Draft RFP 693JJ325R000004- -11.7.25.pdf

SECTION A - SOLICITATION/CONTRACT FORM

693JJ325R000004

SECTION B - SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS

B. 1 IDIQ MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM CONTRACT AMOUNTS

This is an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contract utilizing Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) and Time & Materials (T&M) task orders in accordance with FAR 16.500.

During the term of the contract, the Government must place orders totaling a minimum of $50,000. The maximum amount of all task orders issued against all contracts awarded as a result of this acquisition must not exceed a ceiling of $48,000,000.

B.2 SCHEDULE OF RATES

Labor category requirements and hourly labor rate ceilings governing T&M orders under this contract must conform to the labor category descriptions in Attachment J.1. The unit of issue (rates) is the fully burdened loaded fixed price hourly rate that is also the maximum allowable rate under the contract.

Hourly labor rates under this contract include Contractor employee labor, subcontractor employee labor, and consultant labor. The hourly labor rates are fully burdened with all proportional overhead, fringe, profit/fee, G&A, etc.

NOTE TO OFFERORS: Resulting contract award(s) will include Attachment J.2 with the accepted Contractor fully burdened loaded labor rates inserted in the pricing table.

SECTION C - DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1 BACKGROUND

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) that supports State, Tribal and local governments, and other organizations in the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of the Nation’s highway system (Federal Aid Highway Program) and various federally and Tribal owned lands (Federal Lands Highway Program). Through financial and technical assistance, FHWA is responsible for ensuring that America’s roads and highways continue to be among the safest and most technologically sound in the world.

Roadway crashes have an enormous human impact on our nation. On average, more than 100 people are killed in road crashes each day, which equates to someone dying on our nation’s roads every 15 minutes. In 2023, it is estimated that the United States lost 40,990 people from roadway crashes.1

Safety is FHWA’s top priority. The Office of Safety (HSA) executes the agency’s strategic safety goal by promoting excellence in the office’s safety programs, advancing effective safety solutions and through partnerships and outreach activities.

The Office of Safety exercises leadership throughout the multi-disciplinary transportation community to make the Nation’s surface transportation system safer. The Office of Safety builds programming on the Safe System Approach, which incorporates the following principles: death and serious injuries are unacceptable, humans make mistakes, humans are vulnerable, responsibility is shared, safety is proactive, and redundancy is crucial. The Office of Safety develops and implements programs and initiatives to improve roadway safety. To help achieve its safety goals, Office of Safety also coordinates with its partners and stakeholders, including other FHWA offices, Federal agencies, State, Tribal and local transportation agencies, various public and private organizations and industries, the public, and when appropriate, other countries.

The Office of Safety's key responsibilities include developing, implementing, and evaluating highway safety projects and programs. The effective execution of these responsibilities requires an integrated and comprehensive program of many activities, from research and analysis to the development of regulatory guidance, standards, and training, to delivering technical assistance and outreach to transportation stakeholders. Furthermore, evaluating efforts is key to determining effectiveness.

The ultimate goal of surface transportation safety is to reduce the number of fatal and serious injury crashes. If a crash still occurs, it is necessary to mitigate the impacts during and after the event. The Office of Safety focuses on engineering and infrastructure safety solutions to addressing road safety challenges. The Office of Safety is organized into two program area units:

1 National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (2024, April). Early estimate of motor vehicle traffic fatalities in 2023 (Crash•Stats Brief Statistical Summary. Report No. DOT HS 813 561). National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The Office of Safety Technologies is responsible for identifying, developing, evaluating, and promoting methods, strategies, designs, treatments, and technologies that improve roadway safety performance.

The Office of Safety Programs is responsible for advancing the implementation of comprehensive Federal and State highway safety programs, policies and activities that improve safety.

Visit FHWA’s Highway Safety Programs website at https://highways.dot.gov/safety for more information.

For the purposes of this document, stakeholders and customers include, but are not limited to:

Federal agencies, State Departments of Transportation (DOTs), regional, Tribal, and local agencies, academia, and non-profit, public, and private sector entities.

C.2 OBJECTIVE

The objective of this contract is to provide support for Office of Safety’s mission through related activities outlined in the task order work. The specific projects to be completed will be determined on an as needed basis by FHWA. Elements of focus and priority may change during the life of this contract.

The multiple award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract(s) resulting from this Statement of Work is intended to give FHWA and its USDOT partners the flexibility to address several topics and related issues without specifically identifying all required tasks for the life of the contract.

The work described herein provides a flexible approach that supports and prepares Office of Safety in meeting the needs and delivery of its mission and priorities. The work outlined in this contract includes brief descriptions of the broad general areas of projected types of services that may be required during the period of performance.

C.3 SPECIFIC CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor must:

C.3.1 Kick Off Meeting Within three (3) weeks after the contract award, the Contractors must meet with the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) and interested FHWA staff via teleconference for no more than two (2) hours. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the contract objectives, the contract administration, and the ordering procedures for issuing task orders.

