BAA_DTFH6115R00038.pdf

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION

OFFICE OF HIGHWAY POLICY INFORMATION

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA)

DTFH6115R00038

“ADVANCING TRAVEL BEHAVIOR INFORMATION

GATHERING THROUGH PUBLIC DOMAIN DATA”

BAA No.

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA)

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Section Title

Page

1 BAA Process Overview 3

2 Scope of Research 4

3 General Proposal Information 5

Instructions for Submissions of Proposals 10

5 Proposal Format 11

6 Proposal Evaluation Criteria 14

Technical Discussions and Cost / Price Negotiations 16

SECTION 1 -- BAA PROCESS OVERVIEW

1.1 General Information

AGENCY POINT OF CONTACT:

Samantha Reizes Contracting Officer Samantha.reizes@dot.gov

1.2 Summary of Important Dates

This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) describes proposal submission and evaluation.

The FHWA anticipates that the proposal, evaluation, and award process for this BAA will proceed in accordance with the following schedule:

BAA Opens (FBO Publication) July 22, 2015 Questions Due 12:00 PM ET August 10, 2015 Proposals Due 12:00 PM ET September 4, 2015 Anticipated Contracts Award September, 2015

Proposals shall be sent by electronic transmission to Samantha.Reizes@dot.gov. Any questions relating to this announcement must be emailed to the point of contact.

No telephone requests will be taken.

Each prospective offeror emailing questions should attempt to state each question in such a way that the offeror would have no objection to the FHWA’s publishing that precise question (and its answer) in a formal Amendment to the BAA, on the Government-wide Point of Entry (GPE), FedBizOpps. As such, each prospective offeror should attempt to word each question in such a way that the publication of that question (and its answer) on the GPE would not divulge any information that the prospective offeror considers to be proprietary or confidential.

1.3 Definitions and Supplemental Information

• Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) - For additional information visit www.acquisition.gov/far.

mailto:Samantha.reizes@dot.gov mailto:Samantha.Reizes@dot.gov http://www.acquisition.gov/far

SECTION 2 -- BAA SCOPE OF RESEARCH

2.1 Background

The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Office of Highway Policy Information supports program and policy objectives that help the FHWA address the full spectrum of the Federal-aid highway program. Specifically, the Office of Highway Policy Information has the responsibilities to collect, analyze, and publish a wide range of data covering roadway inventory, performance and conditions, finance, vehicle, fuel, driver, travel behavior and future outlooks.

In the area of travel behavior, the Office of Policy and Governmental Affairs relies on the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) to gain a glimpse on why, how, and when we travel. While the NHTS Program has provide needed data and information, its timeliness often comes to question given the NHTS cycle is regularly over 5 years. The challenge faced by the Office of Highway Policy Information in this regard is how a sustainable and timeliness program can be established.

2.2 Objective and Description

The FHWA, through the Office of Highway Policy Information is soliciting proposals for research and development projects that could lead to innovative changes and revolutionary advances for travel behavior data and information gathering through using public domain data and without going through the traditional “survey” approach.

The objective of this BAA is to explore new methods and approaches in developing travel behavior data and information.

2.3 Scope of Research

The utilization of survey and interview either through phone, Internet, or any other means is the main approach in obtaining travel behavior data. Alternatively, travel data are also being derived from cellphone and other cellular data. While survey and interview provides the most direct ways to gain travel behavior data, the process and the design of such an instrument are often long and complicated. Cellphone and other cellular data based derivation has showed and demonstrated great success in deciphering origin and destination study. However, the nature of private and propriety raw data to some degree does hamper the transparency needs often associated with public data.

Specifically, the scope of this research is to explore methods for U.S. metropolitan areas in identifying travel behavior such as modal share, # of trips, and frequency of trips associated with public transportation, private vehicles, vehicle for hire, bicycle usage, and pedestrian movement through public domain data in a timely manner.

The objective of this BAA is to explore new methods and approaches in deciphering travel behavior data (modal share, # of trips, and trip frequency…)and information in metropolitan areas in the United States covering public transportation usages, private vehicles, for hire vehicles, bicycles and pedestrian movements.

