Copy of Final RFI Q and A_26Oct2026.xlsx
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- FAA Safety Culture Assessment
- Solicitation number
- 693KA9-27-FAA_Safety_Culture_Assessment
About this file
This file is a Question and Answer document providing guidance to vendors responding to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) market research survey regarding a multi-phase Safety Culture Assessment contract. The FAA is conducting market research to determine acquisition strategy and competition levels for potential set-asides among small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB), women-owned small businesses (WOSB), HUBZone certified firms, and 8(a) certified firms.
The assessment encompasses the entire FAA workforce of approximately 45,000 federal employees and requires four primary activities: administering an agency-wide climate survey with secure data handling and FedRAMP-authorized platforms; conducting an environmental scan of existing FAA data, audit findings, voluntary reporting systems, and leading practices; performing qualitative site visits and assessments at three to five pilot locations to be determined collaboratively by the contractor, FAA organizations, and labor representatives; and coordinating requirements with FAA leadership and labor unions. The anticipated period of performance is 12–18 months, structured as a single base period firm fixed-price contract with an optional Post-Assessment Transition and Implementation Support task priced separately. The contractor must provide and host the survey platform meeting FAA IT security, data privacy, Section 508 accessibility, and FedRAMP standards; the FAA will not furnish the platform. All survey data must remain completely de-identified and anonymous, with raw transcripts and recordings prohibited from delivery to the FAA. The FAA will actively facilitate timely access to stakeholders, facilities, historical data, and labor coordination, with an estimated lead time of 30–45 days for labor coordination. Key deliverables due at Month 10 include the Assessment Results Report and de-identified data files, with FedRAMP-authorized data infrastructure mandatory. Vendors should propose recommended survey methodology—whether deploying an existing validated instrument, adapting the published FAA Safety Culture Survey, or proposing a customized approach—and may propose alternative assessment sequencing if it improves data quality. Personnel accessing FAA IT systems, sensitive data, or facilities must pass FAA personnel security background investigations. The contractor may utilize team member experience as past performance evidence, with cumulative corporate experience of three to five years in organizational culture or safety assessments acceptable; advanced degrees in related fields such as organizational development, human factors, or public health are acceptable when demonstrating equivalent expertise. No budget range has been provided, and the FAA is considering all acquisition options including small business set-asides based on market research responses. An RFP is anticipated but no award date has been finalized.
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| FAA Safety Culture Assessment Market Research PKG_ FINAL.pdf |
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Q&A
| Question | Response | |
| Whether the FAA welcomes responses from small businesses proposing a defined portion of the requirement through a teaming arrangement. | Yes. The FAA welcomes responses from small businesses proposing a defined portion of the requirement through teaming arrangements. The notice specifically invites small businesses (including 8(a), SDVOSB, WOSB, and HUBZone) to submit capability statements to assist in determining the acquisition strategy. | |
| Whether the survey instrument and hosting environment will be government-furnished or contractor-provided. | The contractor is expected to provide and host the enterprise survey platform (meeting FAA IT security and FedRAMP/508 standards). The FAA is open to vendor recommendations regarding survey instrument adaptation or customization. | |
| Whether there is an existing contract supporting this requirement and, if releasable, its contract number. | No. This is a new requirement; there is no incumbent contract or contract number. | |
| Personnel Eligibility: Are there any citizenship or residency requirements for personnel supporting this engagement? | Contractor proposed personnel and staff accessing FAA IT systems, sensitive operational data, or government facilities must successfully pass an FAA personnel security background investigation prior to beginning work on a potential contract. | |
| 1. Corporate Capabilities: Under the "Required Corporate Capabilities & Vendor Qualifications" section, is there a minimum number corporate capability references that respondents should provide? | No minimum count is required. Capability references of similar size, scope, and complexity to this requirement will provide the most effective evidence of capabilities. | |
| 2. Corporate Capabilities: Under the "Required Corporate Capabilities & Vendor Qualifications" section, are respondents required to include the client’s name, point of contact, and contract number for each reference? | Yes. Submitting client names, points of contact, and contract numbers is necessary for the FAA to review performance history and past experience. | |
| 3. Target Employee Populations: Are there specific FAA employee populations or occupational groups that will be prioritized for this effort (e.g., aviation safety inspectors, air traffic controllers)? | The assessment encompasses the entire FAA workforce (~45,000 federal employees), including both operational/field personnel and non-operational staff. | |
| Please confirm whether the required secure, commercially field-tested enterprise survey platform may be provided through a commercially available license or subcontractor, or whether FAA expects the prime contractor to own the platform. | A commercially available license or subcontractor-provided platform is acceptable, provided it meets FAA cybersecurity, data privacy, FedRAMP, and Section 508 compliance standards. | |
| For ROM and travel-planning/pricing purposes, can FAA identify the anticipated geographic regions or representative locations for the 3-5 pilot sites as well as frequency and duration of expected travel? | Representative pilot locations have not been finalized. Vendors should propose recommended criteria and a travel framework covering 3–5 operational pilot sites in their submission. | |
| Can FAA provide the approximate number of employees expected to be included in the FAA-wide climate survey and the anticipated organizational or geographic reporting segments? | The survey population includes approximately 45,000 FAA federal employees. Specific reporting breakdown levels will be established in collaboration with the FAA Action Team. | |
