693JJ324Q000051 Amendment 1.pdf

REQUEST FOR QUOTATION (RFQ)

Issuing Office: United States Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

Office of Acquisition & Grants Management (HCFA) 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590-0001

Agency Contact: Rochelle Infante, Contract

Specialist Email:

Rochelle.Infante@dot.gov

Amalia Rodezno, Contracting Officer Email: Amalia.Rodezno@dot.gov

Solicitation Number: 693JJ324Q000051 Amendment 1

Title: National Scenic Byways Program Technical Assistance

Solicitation Release Date: July 11, 2024

Technical Questions Due Date: July 19, 2024, 1:00 p.m. EST

Quotation Due Date: August 8, 2024, 1:00 p.m. EST mailto:Rochelle.Infante@dot.gov mailto:Amalia.Rodezno@dot.gov

PART I

RFQ INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARATION OF

QUOTATIONS

RFQ INFORMATION

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial products or commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation;

proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.

This is an OPEN-MARKET Firm Fixed Price (FFP) RFQ. This solicitation is prepared in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12, Acquisition of Commercial Items, in conjunction with the policies and procedures for solicitation, evaluation, and award as prescribed in FAR 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular

(FAC) 2024-05.

This solicitation is a/an full and open and the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541990 with an industry size standard of $19.5. A responsible quoter is one whose quotation conforms to the solicitation and will be most advantageous to the Government.

It is the contractor’s responsibility to be familiar with applicable clauses and provisions. FAR Provisions and Clauses may be viewed and/or downloaded from http://www.acquisition.gov/far.

All contractors must have a current active registration in the System for Award Management (www.SAM.gov) at the time of quote submission in order to be eligible to receive an award under this RFQ.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARATION OF QUOTATIONS

In responding to this RFQ, quotations MUST include the following:

1. Section I: Technical Quote:

This volume must address the technical aspects of the requirement. It must indicate the Quoter’s capabilities and the means used to satisfy the requirements stated in the attached SOW. The Quoter is encouraged to propose innovative solutions that meet the FHWA’s performance requirements for this procurement. Reference the SOW, Detailed Requirement for specifics of the Government’s requirements for this service.

The Quoter shall describe and provide the following:

• Detailed technical and management approach and understanding to perform each task outlined in the SOW.

• Any relevant experience in performing similar work.

https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.acquisition.gov%2Ffar%2Fpart-12%23FAR_Subpart_12_6&data=04%7C01%7CGuang.Zeng%40dot.gov%7C68957b5b50704ad2a1a708d903fb8ffe%7Cc4cd245b44f04395a1aa3848d258f78b%7C0%7C0%7C637545201247686703%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=TjJ31lOZijSyRTCBmMlSCkBGbs9NKPSGlWGUBN4SN%2Bs%3D&reserved=0 http://www.acquisition.gov/far http://www.sam.gov/

• The Quoter must provide the title and a description of the duties the personnel will perform, including who shall be designated as key personnel.

• The Quoter must include provide resumes for key personnel that delineates each personnel’s academic credentials and professional experience. Each resume shall be no more than 2 pages long.

• The Technical Quote must set forth any information that the Offeror wishes to bring to the attention of the Government.

• Table which depicts the labor mix and estimated hours by task. (Note: No pricing information shall be included with this table.)

• Any other relevant information that the offeror wishes to bring to the attention of the Government.

2. Section II: Price Quote: Submitted pricing in the format of the Schedule of Service, Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) Structure table shown in Part II. The quoter must provide a Price quote that reflects their proposed solution to the Government’s requirements. The proposed price must include loaded hourly rates, positions, names of personnel, hours, and the total price to perform the work outlined in the SOW and provided in the Pricing Structure in Part

II.

The quoter may include within their Price Proposal a Milestone Payment Schedule that requests interim payments for deliverables and services completed (including draft deliverables and progress reports). The deliverables and services completed must be inspected and accepted by the Contracting Officer Representative (COR). The milestone payments are not intended to be monthly percentages of the award/order, but rather payments for completed SOW services.

In the absence of a milestone payment schedule, the quoter will be paid upon the successful completion and acceptance by FHWA of the Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs) within the schedule of services.

Past Performance References: Please provide a matrix of recent relevant past performance (within the last two years), which shall include the following: a short description of the work, the dates of work performance, the name of the client and a contact phone number and email address, so a reference check can be conducted.

