SourcsSghtNtce_ TitleVI Mitigation STAs.v2docx.pdf

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE-693JJ3-25-SS-0003

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE, RELEASED PURSUANT TO FEDERAL

ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) PART 10: MARKET RESEARCH.

This Sources Sought Notice is issued solely for informational, market research, and planning purposes only and does not commit the Government to any further contract actions, i.e., solicitation and/or contract. Respondents are advised that the United States Government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in responding to this Sources Sought Notice. Not responding to this Sources Sought Notice does not preclude participation in any future request for proposals/request for quotes/quotations (RFP/RFQ) that may be issued.

Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the U.S Government to form a binding contract.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is conducting market research to determine if there companies/firms that can provide non-personal professional technical support services to include but not limited to project management, data compilation, and technical writing to provide a national overview of State Transportation Agencies (STAs) Title VI mitigation practices for federally funded construction projects.

1. BACKGROUND

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (herein referred to as Title VI), prohibits discrimination based upon race, color, and national origin. Specifically, 42 USC 2000d states that “No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” The use of the word “person” is important as the protections afforded under Title VI apply to anyone, regardless of whether the individual is lawfully present in the United States or a citizen of a State within the United States.

Equity in transportation continues to be a concern and has gained traction in recent years. The creation of more equitable opportunities for all stakeholders and outreach to the public for feedback on projects that impact their communities are just two examples of the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) efforts to raise awareness of equity’s importance.

Title VI serves as the legal basis for most equity work in FHWA and is a part of the equity focus found in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law1 (BIL). BIL has opened the door for several exciting opportunities to further equity and Title VI. Exposure to Title VI provides specialized equity knowledge applicable to several projects planned over the next six (6) years.

The objective of the requirement is to provide a detailed understanding of Title VI mitigation practices of STAs for federally assisted construction contracts during federal fiscal years (FFYs) 2020 through 2024. The data from this research will inform the Headquarters Office of Civil Rights (HCR) on the current mitigation practices of STAs nationwide, as well as provide

1 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Public Law 117-58 examples of mitigation practices that considered best practices. The final deliverable of the Contractor’s research, analysis, and data compilation will be a report of findings.

2. SCOPE

The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non-personal services necessary to perform all the required tasks. The Contractor shall deliver the following:

Task 1: Title VI Training Documentation. The Contractor shall successfully complete Title VI training provided by the Government/HCR Title VI subject matter experts (SMEs) within 15 business days of the commencement of the period of performance. The training will consist of an 8-hour virtual training for all Contractor staff assigned to support the project/requirement (e.g., researchers, analysts, project managers, technical writers).

Task 2: Document and Data Collection- see Task 2A below for further details

Task 2A: STA Contacts and Document Requests. The Government will provide the Contractor with a complete list of all STAs. The Contractor shall contact each Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Division point of contact (POC) and receive the STA’s point of contact.

The Contractor shall request documentation of all Title VI related mitigation activities performed by the recipient on federally assisted construction projects during FFYs 2020 through 2024. If the respective FHWA Division or STA does not respond to the Contractors request for Title VI mitigation documentation after two (2) requests for information (written or telephonic), the Contractor shall immediately notify the HCR/SMEs in writing detailing its efforts made to include dates, names, email addresses and copies of all email and written correspondence. The Contractor shall provide written documentation of all telephonic communication to include but not limited to date(s) and time(s) of all phone calls and to whom were made.

Documentation may be in various forms, such as briefs, reports, memorandums, written comments, or emails. If STA informs the Contractor that the department or agency is not in possession of any Title VI documentation, the Contractor shall notify the STA to send a written notice directly HCR/SME stating that the agency/department does not have any Title VI mitigation documentation in its possession.

Task 2B: Document Storage and Organization. The Contractor shall compile, store, and organize all documentation complied and received from STAs on FHWA’s SharePoint site. The Government/HCR SME shall provide Contractor authorized personnel with access.

Task 2C- Deliverable: Communication Log(s). The Contractor shall maintain a written log of all communication made to STAs during the performance of Task 2, to include communication details such as date(s), time(s), name(s), topics discussed, details of resolution or obstacles encountered, and other relevant and pertinent information. The Contractor shall submit all communication logs to HCR/COR at the conclusion of Task 2/2A.

Task 3: Information Analysis, Compilation and Summarization.

Task 3A: Analysis. For each mitigation example submitted by STAs, the Contractor shall review and analyze the documentation to obtain the following information:

• The project name and location

• Methodology utilized by the STA to determine that Title VI mitigation was necessary.

• Data, demographic or other information examined by the STA to determine that

Title VI mitigation was necessary.

• Anticipated impacts that the mitigation is intended to address.

• Identify STA mitigation technique and analyze whether mitigation technique (s) directly addresses the anticipated impacts.

• The Contractor may be required to follow-up with the STA to obtain additional information to complete the requirements of Task 3A.

Task 3B-Deliverable: Compilation and Summarization. For each mitigation example submitted by each respective STA, the Contractor shall create a written summary of the analysis information gathered Task 3A (listed above).