C.3.2 Tri-Annual Meeting Three (3) times annually, the Contractor must meet with the COR and interested https://highways.dot.gov/safety

FHWA staff via teleconference for no more than two (2) hours. The purpose of the first meeting is to discuss potential task orders planned by HSA for the upcoming performance year. Work discussed is not guaranteed. The purpose of the second and third meetings is to discuss and address contractual issues that may arise during the IDIQ to ensure smooth operation of tasks orders.

C.3.3 IDIQ Monthly Progress Reports The Contractor must submit an electronic copy (Microsoft Office, PDF) of a contract level consolidated monthly progress report to the Contract Specialist, and the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), by the 10th of the month following the calendar month being reported. The report must provide at a minimum:

I. Invoicing Executive Summary that includes at a minimum:

(a) A listing, by task order, of all submitted invoices, invoice amounts, payment status, and obligated funds balance.

II. For each task order under the contract, a summary that includes at a minimum:

(a) Task order number, task order title, task order type, period of performance.

(b) A description of any problem encountered or anticipated that will affect the completion of any individual task order within the time and fiscal constraints as set forth in the task order, together with recommended solution to such problem; or, a statement that no problem was encountered.

(c) A tabulation of the planned, actual and cumulative person-hours expended by personnel identified in each task order (for T&M task orders only).

(d) A chart showing:

i. Current and cumulative expenditures versus planned expenditure for each task order (for T&M task orders only).

ii. Cumulative expenditures versus obligated funds (for T&M task orders only).

(e) A summary on a task by task basis for all work under the specific task order that includes:

i. A clear and complete account of work performed on each task and an outline of the work to be accomplished during the next reporting period.

ii. Identified risks.

iii. Plan to mitigate identified risks.

iv. Project schedule status based on opinion of PM, shown as red (major delays and significant impact overall), yellow (slight delay to schedule but minimum impact overall), and green (on schedule).

(f) For task orders that the period of performance has expired and/or the technical requirements have been completed, the Contractor must include a statement indicating this status.

C.4 TASK ORDER WORK

• Task 1: Technical Support and Assistance;

• Task 2: Professional Capacity Building, Development, and Training Support;

• Task 3: Audience Outreach; and

• Task 4: Operations and Administrative Program Support

C.4.1 Technical Support and Assistance

• Research, Analysis, Development, and Technical Support: Provide research, analysis, development, engineering expertise to include data collection, recommendations, and reporting on a variety of topics in support of the Office of Safety’s mission. The topics must relate to numerous aspects associated with researching, developing, engineering, managing, building, and operating safety infrastructure, systems, and networks associated with providing a safe system.

The research, development and engineering may be over-arching, network site and/or situation-specific, and include studies that involve engineering performance, operational, policy driven and organizational, and may require providing recommendations and development of resources regarding needs, actions, and strategies.

• Policy/Regulatory Analysis: Provide analyses of costs, benefits, impacts, and challenges of various programmatic and project initiatives in support of regulatory and policy-making efforts. This may include conducting research to gather information, identify impacts, facilitate workshops, and make recommendations.

The analysis could also be associated with safety and operational aspects of the transportation system, questions raised by the Office of the Secretary of Transportation and Congress as part of the USDOT’s annual budget appropriation hearings, implementation of legislative requirements and safety initiatives such as those included in Federal transportation reauthorization legislation, or activities related to the strategic planning process conducted within FHWA.

• Reports and Case Studies: Prepare reports and case studies based on current practices for selected topics. The reports must synthesize the current experiences and developments in the deployment of innovative technologies and strategies by other countries, the private sector, other Federal agencies, Tribes, State, and local governments. The reports or case studies must describe and analyze specific exemplary or innovative safety measures that may be deployed by the above entities to improve roadway safety.

• Analysis of Program Delivery Approaches: Generate program delivery recommendations for carrying out the mandates of legislation, program directives, and priorities that support Office of Safety’s mission. This effort includes analysis of customer and partner needs and priorities, policy issues, organizational capacity within Office of Safety and external organizations, financial considerations, and delivery mechanisms.

• Safety Evaluations: Provide roadway system safety-related evaluations including studies involving collection, analysis, and development of data, and strategies and guidance for improving highway safety. This may include developing, estimating, and analyzing safety improvement impacts through such studies as before-after crash studies on roads and road systems. Evaluations may require laboratory and/or field studies of human behavior, human factors, and highway elements that affect road safety.

• Program Evaluations: Provide evaluation of technical support/assistance to ensure exposure to target audience(s), that the audience(s) found the technical support/assistance useful and informative, and that the audience(s) used the technical support/assistance to advance and implement their own safety-related projects and programs. Record any changes or advancements made as a result of the technical support/assistance, such as a change in practices or policies. Record challenges, issues, and appropriate improvements. These evaluations include but are not limited to field reviews, online and paper-based surveys, questionnaires, focus groups, and phone and face-to-face interviews and could expand into several years, depending upon the evaluation methodology.