Quotations shall include three references.

Organizational Information: Quotations shall include the following mandatory business information regarding your company in the body of the cover email message:

a. Confirmation your company accepts government purchase orders

b. Business Size (Small, Woman-Owned, Disadvantaged, Hub-Zone, Large, Non- Profit, etc.)

c. Payment Terms (Government Standard is NET 30)

d. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)

Indicator (if applicable):

e. Federal Tax Identification Number (TIN) (9-Digits)

f. Correct Mailing Address for the order (include name, telephone, email address);

Note: Mailing address and entity name shall match the information in www.sam.gov

g. Verification company information listed in the System for Award Management (SAM) current and accurate? https://www.sam.gov/SAM/

Instructions for Preparation of Quotations: Quotation materials must be organized as follows: Section 1 - Technical Quotation and Section 2 - Price Quotation. All sections must be clearly separated from the other (i.e., separate electronic files), price information must only be supplied in the Price Quotation, the Technical Quotation must not contain any price information.

To be acceptable, the quotation must meet all of the requirements set forth in the Statement of Work (SOW).

• Quotations shall be submitted electronically as Adobe (.pdf) files with the technical capability, pricing, past performance and organizational information sections submitted in a SINGLE email whose size shall not exceed 10 Megabytes. Do not include marketing materials.

• Quotations must be formatted to print on 8½ x 11-inch paper without any additional scaling.

• Margins (Top, Bottom, Right and Left) no smaller than 1" (headers and footers are allowed in the margins)

• Times New Roman size 11 font must be used.

• Price Quotations must be submitted in a format readable by MS Excel and PDF formats. Technical quotations must be submitted in a text searchable PDF format.

• Section 1 Technical Quotation is limited to a total of 15 pages. Resumes are excluded from the Technical Quotation page limitation but are themselves limited to no more than two pages each. The table of contents and cover page are also excluded from the overall page limit.

• Section 2 Price Quotation does not have a page limitation.

The subject line of your email and all correspondence must include the RFQ number found on the cover page.

Evaluation of Quotations:

The Government will evaluate quotes and make a best value award decision based on the following the non-price factors, Technical Approach and Past Performance, are approximately equal. When combined, Technical Approach and Past Performance are more important than Price. The ultimate award decision will be made based on a determination of overall best value, considering each of the factors.

Technical Capability shall be based on the factors below:

The Quoter’s approach to performing the requirements and its capability to successfully perform the contract will be evaluated. Quotes will be evaluated based on the following:

Note: All bulleted items noted below are considered equal in the overall evaluation of Technical https://www.sam.gov/SAM/

Capability.

• Ability to clearly describe the task order objectives, needs, and ways they will be addressed;

• Demonstrated sound, feasible, and achievable technical approaches to accomplishing the requirements of the task order;

• Demonstrated technical and subject matter expertise of the proposed team, as evidenced by academic credentials and professional experience;

• Demonstrated recent successful experience in accomplishing work associated with the SOW identified objectives and tasks;

• Demonstrated experience in scenic byways projects or programs, mapping and GIS, and outreach, including byways promotional materials, educational materials, and program information.

• Acceptable and reasonable contingency plans to replace key personnel over the period of performance without adversely affecting performance;

• Presented specific performance metrics that may be used to gauge progress for the successful delivery of task requirements and/or status reports that can be used to monitor performance of the requirement;

• Demonstrated organizational commitments; and

• Demonstrated collaborative approaches and partnerships.

NOTE: Failure to furnish all information required above may result in your quotation being considered non-responsive and eliminated from further consideration.

PART II

SCHEDULE OF SERVICES

The Contractor shall furnish all supplies/services to perform the tasks described under this purchase order entitled, National Scenic Byways Technical Assistance. The Contractor shall furnish all supplies/services in support of the mission of the FHWA.

This is an OPEN MARKET RFQ for a firm fixed price contract, Request for Quotation and Quoters shall quote a total price breakdown utilizing the CLIN chart below.

