Amendment 0002 - SMS Support RFP 69319522R000001 Final.pdf

Amendment 0002 Request for Proposal (RFP) No. 69319522R000001

Safety Management System (SMS) Technical Program Support

SECTION B: SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES

B.1 Supplies or Services

B.2 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code and Small Business Standard

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code for this acquisition is 541611, Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services. The small business size standard is $16.5 Million.

B.3 Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) Structure

CLIN/Objective 0001 - Policy Development and Implementation CLIN/Objective 0002 – Safety Risk Management (SRM) Process Implementation CLIN/Objective 0003 - Data Collection, Analysis, and Reporting CLIN/Objective 0004 - Technical Assistance Development and Delivery CLIN/Objective 0005 - Program Evaluation CLIN/Objective 0006 – Other Direct Costs (Travel, Printing, and Workshops)

B.4 Contract Period of Performance

The contract period of performance is from the date of award through a five-year period including a one (1) year base and four (4) one-year option periods. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause 52.217-8 “Option to Extend Services” NOV 1999, shall be incorporated into the resulting contracts, as referenced in Section I, in the event the Government requires continued performance of any services with the limits and at the rates specified in the contract beyond the five-year period of performance term.

B.5 Pricing/Labor Rates Table

The contractor shall enter prices using the pricing spreadsheet provided in Section J.1 of this solicitation.

*NOTE: The labor categories in the Pricing Matrix Template (Attachment J.1) shall be used for the total life of the requirement. If the labor categories for this requirement change but within scope of the contract, a modification must be executed to clearly reflect this to ensure clarity concerning the labor categories authorized for use. The resulting contracts will be awarded to the contractor based within the pre-established labor rates as stated using the CLIN structure in the Pricing Template (Attachment J-1).

(END OF SECTION B)

SECTION C: DESCRIPTION/ STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

C.1 Background

Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 5329, the United States Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is charged with administering the National Public Transportation Safety Program (Safety Program) to improve the safety of public transportation systems that receive Federal financial assistance under 49 U.S.C. chapter 53. FTA adopted the methods and principles of Safety Management Systems (SMS) as the foundation of the Safety Program. An SMS is a formal, top-down, organization-wide data-driven approach to managing safety risk and assuring the effectiveness of safety risk mitigations. SMS includes systematic procedures, practices, and policies for identifying safety hazards and managing safety risk and is intended to support leadership in the prioritization and allocation of resources.

FTA supports the transit industry’s implementation of SMS by providing guidance, training, and technical assistance related to the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) regulation at 49 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Part 673 and other Safety Program regulations including Parts 670, 672 and 674. Formal SMS programs are comprised of:

• Safety Management Policy: The foundation of an agency’s SMS. This policy includes information on developing and carrying out all other SMS elements.

• Safety Risk Management: Processes for identifying safety hazards and analyzing, assessing, and mitigating safety risk.

• Safety Assurance: Processes within a transit agency’s SMS to ensure the effective implementation of safety risk mitigations and attainment of safety objectives through the collection, analysis, and assessment of information.

• Safety Promotion: The component of SMS that includes training and communication to enable SMS activities.

In addition, internally, FTA is implementing data and risk-based SMS processes to identify, analyze, and prioritize safety concerns to inform decision-making on prioritizing resources towards improving transit safety.

C.2 Purpose

FTA is charged with administering the Safety Program to improve the safety of public transportation systems that receive federal financial assistance under 49 U.S.C. chapter 53.

FTA has adopted the methods and principles of SMS as the foundation of the Safety Program.

SMS implementation will improve public transportation safety and provide transit agencies with a structure for understanding and addressing safety risk through proactive and timely organizational decision-making.

FTA’s Office of System Safety (TSO-10) within the Office of Transit Safety and Oversight (TSO) is responsible for supporting the transit industry in fully implementing SMS and managing and implementing FTA’s internal SMS processes. To support these efforts, TSO-10 is seeking contractor support in the following areas:

1. Policy Development and Implementation

2. Safety Risk Management

3. Data Collection, Analysis, and Reporting

4. Technical Assistance Development and Delivery

5. Program Evaluation and Safety Assurance

Expected benefits from the support provided in the five program areas listed above include the following:

• Improved transit industry safety performance, including a reduction in safety events, fatalities, and injuries.

• Implementation of statutory requirements for public transportation safety and increased understanding throughout the public transportation industry of FTA’s safety regulatory and oversight framework;

• Development and implementation of programs that support the transit industry’s effective adoption of SMS and FTA safety requirements;

• Assistance in the prioritization of Federal, State, and local resources for transit safety and in the prioritization of FTA activities based on the analysis of data and evaluation of transit safety risk;

• Implementation of the FTA Safety Risk Management program for identifying transit safety concerns and mitigating transit safety risk;

• Development of the FTA Safety Assurance program for evaluating the effectiveness of FTA’s safety risk mitigations, including safety programs; and

• Improved information sharing and coordination with the transit industry.

