693JJ3-26-SS-0016_Sources Sought.pdf

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

Sources Sought Notice

No. 693JJ3-26-SS-0016

Technical Support Services for Safety Research and Development (HRSO)

Issue Date: September 11, 2026

Response Due Date: October 9, 2026, 9:00 AM Eastern Time

Submittals & Questions

To:

Vivian Riboli (Vivian.Riboli@dot.gov) &

Amalia Rodezno (Amalia.Rodezno@dot.gov)

Subject Line Format: Sources Sought Notice No. 693JJ3-26-SS-0016 - [Company

Name]

Submission Format: Electronic Submission (Microsoft Word / PDF) per Section 5

SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Market Research Notice. This is a Sources Sought Notice (SSN) issued by the Federal

Highway Administration (FHWA). This notice is strictly for market survey, planning, and informational purposes pursuant to 48 C.F.R. Part 10. It does NOT constitute a Request for

Proposal (RFP), Request for Quotation (RFQ), or invitation for bid, nor does it restrict the

Government to an ultimate acquisition strategy.

1.2 Purpose of Notice. FHWA is conducting market research to identify potential qualified sources capable of providing technical support services for the FHWA Office of Safety and

Operations Research & Development (HRSO) at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center

(TFHRC) in McLean, VA. Specifically, the Government seeks to evaluate: The purpose of this notice is to obtain information for planning purposes, regarding (1) the availability and capability of qualified sources to perform all or some of the work described below; and (2) the size classification of the available and capable sources relative to the North American Industry

Classification (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition.

Pursuant to 48 C.F.R. Part 10, the Government is conducting market research to:

• Determine what sources exist that are capable of satisfying the Government’s requirements listed below,

• Determine the capabilities of potential contractors,

• Determine the size and status of potential sources, and

• Determine the level of competition (i.e., 8(a), set-aside or full and open).

1.3 Non-Binding & Non-Reimbursable. Responses to this SSN are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any information submitted or costs incurred in responding to this SSN.

Participation in market research is voluntary and will neither increase nor decrease a respondent’s likelihood of being awarded any contract in the future by FHWA for the requisite services.

An overview of the required services, objectives and intended outcomes is provided below.

SECTION 2: PROGRAM BACKGROUND, SCOPE & OBJECTIVES

2.1 Program Background & Incumbent History. HRSO conducts research to advance science-and data-driven solutions that improve highway safety performance and reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries. Technical support is currently executed under five (5) incumbent IDIQ contracts awarded in March 2022 to: KEA Technologies Inc., Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB), Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), Leidos Inc., and Texas A&M Transportation

Institute (TTI). From March 2022 through March 2026, approximately $23 million has been awarded across 44 task orders. The current IDIQ contracts expire on September 15, 2027.

2.2 Scope of Work. The Contractor shall supply non-personal services technical support to

FHWA HRSO. The Contractor shall support and conduct research to 1) identify and understand the factors that contribute to the occurrence of traffic crashes across a variety of contexts including operational conditions such as work zones, incidents, weather‑related disruptions, and other sources of non‑recurring congestion; and 2) identify related “treatments” (e.g., policies, actions, decisions, design changes, countermeasures, and operational strategies) that reduce both the number of crashes and/or the severity of injuries that result from crashes.

The Contractor shall analyze technical materials, support the definition of research objectives, provide technical advice on the structure of research programs, develop full research life cycle approaches, and devise technical transfer approaches to address the FHWA Safety program research objectives. The Contractor shall assess the effectiveness of the research by supporting the development of outcomes and outcomes measurement.

2.3 Program Objectives. The objectives of this requirement are to support and conduct research on why traffic crashes occur, to understand the factors that influence injury severity, and to identify the operational conditions that affect overall safety performance. The research will advance science‑ and data‑driven approaches to developing countermeasures that address the underlying causes of crashes, including operational practices and emerging vehicle automation technologies that can enhance safety and reduce crash risk. The Contractor shall furnish non-personal technical support to continue and advance innovation to perform the activities described under this contract titled, “Technical Support Services for the FHWA Office of Safety and

Operations Research & Development.”

SECTION 3: PROGRAM AREAS

Potential offerors being sought should be capable of performing research in the following areas:

• Safety Culture – There is a growing discussion among roadway designers, roadway safety specialists, planners, and a wide range of diverse professionals who are working to re-imagine safety culture in the delivery of a safer highway infrastructure for all users.