| Can FAA provide additional information regarding the approximate volume, formats, and accessibility of FAA-accessible data and artifacts expected to support the Enterprise Baseline environmental scan? | The government has not defined these details yet. The contractor will require access to FAA government network and systems to conduct the environmental scan and should demonstrate ability to provide employees who can obtain FAA suitability. | |
| Will FAA consider advanced degrees or professional credentials outside the listed behavioral-science disciplines when proposed personnel demonstrate equivalent, directly relevant expertise? | Yes. The FAA will evaluate degrees or credentials in closely related fields (e.g., Organizational Development, Human Factors, Public Health) where equivalent, directly relevant expertise is demonstrated. | |
| Should vendors address the Optional Task: Post Assessment Transition and Implementation Support in both the capability statement/write-up and the ROM? If the optional task should be included in the ROM, should it be priced separately from the base requirement, and can FAA provide a planning assumption for its period of performance? | Capability statements may address corporate experience relevant to the Optional Task. The ROM should price the Optional Task separately from the base requirement. Vendors should provide its own planning assumption with respect to the period of performance. | |
| Can FAA identify any required security authorization, system environment, data residency, or incident-reporting requirements beyond the federal privacy, confidentiality, and data-management requirements described in the RFI and Draft SOW? | Platform and data infrastructure must comply with federal privacy standards, FAA IT/cybersecurity requirements, Section 508 accessibility, and FedRAMP authorization rules. | |
| The Milestones table requires the Final Assessment Results Report within 11 months after contract award, while the Deliverables table requires the Assessment Results Report within 10 months after award. Please confirm the required delivery date. | 10 months | |
| Section B states that FAA must thoroughly assess its current safety culture in 2027, while several milestones and deliverables are due up to 12 months after contract award. Please clarify which assessment activities and deliverables must be completed during calendar year 2027 and whether deliverables scheduled 12 months after award may extend beyond 2027. | If a contract is awarded, the FAA will work with the contractor during kickoff to establish specific deliverable due dates based on the actual contract award date. Deliverables scheduled for 12 months post-award may extend into early 2028 depending on award timing. | |
| Section G anticipates a 12-18 month period of performance, and the SOW includes an optional Post Assessment Transition and Implementation Support task. Please clarify whether FAA currently anticipates any follow-on work beyond the base assessment and this identified optional task. | Future requirements for follow-on work beyond the base assessment and optional transition support task have not been determined. | |
| The requirement is anticipated to be firm fixed price and calls for rapid, simultaneous assessment activities. Several activities also require Government/stakeholder coordination and access, including labor coordination and site access. Would FAA consider contract structure, schedule, or assumption provisions that address schedule/cost impacts from dependencies outside the contractor’s control? | Yes. While the overall fixed price remains firm, reasonable schedule adjustments will be considered on a case-by-case basis if delays result from factors outside the contractor's control (e.g., extended site access or labor coordination approvals). | |
| Will FAA facilitate timely contractor access to the stakeholders, FAA workforce, labor partners, pilot sites, and existing FAA data and artifacts required to perform the assessment? Please clarify the Government's anticipated responsibilities for coordinating and providing such access, including any access constraints or lead times contractors should account for in the proposed schedule and ROM. | The FAA will actively facilitate timely access to stakeholders, labor representatives, facilities, and data. Vendors must demonstrate and have the capability to rapidly onboard personnel to complete FAA security suitability processing. | |
| Please clarify the Government review and approval process for contractor-developed assessment tools and instruments. Which tools or instruments will require FAA review or approval, and what review and approval timeframes should contractors assume when developing the proposed schedule? | Vendors should propose all necessary assessment tools and include draft development and review milestones in their proposed schedule. The FAA will conduct timely reviews and provide formal written approval of all survey instruments and protocols prior to data collection. | |
| 1. Enterprise Survey Population: Approximately how many FAA personnel are anticipated to be included in the enterprise-wide climate survey? | The survey population includes approximately 45,000 FAA federal employees. | |
| 2. Pilot Locations: Can FAA provide additional information regarding the geographic distribution and operational characteristics of the three to five pilot locations identified for site-based assessments? | The FAA expects the pilot locations to cover a diverse mix of operational requirements and job types of FAA personnel. Beyond that, the specifics have not yet been determined. | |
| 3. Pilot Site Selection: Will pilot locations be pre-selected by FAA, or will the selected contractor participate in recommending pilot locations based on findings from the environmental scan and survey results? | Pilot locations will be recommended collaboratively by the contractor, FAA project leadership, and labor liaisons. | |
| 4. Safety Climate and Safety Culture: The RFI references both a climate survey and a safety culture assessment. FAA's report, The Development and Implementation of a Safety Culture Survey for High-Performing Aviation Organizations, notes that safety climate is often viewed as a point-in-time measure of workforce perceptions, while safety culture reflects broader and more enduring organizational values, norms, and behaviors. Can FAA clarify whether these are intended to be distinct activities within this effort and, if so, how offerors should differentiate their approach to each component? | The survey will be one point in time and thus will be a climate survey. Other assessment methods described in the requirement should support a more comprehensive view of the safety culture. | |