C.3 Mission

FTA’s core mission is to improve public transportation for America’s communities. FTA functions through a Washington, D.C. headquarters and 10 regional offices that assist transit agencies and other transit stakeholders across the United States. TSO-10 works to continuously improve transit safety through the implementation of SMS methods and principles.

C.4 Period and Place of Performance The anticipated period of performance will be one 12-month base period and four 12-month option periods.

The contractor shall furnish necessary facilities to undertake the performance objectives. The work shall be performed at the contractor’s site except for meetings, workshops or conferences held outside the contractor’s site, for which travel will be specified ahead of time, and approved by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).

C. 5 Performance Objectives

This SOO is intended to obtain support for the mission of TSO-10 in carrying out its policy and technical assistance activities, assessing and mitigating safety risk, and evaluating the effectiveness of these efforts to promote safety performance improvements.

Tasks TSO-10’s program activities include extensive writing which must be accomplished while adhering to requirements of the Plain Writing Act of 2010. The highest quality of professional writing is required for all program components. Publications must be compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. § 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220).

All program activities require experience and expertise in working with FTA’s established software platforms, including Microsoft (MS) Office Suite and SharePoint. Proficiency with specialty software, as outlined below, is also required to support specific program components.

The contractor will support TSO-10 in administering FTA’s Safety Program through the following five program areas:

1. Policy Development and Implementation The contractor will support TSO-10 in the development and implementation of data driven and risk-based policies governing transit safety and guidance to support policy implementation. These efforts include, but are not limited to the following:

• Analysis of statutory requirements, legislative proposals, and public comments;

• Development of requests for information, advisories, and bulletins;

• Support for the development of plans, strategies, proposed and final regulations, directives, and standards (performance-based and/or compliance-based);

• Analysis performed as part of regulatory impact analyses and cost-benefit analyses;

• Support for drafting reports on FTA safety programs and policies in response to information requests and reporting requirements;

• Development of documentation required for information collection efforts pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act, such as supporting statements;

• Support for the management of the Public Transportation Safety Certification Training Program;

• Support for the development and execution of safety initiatives on priority safety topics;

• Formulation of policy papers, memoranda, and briefing documents; and

• Development of advice and recommendations to support policy decision-making.

2. Safety Risk Management The contractor will support TSO-10 through the management and implementation of FTA’s Safety Risk Management (SRM) process. These efforts include, but are not limited to the following:

• Technical data analysis to support risk assessments of identified transit safety concerns;

• Preparation of reports and briefing materials;

• Support for the management of the SRM working group;

• Support for the development, revision, and execution of the FTA SRM Action

Plan; and

• Support for the management, documentation, and reporting of progress regarding the work plan.

The contractor will provide support by applying its expertise in analyzing and estimating the likelihood and severity of the potential consequences of safety hazards, together with an assessment of the significance of the results. This includes risk estimation and risk evaluation.

The contractor will be expected to apply the following:

• Extensive knowledge and experience in qualitative and quantitative risk assessment;

• Knowledge of best practices in risk assessment;

• Experience in implementing common hazard analysis tools such as

Preliminary Hazard Analysis, the Failure Modes Effects (and Criticality) Analysis, System and Sub-System Hazard Analysis, Operating Hazard Analysis, Job Hazard Analysis, Bowtie, Structured What If Technique, Hazard and Operability Study, the Fishbone Cause-and-Effect Diagram, Systems Theoretic Process Analysis, and deductive failure analyses tools such as Fault Tree Analysis and Event Tree Analysis.

• Understanding of the possible benefits and downsides of different risk assessment methods; and

• Knowledge and experience in supporting the selection of appropriate risk assessment methods.

The contractor will support the SRM team by assisting in identifying transit safety hazards and researching the systems related to the hazard, including activities such as engineering design review. The contractor must understand critical system design and performance factors, processes, and activities to the level necessary to identify and document hazards in sufficient detail to determine the associated safety risk within a system. The contractor will perform and prepare documented support for the following:

• Research, assessment, and analysis of the severity and likelihood of consequences associated with an identified safety hazard;

• Development of proposed mitigations, including system designs, to address unacceptable safety risk.

In addition to research, analysis, assessment, and development of mitigations to manage safety risk, the contractor must be readily available to prepare and present effective briefings required throughout the SRM process.