CLIN

DESCRIPTION

QUANTITY

PRICE

TOTAL

00001

Tasks 1 thru 4: of National Scenic Byways

SOW

(Firm-Fixed Price; EDOW – 36 months)

10001

Task 5: “America’s Byways®” and NSBP Logo and Branding (Optional) DOW-18 months

10002

Task 6: Customized Technical Assistance and/or Customized Mapping (Optional) DOW-18 months

00002

Other Direct Costs -Costs reimbursable (no fee), not to exceed ceiling amount EDOW of tasks 1-4- 36 months

10003

Other Direct Costs-Costs reimbursable (no fee) (Optional) not to exceed ceiling amount EDOW of task 5 and 6, to 18 months

Total

NOTE: Unless otherwise negotiated and approved, the contractor will be paid the FFP of each CLIN upon successful completion and Government acceptance. The contractor may also request milestone payments in accordance with work completed and accepted by the Government.

Satisfactory completion and acceptance will be made by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).

PART III

Statement of Work

1.0 Overview

This is a non-personal services contract to provide the National Scenic Byways Program (NSBP) Technical Assistance Services Program. The Government will not exercise any supervision or control over the contract / service provider performing the services herein. Service providers will be accountable solely to the Contractor who, in turn is responsible to the Government as defined in this Statement of Work (SOW). The Contractor must perform to the standards herein.

1.1 Background

The NSBP is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Established in Title 23, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 162 under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, the program is a grass-roots collaborative effort established to help recognize, preserve and enhance select roads throughout the United States.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117-328), enacted on December 29, 2022, appropriated $20 million, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (Public Law 118-42), enacted on March 8, 2024, appropriated an additional $7.5 million in Highway Infrastructure Program funds for the NSBP under 23 U.S.C. 162. Per 23 U.S.C. 162(b), grants and technical assistance are to be made available to States or Indian Tribes to implement eligible projects on highways designated as National Scenic Byways or All-American Roads (America's Byways®), State scenic byways, or Indian Tribe scenic byways; and to plan, design, and develop a State or Indian Tribe scenic byway program.

With the passage of the Reviving America’s Scenic Byways Act, 2019 (Public Law 116-57), FHWA began hosting monthly coordinators calls which bring together byway stakeholders across the country. These calls serve as a pivotal forum for FHWA to share information and provide technical assistance, and for byway coordinators and stakeholders to share events and updates on behalf of the local byway communities. FHWA has also participated in coordinator trainings and conferences through partnerships with non-profit byway organizations. However, there is a great need for more comprehensive, cross-cutting tools to support efforts by States, Tribes, Federal Land Management Agencies (FLMA), and other byway organizations in order to manage the collection of America’s Byways® designations and to implement NSBP discretionary grant awards.

The NSBP Technical Assistance Services Program will empower and build capacity for a future generation of byway leaders through: updated training and technical materials, mapping and Geographic Information System (GIS) support, plans for refreshed branding, and development of a more coordinated national program. It will also publish information for the general public who would like information on the byways.

Technical assistance efforts will seek to leverage the knowledge, resources, and expertise of staff at:

- FHWA (Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty; Division and Federal Lands Offices; and Office of Tribal Transportation);

- State Departments of Transportation;

- Federally Recognized Tribes;

- Federal Land Management Agencies;

- Byway organizations; and

- Professional byway consulting firms.

1.2 Objective

The purpose of this effort is to obtain technical assistance for support with scenic byways, planning, marketing, design, mapping, Geographic Information System (GIS), and training development in order to develop an enhanced technical assistance program for the NSBP.

The revitalized technical assistance program will benefit State and Tribal Byways Program coordinators who play a vital role in implementing the NSBP at the local level. It will also provide opportunities for non-profits and smaller organizations with niche experience in byways to build capacity and cooperative partnerships, invest in future byway leaders, and produce an updated, high-quality set of work products that will support byways large and small across the country.

Byway coordinators must maintain relationships with local byway organizations; facilitate the development of Corridor Management Plans for State or Tribal programs; manage the strategic planning for national byway designations; coordinate grant applications; and administer grant funds. Many byway coordinators are new to the role and often byway coordinator is just one of many jobs they do. These services are intended to help them achieve success while providing direction and a structure of support from other byway experts in the field.

1.3 Detailed Requirement

The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items necessary to perform the task areas detailed herein.

The work under this Contract must be performed under the tasks listed below and described in detail thereafter:

- Task 1: Project Management;

- Task 2: A New Peer Exchange Program;

- Task 3: A Refreshed State/Tribal Coordinators’ Toolkit;

- Task 4: Mapping and GIS Supportive Services;

- Optional Task 5: “America’s Byways®” and NSBP Logo and Branding; and

- Optional Task 6: Customized Technical Assistance and/or Customized Mapping.