| 5. Existing Survey Instrument: FAA's 2024 report describes development and implementation of a safety culture survey designed to measure ten core safety culture traits and support ongoing assessment efforts. Does FAA anticipate use of the existing FAA Safety Culture Survey instrument, modification of the existing instrument, or consideration of alternative validated assessment instruments? | The FAA expects the vendor to provide recommendations on the most effective survey methodology, whether through deploying an existing validated instrument, adapting the published FAA Safety Culture Survey, or proposing a customized approach. | |
| 6. Historical Assessment Data: Will historical safety culture assessment results, response rates, and previous recommendations be made available to the selected contractor to inform the environmental scan, baseline assessment, and recurring assessment framework? | The FAA will provide available historical data. | |
| 7. Assessment Sequencing:: The draft schedule appears to contemplate concurrent survey administration, interviews, focus groups, and site assessments. Would FAA consider alternative sequencing approaches if supported by the contractor's methodology and anticipated to improve the depth and quality of assessment findings? | The FAA will consider alternative sequencing but prioritizes a limited-time assessment process that delivers results and an improvement plan as quickly as possible after the employee-facing assessment components are concluded. | |
| 8. Improvement Roadmap Expectations: To what extent does FAA anticipate contractor involvement in implementation planning, change management activities, and safety culture improvement initiatives beyond delivery of the assessment results and improvement roadmap? | The FAA anticipates contractor involvement in implementation planning, change management activities, and safety culture improvement initiatives under certain conditions. If there is sufficient time remaining in the period of performance, contractors may be engaged to support these efforts. Additionally, the optional task outlined in the draft Statement of Work (SOW) provides a framework for this involvement, detailing potential responsibilities and deliverables. However, this optional task may or may not be exercised, depending on the FAA's assessment of needs and priorities. | |
| 1. Organizational Conflict of Interest. Does the FAA anticipate that performance of this requirement (the baseline assessment, the recurring culture assessment approach, and the improvement plan roadmap) would create an organizational conflict of interest or impaired-objectivity concern? Would that concern limit the awardee, its subcontractors, or its affiliates from competing for, or performing, other safety culture, safety management, or culture-improvement work for the FAA? If so, please identify the nature and duration of any anticipated restrictions and the FAA policy under which they would be applied. | Potential OCI concerns will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis in accordance with FAA Acquisition Management System (AMS) policy. | |
| 2. Disclosure of Existing FAA Work. Will respondents be required to disclose existing or recent FAA contracts, or support to FAA safety culture efforts, as part of any future proposal? How will the FAA evaluate or mitigate conflicts arising from that work? | Yes. If a solicitation is released, respondents must disclose prior and ongoing FAA engagements to support both past performance evaluation and OCI risk assessment. The FAA will evaluate any potential Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) on a case-by-case basis in accordance with FAA AMS policy. | |
| 1. Survey Population. What is the anticipated survey population for the FAA-wide climate survey, and does it include operational (non-desk) personnel such as air traffic and field staff? What response rate does the FAA expect? | Yes, all FAA personnel should be part of the assessment. The response rate target has not yet been established. | |
| 2. Survey Instrument. Does the FAA have a preference for utilizing the published FAA Safety Culture Survey instrument versus contractor-recommended enhancements or alternatives? | At this time, we do not have a specific preference and welcome all vendor-proposed recommendations. | |
| 3. Survey Platform. Will the FAA furnish the survey platform (for example, its existing FedRAMP-authorized environment), or must the contractor provide one? What authorization level and data hosting/storage location are required? | The contractor is expected to provide and host the survey platform. The platform must meet FAA IT security, data privacy, Section 508 accessibility, and FedRAMP standards. | |
| 4. IRB and Data Ownership. Will the contractor operate under the FAA CAMI Institutional Review Board approval, or must the contractor obtain separate review? | The specifics of IRB and data ownership have not been addressed at this time. The FAA welcomes vendors to propose their recommended approach and methodology as part of their response. | |
| 5. Labor Coordination. Who is responsible for coordination with labor unions and collective bargaining units, and which units are expected to be involved? | All FAA bargaining units will be involved. The government will be involved in the labor coordination process. | |
| 1. Optional Task Pricing. The optional post-assessment implementation support task has a period of performance of TBD and is exercised at the FAA's discretion. How should respondents reflect this task in the ROM? Will it be priced separately from the firm-fixed-price base and evaluated? | Yes this requirement should be priced separately from the base period of performance. | |
| 2. Travel. Can the FAA confirm whether travel should be included in the ROM? If so, can the FAA provide further guidance on the travel? requirements? | Yes, the contractor should account for travel expenses in the ROM. The pilot site assessment requirement reflects the bulk of the anticipated travel required to support this work, as well as travel of contractor leads to the Department of Transportation Headquarters to support key meetings as needed. | |
| 1. Prior Survey Data and Materials. Will the FAA make the prior safety culture survey's de-identified, item-level response data, survey administration materials, and related technical reports available to all respondents, so that all offerors can propose from the same baseline? | Upon the release of a final solicitation, the government will provide all available materials from prior assessments. | |
| Will the FAA evaluate personnel qualifications (advanced degrees) and past performance at the team level, including prime contractor and subcontractors combined? | Yes | |
| Will the FAA furnish the survey platform and data hosting environment, or must the contractor provide them? | The contractor is expected to provide and host the survey platform. The proposed platform must meet FAA IT security, data privacy, and FedRAMP / Section 508 accessibility requirements. | |
| Are the number of pilot sites, sessions per site, and target survey population defined for pricing purposes? | The vendor may propose a recommended approach to conducting pilot site assessment, as this has not yet been defined. Target survey population is all FAA employees. | |