• Data Collection, Analysis, and Statistical Modeling: Provide data collection, analysis and advanced statistical modeling support to various Office of Safety programs and initiatives. Ability to collect, ingest (e.g., via Extract Transform Load (ETL) or similar), conduct quality assurance and control, and integrate Federal, State, and local safety data sets (e.g., crash, roadway, traffic, injury surveillance) for use in data driven safety analysis (DDSA) and development of (HSM) models is required. The Contractor must demonstrate the ability to generate a multitude of reports and publication types to document results.

C.4.2 Professional Capacity Building, Development, and Training Support

• Identify Capacity Building Topics and Needs: Work closely with target audiences such as, academia, educators, trainers, and practitioners to identify educational needs and requirements for transportation safety professionals. This may include the following:

o Outline the existing body of knowledge in transportation system safety, and work with other organizations to outline core skill and knowledge requirements for transportation safety professionals at all levels. Define, scope/scale, and prioritize market segments for these topics. Market and deliver developed course/training.

o Evaluate the relationship between existing levels of skills and knowledge in the field; available training and education; knowledge and skill gaps;

new training needs; and new training methods and technologies.

o Develop comprehensive strategies and plans for marketing and implementing safety initiatives.

• Course development and delivery: Develop workshops and training course materials in accordance with National Highway Institute Instructional Systems Design to meet identified educational needs and requirements for adult learning considerations. Deliver training courses and workshops through the National Highway Institute (NHI), and collaborators such as American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), State departments of transportation (DOTs), Local and Tribal Technical Assistance Programs, and others as appropriate. Include all logistical arrangements to ensure that the appropriate courses are delivered to the appropriate professionals at the appropriate places and times. This may include traditional in-person training courses and workshops, national conferences, online open courses, virtual learning, and trainings delivered through other, innovative means.

• Course Evaluations: Provide evaluation of the capacity building/education and trainings provided to ensure that they reached their target audience(s), that the audience(s) found the capacity building/education and trainings useful and informative, and that the audience(s) used the information to advance and implement their own safety-related projects and programs. Record challenges, issues, and appropriate improvements. These evaluations could include but are not limited to online and paper-based surveys, questionnaires, focus groups, and phone and face-to-face interviews.

C.4.3 Audience Outreach The Contractor must assist in the evaluation, strategy, planning, development, distribution/execution, and reporting of internal and external communications for Office of Safety. Therefore, communications efforts will be designed to reach, engage, and grow national audiences organically through USDOT-managed channels and those of key collaborators. Current channels include web, intranet, email, newsletters, exhibition conferences, speeches, presentations, webinars, print publications, YouTube, LinkedIn, and other social media channels.

The responsibilities below can apply holistically to the entirety of Office of Safety’s communications efforts, and more narrowly to focus on specific programs, audiences (e.g., FHWA Division Offices), campaigns (e.g., Safe System Approach), or outreach channels (e.g., web, newsletters, exhibit conferences)

• Communications Evaluation and Strategy Evaluate Office of Safety's internal and external communications efforts. Identify, gather, interpret, and report on key metrics that help Office of Safety better understand, serve, and reach audiences. Additionally, conduct market analysis and advise on Office of Safety's audience goals and how best to achieve them. Serve as a go-to resource on current best practices for communications and marketing in all formats (e.g., print, digital, email, conferences) and identify opportunities to optimize Office of Safety’s internal and external communications channels, as https://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/docs/instructional_design.pdf https://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/docs/instructional_design.pdf https://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/docs/adult_learning.pdf https://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/docs/adult_learning.pdf well as suggest new avenues for strategically connecting with audiences.

• Marketing, Content Distribution, and Audience Cultivation Support Office of Safety in reaching audiences through the creation and execution of content distribution plans. These plans will align to the specific goals of a given communications project. Lead the implementation of the content distribution plan and report on placements and results. Part of this work may involve the ongoing building and management of a distribution database that identifies impactful outreach channels (e.g., newsletters, webpages, online calendars, conferences, listservs) within the USDOT and beyond, including other federal agencies, national associations, and organizations. The evolving distribution channel inventory may document the channel’s respective editorial guidelines, audience size/composition, deadlines, points of contact, and other relevant details. The Contractor must also propose and lead efforts to cultivate audiences for the channels that the Office of Safety owns and maintains. This includes expanding, managing, and segmenting current and future subscriber lists.