The Towards Zero Deaths and Safe System Approach provide frameworks for instilling multidisciplinary views on enhancing safety for all users.

o Towards Zero Deaths – FHWA's goal is to reduce transportation related fatalities and serious injuries across the transportation system, and for this reason it fully supports the vision of zero deaths and serious injuries on the Nation's highways

(accessed at https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/zerodeaths/ on June 23, 2020).

o Safe System Approach – There are six Safe System Principles defined by FHWA that are being considered by many roadway safety professionals (Safe System—

An Approach Toward Zero Traffic Deaths | FHWA). These include 1) Deaths and serious injuries are unacceptable; 2) Humans make mistakes; 3) Humans are vulnerable; 4) Responsibility is shared; 5) Safety is proactive; and 6) Redundancy is crucial.

• Comprehensive Approach to Safety – Data definition, data collection, analytical tools supporting data–driven safety decisions, and evaluation of safety treatments.

• Data Science and Combined Safety and Operations Analyses – Novel data management, application of diverse sets of multidisciplinary data, artificial data sets, naturalistic driving study data, artificial intelligence (AI) and analyses that optimize both safety and operations. New research is exploring these topics and will be the focus of technical transfer to elevate the state of the practice in the near future.

• AI Applications in Safety– Explore AI-enhanced approaches to support safety, operational, and human factors activities. Data-centric AI approaches for preparing high-quality data for AI model training and evaluation. Customized AI models for enhancing traffic safety. Collect data to evaluate the risk of AI applications. Leveraging AI technologies to enhance solutions and strategies for programs supported by HRSO.

• Human Factors – Examining drivers’ capabilities and limitations when interacting with the vehicle and the roadway to inform better roadway design. Other research topics include distraction, older drivers, and the effects of changes in visibility.

• Intersection Safety – Increasing our understanding of intersection safety and establishing short– and long–term strategies for safety improvements. The design and evaluation of non–traditional intersections and interchanges, and development of systems to improve safety in or near intersections.

• Pedestrians Safety – Fostering professional awareness of pedestrian safety issues, developing and evaluating countermeasures, and providing engineering resources for practitioners at national, State, and local levels.

• Motorcycle Safety – Fostering professional awareness of motorcycle safety issues, developing and evaluating countermeasures, and providing engineering resources for practitioners at national, State, and local levels.

https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/zerodeaths/ https://highways.dot.gov/safety/zero-deaths/safe-system-approach-toward-zero-traffic-deaths https://highways.dot.gov/safety/zero-deaths/safe-system-approach-toward-zero-traffic-deaths

• Roadway Departure – Research emphasizing keeping vehicles on the roadway and minimizing the consequences of leaving the roadway. Advancing tools and technologies for crashes involving roadway departures and collisions with roadside hardware.

• Speed Management – Research to develop and test engineering approaches to speed management, and to encourage wider adoption of appropriate travel speeds.

• Visibility – Research to improve visibility on and along the roadway, and of traffic control devices.

• Geometric Design – Research to enhance safety on roadway geometric design, safety and operational effects for roadway geometric elements; roadway safety analysis tools and methodologies; and rural and local roads safety programs.

• Intelligent Transportation Systems – Intelligent transportation systems safety research including vehicle-to-everything (V2X) applications, Connected and Automated Vehicle

(CAV) technologies, and emerging trends in traffic management, work zone safety and driver information.

• Safety Strategies and Countermeasures – Expertise in the Countermeasures focus area, including the ability to research, evaluate, and support the implementation of proven and emerging treatments that mitigate crash risk. Such treatments may include operational practices such as queue‑warning systems, traffic management strategies, positive protection in work zones, and data‑driven, holistic approaches to coordinating safety and operational decision‑making. The Contractor must show experience applying these strategies in diverse operational contexts and translating research findings into practical, deployable countermeasures that improve roadway safety performance.

• Technical Research Assistance – Providing technical assistance to address crashes in which there is a human factor, a vehicle factor, a physical environment factor, and a socioeconomic factor. The Contractor shall support in-house research through analysis of large volumes of lab and field collection data, preparation of graphs/tables/other types of presentation material and production of quality research reports/technical papers to communicate the research findings to the highway safety research community.

SECTION 4: REQUESTED CONTENT OF RESPONSES

Interested parties are requested to submit a response organized into the following three mandatory parts:

4.1 Part 1: Cover Page & Business Profile.

The cover page should contain at a minimum the following information:

(1) Company Name, Address, and Primary/Alternate Points of Contact (Name, Title, Email, Phone).