| Is a small-business set-aside being considered, and would small-business subcontracting participation be evaluated in a future solicitation? | All acquisition options are being considered based upoon this market research. | |
| Budget: Is there an estimated budget or value range for this effort that respondents should consider when preparing the Rough Order of Magnitude? | An estimated budget range is not available at this stage. We look forward to reviewing vendor-proposed recommendations to help inform our cost baseline. | |
| 2. Survey population: Approximately how many FAA employees will the FAA-wide climate survey cover? About how many respondents in each role will be participating? | The FAA has approximately 45,000 employees. | |
| 3. Contract type: The SOW anticipates a firm-fixed-price award, while the Monthly Financial Status Report requires tracking of cost/hours funded and the projected date when 80% of funds are spent. Should respondents assume pricing by deliverable, or a labor-hour structure? | The contractor will submit monthly progress reports tied to deliverable milestones and overall fixed-price billing rather than detailed labor/cost category tracking. | |
| Could the Government provide guidance on the formatting, including preferred font type, font size, margins, and spacing? Are tables and graphics expected to follow the same formatting requirements as the narrative text? | The document specifies maximum page limits for submission sections (e.g., Capability Questions: 10 pages; Vendor Qualifications: 5 pages; Industry Feedback: 3 pages; ROM: 2 pages). The document does not specify preferred font types, font sizes, margins, line spacing, or rules for graphics/tables. The only formatting requirement provided is that the response must be submitted in PDF format via email. | |
| 1. Known constraints: As FAA continues to shape the requirement, what known constraints should industry account for from the outset—whether related to data access, technology, labor participation, confidentiality, internal FAA involvement, information security, or other factors—that could materially affect the assessment approach, sequencing, or level of effort? | Pontential constraints include required labor union coordination, FAA suitability processing lead times, complete survey anonymity, and operational shift coverage during site visits.Respondents may define additional anticipated constraints in their response. | |
| 2. Historical data: What existing FAA survey instruments, survey items, historical results, psychometric documentation, organizational coding, and related data does FAA anticipate making available to the contractor to support development of the enterprise safety culture survey and longitudinal analysis? | Upon the release of a final solicitation, the government will provide all available data. | |
| 3. Assumptions: What assumptions, if any, should industry use in estimating the level of effort for the three to five onsite pilot assessments, including anticipated site population ranges, workforce accessibility, shift coverage, geographic dispersion, and participation by FAA personnel or labor representatives? | The FAA asks industry to propose recommendations to address reaching diverse group of staff at pilot sites. Industry may assume that labor coordination will be part of the process. | |
| is there a current incumbent contractor? If so, could the Government please provide the incumbent contractor's name, contract number, and contract value? | Ther is no incumbent contrctor, this is a new requirement. | |
| Question 1: Topic – Target Population (45,000). Please clarify the full expected population size. Does the stated population of approximately 45,000 individuals include only FAA federal employees, or does it also include contractor personnel. If only FAA federal staff, will contractor staff over that figure be included in the population? | At this time the FAA anticipates a target of approximately 45,000 FAA federal employees. | |
| Question 2: Topic - IRB / OMB / Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) Requirements. FAA notes that prior safety culture surveys were approved by an internal Institutional Review Board (IRB). Please clarify whether this new agency wide safety culture assessment will also require approval under the Office of Management and Budget’s Paperwork Reduction Act (OMB/PRA). If OMB/PRA approval is required, how has FAA accounted for the associated timeline impacts within the proposed performance schedule? | The FAA does not anticipate requiring OMB approval of its internal workforce survey of FAA employees. | |
| Question 3: Topic - FAA Provision of Prior Survey Data and Materials. Please clarify what prior FAA safety culture or safety climate survey information will be made available to the contractor. Specifically, will FAA provide: (1) full item banks from prior instruments; (2) scoring models, factor structures, and domain definitions; (3) historical datasets (raw or aggregate); (4) prior reports, including limitations identified by FAA researchers; and (5) any demographic coding schemas previously used? Access to this information is essential for instrument evaluation, crosswalk development, and methodological alignment. | Please see the attachments within this RFI. Upon the release of a final solicitation, the government will provide all available data. | |
| Question 4: Topic - Use of AI for Interview/Focus Group Notetaking & Protection of Raw Data. Is the use of AI based tools (e.g., automated transcription or recording) an acceptable approach for interview and focus group notetaking? If so, can FAA confirm that the subsequent contract language may explicitly state that: | ||
| • | Raw AI transcripts, audio files, or verbatim notes will NOT be delivered to FAA, | |
| • | FAA will receive only summarized, aggregated results, | |
| • | This protection is intended to preserve interviewee anonymity, given that voices would be recorded. | AI-assisted transcription tools may be proposed (subject to FAA approval, employee consent and labor agreements). We agree that Raw recordings or verbatim transcripts must not be delivered to the FAA to preserve complete anonymity. |
| Question 5: Topic – Schedule, Sequencing, and Level of Effort |
Section E (Milestones) and Section F (Deliverables) present different total performance periods for this effort, with Section E showing final deliverables at Month 11 and Section F showing final deliverables at Month 10. In addition, several activities necessary to achieve the level of rigor and organizational reach described in the Draft SOW — including survey design; beta testing and validation; IT and firewall testing; communications and participation planning; labor/union coordination; survey administration; analysis of enterprise and organizational level results; and planning and execution of 3–5 on site safety culture assessments — are not reflected in either table.