• Editorial Planning and Content Creation

For Office of Safety and its individual programs and/or projects, envision, develop, and revise compelling and clear written, oral, and visual content, including videos. The work will require strong editorial judgment and may involve art direction. This will include multiple styles of writing (e.g., informative, persuasive, narrative, and technical), a range of formats (e.g., print/PDF publications, case studies, talking points, speeches, presentations, web, social, ads/signboards), and multiple types of visual media (e.g., graphic design, photography, illustration, technical renderings, animation, videography). Digital and print products that Office of Safety routinely creates, and markets include, but are not limited to, reports, brochures, information guides, case studies, presentations, and technical guidance.

The Contractor must conduct editorial planning on a rolling 12-month basis. This could involve the development, maintenance, and sharing of an editorial calendar for Office of Safety. It could also entail editorial planning and content development for specific priorities (e.g., Safe System Approach), products (e.g., newsletters), and audiences (e.g., rural road owners). The Contractor must also prepare and deliver content in accordance with the editorial calendar and distribution plans and report on results.

• Communications Operations & Logistics

Understand and follow existing reviews and workflows within FHWA/USDOT.

Within Office of Safety, propose, develop, maintain, and optimize communications-related tools and workflows. Clearly communicate these with Office of Safety and relevant staff. Perform logistical services related to Office of Safety and partners’ in-person and virtual outreach activities, such as the registration, purchase/rental, coordination (e.g., shipping), and facilitation of exhibit booths across the country (approximately 6 times or more annually), or printing, inventorying, and distributing communications materials.

• Web Content Updates, Development, and Optimization Office of Safety maintains content on two types of websites: the USDOT official *.gov site (Drupal content management system) and websites hosted outside the *.gov environment (e.g., CMF Clearinghouse, https://www.cmfclearinghouse.org/).

The Contractor must understand FHWA’s Drupal web environment and work within it to propose changes and develop content that optimizes the pages for SEO (search engine optimization), UX (user experience), and mobile delivery. Non-federal employees cannot upload or publish content directly, but Contractors must advise on Drupal best practices and create content, suggest edits, and recommend layout arrangements for FHWA staff to upload and publish.

The work may include writing (titles, headers, paragraphs, captions, alt text, search terms); creating and/or obtaining clearance rights, creating and/or obtaining clearance rights for all images, videos, and/or other multimedia items; identifying links to trusted resources; analyzing and reporting on metrics (e.g., GA4);

reviewing webpages periodically; and ensuring overall 508-compliance., video, and/or other multimedia; identifying links to trusted resources; analyzing and reporting on metrics (e.g., Google Analytics 4 GA4); and reviewing webpages periodically. With guidance from FHWA and USDOT web staff, the work may involve assessing and proposing changes to web navigation, Drupal content types, and areas related to information architecture. Work may also involve 508 compliance and remediation.

• External websites hosted off the USDOT system: In collaboration with relevant

FHWA staff: develop and post approved content updates and changes to website pages at regular intervals, recommend editorial updates, ensure all website content–direct website content and hosted files–are 508 compliant, and establish/implement website operations and maintenance compliant with US Governmental IT policies and practices. Work may also involve preparing for, assisting with, and/or managing other web processes, including web certification reviews and the migration of content from one website to another.

C.4.4 Operations and Administrative Program Support The Contractor must perform technical, administrative/clerical, and related duties in support of Office of Safety, including, but not limited to the following:

• Technical Operations Support: Provide support to build out and maintain advanced SharePoint sites. Use Power Apps, PowerBI (and other similar programs), Microsoft applications (including new and emerging programs like Lists), Google applications, Adobe Creative Suite (and similar graphics programs), and other programming (e.g., Large Language Models (LLMs)) to support office operations.

https://www.cmfclearinghouse.org/

• General Administrative/Clerical Program Support: Provide general administrative/ clerical duties such as memo writing, meeting coordination, printing, copying/collating, shipping, warehousing, inventory, registration, information request coordination, FOIA support (e.g., reviewing, scanning, redacting–both narrative and video/images–preparing document packages), and other support as required.

• Conference/Meeting Support: Provide management, logistical (including travel arrangements), and technical support to Office of Safety and its partners and customers in preparing a range of in-person and web-based seminars, workshops, peer exchanges, technical meetings, and focus groups. Prepare appropriate pre-and post-conference materials and proceedings. Meetings may include seminars on skill development, introductions on innovative technologies, or other safety topics. Facilitate and prepare evaluations of these meetings and make recommendations for actions based on findings. Audiences may be Federal, Tribal, State, or local transportation professionals and decision-makers, academia, private sector, road users, and citizens.

C.5 SKILLS AND EXPERTISE REQUIRED

The Contractor must possess the following skills and expertise:

• Demonstrated knowledge and expertise in the principles and practice of transportation roadway safety (at all levels and for all road users) including social, economic, and environmental analysis within the engineering, planning, project, and program development processes.

• Demonstrated knowledge and expertise in the principles and practice of transportation roadway safety for all road users including motorists (e.g., passenger vehicles, motorcycles, trucks), non-motorists (e.g., pedestrians, bicyclists, micro-mobility riders), and transit riders.