Task 1: Project Management

The Contractor must coordinate with the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for overall technical direction. The COR will convene a Technical Review Panel (TRP) that will function to provide input on the technical direction of the Technical Assistance materials within 30 days of contract award. Participants in the TRP will serve as subject matter experts to provide technical advice, review and approve draft documents such as the toolkit, market research results, and mapping for the final deliverables. The COR will provide information about the composition of the TRP to the Contractor.

The Contractor must develop a Draft Project Management Plan (PMP) and submit it to the COR at least one week before the kick-off meeting to initiate the project. Following the review of the Draft PMP, a kick-off meeting will be held between the COR, TRP and Contractor team, within 30 days of contract award, to ensure that all parties have a complete understanding of the project scope, schedule, milestones, project budget, contract/task, and invoicing procedures.

After receipt of comments from the COR on the Draft PMP, the Contractor must prepare and submit final PMP to the COR.

The Contractor must organize and facilitate progress meetings with the COR and TRP bi-monthly. Meetings may be via web conference. For all meetings, the Contractor must prepare the agenda and other premeeting materials (when appropriate), lead discussion during the meetings, and prepare and deliver meeting minutes to the COR and TRP within five days after the meeting to demonstrate an understanding of key decisions and solicit approval and understanding as needed. Meetings must happen on at least a bimonthly basis, though more frequent meetings may occur as the project matures or as needed. The Contractor should assume each meeting will last approximately one hour.

The Contractor must submit invoices to the COR and TRP on a monthly basis.

The Contractor must submit all deliverables listed in Technical Exhibit 2 to the COR and TRP members. The COR will provide written comments to the Contractor on all draft materials within 15 days of receipt of draft. The Contractor must incorporate and/or resolve all COR comments (within one week) before the deliverables will be considered final. The Contractor must provide an electronic copy of all final deliverables to the COR and the TRP, in accordance with the established schedule. The Contractor must propose a mechanism for identifying the changes.

Written approval of the final, accepted deliverables will be provided by the COR along with authorization to proceed to the next task (when applicable) within 15 days of receipt of accepted changes.

The Contractor must expect to receive two sets of comments from the COR for all deliverables:

1) general direction and instructional design comments; and

2) technical (subject matter) comments. Unless advised otherwise by the COR, all comments will be considered by the Contractor and must be appropriately incorporated into the final materials.

Task 2: A New Peer Exchange Program

The Contractor must establish a new peer exchange program. State and Tribal Byway Coordinators need guidance and support from their peers through exchange of information, particularly when there are staff changes among coordinators. The NSBP would benefit from even more regular State-to-State communication.

This task outlines the following deliverables to support the establishment of a new peer exchange program. Draft and final deliverables are subject to deadlines listed above in the fourth paragraph under Project Management.

List of topics of interest The contractor will develop a list of topics of interest. These topics must be relevant to byway coordinators nationally and approved by the COR and TRP within 60 days after the kick-off meeting. The COR may offer suggestions/guidance concerning topics of interest to NSBP participants.

Draft Schedule of virtual webinars The Contractor will be responsible for developing and submitting a draft schedule of the approved proposed virtual webinars to the COR with dates they will be developed by the Contractor, and subsequently taught. This draft must be submitted and approved by the COR and TRP within 90 days after kick-off meeting.

Eight virtual webinars The Contractor must develop, host and facilitate, eight virtual webinars on the approved topics of interest for state, tribal, and Federal Land Management Agency (FLMA) byways coordinators nationally, over the three-year base contract. Two of these webinars must serve as “State and Tribal Byway coordinator orientation and onboarding” trainings.

The Contractor must coordinate with the COR, FHWA Technical Services Office, and FHWA’s Office of Public Affairs to ensure each webinar is compliant with government standards. The Contractor must also use Zoom as the webinar platform and post each webinar recording to the @USDOTFHWA Youtube channel no later than 15 days after each webinar is conducted.