3. Data Collection, Analysis & Reporting

The contractor will support TSO-10’s program activities through the collection, validation, analysis, assessment, and presentation of data through the development of dashboards; analytic reports; maps, charts and graphs; and dynamic visualizations using data from various sources.

Data will be accessible from the National Transit Database (NTD), State Safety Oversight Reporting Tool (SSOR), and other approved sources. The contractor must demonstrate the ability to conduct complex analyses of transit safety data.

The contractor will use FTA-approved software, data, and processes. The contractor will need familiarity with databases (e.g., Appian or MySQL) and Structured Query Language (SQL), and experience with Jira. Extensive experience is required in “extract, transform and load” (ETL) processes, identifying issues and validating data conflicts (e.g., in terms of totals, timestamps, counts, or other metrics), and aggregating data across disparate sources in various formats.

The contractor will conduct data analysis, including but not limited to importing, cleaning, exporting, and processing data with varying levels of complexity; flat file familiarity, such as NTD flat files https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/ntd-data; combining flat files with raw SQL data server dumps; business intelligence software and dashboards; and extensive experience with MS Office Excel formulas and tools.

These efforts include, but are not limited to the following:

• Support for the querying and analysis of safety data

• Evaluation of safety data for trends to support the determination of safety risk or related safety concerns

• Support for the development of protocols for validating analyzed data

• Support for the development and update of the Bus Safety Data Report and

Rail Safety Data Report

• Support in developing quarterly safety reports

• Support in the maintenance and upkeep of data on TSO’s website, to include support for the development and implementation of improvements to the website, in coordination with other offices outside of TSO

• Support for FTA’s safety data management working group to improve, data collection, validation, querying and reporting processes https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/ntd-data

• Preparation of meeting briefings, presentations, and other support as needed for the data management working group

• Development of monthly status reports with data verification and accounting

4. Technical Assistance Development and Delivery

The contractor will support TSO-10 by providing safety promotion and technical assistance services, including activities such as the coordination of stakeholder peer exchange activities;

design, development, and implementation of webinars and related events; the development of outreach and communication materials and documents; and the development of products that serve as inputs for other safety promotion activities. This includes the development of templates, sample documents, outlines, implementation guides, multimedia (including audio and video), checklists, and other technical support products to assist transit stakeholders in fulfilling FTA safety requirements and understanding FTA safety guidance. The contractor must be able to produce these products in Spanish, upon request. The contractor must have capabilities in graphic design, audio and video production, and printing, and proficiency with associated software packages (e.g., Adobe Creative Cloud), to develop effective graphics and other audio and visual products that support external communications regarding FTA’s safety programs and initiatives. The contractor must have capabilities to provide one-on-one support, under FTA’s direct oversight, to individual transit stakeholders (such as transit agencies and States) and groups of these stakeholders. This support includes, for example, answering stakeholder’s questions about an FTA policy and providing technical assistance to address a stakeholder’s challenges with successfully implementing the policy. The contractor must provide excellent customer service in carrying out these activities with clear communication to stakeholders.

5. Program Evaluation and Safety Assurance

The contractor will support TSO-10 in two different areas that require evaluation and monitoring. The contractor will conduct program evaluation activities involving analysts and advisors to manage the evaluation of the Safety Program’s effectiveness and the productivity and efficiency of the program’s management. This effort involves using data collection and analysis of the program and policies with the intention of assessing their effectiveness and efficiency. The contractor will present assessment findings and summarize lessons learned, recommend improvements or alternatives, and identify any unintended outcomes.

In the second area of focus, the contractor will support TSO-10 Safety Assurance (SA) activities to ensure the effective implementation of safety risk mitigations and attainment of safety objectives through the collection, analysis, and assessment of information.

The contractor will support the development and implementation of an SA process for FTA.

These efforts include, but are not limited to the following:

• Proposals of criteria for determining the sufficiency and effectiveness of safety risk mitigations;

• Identification of methods and standard procedures for mitigation monitoring;

• Development of approaches for identifying FTA program components or activities to be considered in the SRM Action Plan; and

• Support for the identification of gaps in data needed to effectively monitor FTA safety program components or activities through the SA process.

The contractor will support efforts to design and collect program evaluation data through surveys, requests for information, and other tools to gather stakeholder feedback, while adhering to the Paperwork Reduction Act and other requirements. The contractor may be asked to use various types and sources of data, internal and external to the FTA, to support evaluation efforts.

Additional reference information about program components and support activities can be obtained on the websites for the Office of System Safety and National Transit Database.