• Demonstrated experience and professional expertise in sophisticated data gathering, management and analysis:

o Roadway safety data and systems (including crash, roadway, and travel), o Surrogate data and data sources (e.g., telematics), o Using analytical tools and techniques to extract meaningful insights from data, o Statistics, o Data-driven safety analysis (e.g., Highway Safety Manual methodologies), o Machine learning (supervised and unsupervised techniques), and LLMs and other forms of relevant Artificial Intelligence (AI)).Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) strategies and different technologies, including Vehicle to Everything (V2X), connected, and automated vehicles.

• Demonstrated experience and professional expertise in all the software applications necessary to support all noted and potential task orders (e.g., virtual communication platforms, video production, content management and web production tools, databases). Expertise with Power Apps, PowerBI (and other similar programs), Microsoft applications (including new and emerging programs like “Lists”), Google applications, Adobe InDesign (and similar graphics programs), and other programming (e.g., LLMs) that can be used to support office operations.

• Demonstrated experience and expertise in the field of communications, internal and external; paid and organic marketing; and digital and print. Provide support in writing, art direction, communications and marketing planning, graphic design, editing, video production, campaign development and execution, conference exhibits, presentations, e-news, web user experience and information architecture, audience growth and segmentation, and stakeholder outreach. Provide understanding of how to apply this expertise in a government environment.

• Demonstrated expertise in writing and editing technical deliverables for government publications, and familiarity with the governing standard, such as GPO Style Guide, the FHWA Communications Reference Guide, and other publication development tools.

• Demonstrated experience and professional expertise in core principles and best practices for highway, street, pedestrian, and bicycle facility planning and design, including familiarity with pertinent FHWA, AASHTO, NACTO, and ITE publications, as well as the developing field of performance-based practical design.

• Demonstrated Expertise in developing tools, webinars and outreach materials that incorporate Intelligent Transportation Systems with roadway safety. Demonstrate familiarity with ITS emerging and enabling technologies, ITS architecture and standards, interoperability and ITS deployment challenges and opportunities applicable to roadway safety.

• Demonstrated experience in presenting objective assessments of issues and policies within a governmental/legislative environment. Demonstrate the ability to deliver the completed deliverables, with full quality assurance and quality control along with appropriate fact checking, with minimal supervision from FHWA.

Demonstrated knowledge of past and current transportation legislation (policy, program, and engineering), in particular the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), and expertise in developing guidance for State, regional, Tribal, and local partners to access available funds and technical assistance to implement safety countermeasures and policies to save lives with limited direction from

FHWA.

• Demonstrated ability to work with the appropriate stakeholder(s) to support the varying efforts for this contract as required. Stakeholder involvement is a key element in determining target audience needs and identifying the roles and responsibilities in the transportation safety process. Such stakeholders may include but are not limited to: State DOTs, Local and Tribal Transportation Agencies, AASHTO, American Public Works Association(APWA), Association of Transportation Safety Information Professionals (ATSIP), American Traffic Safety Service Association(ATTSA), Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Local Technical Assistance Program, National Association of Colleges and Employer (LTAP), National Association of Counties NACo), National Association of Development Organizations (NADo), Transportation Research Board (TRB), Traditional Trades Advancement Program (TTAP) and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC),

• Demonstrated experience conducting peer exchanges, workshops, webinars, and focus groups, both in-person and virtual. Demonstrated expertise in facilitation and consensus building among varied stakeholders is required. Contractors must work with FHWA to develop agendas, select presenters, provide suggested locations, provide invitational travel administration, facilitate the event, capture meeting notes, and develop a summary report. These activities will involve coordination meetings and associated activities. Demonstrated experience synthesizing complex information such as policy and research in various forms, for example white papers, guidebooks, fact sheets, briefing material, PowerPoint presentations and other high-level materials. Demonstrated understanding of the transportation planning process as it pertains to State, local or Tribal safety programs.

• Demonstrated experience in curricula and course development and delivery, training methods and technologies, and application of best practices in adult learning/education. Familiarity with NHI learning formats.

• Expertise in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance as it relates to transportation on all levels, both for product development and program/project delivery.

• Experience with meeting coordination, printing, copying/ collating, shipping, warehousing, inventory, registration, and information request coordination.

• Experience with reviewing, scanning, redacting documents – both narrative and video/images.

• Experience providing management, logistical (including travel arrangements), and technical support in preparing in-person and web-based seminars, workshops, peer exchanges, technical meetings, and focus groups-this includes planning, promoting, facilitating, and evaluating these events.

SECTION D - PACKAGING AND MARKING

D.1 PACKAGING

At this time shipping is not anticipated under this IDIQ. However, in the event shipping is required, preservation, packing, and packaging of items for shipment must be in accordance with best commercial practices and adequate for acceptance by common carrier for safe transportation at the most economical rates.