Online repository The contractor must establish and maintain an online repository of all eight webinar meeting recordings as well as a centralized location for contact information for current byway program coordinators within 24 months from contract award. The Contractor must coordinate with the FHWA IT office to prepare and post this online repository on the FHWA public website, and conform to the FHWA visual standards and layout. This site would include on the online repository a description of the purpose and content of each of the webinars and information about how to register for each of the upcoming webinars. The Contractor must coordinate with the COR and FHWA’s Office of Public Affairs to include a include a comprehensive list of byways coordinator contacts available to the public on the online repository, including name/email address/title/organization/phone number for each of the State Byways Coordinators and name/email address/title/organization/phone number for each of the FHWA Division Office contacts with a link from the existing contacts page here:

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/scenic_byways/contacts/states.cfm. The online repository is subject to approval by all FHWA parties.

Each of the eight webinar recordings must be posted to the repository no later than 30 days after each webinar is conducted. The repository must be expandable so that future content may be added. Contact information must be regularly updated (as needed, at least monthly) by the contractor and may be used to distribute newsletters and other news items. The repository must be public facing, easily accessible, section 508 compliant and is subject to government approval.

Transfer Plan The Contractor must create a transfer plan to FHWA for maintaining the content of the online https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/scenic_byways/contacts/states.cfm repository of webinar recordings and centralized location for contact information. This transfer plan is due to FHWA at least 90 days prior to the contract end date and is subject to approval by the COR and TRP. The transfer will be completed by the end of the contract.

Online message board The contractor must establish and maintain an online message board on a website agreed upon by the contractor and the COR, within 12 months from contract award. The online message board must be accessible from or a part of the online repository and offer coordinators a platform for asking questions on topics of interest and collecting feedback in real-time from their peers on insights and lessons learned. The message board must be section 508 compliant, accessible to external partners and include a moderator who must spend approximately four (4) hours per week maintaining this online message board after it is established. The Contractor must coordinate with the COR, FHWA Technical Services Office, and FHWA’s Office of Public Affairs on responses, and the online message board is subject to approval by all FHWA parties.

The Contractor must provide the content of the information exchanged on the online message board to the COR prior to the end of the contract. At the end of the term of the contract the FHWA and the Contractor will decide the fate of the online message board.

Note: The Federal Transit Administration operates a message board for use by State-level transit staff for the National Rural Transit Assistance Program. It may be provided through the “PODIO” service, and it’s frequently used. This could be a model.

Task 3: A Refreshed State/Tribal Coordinators’ Toolkit

The Contractor must establish a new State/Tribal Coordinators’ Toolkit which will be accessible via the online repository. Each state/tribe may be governed by their own laws and processes that establish how they administer a state program and designate State/Tribal byways. However, State and Tribal coordinators need new written resources covering both NSBP basics and best practices. This task outlines the following deliverables to support the establishment of a new toolkit. Draft and final deliverables are subject to deadlines listed above in the fourth paragraph under Project Management.

Outline of Coordinators’ Toolkit The Contractor must develop and submit a draft outline of the toolkit (Word document) that lists a minimum level of requirements and best practices for establishing and sustaining a byways program within eight (8) months from contract award.

Coordinators’ Toolkit, Including Literature Review of Digital Resources The Contractor must develop a Toolkit for State and Tribal byways coordinators, including a literature review of digital resources, within 15 months from contract award. The Toolkit and literature review must be easily accessible from or a part of the online repository within 16 months from contract award. Both the Toolkit and literature review must be public facing and section 508 compliant. They are also both subject to government approval.

The Coordinators’ Toolkit must include eight templates and/or case studies for operating a State/Tribal-level program as well as include a literature review. The topics featured in these templates and/or case studies must cover both NSBP basics and best practices.

The Toolkit’s NSBP basics section will focus on the State/Tribal roles and responsibilities as they relate to the NSBP, including the following:

• How to nominate, designate and maintain National Scenic Byways (NSB)/All American Roads (AAR) in accordance with the NSBP 1995 Interim Policy (60 Fed. Reg. 26759);

• How to submit an application for and administer an NSBP grant; and

• How to coordinate with Division offices to effectively communicate and resolve questions from stakeholders and issues in the field.

The Toolkit’s NSBP best practices section will prioritize topics related to State/Tribal roles and proven techniques that ultimately help maintain the NSBP as outlined in 23 USC 162 and that can be applied across many types of programs, large and small.