6. Other Direct Costs (Travel and Printing Workshops)

ODCs concerning associated work which are considered allowable and within scope of this requirement shall be billed against this specific CLIN. A breakdown of specific costs for Travel, Printing, and Workshops is included in Attachment J.1 – Pricing Template. All travel must be pre-approved by the respective Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and considered necessary as well as within scope of this requirement. Also, the contractor must adhere to the federal travel regulations concerning per diem etc. All costs associated with this specific CLIN must be supported with documentation such as receipts etc. in order to be considered for review and payment by the Government. The contractor must ensure all materials and ODC’s are within scope of the requirement and all incurred cost are fair and reasonable prior to purchase. An example of an acceptable ODC would be printing of course material as requested by FTA. Also, all ODCs must be those in which directly relate to performance of the requirement. Training of contractor staff will not be considered an allowable cost concerning this resulting awarded requirement.

C.6 Program Deliverables

Program Area

Description of Deliverable Acceptance Criteria

Delivery Date

1 Rulemaking Documents, including Cost-Benefit Analyses

Electronic format

As tasked

1 Federal Register Notices, Agency Circulars, General Directives, and Special Directives

Electronic format

As tasked

1 Guidance and Safety Bulletins Electronic format

As tasked https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/safety/office-system-safety https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/ntd-data

Description of Deliverable Acceptance Criteria

Delivery Date

1 Analysis of Statutory Requirements

Electronic format

As tasked

1 Policy Findings and Recommendations

Electronic format

As tasked

1 Performance-Based Standards Electronic format

As tasked

1 Strategic Plans Electronic format

As tasked

1 Meeting Agendas, Meeting Summaries & Frequently Asked Questions

Electronic format

As tasked

1 Presentations, Talking Points and Memos that Assist with Policy Development and Implementation

Electronic format

As tasked

2 Safety Hazard Identification and Risk Analysis Reports

Electronic format

As tasked

2 Safety Risk Assessment Reports

Electronic format

As tasked

2 Proposed Risk Mitigation Reports

Electronic format

As tasked

2 Requests for Information, Summary Reports of Responses Received from Publicly Posted Requests for Information

Electronic format

As tasked

2 Alternatives Analysis Reports Electronic format

As tasked

Description of Deliverable Acceptance Criteria

Delivery Date

2 Presentations that Assist the SRM Decision-Making

Electronic format

As tasked

2 Forms for Activities such as Safety Concern Identification, Safety Risk Assessment Approvals, Confirmation of Safety Performance Packages

Electronic format

As tasked

2 Mitigation Management Plan Approval Packets

Electronic format

As tasked

3 Bus Safety Data Reports and Rail Safety Data Reports

Electronic format

As tasked

3 Safety Data Queries and Analyses

Electronic format

As tasked

3 Trend Analyses of Transit Agency and Industry Safety Data

Electronic format

As tasked

3 Instruction on the Development of Protocols for Validating Data Prior to Analysis

Electronic format

As tasked

4 Webinars Electronic format

As tasked

4 Graphics and Multi-media (audio and visual) Products

Electronic format

As tasked

4 Outreach Documents and Materials

Electronic format

As tasked

4 Templates, Outlines, Implementation Guides and Checklists

Electronic format

As tasked

Description of Deliverable Acceptance Criteria

Delivery Date

5 SMS Program Evaluation Reports (Assessment of Effectiveness and Efficiency)

Electronic format

As tasked

5 Safety Program Data and Analysis Reports

Electronic format

As tasked

5 SA Lessons Learned Reports that Include Identified Unintended Outcomes of Mitigations

Electronic format

As tasked

5 Risk Mitigation Monitoring Reports that Include Recommendations for Improvements to Mitigations

Electronic format

As tasked

5 Recommendations of Criteria for Determining the Sufficiency and Effectiveness of Mitigations

Electronic format

As tasked

5 Reports Identifying Gaps in Data Required to Effectively Monitor Risk Mitigations

Electronic format

As tasked

5 Safety Assurance Standard Procedure with Methods for Monitoring Mitigations

Electronic format

As tasked

C.7 Labor Categories and Qualifications

The Contractor shall provide, at a minimum, the following qualified labor categories to perform the requirements of the contract. After contract award, the Contractor may propose, in writing to the COR, other alternative labor categories considered to be technically within scope as it pertains to contract performance. . The Contractor’s proposed labor categories must be considered technically within scope concerning performance of the contract’s requirements, must be substantially similar to the labor categories described below, and provide material benefits to the FTA. Alternative and other labor categories must be reviewed and approved by the COR before such labor categories are added to the contract under Section B, Schedule of Pricing and this section, C.7, Labor Categories and Qualifications.