| To support accurate planning and ensure alignment with FAA’s expectations, please clarify the intended performance period and provide additional definition regarding the expected sequencing of survey development, validation, administration, and on site assessments, including whether these activities are intended to occur in parallel workstreams. | The FAA expects assessment activities to run in parallel to quickly capture a safety culture baseline and deliver results and recommendations to leadership and staff. The overall period of performance is 12–18 months, with Section F's Month 10 deadline accounting for required draft reviews before Month 11 finalization. |
| Question 6: Safety Culture On-Site Assessment Scheduling and Sequencing |
The Draft Statement of Work indicates that all five on site safety culture assessments are expected to occur within a three month period (Months 6–9). Conducting multiple assessments across geographically dispersed facilities requires coordination with line offices, leadership, labor representatives, and operational schedules to ensure adequate participation and availability.
| To support accurate planning, can the Government please clarify whether the three month timeframe for completing all five site visits is a firm requirement or whether FAA anticipates flexibility in scheduling these assessments based on site readiness, operational demands, and stakeholder availability? | The FAA expects the government and the vendor to work together to plan the site visits, in coordination with local organizations and with labor, in advance of the work in months 6-9. The advance coordination should support rapid implementation of the pilot assessment. Flexibility may be afforded based on constraints put in place by the government, but the vendor should be prepared to conduct these visits in succession. | |
| Question 7: Mismatch between the stated intention to award a Firm Fixed Price contract and deliverable 3, Monthly Financial Status Report | ||
| Does FAA intend to require monthly financial status reporting under this effort, given that the RFI specifies a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract type? The inclusion of Deliverable 3 (“Monthly Financial Status Report”) and other language associated with T&M/Labor Hours/Cost type contracts appears inconsistent with an FFP vehicle, under which contractors are generally not required to report burn rate, hours expended, or detailed expenditure information. Can the FAA clarify whether these reporting requirements are applicable to the anticipated FFP contract or whether they will be removed from the final solicitation? | The FAA is considering the appropriate options for reporting requirements under the anticipated Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) structure. While the contract type will be FFP, the exact nature and scope of performance and financial tracking deliverables are currently under review. The FAA will consider all vendor-proposed recommendations in the RFI responses to optimize the reporting structure. Once the requirements are finalized, the final solicitation will reflect the appropriate FFP contract type and its associated deliverables. | |
| Question 8: Can vendors utilize the experience from its team members as past performance experience? | The FAA is looking for vendors that bring both corporate and team member experience in their past performance. | |
| Question 9: Please confirm that the Past Performance requirement for a minimum of 3–5 years of experience refers to the offeror's cumulative corporate experience performing relevant organizational culture and/or safety assessments, rather than requiring an individual contract or project to have a minimum three-year period of performance. | Cumulative corporate experience is acceptable. | |
| 1. What data structure, systems, tools, and controls does FAA envision using for safely storing and sharing FAA Safety Culture Assessment Data? | The vendor will help the FAA define the data governance approach. The vendor should be prepared to collect and house all survey and interview data off the FAA network in the meantime. The vendor should describe how it will store and protect raw data and how it will deliver results to the FAA that protect participant confidentiality. | |
| 2. Does FAA support using advanced analytics/AI tools to extract insights from Safety Culture data? What limitations/rules does FAA have around AI use cases applied to safety culture data? | The FAA has not yet defined AI use case limitations for this requirement and is open to recommendations the vendor may provide in this area. | |
| 3. Does FAA anticipate that the selected contractor uses existing FAA Safety Culture Survey instruments, or is FAA open to modifications or alternative instruments where appropriate? | At this time, we do not have a specific preference and welcome all vendor-proposed recommendations. | |
| Section 2.b requests vendors deliver "an Approach to Recurring Culture Assessment Technical Report." Can the government confirm what the desired frequency is for recurring assessments (annual, biennial, other)? | Per the FAA Safety Management order 1030.8, the FAA will require a culture assessment every 36 months. | |
| The RFI requests conducting site visits at "3-5 pilot sites" with emphasis on regional hubs. Has FAA established criteria for site selection (e.g., operational diversity, geographic distribution, union representation, performance profiles), or will this be determined collaboratively with the selected contractor during the governance phase? | This will be determined collaboratively with the selected contractor, with FAA partner organizations, and labor representatives. | |
| Section 2.b requests vendors deliver "an Approach to Recurring Culture Assessment Technical Report." Can the government clarify if this is (1) a recommendation for how FAA could conduct future assessments (guidance only), (2) a plan the contractor will execute under option periods, or (3) a transition plan for FAA to conduct assessments internally? | The Approach to Recurring Culture Assessment Technical Report will be a recommendation for how FAA could conduct future assessments (guidance only). | |
