Draft SOW - (693JJ923RQ000166).pdf

Demo to Address Special Needs and Student Behavior on School Buses Statement of Work

Background and Purpose

Program Context Every school day, there are typically around 480,000 school buses in the country transporting 26 million children to school. NHTSA considers school buses one of the safest forms of transportation in the United States. The fatality rate for school buses is 0.2 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) compared to a much higher 0.91 fatalities per 100 million VMT for cars.

The best way to provide crash protection to passengers of large school buses is through “compartmentalization.” This requires that the interior of large buses protect children without them needing to buckle up. Through compartmentalization, children are protected from crashes by strong, closely-spaced seats that have energy-absorbing seat backs. But compartmentalization only works if the student is sitting properly and facing forward. This is why it is crucial to develop a National Strategy and relevant program to address behavior and standees on school buses.

Purpose of Project The purpose of this project is to conduct a demonstration project, develop a program strategy and institutionalize a process for identifying and implementing effective strategies to address student behavior (misbehavior and standees) that cause risk to the safe transportation of children to and from school including higher risk populations such as children with special needs. This strategy will include the development of educational materials and resources focused on pupil transportation safety for high-risk populations.

Materials will be developed using available data from NHTSA and other credible sources, current information, and subject matter expertise. The Contractor would then use its vast network of school educators and administrators to disseminate the materials to directors of transportation, school bus drivers, schools, teachers and, the public across the United States.

Project Goals and Objectives

• Developing a program on student behavior and the impact of misbehavior and standees relating to safety on a school bus.

• Complete a demonstration project on the developed program to assess effectiveness.

• Develop educational materials and resources focused on pupil transportation safety, special needs transportation and proper behavior on school buses.

• Identify barriers for communities of color or other underserved and marginalized communities face with regard to behavior and standees on school buses.

• The Contractor shall promote traffic safety that will assist in reducing or eliminating fatalities and injuries in and around school buses.

Scope of work

1. General requirements; specifically

a) NHTSA will:

• Assign a professionally qualified staff member as the contracting officers representative (COR), to provide liaison and coordination between the Contractor and NHTSA;

• Provide all essential background information and technical assistance from the government sources.

• Provide liaison between other government and private organizations.

• Maintain on-going contact with the Contractor regarding conduct of the Contract.

b) The Contractor Shall;

• Designate a Project Manager to provide liaison and coordination between NHTSA and the staff and membership of the Contractor and to manage all aspects of the project and keep the NHTSA COR apprised of the progress being made under the Contract;

• Provide a detailed project implementation plan, including timetable, metrics, strategies, itemized budget and labor categories/job descriptions for all proposed staff.

• Execute the project as described in the Contractor’s implementation plan and detailed final work plan, as coordinated with the COR. Submit the final work plan to the NHTSA COR, no later than thirty (30) days after the Contract award. The Contractor shall finalize the project timeline as well as any remaining items necessary to carry out the project into its work plan. The final work plan will serve to guide the Contractor’s project implementation;

• Advise NHTSA's COR of any problems in implementing or making progress on any activities performed under this Contract, as well as recommended strategies or revisions to the Project description to permit successful performance.

• Convene a kickoff meeting/revise project implementation within fourteen (14) days of the Contract award. Key project team members and NHTSA staff will meet in an initial meeting to review the project’s objectives, planned course of action, responsibilities, and to begin finalizing the work plan which was submitted as part of the application. The meeting will also serve as a forum to resolve any questions regarding the Contractor’s approach;

• Prepare and submit monthly reports beginning three (3) months after the Contract award describing the status and progress of activities outlined in the project work plan and include any resources developed and deliverables completed during the quarter. The reports will include an up-to-date summary of accomplishments by the Contractor; obstacles and problems encountered and proposed solutions;

noteworthy activities, events, or successes; and a Financial Statement of funds expended to date;

• Submit a final report to the NHTSA COR by the completion date of the Contract;

• Participate in a final briefing at NHTSA Headquarters in Washington, DC or virtually upon completion of the project and prior to the end of the period of performance.