C.8 Labor Categories, Qualifications, and Equivalences

The Contractor shall provide sufficient senior professionals and support personnel for the labor categories identified below. All proposed personnel must meet the minimum expertise and experience requirements identified.

C.9 Key Staff

The Contractor shall provide, at a minimum, the following key staff:

ALL PROGRAM AREAS

Program Manager Position Description: Responsible for managing and overseeing work performance of multiple projects. Serves as principal liaison with the Government on business and technical matters for program and project implementation. Directs, prepares and oversees development of program materials; develops, plans, organizes, coordinates and allocates staffing resources to contracted task plans and sub-task plans; and selects, directs, supervises, trains, monitors and evaluates program personnel.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in a relevant field and ten (10) years of experience in program or project management; or Master of Science (MS) degree or a Master of Arts (MA) degree in a relevant field and eight (8) years of experience in program or project management.

Senior Consultant/ Subject Matter Expert

Position Description: Provides technical, managerial, and administrative direction and review for problem definition, analysis, requirements development, and implementation for complex to extremely complex matters in the subject matter area. Develops recommendations and advice on complex safety program matters.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in a relevant field and a minimum of ten (10) years of experience in the required area of expertise; or a Master of Science (MS) degree or a Master of Arts (MA) degree in a relevant field and eight (8) years of experience in the required area of expertise; or a Doctorate (PhD) degree in a relevant field and seven (7) years of experience in the required area of expertise. Experience in transit safety and Safety Management Systems (SMS) strongly preferred.

POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION

Senior Analyst Position Description: Provides project and technical leadership in supporting the development of Federal transit safety regulations, analysis of statutory requirements, legislative proposals, and public comments. Develops requests for information, advisories, and bulletins; and the development of advice and recommendations to support policy decision-making. Develops benchmarks for measuring performance. Researches, analyzes, writes, and edits a broad range of complex policy papers, memoranda, and briefing documents, manuals, presentations, and other technical publications. Interprets complex policy matters for input into the development of deliverables.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in a relevant field and seven (7) years of experience; or Master of Science (MS) degree or a Master of Arts (MA) degree in a relevant field and (5) five years of experience in support of policy development and implementation. Experience in transit safety policy and SMS strongly preferred.

Mid-Level Analyst Position Description: Provides support for the management of policy and implementation programs. Performs research and analysis to identify industry best practices, trends, and applicable studies and findings. Researches, writes, and edits policy papers, memoranda, and briefing documents, manuals, presentations, and other technical publications. Provides support in interpreting policy for input into the development of deliverables.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in a relevant field and five (5) years of experience; or Master of Science (MS) degree or a Master of Arts (MA) degree in a relevant field and (3) three years of experience in support of policy development and implementation. Experience in transportation safety policy and/or SMS preferred.

Junior Analyst Position Description: Provides administrative and technical support to the policy development and implementation team. Conducts research and prepares routine or simple deliverables. Performs recordkeeping and tracking tasks.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree and three (3) years of experience; or (5) years of experience in support of policy development and implementation. Experience in transportation policy preferred.

SAFETY RISK MANAGEMENT (SRM)

Senior Analyst Position Description: Provides SRM program leadership in support of safety concern identification and hazard identification. Performs risk estimation and evaluation, including analyzing and estimating the likelihood and severity of the potential consequences of safety hazards. Performs qualitative and quantitative risk assessment.

Implements common hazard analyses tools such as preliminary hazard analyses, failure modes effects (and criticality) analyses, system and sub-system hazard analyses, operating hazard analyses, and job hazard analyses. Prepares response documents for inquiries from external organizations such as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) or Government Accounting Office. Prepares requests for information to Transit Agencies, State Safety Oversight

Agencies, and other transit stakeholders. Performs research to identify industry best practices, trends, and applicable studies and findings. Researches, writes, and edits a broad range of complex policy papers, memoranda, and briefing documents, manuals, presentations, and other technical publications. Interprets SRM-related policy for input into the development of deliverables.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in a relevant field and seven (7) years of experience in risk management or analysis; or Master of Science (MS) degree or a Master of Arts (MA) degree in a relevant field and (5) five years of experience in risk management or analysis. Experience in transit safety risk management or analysis preferred.

Mid-Level Analyst Position Description: Provides support to the SRM program team by documenting program progress, writing reports and preparing briefing materials. Performs analysis using common hazard analyses tools such as preliminary hazard analyses, failure modes effects (and criticality) analyses, system and sub-system hazard analyses, operating hazard analyses, and job hazard analyses.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in a relevant field and five (5) years of experience in risk management or analysis; or Master of Science (MS) degree or a Master of Arts (MA) degree in a relevant field and (3) three years of experience in risk management or analysis. Experience in safety risk management or analysis preferred.