| FAA's pilot survey utilized Qualtrics FedRAMP platform and Cherokee Federal as a third-party data intermediary, achieving a 37.2% response rate. For the full-scale assessment, is FAA open to vendors proposing alternative FedRAMP-certified survey platforms and data handling approaches that may offer enhanced analytics, accessibility features, or integration capabilities, or does FAA prefer to maintain continuity with the pilot's technology stack? | Yes, the FAA is open to alternative platforms and recommendations | |
| Can the government please confirm whether FAA anticipates awarding a single base period contract with all deliverables due within 12-18 months, or a phased tasking approach with separate deliverable acceptance points and potential Option Periods tied to specific milestones? Understanding the contract structure will enable vendors to propose realistic pricing, staffing plans, and risk mitigation strategies aligned with FAA's budget execution timeline. | The FAA anticipates awarding a single base period contract with all deliverables due within 12–18 months. Additionally, the FAA may issue an optional task award depanding onthe agency need and the successful completion of progressive performance milestones. | |
| Can the government please confirm approximately how many FAA Aviation Safety Organization employees will be included in the assessment population for baseline survey deployment, focus groups, and site visit participation? Understanding whether the entire 45,000-person organization will be surveyed or if a statistically representative sample will be targeted is critical for accurately estimating survey platform costs, engagement resource requirements, and data analysis complexity. | The entire FAA employee population of approximately 45,000 employees should receive the survey. | |
| Can the government provide an inventory or representative examples of the data sources expected to be analyzed as part of the "environmental scan of existing data, artifacts, and leading practices"? Examples might include: |
Audit findings Corrective action programs Voluntary reporting systems Incident reports FEVS results Existing culture assessments
| Undertsanding data availability will inform vendors' analytical methodologies and resource estimates. | These examples may all be considered as data sources for the vendor to analyze as part of the environmental scan of existing data, artifacts, and leading practices. | |
| Can the government please confirm whether FAA will determine the 3-5 pilot site locations, or if vendors are expected to propose site selection criteria and recommend specific locations based on operational diversity, geographic distribution, union representation, or performance profiles? Understanding FAA's expectations will enable vendors to propose either a data-driven site selection framework or develop site-specific engagement plans for FAA-designated locations. | The contractor will work collaboratively with FAA organizations and labor representatives to recommend specific locations based on operational diversity, geographic distribution, union representation, and performance profiles. The vendor may propose recommendations and the FAA organizations and labor representatives will provide input before the site visit plan is implemented. | |
| Can the government please confirm whether vendors should assume travel to all 3-5 pilot sites is included in the base period scope for conducting interviews, focus groups, and observational assessments? Additionally, should vendors plan for multiple site visits per location or a single visit? This clarification is critical for Firm Fixed Price cost estimation as travel represents a significant variable cost driver. | The vendor should assume travel to all 3-5 pilot sites in the base period as described. The vendor may propose a recommended approach for each site visit in terms of maxmizing information gathered in amount of time / number of visits. | |
| To enable targeted analysis and component-level recommendations, what organizational identifiers or demographic variables does FAA expect vendors to incorporate in survey design and reporting (e.g. job series, organizational unit, geographical location, tenure, supervisor vs. non-supervisor status, union representation)? Additionally, should the assessment framework accomodate analysis at specific operational levels such as regional offices/field facilities within the Aviation Safety Organization? | The survey design and reporting requirements may be recommended by the vendor and will be coordinated with FAA organizations and bargaining unit representatives. | |
| The requirement asks vendors to ensure “complete anonymity,” while the referenced pilot used unique survey links, a third-party intermediary and aggregated reporting to ensure confidentiality. Can the government please clarify whether it requires technically anonymous data collection with no link between identity and responses, or confidential collection in which limited identifying information may be held separately for invitation management, analysis and response monitoring? | Site visit interviews and similar activities will carry an expectation of confidentiality. The survey activity should ensure respondent anonymity. | |
| Will remote and hybrid work arrangements be acceptable for contractor performance? | Yes. Site visit assessments must be conducted in person. Certain high priority meetings at the Department of Transportation Headquarters in Washington, DC may require in-person attendance. Travel for these should be accounted for in the contractor's approach and ROM. | |
| What is the approximate number of employees included in the enterprise-wide survey? | The FAA has approximately 45,000 employees. | |
| What are the geographic distributions and characteristics of the 3-5 pilot site locations? | The pilot site locations have not yet been determined. The vendor may propose recommendations. | |
| Will the pilot site locations be pre-selected by FAA or identified through the assessment process? | The pilot site locations will be determined in coordination with FAA organizations, union representatives, and the contractor. | |
| Can the FAA clarify whether the future acquisition is more likely to be structured as a single award or multiple award effort, if an RFP is issued? | The FAA’s acquisition strategy, including whether the requirement will result in a single award or multiple awards, is currently under evaluation as part of market research. | |