SPECIFIC INFORMATION

C.5.1 Kickoff Meeting

Within two (2) weeks of Task Order award, the Contractor shall meet with the COR, Contracting Officer (CO) and/or Contract Specialist (CS) and other interested National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) personnel in Washington, DC. The purpose of this meeting is to 1) discuss the administration of the Task Order, and 2) to discuss the project’s objectives, planned course of action, milestones and deliverables, and any other issues the Contractor or the Government identifies.

The Contractor shall work with COR to prepare appropriate briefing materials on their technical approach prior to the meeting, including a PowerPoint presentation. The PowerPoint for the briefing shall be completed and submitted to the COR for review and approval at least one (1) week prior to the meeting.

C.5.2 Work Plan

Within two (2) weeks of the Kickoff Meeting, the Contractor shall submit a Work Plan that is based on the Contractor’s technical quote, final quote revisions, and discussions at the Kickoff Meeting.

Within one (1) week of receipt of the Work Plan, the COR will either approve the plan or will provide the Contractor with needed revisions and comments

The work plan shall include the anticipated steps the Contractor will take to accomplish the tasks of this task order, including specific dates applied to the milestone and deliverable timeline.

The work plan will be submitted in written/electronic format (minimum MS office 2016). The NHTSA COR will review the final technical work plan within two (2) weeks of receipt and provide comments and necessary changes. The Contractor shall incorporate the changes and respond to any comments/questions from the COR and return a final work plan to the COR within one (1) week after receipt.

C.5.3 Research and Information Gathering

The Contractor shall review the information provided by the COR on existing materials and programs and work with the COR to identify additional information needed. Once identified, the Contractor shall collect the information through research of written materials (training, articles, etc.) and personal contacts with managers of existing programs. Introduction to agencies and limited assistance in information collection will be provided by the COR. The research and information gathering shall be completed within four (4) months of task order award.

C.5.4 Toolkit Outline

A detailed outline of the toolkit will be provided to the COR within six (6) months of the effective date of the task order. The COR will review and provide feedback within two (2) weeks of receipt. The contactor shall incorporate the COR recommendations into the outline and return to the COR within two (2) weeks.

The outline shall each include, but not be limited to the following sections:

• Introduction to and benefit of safe school transportation.

• Description of what safety on and around a school bus setting looks like for students with special needs and student behavior on buses.

• Steps to develop and implement an online interactive toolkit o Getting started o Laws and regulations o Costs o Resources o Research links o Frequently asked questions o Barriers and challenges when implementing a program and best practices to address potential barriers o Sample forms

C.5.5 Development of Project Materials

The Contractor shall develop the written content for each section of the outline. The individual sections may be submitted independently for approval, to the COR, as opposed to waiting for all sections to be complete, to expedite the approval and development process.

The contractor shall develop new school bus educational materials for to be used by NHTSA, their partners, stakeholders, and educators. The materials, to be approved by NHTSA, will include, but not limited to, the following: fact sheets, lesson plans, and current media mediums that will be “evergreen” in that it can be used for a period of time before being updated. After consultation with their partners and NHTSA, the Contractor shall develop current best practices and/a safety training toolkit for schools addressing school bus occupants and pedestrians around school buses.

The Contractor will also develop the most appropriate methods for hosting the online toolkit, content delivery and provide measurable justifications for doing so.

The Contractor shall develop appropriate messages that will resonate and encourage the target groups to, at a minimum:

o Access the website o Share resources or meaningful activities happening at community and state levels o Get engaged now and in future years and o Seek technical support o Monitor and measure engagement of these audiences and modify implementation strategies as needed.

Materials shall be organized in a systematic and logical manner, to provide the user with the steps necessary to assist them in development and implementation of the program.