Junior Analyst Position Description: Provides administrative and technical support to the SRM program team. Researches, drafts, and edits a broad range of routine or simple policy papers, memoranda, and briefing documents, manuals, presentations, and other technical publications.

Performs recordkeeping and tracking tasks.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree and three (3) years of experience in safety, risk management, risk analysis, or data analysis; or (5) years of experience in safety, risk management, risk analysis, or data analysis.

DATA COLLECTION, ANALYSIS, AND REPORTING

Senior Analyst Position Description: Provides program and technical leadership in the collection, analysis and reporting of transit safety data. Conducts data wrangling, including but not limited to importing, cleaning, exporting, and processing data with high levels of complexity;

combining National Transit Database (NTD) flat files with raw SQL data server dumps; developing data dashboards; and performing tasks using MS Office Excel formulas and tools. Develops benchmarks for measuring performance. Performs research to identify industry best practices, trends, and applicable studies and findings. Analyzes solicited data, creates graphical representations, and develops complex deliverables. Researches, writes, and edits a broad range of complex reports, manuals, presentations, and other technical publications.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in a relevant field and seven (7) years of experience in data analysis; or Master of Science (MS) degree or a Master of Arts (MA) degree in a relevant field and (5) five years of experience in data analysis. Experience in transportation safety data analysis preferred.

Mid-Level Analyst Position Description: Provides support for the data collection, analysis and report program team. Works with databases (e.g., Appian or MySQL) and Structured Query Language (SQL), and Jira.

Performs “extract, transform and load” (ETL) processes, identifies issues and validates data conflicts (e.g., in terms of totals, timestamps, counts, or other metrics), and aggregates data across disparate sources in various formats. Conducts data wrangling, including but not limited to importing, cleaning, exporting, and processing data; combining National Transit Database (NTD) flat files with raw SQL data server dumps; developing data dashboards;

and performing tasks using MS Office Excel formulas and tools.

Designs data collection templates and develops survey processes and tools. Designs data collection modules and develops database tools to maintain and process data. Applies data validation techniques.

Performs research to identify industry best practices, trends, and applicable studies and findings. Analyzes solicited data, creates graphical representations, and develops complex deliverables.

Researches, writes, and edits a broad range of reports, manuals, presentations, and other technical publications.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in a relevant field and Five (5) years of experience in data analysis; or Master of Science (MS) degree or a Master of Arts (MA) degree in a relevant field and (3) three years of experience in data analysis. Experience in transportation safety data analysis preferred.

Junior Analyst Position Description: Provides administrative and technical support to the data collection, analysis and reporting program team. Supports efforts to present data through graphical representations and supports development of deliverables. Performs recordkeeping and tracking tasks.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree and three (3) years of experience in data collection, analysis, or reporting; or (5) years of experience in data collection, analysis, or reporting.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, DEVELOPMENT, AND DELIVERY

Senior Analyst Position Description: Provides program leadership in safety promotion and technical assistance programs and services, including activities such as the coordination of stakeholder peer exchange activities; design, development, and implementation of webinars and related events; the development of outreach and communication materials and documents; and the development of products that serve as inputs for other safety promotion activities. This includes the development of templates, sample documents, outlines, implementation guides, multimedia (including audio and video), checklists, and other technical support products to assist transit stakeholders in fulfilling FTA safety requirements and understanding FTA safety guidance. Performs or oversees performance of graphic design, audio and video production, and printing, with associated software packages (e.g., Adobe Creative), to develop effective graphics and other audio and visual products that support external communications regarding FTA’s Safety Program and safety initiatives.

Provides one-on-one support to individual transit stakeholders (such as transit agencies and States) and groups of these stakeholders. This support includes answering questions about and providing technical assistance to address a stakeholder’s challenges with successfully implementing a policy. Ensures excellent customer service and communicates clearly and respectfully to stakeholders.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in a relevant field and seven (7) years of experience in communications, engagement and outreach, or technical assistance;

or Master of Science (MS) degree or a Master of Arts (MA) degree in a relevant field and (5) five years of experience in communications, engagement and outreach, or technical assistance. Experience in transportation, safety, and/or training preferred.

Mid-Level Analyst Position Description: Provides support for safety promotion and technical assistance programs and services, including activities such as the coordination of stakeholder peer exchange activities; design, development, and implementation of webinars and related events; the development of outreach and communication materials and documents; and the development of products that serve as inputs for other safety promotion activities. This includes the development of templates, sample documents, outlines, implementation guides, multimedia (including audio and video), checklists, and other technical support products to assist transit stakeholders in fulfilling FTA safety requirements and understanding FTA safety guidance.