Proposals are solicited for travel behavior data and information acquisition and deciphering methods. Research work in this area is considered foundational and therefore not all metropolitan areas in the United States need to be tested out. It is recommended that two to three metropolitan areas are to be selected by contractors for methods exploration and development.

2.4 Expected Outcomes

Alternative approaches in deciphering travel behavior in metropolitan areas to enhance traditional survey method result and new cellphone or cellular data derived information.

SECTION 3 -- GENERAL PROPOSAL INFORMATION

3.1 General Information

All business and administrative correspondence or questions on this BAA should be directed to the primary contracting point of contact identified in Section 1.

The FHWA has budgeted approximately $400,000.00 to fund this research announcement. Full proposals are sought and will be evaluated. The FHWA may select to award all, none, or a subset of the acceptable proposals meeting its needs.

The FHWA strongly encourages proposals that offer non-Federal matching funds or in-kind resources.

Cost reasonableness and realism will also be considered in the overall selection process. Individual proposal evaluations will be based on acceptability or non-acceptability without regard to other proposals submitted under the announcement.

Selection will be based primarily on scientific or technical merit, partnership, relevance and importance to agency, and the availability of funds.

The number of awards and their dollar value will vary depending on the merit of proposals received as well as their potential to lead to transformational changes and advances in transportation planning practice. Offerors should prepare proposals with a baseline period of performance of 12-24 months and, if needed, with one or more options up to an additional 12-month period of performance.

3.2 Award Type

The FHWA may award either contracts or cooperative agreements as a result of this Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). In consultation with the technical evaluators, the Contracting Officer (CO) will make the determination whether a contract or cooperative will be awarded. Three factors affect the decision to award a procurement contract or assistance award, and if an assistance award, a grant or cooperative agreement. The three factors are:

o Legislative authority o Principal purpose o Degree of federal involvement

Assistance agreements differ from contracts in several key ways:

The primary goal of a procurement contract is to procure goods or services for the use of or to directly benefit the federal awarding agency; the primary goal of an assistance agreement is to further a public purpose.

Procurement contracts allow for the vendor/supplier to make a profit, while assistance agreements are cost-reimbursable agreements in that the only permissible charges are actual costs that are directly related to the project and an amount of indirect costs based on an agreed-upon rate.

Procurement contracts require “deliverables” that the CO or Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) must test and accept; assistance agreements do not include deliverables, but may require other submissions described in the award document.

Although the Government encourages cost sharing for both cooperative agreements and contracts, all applications submitted for cooperative agreement consideration shall include a 20 percent or greater non-federal cost share.

3.3 Other Administrative Information

Proposals that plan to collect information from more than nine non-Federal entities may require the FHWA to obtain clearance prior to the commencement of any information collection (approximate time for clearance is 6 months). Awards involving any Privacy Act covered data will require special clearances and protections.

It is the policy of the FHWA to treat all proposals as competitive information and to disclose the contents only for the purposes of evaluation. Only Government evaluators will make selections under this BAA.

This BAA constitutes the public announcement as contemplated by FAR 5.203(e) and is in accordance with the competitive procedures outlined in FAR 6.102(d)(2)(i); no formal Request for Proposals or other solicitation regarding this announcement will be issued.

Requests for same will be disregarded.

3.4 Deliverables

The specific deliverables will depend upon the scope and objectives of the negotiated award. At a minimum, the contractor shall present results for at least a peer exchange, webinar, or workshop and submit a final detailed report with a technical summary that documents the research conducted in each task identified in the proposal. Additional deliverables such as interim reports, documentation, and instrumentation may be required and the specific deliverables will be identified in the negotiated resultant contract.

3.5 Period of Performance

The base contract period of performance is negotiable, but shall be no more than 24 months from date of award.

3.6 Optional Future Phase or Phases

Proposals may include a discussion of work products for an optional, future phase or phases of work for up to an additional 12 months (up to three additional pages in the proposal technical volume). Such discussion shall be clearly labeled as “optional future phase or phases of work.” The original phase or work shall in no way depend on work described under future phases in order to meet the program criteria. If a future phase or phases are included, a separate budget shall be included for the phase or phases and be labeled clearly as “separate budget for optional future phase or phases.”