The Contractor must clearly mark each shipment with the company name, the contract number, task order number (if applicable), and as appropriate the item identification, quantity of items, and notice of partial or final delivery.

Ship to: Federal Highway Administration Office of Safety 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590

Marked for: [COR’s Name to be Inserted at Contract Award]

SECTION E - INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

E.1 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

52.246-4 INSPECTION OF SERVICES - FIXED-PRICE. (AUG 1996)

52.246-6 INSPECTION - TIME-AND-MATERIAL AND LABOR-HOUR. (MAY 2001)

52.246-9 INSPECTION OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (SHORT FORM) (APR

1984)

E.2 INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

All work hereunder must be subject to review by the Government. The COR, as specified in each notification letter at the contract and task order level, is responsible for inspection and acceptance of all deliverables and services.

SECTION F - DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

F.1 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

52.242-15 STOP-WORK ORDER. (AUG 1989)

52.242-17 GOVERNMENT DELAY OF WORK. (APR 1984)

52.247-34 F.O.B. DESTINATION. (NOV 1991)

F.2 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance under this contract is five (5) years from the effective date of the contract. In no event, must the total contract performance period exceed five-years without written authorization from the CO.

Task orders may be issued up to the final day of the contract period of performance provided that the task order can be completed within 36 months past the end of the period of performance.

There are no option periods under the contract; however, options may be used for task order performance.

F.3 METHOD OF DELIVERY

Electronic copies must be delivered using Microsoft (MS) Office suite of tools (for example, MS WORD, MS EXCEL, MS POWERPOINT, MS PROJECT, or MS ACCESS format) and/or via Google applications, unless otherwise specified by the COR. Electronic submission must be made via email, unless otherwise agreed to by the COR.

F.4 DELIVERABLE/DELIVERY SUMMARY (IDIQ)

Below is a guide for the anticipated deliverables under the contract.

SOW

Reference Contract Deliverable Due Date Format

C.3.1 Kick-Off Meeting Within three (3) week after contract awarded

Teleconference/Virtual

C.3.2 Tri-Annual Meeting Three (3) times Annually, no more than two(2) hours

Teleconference/Virtual or In Person

C.3.3 IDIQ Monthly Progress Reports

10th of the Month Word/PDF

F.5 TASK ORDER DELIVERABLES

Task orders will identify specific deliverables, due dates and performance standards required in the performance of each order.

F.6 PLACE OF DELIVERY

The annual and monthly progress reports must be delivered electronically to the Contract Specialist and the COR.

The Contractor must submit interim and final deliverables electronically to the COR. The Contractor must include the contract number (and task order number if appropriate) in the email for each deliverable. The Government may request the Contractor to include specified keywords in the subject line of emails containing deliverables. Additionally, the Government may request the Contractor to submit deliverables to an electronic repository as specified by the COR.

F.7 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE (TASK ORDER SPECIFIC)

Place of performance will be designated at the task order level.

SECTION G - CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

G.1 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

The Contractor must provide sufficient management to ensure that this contract is performed efficiently, accurately, on time, and in compliance with the requirements of this document.

Specifically, the Contractor must designate a single manager to oversee this contract and supervise staff assigned to this contract.

G.2 CONTRACTING OFFICER’S AUTHORITY

The Contracting Officer is the only person authorized to make or approve any changes in any of the requirements of this contract, and, notwithstanding any provisions contained elsewhere in this contract, the said authority remains solely in the Contracting Officer. In the event the Contractor makes any changes at the direction of any person other than the Contracting Officer, the change will be considered to have been made without authority and no adjustment will be made in the contract terms and conditions, including price.

Contracting Officer’s Address:

USDOT Federal Highway Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Room: E62-204 – Mail Code: HCFA-32 Washington, DC 20590

G.3 CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE AND TASK ORDER (COR)

(a) The Contracting Officer is the only individual authorized to enter into or terminate this contract, modify any term or condition of this contract, waive any requirement of this contract, or accept nonconforming work delivered under this contract.

(b) The Contracting Officer has designated __(to be completed by CO at award)___ as the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for this award. The COR’s responsibilities must include technical monitoring of the Contractor’s performance on the overall contract award and inspecting and accepting deliveries under the contract. The COR will be appointed in writing, at which time ALL of the responsibilities of the COR must be detailed, and a copy of the appointment memorandum must be furnished to the Contractor. Any changes to the COR delegation must be made in writing, either by changes to the existing memorandum, or by issuance of a new appointment memorandum. Copies of any changes must be provided to the Contractor.

As needed, the Contracting Officer may appoint a Task Order Contracting Officer’s Representative (TOCOR). The TOCOR’s responsibilities must include technical monitoring of the Contractor’s performance as well as inspecting and accepting deliveries under specified task order(s). Any changes to the TOCOR delegation will be made in writing, either by changes to the existing memorandum or by issuance of a new appointment memorandum. Notification of any changes will be provided to the Contractor and COR.