| Can the FAA clarify whether the Government prefers vendors to deploy an existing validated survey instrument, adapt the FAA Safety Culture Survey, or propose a fully customized methodology? | The FAA expects the vendor to provide recommendations on the most effective survey methodology, whether through deploying an existing validated instrument, adapting the FAA Safety Culture Survey, or proposing a customized approach. | |
| Does the FAA expect survey administration to support mobile devices and field personnel with limited desktop access? | Yes. The FAA expects survey administration and data collection tools to be fully accessible via mobile devices (e.g., smartphones and tablets) to accommodate field operational personnel, air traffic control specialists, technicians, and remote staff who have limited desktop access. Offerors should ensure proposed survey platforms feature responsive design, cross-browser/device compatibility, intuitive navigation, and compliance with federal accessibility (Section 508) and FAA IT/cybersecurity standards. | |
| Does the FAA anticipate that site visits and qualitative interviews/focus groups will require union coordination or labor relations engagement prior to execution? | Yes | |
| Will the FAA require FedRAMP-authorized systems or any specific federal cybersecurity/privacy compliance standards for hosting employee feedback data beyond the general privacy requirements stated in the RFI? | Platform and data infrastructure and systems must comply with federal privacy standards, FAA IT/cybersecurity requirements, Section 508 accessibility, and FedRAMP authorization rules. | |
| Are vendors permitted to propose teaming arrangements or subcontractor partnerships as part of their capability statements and ROM submissions? | Yes | |
| Can the FAA provide any additional guidance on the expected level of detail for the ROM estimate and whether pricing should distinguish between optional and required tasks? | The ROM is a high level vendor proposed estimate and pricing must be distinguished between optional and required tasks. | |
| Can the FAA confirm the anticipated award date for this project? | The FAA has not finalized the target award date. The timeline will be provided in the formal RFP. | |
| Will the FAA consider alternative sequencing approaches for survey administration, interviews, focus groups, and site assessments? | Yes. The FAA welcomes vendors to propose alternative sequencing or phased approaches if they improve data quality, operational efficiency, or minimize burden on field personnel. | |
| Given the anticipated award type is firm fixed price, will the contractor still be expected to complete monthly financial status reports, providing cost category breakdown? | The contractor will submit monthly progress reports tied to deliverable milestones and overall fixed-price billing rather than detailed labor/cost category tracking. | |
| Will the FAA provide access to historical employee engagement, safety, audit, or organizational culture data as part of the environmental scan effort? | Yes | |
| Does the FAA prefer that the contractor utilize the FAA's IRB, or is any federally approved IRB suitable for reviewing the evaluation approach? | The specifics of IRB have not been addressed at this time. The FAA welcomes vendors to propose their recommended approach and methodology as part of their response. | |
| Will the FAA provide internal communications support for workforce outreach campaigns related to survey participation? | Yes, FAA organizations will provide support, along with the vendor | |
| Are there minimum response-rate targets or demographic representation thresholds the FAA expects vendors to achieve for survey validity? | The vendor may recommend a proposed target; the survey will go to all members of FAA workforce (approx. 45,000) | |
| Does the FAA intend for the contractor to administer the FAA Safety Culture Survey published in Attachment 2 – The Development and Implementation of a Safety Culture Survey for High-Performing Aviation Organizations largely as written, to preserve comparability with prior administrations, or is the FAA open to a modified or alternative instrument? Will the FAA furnish the survey platform (such as the FedRAMP Qualtrics instance described in that report), or should vendors assume a contractor-provided platform? | The contractor may use platforms such as Qualtrics but should recommend and provide the platform for the FAA. The vendor may also propose the recommended instrument, which will also receive input from FAA organizations and unions. | |
| SOW Section D.1.e – Conduct Site Visit Pilot and Deliverables 7 and 8 require labor coordination for the survey and site visits. Will FAA Labor Relations lead formal notification and any required bargaining with affected unions, with the contractor in a supporting role? What lead time should vendors plan for this coordination within the 7-month window for Milestone 5 – Complete Climate Survey? | Labor coordination is required and will be part of the planning discussions earlier in the process which will aid coordination and timely implementation. A A definitive lead-time is not available it this time, but it is assumed to be 30 – 45 days. | |
| Does an FAA governance structure for safety culture already exist (e.g., an executive sponsor, steering committee, or the agency-level safety culture community of practice described in Attachment 2 – The Development and Implementation of a Safety Culture Survey for High-Performing Aviation Organizations), and should the contractor plan to stand up a new body or support the existing one? Please also identify the sponsoring office named in SOW Section B – Background (the Aviation Safety Management Organization) and its relationship to the Enterprise Safety Culture Program named in the Government Review Window. | The FAA is currently standing up an action team with representatives from FAA organizations and unions and the contractor may support this team. The FAA Safety Culture Program resides in the sponsoring office, the Aviation Safety Management Organization. | |
| 1. Does FAA anticipate prescribing specific security, authorization, or technology requirements for quantitative and qualitative data collection, or may vendors propose data-collection approaches that meet applicable FAA security, privacy, confidentiality, and data-handling requirements? | Vendors may propose their own approaches. | |