Format of Deliverables:

• Research/reports and other text based deliverables shall be provided in an editable MSWord file.

• Presentations and slide decks shall be provided in MS PowerPoint, be fully editable and all linked graphic and images files shall be supplied separately.

• Links to other federal agencies and/or State sites shall be supplied in a tested list of all links, as well as embedding the links where necessary in all deliverables. This list should include any links recommended as “Other Resources”.

• All files supplied need to be 508-compliant/accessible.

C.5.6 Review of Content

The Contractor shall be responsible for providing the materials produced for the toolkit to NHTSA for review. The sections shall be organized in the structure identified in the outlines provided in C.5.5, Development of Project Materials. The draft materials shall be provided for COR for review throughout the award. The COR will accept and provide feedback within two (2) weeks of receipt. The Contactor shall incorporate the COR comments into the materials within one (1) week of receipt.

C.5.7 Draft Materials Submission

The Contractor shall be responsible for providing the draft material, on digital media and hard copy, throughout the award. The COR will review and return comments within one (1) month of receipt. The Contractor shall incorporate the COR comments into the materials.

C.5.8 Final Materials

The Contractor shall provide the COR with the final materials throughout the award, having incorporated all comments from the COR. Those materials shall include all sections for the topic, on digital media and hard copy.

C.5.9 Monthly Conference Calls

The Contractor shall conduct a monthly conference call, during the second (2nd) week of each month, with the COR, to discuss the written status report contents and the next steps expected for the conduct of the contract over the next month.

C.5.10 Dissemination of Materials

The Contractor shall disseminate the newly developed toolkit to NHTSA and other relevant Federal agencies, road safety partners, pupil transportation stakeholders, schools, educators, and administrators. This information should be in current media mediums and printable for the general public as well as the Contractor’s stakeholders and partners. The Contractor should already have an established relationship with pupil transportation stakeholders. This task is on-going throughout the award.

C.5.11 Final Briefing

The Contractor shall conduct a Final Briefing within thirty-five (35) months of award at NHTSA Headquarters in Washington, DC or virtually at the discretion of the COR. The Final Briefing shall consist of a 30 - 45-minute presentation of the project that includes the background of the project, a description of the specific tasks conducted, and issues raised at the meeting, followed by a question and answer period.

Period of Performance

The period of performance for this contract is 36 months from date of award.

Performance Milestones and Deliverables

Deliverable (D)/Milestone (M) Schedule Task # Milestones (M) and Deliverables (D) Due Date After

Award 1 C.5.1 Submit Kick-off Meeting materials (D) 1 week prior to meeting 2 C.5.1 Kick-off Meeting (M) 2 weeks after award 3 C.5.2 Submit Final Work Plan (D) 1 month after award 4 C.5.2 COR review Final Work Plan (M) 2 weeks of receipt 5 C.5.2 Submit Final Work Plan (D) 1 weeks of receipt 6 C.5.3 Research and Information Gathering

(M) 4 months after award

7 C.5.4 Submit Toolkit Outline (D) 6 months after award

8 C.5.4 COR (TO) review outline (M) 2 weeks of receipt 9 C.5.4 Submit Final Tool Kit Outline (D) 2 weeks of receipt 10 C.5.5 Development of Project Materials (M) On-going 11 C.5.6 Submit Draft Materials (D) On-going 12 C.5.6 COR Material Review (M) 2 weeks of receipt 13 C.5.6 Submit Materials with the COR

Comments Incorporated (D) 1 week of receipt

14 C.5.7 Submit Draft Final Materials (D) On-going 15 C.5.7 COR Review of Draft Materials (M) 1 month after receipt 16 C.5.8 Submit Final Materials (D) On-going 17 C.5.11 Final Briefing 35 months after award 18 C.5.9 Monthly Conference Calls (M) 2nd week of the month 19 F.4.1 Submit Monthly Reports (D) On-going, 15th of each month