(c) The COR and, if designated, the TOCOR are not authorized to perform, formally or informally, any of the following actions:

(1) Promise, award, agree to award, or execute any contract, contract modification, or notice of intent that changes or may change this contract;

(2) Waive or agree to any modification of the delivery schedule;

(3) Make any final decision on any contract matter subject to the Disputes Clause;

(4) Terminate, for any reason, the Contractor’s right to proceed, or issue any order causing the Contractor to stop work; or

(5) Obligate in any way, the payment of money by the Government.

(d) The Contractor must comply with the written or oral direction of the Contracting Officer or authorized representative(s) acting within the scope and authority of the appointment memorandum. The Contractor need not proceed with direction that it considers to have been issued without proper authority. The Contractor must notify the Contracting Officer in writing, with as much detail as possible, when the COR or TOCOR, if applicable, has taken an action or has issued direction (written or oral) that the Contractor considers to exceed the COR or TOCOR’s appointment, within three (3) days of the occurrence. Unless otherwise provided in this contract, the Contractor assumes all costs, risks, liabilities, and consequences of performing any work it is directed to perform that falls within any of the categories defined in paragraph (c) prior to receipt of the Contracting Officer’s response issued under paragraph (e) of this clause.

(e) The Contracting Officer must respond in writing within 30 days to any notice made under paragraph (d) of this clause. A failure of the parties to agree upon the nature of a direction, or upon the contract action to be taken with respect thereto, must be subject to the provisions of the Disputes clause of this contract.

(f) The Contractor must provide copies of all correspondence to the Contracting Officer and the COR and TOCOR, if applicable.

(g) Any action(s) taken by the Contractor, in response to any direction given by any person acting on behalf of the Government or any Government official other than the Contracting Officer or the COR acting within his or her appointment, must be at the Contractor’s risk.

G.4 TASK ORDER SELECTION CRITERIA

The FHWA anticipates that the following elements will be the standard criteria for awarding individual task orders: technical, price, past performance in relation to task order requirements.

Each task order will indicate any changes or additions to standard criteria. The order of importance for the factors will be identified in each individual Task Order Proposal Request (TOPR). Evaluation of past performance will be based on the past performance data at the time of award as supplemented by the Government and Contractor during the period of performance.

As work proceeds under this contract, it is probable that the past performance rating from each Contractor’s award will be given less weight than current performance reports received on task orders performed under this contract.

G.5 TASK ORDER PROCEDURE

All funds expended under this contract must be incurred and accounted for under individual task orders. All task orders are subject to the terms and conditions of this contract. The following ordering procedures apply to all task orders issued under this contract. All task orders under this contract will be competed unless a special exception to competition applies. Any supplies/services to be furnished under this contract will be ordered by issuance of written task orders. Task orders must be issued in accordance with FAR 52.216-18, 52.216-19, and 52.216- 22 (See Section I). In addition:

(a) Only an authorized FHWA CO can issue a task order for this contract.

(b) All task orders are subject to the terms and conditions of the contract. In the event of conflict between a task order and the contract, the contract will take precedence.

(c) All costs associated with preparation, presentation, and/or discussion of the

Contractor’s task order proposal must not be billable as direct contract expenses.

(d) The CO will issue TOPRs electronically to each IDIQ Contractor awarded a contract, in accordance with Fair Opportunity to Compete clause, as requirements are identified. Each TOPR will indicate the objective or results required by the Government. This objective will be within the scope, period, and maximum value of the contract. Each TOPR will indicate the task order type, the due date for proposal submission, any special requirements, and any additional selection criteria not specifically identified in the task order Selection Criteria clause above.

(e) Upon receipt of a TOPR, the Contractor must prepare and submit a written task order proposal within the timeframe specified for submission. The Contractor must submit one electronic copy of the task order proposal to the CO or as specified in the TOPR. The task order proposal must include, as a minimum, the following information:

(1) A discussion of the task order objective demonstrating the Contractor’s understanding of the required outcome.

(2) A concise work plan for achieving the task order objectives that clearly demonstrates the Contractors’ understanding of and planned approach to the problem.

(3) A performance schedule that provides the following information:

(i) Planned accomplishments/milestones

(ii) Anticipated problems or challenges

(iii) Planned solutions to anticipated problems or challenges

(4) Qualifications of the proposed staff, including any proposed subject matter expert consultants.

(5) A detailed price proposal, including:

(i) Proposed level of effort and labor categories

(ii) The corresponding labor rates

(iii) Other Direct Costs as applicable (materials, travel, shipping, copying, etc.)

(6) Task Order Conflicts of Interest: The Offerors must provide a brief statement in each task order proposal that describes in a concise manner all past, present or planned organizational, contractual or other interest(s), which may affect the Offeror’s ability to perform the proposed task order in an impartial and objective manner. The CO will review the statement and may require additional relevant information from the Offerors. In accordance with FAR Subpart 9.5, all such information, and any other relevant information known to DOT, will be used to determine whether an award to the Offerors may create an actual or potential conflict of interest.