3.7 Proposal Information

The Government reserves the right to select for award any, all, part, or none of the proposals received in response to this BAA. In addition, the Government reserves the right to award either contracts, grants, or other instruments determined to be of benefit to the Government in achieving the goals of this program. This BAA is an expression of interest only and the Government will not pay any direct proposal preparation costs.

All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit proposals, which will be evaluated based on the evaluation criteria outlined in Section 6 and Section 7 below.

The number of awards, and their dollar value, will vary depending on the technical merit of proposals received and their potential to lead to transformational changes and advances in transportation planning practice. Offerors should prepare proposals with a baseline period of performance of 12-24 months and, if needed, with one or more options up to an additional 12-month period of performance.

The scope of this BAA is intentionally broad to invite innovation and to provide the FHWA the flexibility to sponsor research that best addresses its objectives. In keeping with FHWA’s desire for innovation and flexibility, the specific approach in the selected proposals will vary and will be negotiated. Any resulting contracts will contain appropriate Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Agency clauses for the type of procurement vehicle awarded.

The FHWA will evaluate proposals against the evaluation criteria outlined in Section 6 below.

3.8 Section 508 Compliance Requirements

Awards under this program may be subject to the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, depending on the type of final products or reports to be delivered under each award. The Act requires that all electronic products prepared for the Federal Government be accessible to persons with disabilities, including those with vision, hearing, cognitive, and mobility impairments. Proposers can view Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (http://www.access-board.gov/508.htm) and the Federal IT Accessibility Initiative (Home Page) (http://section508.gov/) for detailed information.

3.9 Minimum Requirements for Materials to be Posted on FHWA Websites

All web-based deliverables shall conform to the Minimum Requirements for FHWA Web Pages and be compatible with the current FHWA web platform of Adobe ColdFusion (Version 8 compatible) and Microsoft SQL (server 2008 compatible). Deliverables will be evaluated for Section 508 compliance, including graceful degradation when

JavaScript is disabled and color contrast tests. Deliverables shall meet W3C coding standards (http://www.w3.org/), FHWA coding standards, and conform to DOT Secure Web Application standards to prevent cross-site scripting (XSS) and SQL Injection.

3.10 FAR 52.227-14 – Rights in Data -- General (Dec 2007)

FAR 52.227-14 – Rights in Data (and the appropriate Alternate Clause, as applicable) will be incorporated into resultant contracts issued under this BAA.

http://www.w3.org/

SECTION 4 -- INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

4.1 Proposal Instructions

Proposals shall be submitted via email and must be received on or before 12:00 PM ET, September 4, 2015. Facsimile transmissions or hard copy transmissions of the Proposal will not be accepted; any sent will be disregarded.

Proposals shall be submitted via email to: Samantha.Reizes@dot.gov

Award selections will be based on the evaluation criteria detailed in Section 9.1 and in accordance with FAR 35.016(b)(4)(e).

Any failure to conform to the instructions in this BAA may result in the proposal being deemed unresponsive and eliminated from further consideration.

If an offeror does not understand the instructions as described herein, then they must submit their questions(s) to the Contracting Officer for clarification; the deadline for all questions is specified in Section 1.2.

SECTION 5 -- PROPOSAL FORMAT

5.1 Proposal Format

Proposals shall be submitted by an authorized representative and include a technical volume of 15 pages or less in length and a separate, detailed cost / price proposal.

The technical volume shall include the following three sections (Technical Approach, Staffing, Past Performance / Team Experience) and subsections:

NOTE: The cover page, table of contents and resumes are not included in the 15-page limit for the technical volume.

Part I -- Technical Approach

(1) Cover page with (A) the BAA number, (B) proposal title, (C) type of business (large business, small disadvantaged business, other small business, HBCU or MI, other educational, or other non-profit), (D) complete list of subcontractors, (E) technical and administrative / contractual points of contact including addresses, telephone numbers, electronic mail addresses, and facsimile machine numbers.

(2) Refined research problem statement with a description of the proposed visionary technology or system and how the proposed effort will meet the objectives of the BAA, a comparison of these innovative ideas with current approaches and the current state of the art and the expected impact of the research if successful.

(3) Complete work scope describing research methods, steps, schedule (for a period of performance up to 2 years) with milestones, expected deliverables and associated evaluation metrics for the proposed effort.