(2) SAM.GOV Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)

(3) NAICS Code(s): Statement on whether your firm believes 541990 is an appropriate

NAICS for these services, along with recommendations for alternative codes if applicable.

(4) Business Size and Socioeconomic Classifications (i.e. Small Business, HubZone, Women Owned Small Business, Veteran Owned Small Business, etc.)

(5) Existing Federal Contracting Vehicles: Federal Supply Schedule (FSS/MAS), OASIS and/or other Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) contract numbers/SINs available for the Department of Transportation (DOT) to use.

4.2 Part 2: Technical Capability Narrative.

Respondents shall describe their technical capability to provide the services and/or any product solution(s) described in Section 3. The responses should include an overall description of the proposed services and/or any product solution(s) and provide technical data and demonstrated capability in the areas identified. Respondents must also describe their services and/or any product solution(s) as they relate to one or more than one of the program areas in Section 3 and the following:

• Handling a volume of task orders which may reach 2-4 per month.

• Providing technical support on a short notice for sensitive timelines. This may involve response times of 2-3 days for submission of task order proposals.

• Developing and providing the following types of products and other deliverables under the contract: white papers, technical reports, analytical tools, workshops/ seminars, case studies, handbooks, instructor guides and guidance documents, videos, technical briefs, articles, brochures, Website Development, and other mechanisms to be determined.

• Experience with both data including accessibility data and communications requirements of the proposed services and/or product solution(s).

• Comprehension of the state of the practice for Safety among transportation agencies.

• Understanding of new transportation technologies like Connected and Automated

Vehicles.

• Comprehension of ‘big data’ analytics and heuristics to work with very large and heterogeneous data sets.

Respondents shall also describe technical benefits of their proposed services and/or product solution(s) in terms of existing technologies or resources, improvements/enhancements, cost efficiencies of their specific approach, and any other support capabilities that provide service and/or product excellence or uniqueness, such as Performance-Based solutions.

The services and/or any product solutions should include supporting data/rationale for the offered services, and any product solution(s) if applicable, adequately to determine capability.

Note: Responses may include links or web addresses that demonstrate evidence of your technical expertise (i.e.: final reports, technical Journals, peer reviewed papers, etc.)

4.3 Part 3: Scope, Set-Aside & Acquisition Strategy Feedback.

Respondents are asked to provide feedback on the DRAFT scope of work in Section 3. FHWA is particularly interested in feedback on whether any aspects of the proposed scope of work are unduly restrictive to small business participation (serving as a Prime Contractor) or subcontracting opportunities for small businesses. Recommendations for small business set-aside

(partial or full) may also be submitted, along with supporting rationale. Respondents are invited to provide recommendations on suitable contract types (e.g., Firm-Fixed-Price, Time &

Materials, Labor Hours, Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee, etc.) for this IDIQ based on the proposed scope of work and industry’s best practices. Be advised that information and recommendations provided in this section of a respondents’ response are being received for informational market research purposes only and will NOT be legally binding on the Government’s final solicitation strategy determination.

SECTION 5: SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS & FORMATTING

5.1 Response Due Date & Contact Information. Submissions must be received electronically no later than October 9, 2026, at 9:00 AM Eastern Time. Submit responses via email to:

• Vivian Riboli: Vivian.Riboli@dot.gov and Amalia Rodezno: Amalia.Rodezno@dot.gov

• Subject Line: Sources Sought Notice No. 693JJ3-26-SS-0016 - [Insert Company Name]

5.2 Format Requirements.

(1) Page Count & Budget: Maximum of 10 (ten) single-sided pages. The total page count includes all other information provided, i.e., graphs, technical, etc. The Table of Contents and Acronym List are excluded from the 10-page limit.

(2) File Format: Electronic submission in Microsoft Word (.docx) or searchable Adobe PDF.

(3) Page Setup: Standard 8.5” x 11” page size with 1-inch margins on all sides.

(4) Font & Line Spacing: 12-point Times New Roman font, with single line spacing.

(5) Proprietary Markings: Proprietary or sensitive business information must be clearly marked on each page where present. The Government will protect properly marked proprietary information pursuant to FAR regulations.

5.3 Government Clarifications. FHWA reserves the right to request follow-up clarifications or conduct brief verbal communications/presentations with respondents to fully understand submitted capability information.

mailto:Vivian.Riboli@dot.gov mailto:Amalia.Rodezno@dot.gov