As such, the Toolkit will increase the coordinators’ knowledge and understanding and expand the collective thought leadership on innovative practices for planning and developing a successful State or Tribal scenic byways program, including how to:

• Establish effective Corridor Management Plans (CMP), featuring:

o an explanation of how CMPs relate to the requirements for NSBP designation, o information on how to conduct public involvement activities during the development/update of a CMP, and o examples of using the CMP as a constructive planning and management tool, particularly when there are local decisions that may conflict with the CMP.

• Maintain intrinsic qualities of the byways and conduct inventories of byways conditions for NSB/AAR, highlighting:

o guidelines for performing successful site visits/coordination meetings, o examples of how to coordinate positively with local byway organizations, and o demonstrations of how to ensure the timely and thorough completion of status reports for State/Tribal coordinators.

• Provide stewardship and oversight of byways, showcasing:

• Viewshed protection,

• Control of outdoor advertising,

• Overview of America the Beautiful Act, and

• Discussion of federal right of way considerations.

Other best practices topic areas of interest will showcase the following areas of expertise:

• Funding opportunities for byways projects. (Contractor will use a similar funding table to the Pedestrian and Bicycle Funding Opportunities table);

• Economic development in rural communities;

• Technical Assistance;

• State/Tribal-level program governance and leadership best practices;

• Organizational leadership development and capacity building;

• Sustaining a designated scenic byway and a statewide byway collection;

• Collection mapping;

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bicycle_pedestrian/funding/funding_opportunities.pdf

• Collection marketing;

• Interpretation and language translation;

• Electrification of byways;

• Innovation and technology; and

• Supporting coordination and partnerships between State DOTs and State Tourism offices.

The Toolkit must also include a literature review as an appendix that provides a compilation and summary of existing, cutting-edge and up-to-date digital resources for State and Tribal coordinators.

Note: Contact FHWA for a list of Resources and Publications. Also, refer to the resources and materials listed under the Archived Pages of the NSBP website:

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/scenic_byways/.

PowerPoint Slide Deck The Contractor must also develop a PowerPoint slide deck with presenter’s notes that concisely summarizes key takeaways from the Toolkit and how it can be used by coordinators within 17 months from contract award. This slide deck may be used during the national webinar and other public facing events/meetings. As such, it must be section 508 compliant and is subject to government approval.

Webinar for Toolkit The Contractor must also develop, host and facilitate a virtual webinar to present the final Toolkit to a national audience of coordinators within 18 months from contract award. The webinar recording must be posted to the repository no later than 30 days after it was conducted. It must be public facing, easily accessible, and section 508 compliant. It is also subject to government approval.

The Contractor must coordinate with the COR, FHWA Technical Services Office, and FHWA’s Office of Public Affairs to ensure each webinar is compliant with government standards. The Contractor must also use Zoom as the webinar platform and post each webinar recording to the @USDOTFHWA Youtube channel no later than 15 days after each webinar is conducted.

Task 4: Mapping and GIS Supportive Services The Contractor must provide mapping and GIS supportive services and a resource document in this task. This task seeks to establish a unified set of digital mapping resources optimized for mobile devices as well as printed maps to be made available to the States, Tribes, and the general public. National standards for mapping and travel considerations are also required along with the national map of scenic byways in both digital and printed formats.

This task outlines the following deliverables to support the establishment of the new maps and resource document. Draft and final deliverables are subject to deadlines listed above in the fourth paragraph under Project Management.

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/scenic_byways/

Data Verification/Collection The Contractor must conduct data verification/collection of FHWA’s GIS shapefile for the 184* nationally designated byways within 24 months from contract award. FHWA will supply the GIS shapefile to the Contractor. The Contractor must verify that indeed there are 184 lines in the shapefile, as well as confirm the GIS depictions are generally correct.

*Note: As of May 2024, there are 184 national designated byways, but this number could increase if new byways are designated.

Interactive Map and Printable Road Map The Contractor must produce, post online, and deliver the shapefiles for an interactive map and a printable road map that feature all 184 nationally designated byways within 28 months from contract award. The maps must be available in digital format and the general public must be able to download and print the printable version. These road maps must be easily accessible from the online repository and posted on the America’s Byways® website alongside the list of 184 nationally designated byways. In addition, the Contractor must deliver GIS-ESRI shapefiles that can be integrated with the Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty GIS (HEPGIS) and are compliant with the geospatial data act of 2018 to FHWA. Both maps must also be Section 508 and optimized for mobile devices and are subject to approval by all FHWA parties.