Task 3C- Deliverable: Communication Log. The Contractor shall maintain a log of all communication made to STAs during the performance of Task 3/3A, to include all communication details such as date(s), time(s), name(s)s, topics discussed, and details of resolution(s) and/or obstacles encountered. The contractor will submit the log to HCR at the conclusion of Task 3.

Task 4- Deliverable: Final Report. Task 4 is anticipated to take up to two (2) months. The Contractor shall prepare a Final Report to include the following information:

• A detailed description of all Contractor’s research including all STAs contacted, response rates nonresponsive STAs, responsive STAs that provided documentation, and responsive STAs that were unable/did not have documentation.

• Detailed summaries (see Task 3/3A) of all mitigation examples and shall be organized by the impacts that the mitigation was/is intended to address.

• A discussion of any relevant trends discovered in the analysis of the mitigation documentation. HCR SME may collaborate with Contractor personnel to identify relevant trends.

• The Contractor shall draft and prepare an executive level summary accompanied by a data driven PowerPoint presentation identifying trends, current practices, and best practices with data visualizations for HCR SME to review and provide comments within one (1) week of receipt. Upon approval by HCR SME, the Contractor shall prepare and deliver the final executive level summary and PowerPoint within one (1) week for HCR to present to FHWA Leadership.

3. Period of Performance

The period of performance shall be no longer than fourteen (14) months.

4. Place of Performance

All work shall be performed at the Contractor’s facilities.

5. Physical Security

The Contractor shall be responsible for safeguarding all government equipment, information, and property provided for Contractor use.

6. Special Qualifications

The Contractor shall have extensive, proven, and verifiable project management and technical writing capabilities. MUST possess extensive experience gathering, analyzing, and synthetizing data and preparing executive level reports and summaries for federal government officials.

Periodic Progress Meetings

The Contractor shall attend mandatory progress meetings. The Contracting Officer and/or Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), and other Government personnel, as appropriate, may meet periodically with the Contractor to review the Contractor's performance. At these meetings, the COR will apprise the contractor of how the Government views the contractor's performance and the contractor will apprise the Government of problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the Government.

Instructions for Sources Sought Notice Capability Statement Responses:

Technical capabilities statements must be submitted electronically to the U.S. DOT point of contact (POC) using the e-mail addresses below:

U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Highway Administration, Office of Acquisition Management

ATTN: Myla Wyatt

EMAIL: myla.wyatt@dot.gov and HCFA-32SRI@dot.gov

SUBJECT: Technical Support for Title VI State Transportation (STAs) Mitigation Practices

Respondents should submit technical capabilities statement no later than 3:00PM ET Thursday, January 30, 2025.

Format requirements are:

(1) Format on 8.5”x11” size paper and prepared in Microsoft Word.

(2) Single-sided and not more than ten (10) pages in length.

(3) The total page count of ten (10) pages includes the cover letter, table of contents and acronym list.

(4) The total page count also includes all other information provided, i.e., graphs, technical, etc.

(5) Size 11 font or larger shall be used with the exception of tables.

(6) Charts and graphics must be in Microsoft Office or PDF format.

(7) Proprietary information submitted in response to this Sources Sought Notice will be protected from unauthorized disclosure as required by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). All proprietary markings should be clearly delineated. The respondent shall identify where data is restricted by proprietary or other rights and mark it accordingly.

The cover page should contain:

(1) Company/Organization Name

(2) Primary Point of Contact

(3) Phone Number and Email Address

(4) UEI/Cage Code mailto:myla.wyatt@dot.gov mailto:HCFA-32SRI@dot.gov

(5) NAICS Code

(6) Business Size (small or large in relation to NAICS codes above)

(7) Socioeconomic Business Status: Large Business (8(a), HUBZone, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), or the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program).

(8) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) or OASIS Contract Number and SIN, if applicable.

Technical Capabilities: The respondents’ technical capabilities shall describe and demonstrate company’s/firm’s ability to provide the services described in this Sources Sought Notice. Restating the tasks/information detailed in Section 2. Scope Tasks 2 through 4 of this Sources Sought Notice without providing demonstrative and verifiable experience may not be sufficient information for the Government to assess company’s/firm’s technical capabilities. Please provide examples of current and/or previous government and/or commercial contracts (to include company/firms and/or agencies/departments and contract numbers if available) which demonstrate verifiable project management, data/information gathering, compiling, synthesizing, summarizing, and technical writing skills as detailed in Tasks 2 through 4. Additionally, please provide totals number of high-level executive summaries prepared for federal government officials or corporate leadership include title, agency/company firm/requester, summary of project, date completed/submitted, project length (mos. and or/ years) and any significant outcomes.

Sources Sought Notice Response Contact

Respondents to this Sources Sought Notice shall designate a primary and one alternate point of contact within the company (Name, Address, Email, and Telephone).

Clarification of Sources Sought Responses

To fully comprehend the information contained within a response to this Sources Sought Notice, there may be a need to seek further clarification from respondents. This clarification may be requested in the form of brief verbal communication by telephone; written communication;

electronic communication; or a request for a presentation of the response to a specific FHWA group or groups. FHWA reserves the right to seek additional information from respondents identified with unique solutions that are determined to be beneficial to FHWA.