The Consultant shall keep such records and submit such reports concerning the racial and ethnic origin of applicants for employment and employees as ARC or the Concerned Funding Agencies may require.

The Consultant agrees to comply with such rules, regulations or guidelines as ARC or the Concerned Funding Agencies may issue to implement the requirements of this paragraph.

iv. It will comply with applicable requirements of the provisions of the Uniform Relocation

Assistance and Real Property Acquisitions Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-646) which provides for fair and equitable treatment of persons displaced as a result of federal and federally assisted projects.

v. It will comply with the applicable provisions of the Hatch Act which limits the political activity of employees.

vi. It will establish safeguards to prohibit employees from using their positions for a purpose that is or gives the appearance of being motivated by a desire for private gain for themselves or others, particularly those with whom they have family, business, or other ties.

vii. It will cooperate with ARC in assisting the Concerned Funding Agencies in this compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C.

470), Executive Order 11593, and the Archeological and Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 469a-1 et set.) by (a) consulting, through ARC, with the State Historic Preservation Officer on the conduct of investigations, as necessary, to identify properties listed in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places that are subject to adverse effects (see 36 CFR Part 800.8) by the activity, and notifying, through ARC, the Concerned Funding Agencies of the existence of any such properties, and by (b) complying with all requirements established by ARC or the Concerned Funding Agencies to avoid or mitigate adverse effects upon such properties.

viii. For agreements not involving federal financial assistance for construction, it will insure that the facilities under its ownership, lease or supervision which shall be utilized in the accomplishment of the Project are not listed on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) list of Violating Facilities and that it will notify the Concerned Funding Agencies, through ARC, of the receipt of any communication from the Director of the EPA Office of Federal Activities indicting that a facility to be used in the project is under consideration for listing by EPA.

ix. It will comply with Executive Order 11246, entitled "Equal Employment Opportunity," as amended by Executive Order 11375, and as supplemented in U.S. Department of Labor regulations (41 CFR Part 60).

x. The Consultant agrees that throughout the performance of this contract it will remain in full compliance with all federal and state immigration laws, including but not limited to provisions 8 USC 1324a and O.C.G.A. § 13-10-91 regarding the unlawful employment of unauthorized aliens and verification of lawful presence in the United States. Thereunder, Consultant will ensure that only persons who are citizens or nationals of the United States or non-citizens authorized under federal immigration laws are employed to perform services under this contract or any subcontract hereunder.

xi. The Consultant agrees to comply with mandatory standards and policies relating to energy efficiency which are contained in the state energy conservation plan issued in compliance with the Energy Policy and Conservation Act.

The Consultant further agrees to include the provisions contained in the forgoing paragraph in each subcontract for services hereunder.

The Consultant shall not retaliate or take any adverse action against any employee or any subcontractor for reporting, or attempting to report a violation(s) regarding applicable immigration laws.

b. For agreements involving either full or partial federal financial assistance for construction projects(s):

i. It will comply with the provisions of Executive Order 11296, relating to evaluation of flood hazards, and Executive Order 11288, relating to the prevention, control, and abatement of water pollution.

ii. It will require the facility to be designed to comply with the "American Standard

Specifications for Making Buildings and Facilities Accessible to and Usable by, the Physically Handicapped," Number A117 1-1961, as modified (41 CFR 101 - 17.703).

The Consultant will be responsible for conducting inspections to ensure compliance by the Consultant with these specifications.

c. For agreements exceeding $ 100,000.00 in federal financial assistance:

i. It will comply with all applicable standards, orders, or requirements issued under section 306 of the Clean Air Act [42 U.S.C. 1857 (h)], section 508 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1368), Executive Order 11738, and Environmental Protection Agency regulations (40 CFR Part 15).

30. Certifications.

a. Prohibition Against Use of Funds to Influence Legislation (Lobbying). No part of any funds under this agreement shall be used to pay the salary or expenses of any Consultant, or agent acting for the Consultant, to engage in any activity designed to influence legislation or appropriations pending before the Congress as stated in 49 CFR 20.

b. Debarment and Suspension. The Consultant agrees to comply with the nonprocurement…