The Contractor must work closely with the FHWA Technical Services Office and FHWA’s current contractor for the America’s Byways® website to ensure that both maps are seamlessly integrated with the America’s Byways® website and in compliance with all government standards. The COR will facilitate coordination between the Contractor and these key partners during the development of both maps.

Note: Contact FHWA for an old version of the national printed map “tearsheet”, and visit this archived website for this old version of the interactive map:

https://web.archive.org/web/20130831141120/http://byways.org/explore/.

Map Updates The Contractor must provide periodic updates to the shapefiles as new byways are designated or corrections are made, as needed, after the initial GIS-ESRI shapefiles are submitted. After each update, the Contractor must post the update versions of the interactive and printable maps to the websites and deliver the updated GIS-ESRI shapefiles to the FHWA. These files must be in a format that can be integrated with the Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty GIS (HEPGIS) and will be compliant with the geospatial data act of 2018. The maps must also be Section 508 and optimized for mobile devices and are subject to approval by all FHWA parties.

Printed Map Copies The Contractor must print 1,000 color copies of the printable map and distribute copies to stakeholders upon request, beginning 28 months from contract award. The map information must be section 508 compliant and legible or discernable on 8 ½”, legal, or ledger size paper so that the maps can be printed easily. The Contractor must coordinate with FHWA to receive approval on the plan for mailing and distribution. Paper, reproduction, mailing materials and postage will be the responsibility of the Contractor.

https://fhwaapps.fhwa.dot.gov/bywaysp/Byways http://byways.org/explore/

Map Resource Document The Contractor must develop a resource document that establishes what information should be consistently available to travelers about nationally designated byways across platforms, states, tribes etc. within 32 months from contract award. (Example features include: byways recommended for RV travel and electric vehicles.) This resource document must be easily accessible from the online repository, added to the Toolkit section on resources for coordinators, and 508 compliant.

Once Tasks 1-4 are complete, FHWA may choose to elect to exercise the Optional Tasks 5 and 6.

Optional Task 5: “America’s Byways®” and NSBP Logo and Branding This is an optional task that FHWA may choose to exercise. The Contractor must conduct branding research, produce a new logo and brand identity for both the America’s Byways and NSBP, and produce recommendations for signage updates.

This task outlines the following deliverables to support the establishment of a new logo and branding. Draft and final deliverables are subject to deadlines listed above in the fourth paragraph under Project Management.

Branding Research The Contractor must conduct and submit research on the costs/implications of implementing the new logo, branding, and signage and present a detailed report on their findings to the COR and TRP within 60 days of award of this option.

Note: In 2000, FHWA led efforts to create a brand for roads designated under the National Scenic Byways Program. “America’s Byways®” was selected as the brand umbrella under which National Scenic Byways and All-American Roads would be marketed, and a logo was created.

At the time, there were 72 byways designated in 32 states. Currently, there are 184 byways designated in 48 states. The branding is more than 20 years old, and it needs a strategic refresh.

Currently, to request high resolution AI or EPS format files of the existing logos, the public must contact FHWA directly: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/scenic_byways/logos/.

Design of New Logo and New Branding The Contractor must use the information obtained in the research finding to design of new logo and revitalized brand identity for both the America’s Byways and the NSBP within six (6) months of award of this option. The Contractor must produce a “kit-of-parts” that contains the digital branding options for states, tribes, and byway organizations to use on websites and marketing materials. The kit-of-parts will include new logos, fonts, colors, signage, and overall branding design guidelines and materials that are Section 508 compliant and in alignment with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) standards and guidelines. They will also coordinate with the appropriate entities to ensure the new logo is a registered trademark.

Recommendations for Signage Updates The Contractor must produce a set of actionable recommendations related to signage updates within nine (9) months of award of this option. The recommendations must consider how to proceed with implementation of the new logo and branding in the context of new signage for projects, how to prioritize projects that include signage updates, how to identify funding for future signage updates, and how to implement these types of projects over the long term in https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/scenic_byways/logos/ https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/ coordination with FHWA, MUTCD, State DOTs/Tribes, and other local organizations.

Optional Task 6: Customized Technical Assistance and/or Customized Mapping This is another optional task that FHWA may choose to exercise. This task outlines the following deliverables to support customized technical assistance and customized mapping. Draft and final deliverables are subject to deadlines listed above in the fourth paragraph under Project Management, except for the “Customized technical assistance” deliverable.