If any such conflict of interest is found to exist, the CO may (a) disqualify the Offerors, or (b) determine that it is otherwise in the best interest of the United States to contract with the Offerors and include appropriate provisions to mitigate or avoid such conflict in the contract awarded.

(7) All task order proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the clause entitled, Task Order Selection Criteria. The CO’s selection decision on each task order request must be final and must not be subject to protest.

(8) Upon selection/acceptance of a task order proposal, the CO must execute a task order. This task order will contain, as a minimum, the following information:

(i) Name and signature of CO

(ii) Task Order Number and Contract Number

(iii) Effective Date of task order

(iv) Performance Work Statement/Statement of Work

(v) Period of Performance

(vi) Total Amount of task order

(vii) Accounting Data

(viii) Reporting Requirements

(10) No work must be performed and no payment will be made except as authorized by a properly executed TO.

Note: The type of task orders issued will vary based on the nature of the work requested and the CO’s determination.

In lieu of submitting a task order proposal, if the Contractor is not able or does not wish to compete for a specific task order, the Contractor must so state in writing to the CO.

G.6 52.216-32 TASK-ORDER AND DELIVERY-ORDER OMBUDSMAN.

(a) In accordance with 41 U.S.C. 4106(g), the Agency has designated the following task-order and delivery-order Ombudsman for this contract. The Ombudsman must review complaints from the Contractor concerning all task-order and delivery-order actions for this contract and ensure https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2017-title41/html/USCODE-2017-title41-subtitleI-divsnC-chap41-sec4106.htm the Contractor is afforded a fair opportunity for consideration in the award of orders, consistent with the procedures in the contract.

United States Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 Location: E62-204 Attention: Competition Advocate

(b) Consulting an ombudsman does not alter or postpone the timeline for any other process (e.g., protests).

(c) Before consulting with the Ombudsman, the Contractor is encouraged to first address complaints with the Contracting Officer for resolution. When requested by the Contractor, the Ombudsman may keep the identity of the concerned party or entity confidential, unless prohibited by law or agency procedure.

(End of clause)

G.7 INVOICES

The Contractor must submit invoices and required supporting documents electronically via e-mail to the following e-mail address: 9-AMC-AMZ-FHWA-Invoices@faa.gov.

(a) A separate invoice must be submitted for each task order under this contract.

(b) Invoices must be submitted within 10 days after delivery or performance of work, but no more frequently than monthly.

(c) Include the invoice and supporting documents in the email as an attached PDF document.

(d) Include in the e-mail subject line the following:

(1) Invoice No.

(2) Contract Number and task order number

(3) Name of your Company/Organization

(4) Attention: Contracting Officer

Example: Invoice No. 35 – 693JJ319D000041/693JJ319F000107 – Contractor Name – Attention: Contract Specialist

(e) If the invoice and supporting documents exceed 8 MB as an e-mail attachment, the

Contractor must select one of the other submission options presented below:

Invoices submitted via an overnight service must use the following physical address:

MMAC

mailto:9-AMC-AMZ-FHWA-Invoices@faa.gov

FHWA/AMZ-150

6500 S. MacArthur Blvd Oklahoma City, OK 73169 Attention: Contracting Officer Express Delivery Point of Contact: Lead Accounting Technician

Invoices may be submitted via regular U.S. Postal Service to the following address:

Federal Highway Administration Markview Processing P.O. Box 268865 Oklahoma City OK 73126-8865 Attention: Contracting Officer

To receive payment and in accordance with the Prompt Payment Act, all invoices submitted as attachments in iSupplier (DELPHI) must contain the following:

(1) Invoice number and invoice date.

(2) Period of performance covered by invoice.

(3) Contract number and title.

(4) Task/Delivery Order number and title (if applicable).

(5) Amount billed (by CLIN), current and cumulative.

(6) Total ($) of billing.

(7) Cumulative total billed for all contract work to date.

(8) Name, title, phone number, and mailing address of person to be contacted in the event of a defective invoice.

(9) Travel. If the contract includes allowances for travel, all invoices which include charges pertaining to travel expenses will catalog a breakdown of reimbursable expenses with the appropriate receipts to substantiate the travel expenses.

(10) The following statement “The Contractor also affirms that it does not operate any diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that are inconsistent with the Equal Protection principles of the Constitution and the non-discrimination requirements of Federal law, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, 600 U.S. 181 (2023).”

G.8 PAYMENT

For Firm-Fixed-Price task orders, unless otherwise specified in the individual task order, the Contractor may request payment for the Firm-Fixed-Price specified in the task order upon the Government’s acceptance of all work under that task order. Determination of satisfactory completion and acceptance of the work under the task order will be made by the Contracting Officer.