Performs graphic design, audio and video production, and printing, with associated software packages (e.g., Adobe Creative), to develop deliverables that support external communications regarding FTA’s Safety Program and safety initiatives. Provides excellent customer service and communicates clearly and respectfully to stakeholders.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in a relevant field and five (5) years of experience in communications, engagement and outreach, or technical assistance;

or Master of Science (MS) degree or a Master of Arts (MA) degree in a relevant field and (3) three years of experience in communications, engagement and outreach, or technical assistance. Experience in transportation, safety, and/or training preferred.

Junior Analyst Position Description: Provides routine support for safety promotion and technical assistance programs and services. Performs graphic design, audio and video production, and printing, with associated software packages (e.g., Adobe Creative). Develops routine or simple deliverables including templates, sample documents, outlines, implementation guides, multimedia (including audio and video), checklists, and other technical support products. Performs recordkeeping and tracking tasks.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree and three (3) years of experience in communications, engagement and outreach, or technical assistance; or (5) years of experience in communications, engagement and outreach, or technical assistance.

PROGRAM EVALUATION AND SAFETY ASSURANCE

Senior Analyst Position Description: Provides program leadership to support the evaluation of the effectiveness of programs and the productivity and efficiency of the management of programs. Provides evaluation support through assessments that use systemic data collection and analysis that include measuring and monitoring the effectiveness and efficiency of projects, programs, and policies; recommending improvements or better alternatives; and identifying unintended outcomes and summarizing lessons learned.

Provides leadership for efforts to design and collect program evaluation data through surveys, requests for information, and other tools to gather stakeholder feedback, while adhering to the Paperwork Reduction Act and other requirements.

Provides program leadership in the development and implementation of a Safety Assurance process and the monitoring of safety risk mitigations through the collection, analysis, and assessment of program information and safety data. Identifies criteria for determining the sufficiency and effectiveness of safety risk mitigations; identifies methods and standard procedures for mitigation monitoring; specifies approaches for identifying components or activities to be considered in SRM; and identifies gaps in data needed to effectively monitor safety program components or activities through a Safety Assurance process.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in a relevant field and seven (7) years of experience in program evaluation and/or assurance; or Master of Science (MS) degree or a Master of Arts (MA) degree in a relevant field and (5) five years of experience in program evaluation and/or assurance.

Experience in safety program evaluation and/or Safety Assurance is strongly preferred.

Mid-Level Analyst Position Description: Provides technical and administrative support to the program evaluation and Safety Assurance program team.

Provides evaluation support through assessments that use systemic data collection and analysis that include measuring and monitoring the effectiveness and efficiency of projects, programs, and policies;

recommending improvements or better alternatives; and identifying unintended outcomes and summarizing lessons learned.

Supports the collection of program evaluation data through surveys, requests for information, and other tools to gather stakeholder feedback, while adhering to the Paperwork Reduction Act and other requirements.

Supports the development and implementation of a Safety Assurance process and the monitoring of safety risk mitigations through the collection, analysis, and assessment of program information and safety data. Identifies criteria for determining the sufficiency and effectiveness of safety risk mitigations; identifies methods and standard procedures for mitigation monitoring; specifies approaches for identifying components or activities to be considered in SRM;

and identifies gaps in data needed to effectively monitor safety program components or activities through a safety assurance process.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in a relevant field and five (5) years of experience in program evaluation and/or assurance; or Master of Science (MS) degree or a Master of Arts (MA) degree in a relevant field and (3) five years of experience in program evaluation and/or assurance. Experience in safety program evaluation and/or Safety Assurance is preferred.

Junior Analyst Position Description: Provides administrative and technical support to the program evaluation and Safety Assurance program team.

Researches, drafts, and edits a broad range of policy papers, memoranda, and briefing documents, manuals, presentations, and other technical publications. Performs recordkeeping and tracking tasks.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree and three (3) years of relevant experience; or (5) years of relevant experience.

(END OF SECTION C)

SECTION D: PACKAGING AND MARKING

All packing, packaging, and mailing of reports or submittals shall be accomplished in the most economical and efficient manner and in accordance with the best commercial practices.

All information submitted to the Contracting Officer and the Contracting Officer's Representative shall be clearly marked with the legal name of the organization/contractor, the contract number, and/or modification number as appropriate and the identification of the submission. Additional packaging and marking requirements will be specified, as necessary, in the resulting contract.

(END OF SECTION D)

SECTION E: INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at the following address:

http://www.acquisition.gov

52-246-6 INSPECTION-TIME-AND-MATERIAL AND LABOR-HOUR (MAY 2001)

INSPECTION / ACCEPTANCE

The Contracting Officer or the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR), at the U.S.