| 2. For purposes of developing the ROM, should vendors assume that the 3–5 pilot site assessments will require primarily on-site data collection? Additionally, can FAA provide any planning assumptions regarding the approximate number of employees or stakeholder groups expected to participate at each site? | Yes, vendors should assume that the pilot site assessments require on-site data collection, including in-person interviews and observational analyses at designated regional hubs. The FAA has not set a fixed headcount per site, so vendors may define their own planning assumptions regarding how many employees to engage, with input from the cross-FAA action team and local labor partners during implementation. | |
| 3. For purposes of the ROM, should vendors include pricing for the Optional Post-Assessment Transition and Implementation Support task as a separately priced option, or should the ROM address only the initial assessment, recurring-assessment framework, and Improvement Plan Roadmap? | Please price the optional task as a separately priced option. | |
| Is the 12-18 month timeline for administration and completion flexible? | The 12–18 month timeline is an estimated target. The FAA requests vendor feedback on potential performance roadblocks or challenges in fulfilling these draft requirements, giving vendors the opportunity to submit input or proposed timeline adjustments as part of their RFI response. | |
| Will the FAA provide senior leadership POCs to participate in the committee and facilitate data and facility access? | The FAA will provide POCs to support an action team and facilitate information sharing. | |
| Will the FAA assign an FAA union liaison for each union? | The FAA will invite each union to assign a liaison. | |
| How will the FAA provide source data (databases, training materials, corrective actions, etc.) to support the environmental scan/review? | The FAA will provide source data and information in various ways depending on the source. Part of that will rely on the vendor's ability to obtain FAA suitability in a timely fashion and gain access to FAA networks. | |
| How many total data sources will be scanned/reviewed? | The FAA has not defined a total number of sources but welcomes vendor input on what would be appropriate to review. | |
| What is the intended use of environmental scan/review? | The contractor should use the environmental scan /review to inform its understanding of current state safety culture. The vendor should propose an approach for how to do so and demonstrate experience with similar efforts. | |
| What is the intended use of data from the site visits/focus groups? | The contractor should use the site visit / focus group data to inform its understanding of current state safety culture. The vendor should propose an approach for how to do so and demonstrate experience with similar efforts. | |
| Will the FAA require item-level reporting of survey results? If so, at what organizational level (approximate number of reports)? | The contractor should propose an approach, which will be validated by the FAA Safety Culture program, FAA organizations and union representation. | |
| 9. Report deadline. The milestone table places the final Assessment Results Report at month 11, while the deliverables table places the report and its data files at month 10. Which deadline governs, and should the two-week FAA review and one-week adjudication period fall inside it? | Month 10. FAA review follows deliverable date. | |
| 10. Financial reporting. The Monthly Financial Status Report asks for funds spent, a projected date for 80 percent of funds spent, and expenditures by labor category. Will that report stay in the planned firm fixed price contract, or will it be revised for that contract type? | The final reporting specific swill be aligned to reflect the appropriate FFP contract type and its associated deliverables. | |
| 1. Set-aside categories. The notice names small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, and SEDB/8(a) set-asides. The FAA Small Business Office has announced that the FAA can also set aside procurements for SBA-certified HUBZone small businesses and for women-owned small businesses. Will the FAA consider HUBZone and WOSB set-asides for this requirement as well? | The FAA will consider all of its options based on the results of market research. | |
| 2. Teaming. When the FAA judges whether enough capable small businesses exist, will it consider the combined capabilities of a small business prime and its named subcontractors or teaming partners, including their past performance and key personnel? | The FAA will consider all of its options based on the results of market research. | |
| 3. Key personnel. Would the FAA accept advanced degrees in related fields, such as organizational development, human factors, or public health, as a "closely related behavioral science field"? | Yes | |
| 4. Survey platform and scope. Will the contractor host the climate survey on its own platform, or will the FAA provide access to an existing platform, such as the Qualtrics FedRAMP instance described in the 2024 survey report? About how many employees will the 2027 survey reach? | The contractor is expected to provide and host the survey platform. The platform must meet FAA IT security, data privacy, Section 508 accessibility, and FedRAMP standards.The FAA has approximately 45,000 employees. | |
| 5. ROM. Should the ROM cover the base effort only, or also the Optional Task for Post Assessment Transition and Implementation Support? | ROM must cover the base effort and optional task. | |
| 6. Format. Do the cover page and the required administrative details count toward the 10-page limit for the capability questions? May all four parts be submitted as one PDF? | The 10-page limit applies strictly to the Capability Questions section itself, while other sections have separate page limits (Vendor Qualifications: 5 pages; Industry Feedback: 3 pages; ROM: 2 pages). Cover pages and required administrative details are general submission items and do not count toward the 10-page limit and all four parts may be submitted together as one single PDF file. | |
| 7. Background. Is this a new requirement, or is related work being done now under an existing contract? | This is a new requirement | |
| 8. Answers. Will the questions and answers be posted on SAM.gov for all respondents? | Yes |
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