The Contractor must provide technical assistance for state and tribal byways program coordinators, establish an updated website, launch the new brand identity, if applicable, and provide additional digital and print mapping, and create customized web pages.

Customized Technical Assistance and Support The Contractor must provide technical assistance for state and tribal byways programs and program coordinators, ongoing, as-needed for 8 hours per week. The purpose of this technical assistance will be to help state and tribal byways coordinators achieve their program mission, vision, and goals, prioritize initiatives that ultimately help to maintain the NSBP as outlined in 23 USC 162, and leverage their expertise on efforts that can be replicated across many types of programs, large and small, and/or used as case studies.

As outlined in the NSBP Coordinators’ Toolkit, the technical assistance will focus their time and capacity building resources on both basics and best practices. Technical assistance for NSBP basics will include assisting state and tribal byways coordinators with NSBP grant applications and administration and helping them coordinate with Division offices to effectively communicate and resolve questions from stakeholders.

Technical assistance for NSBP best practices will center around assisting state and tribal byways coordinators with planning and developing a successful State or Tribal scenic byways program, including helping them to develop effective CMPs, maintain intrinsic qualities of the byways, conduct inventories of byways conditions for NSB/AAR, provide stewardship and oversight of byways, and implement other best practices.

Interactive and Printable Maps for Each State The Contractor must produce 48 interactive and printable road maps for each State with nationally designated byways that feature all nationally designated byways in the State within 18 months from award of this option. These interactive and printable road maps must be available in digital format that people can download and print, they must be optimized for mobile devices, and they must include a legend of identified features. The map information needs to be legible or discernable on 8 ½ by 11”, legal, or ledger size paper so that they can be printed easily. The maps must also be Section 508 and optimized for mobile devices and are subject to approval by all FHWA parties.

The Contractor must work closely with the FHWA Technical Services Office and FHWA’s current contractor for the America’s Byways® website to ensure that the maps are seamlessly integrated with the America’s Byways® website and in compliance with all government standards. The COR will facilitate coordination between the Contractor and these key partners throughout the development of these maps.

Note: As of May 2024, there are 184 national designated byways in 48 states, but this number could increase if new byways are designated. A comprehensive list of the 184 All-American Roads and National Scenic Byways is available on the America’s Byways webpage:

https://fhwaapps.fhwa.dot.gov/bywaysp/Byways.

REQUIREMENTS FOR IMPLEMENTING SECTION 508 STANDARDS

In addition to the work requirements specified in this statement of work, the Contractor shall ensure that all ICT deliverables meet the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and the ICT Final Standards and Guidelines (508 Refresh) at 36 CFR Part 1194.

As defined in the 508 Refresh, at 36 CFR Part 1194, Appendix A, E103.4, ICT is “Information technology and other equipment, systems, technologies, or processes, for which the principal function is the creation, manipulation, storage, display, receipt, or transmission of electronic data and information, as well as any associated content. Examples of ICT include, but are not limited to: computers and peripheral equipment; information kiosks and transaction machines;

telecommunications equipment; customer premises equipment; multifunction office machines;

software; applications; Web sites; videos; and, electronic documents.”

Section 508 requires that all electronic products prepared for the Federal Government be accessible to persons with disabilities, including those with vision, hearing, cognitive, and mobility impairments.

Applicable Standards:

• Appendix A to Part 1194 – Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act: Application and Scoping Requirements

• Appendix B to Part 1194 – Section 255 of the Communications Act: Application and Scoping Requirements

• Appendix C to Part 1194 – Functional Performance Criteria and Technical Requirements

Section 508 Refresh standards are available at https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh.

The Contractor shall adhere to the terms and requirements in FHWA Form 4260 Section 508 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Conformance Criteria for Section 508 conformance. The Conformance Criteria document does not need to be completed when submitting a deliverable.

2.0 Period of Performance

The period of performance shall be 36 months from the contract award date. FHWA may choose to elect to exercise the Optional Tasks 5 and 6 once Tasks 1-4 are complete.

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3.0 General

3.1 Place of Performance

The work to be performed under this task order shall be performed at Contractor facility.

3.2 Physical Security

The Contractor shall be responsible for safeguarding all government equipment, information, and property…