Department of Transportation, Washington, DC, will perform final inspection and acceptance of all items and services called for by this contract. The Contracting Officer reserves the right to designate other Government agents as authorized representatives upon unilateral written notice to the Contractor, which may be accomplished in the form of a transmittal of a copy of the authorization.

E.2 Contracting Officer (CO) or Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) Inspection and Acceptance) The CO or the COR at DOT, FTA, Washington, DC, will perform final inspection and acceptance of all deliverables called for by this contract. The Contracting Officer reserves the right to designate other Government agents as authorized representatives upon unilateral written notice to the Contractor, which may be accomplished in the form of a transmittal of a copy of the authorization.

E.3 Government Contract Quality Assurance

The Government intends to implement a quality assurance process to monitor the quality a n d t i m e l i n e s s of the Contractor’s performance. The oversight will help to ensure that service levels are reached and the required levels are effectively maintained throughout the contract term. Furthermore, the Government’s quality assurance monitoring will provide the COR with a proactive way to avoid unacceptable or deficient performance and provides verifiable input for the required Past Performance Information Assessments. Thus, the contractor must ensure that deliverables meet the Government’s acceptance.

(END OF SECTION E)

http://www.acquisition.gov/

SECTION F: DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY (PRS)

These standards define performance for each individual CLIN, as specified in the Statement of Objectives (SOO). The offeror will provide a proposal response to the SOO concerning deliverables requested concerning this requirement.

F.1 52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

52.242-15 Stop-Work Order (AUG 1989)

F.2 Place of Performance

The contractor must provide all resources necessary for the support of this SOO.

All work conducted under this contract shall be performed within the United States and its territories. This may include, but not limited to the Contractor’s primary or remote offices, FTA HQ or regional offices, other government offices, and grantee offices and facilities etc.

While working off-site at government, grantee facilities or other off-site locations, contractor personnel shall, at all times, follow the identification requirements and observe all safety and security regulations of the office or facilities where work is being conducted.

F.3 Period of Performance

The period of performance is five years including (one 12-month base period and four one (1) year option periods, if exercised.)

F.4 Schedule of Work

TELEWORKING

All Contractor personnel must be telework ready. All work conducted concerning the requirement must be performed within the United States and its territories. Performance sites may include but not limited to the following: The Contractor’s primary or remote offices, FTA HQ office etc.

While working off-site at their own facilities or other off-site locations, Contractor personnel must, always, follow the identification requirements and observe all safety and security regulations of the location where work is being conducted. In the event of inclement weather, building closures, national emergencies, and/or other events impacting agency needs, the Contractor is authorized to telework concerning work discussed and approved by the FTA Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and the FTA Contracting Officer (CO).

Authorization to telework must be requested in writing, specifically, if it is for work that is typically performed on-site at FTA Headquarters or periodically at their other off-site location.

Telework rules and restrictions are at the discretion of the FTA CO who will consult with the respective FTA COR regarding the technical nature, scope of the work, expectations of work products submitted for review etc. schedule and work assignments must be discussed with the COR and CO prior to commencement of it. At times, work may be requested to be coordinated for re-scheduling, by the Contractor, for a later date.

Changes to telework rules and restrictions, under special circumstances, as previously mentioned, may also be implemented by either verbal direction or followed by an official modification to the contract.

F.5 Government-Furnished Property/Information

Once cleared, FTA will provide personnel identified by the Contractor and approved by FTA a domain account and a virtual desktop interface or a government furnished laptop. Contractors are expected to use the interface or laptop to perform work once provided and activated.

F.5.1 Interim and Post Award Evaluation Contractor Performance

1. Contractor Performance Evaluations

Interim and final evaluations of contractor performance will be prepared on this contract in accordance with FAR 42.15. The final performance evaluation will be prepared as soon as possible after completion of all required work.

Interim and final evaluations will be provided to the contractor, as soon as practicable, after completion of the evaluation. The contractor may elect to review the evaluation and submit additional information or a rebuttal statement within 30 days. All contractor responses are voluntary. Any disagreement between the parties regarding an evaluation will be referred to FTA personnel, one level above the Contracting Officer, whose decision is final.

Copies of the evaluations, contractor responses, and review comments, if any, will be retained as part of the contract file, and may be used to support future award decisions.

2. Electronic Access to Contractor Performance Evaluations and Federal Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) System

As of January 15, 2019, the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS.gov) is officially retired to conclude its merger with the Contract Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS.gov). After that date, the PPIRS name will only appear in the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

Data from PPIRS has been merged into CPARS.gov, making CPARS the official system for past performance information.