(4) A management plan describing the overall approach to management of this effort, including a brief discussion of the proposed organization and the use of personnel and other resources. This section should also describe the partnership structure between the entity proposing work and other public and private sector entities funding or otherwise substantially participating in the work, including State Departments of Transportation, State Air Quality Agencies, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, Universities, Foundations, etc.

(5) A Technology Transition Plan describing the how the research could be transferred into other metropolitan areas.

(6) Any other pertinent information to enhance the Government’s understanding, including (but not limited to: draft work plans must include preparation of read-ahead documents, presentation materials, information on meeting facilities, etc.

(7) The work plan shall clearly indicate how the proposed effort will lead to transformational changes and revolutionary advances travel behavior data collection.

NOTE: Proposals may include a discussion of work products for an optional, future phase or phases of work for up to an additional 12 months (up to three additional pages in the technical proposal). Such discussion shall be clearly labeled as “optional future phase or phases of work.” The original phase or work shall in no way depend on work described under future phases in order to meet the program criteria. If a future phase or phases are included, a separate cost / price proposal shall be included for the phase or phases and be labeled clearly as “separate budget for optional future phase or phases.”

Part II -- Staffing Proposal

(1) Research team qualifications with title and identification of association to a specific project or functional group within the proposing organization or to a specific proposed subcontractor. Indicate the proposed amount of effort (person-hours) to be expended by each person during the proposed program.

(2) As part of its proposal, the offeror shall designate a Project Manager and other personnel deemed by the offeror to be essential to the successful completion of the contract. These individuals will be listed in the contract as Key Personnel in accordance with TAR 1252.237-73 - Key Personnel.

(3) Resumes that demonstrate the proposed key personnel’s knowledge, skills and abilities related to the proposed project shall be provided. Resumes should be no longer than three pages in length and do not count towards the 15-page limit for the technical volume.

Part III -- Past Performance / Team Experience

(1) The offeror shall provide a matrix of recent (within the past 3 years ) relevant past contracts / agreements (Government or Private), which should include the following: a short description of the work, the dates of work performance, the name of the client and a contact phone number and email address, so a reference check can be conducted.

Proposals shall include a minimum of three recent and relevant references.

(2) List any Federal contract, agreement or order that was terminated for convenience of the Government within the past 3 years, and any contract, agreement or order that was terminated for default within the past 5 years. Briefly explain the circumstances in each instance. This requirement does not count towards the page limit for the technical volume as noted above.

Part IV – Cost / Price Proposal (No Page Limit)

In addition to the above 15-page maximum technical volume, offerors shall submit a detailed cost / price proposal that provides complete budget information. A separate summary budget shall be provided for the base period and for each proposed option period. Each summary budget shall include costs by each major cost category such as direct labor, fringe benefits, subcontracts, travel and other direct costs, overhead / indirect costs, and fee (if applicable). Direct labor information shall provide detail regarding each proposed individual and / or labor category, the number of hours or percent of time proposed for each period, and the unburdened hourly rate or salary for each person or category. For other direct costs (travel, materials and supplies, etc.), provide detail and explanation for how each element of cost was derived and estimated.

For any subcontracts, provide a separate detailed budget for the subcontract work, and provide a price analysis of the work. Please note that the FHWA can pay per diem for travelers, but cannot pay for meals or receptions under contracts.

A separate detailed cost breakdown shall also be provided by task and subtask, using the same task or subtask numbers as described in the scope of work in the technical proposal. If necessary, the Government will request additional cost back-up information, resumes or supplemental information as appropriate. Details of any cost sharing to be undertaken by the offeror shall also be included in the cost section.

Describe the type of funds (cash, in-kind, etc.), and its contribution and relationship in enhancing the proposed effort.

The cost / price proposal should also include the following mandatory business information regarding your firm: Business Size; Federal Tax Identification Number (TIN);

Dun & Bradstreet Number; Name and contact information (mail address, telephone, and email address) of your authorized business representative/point of contact.

Special Instructions for Cooperative Agreement Applicants: In addition to the information above, proposals eligible for cooperative agreement awards shall also complete and submit the following forms (available at www.grants.gov or http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/index.htm).

• SF424 (Note: Applicants may leave 5a, 5b, 6, 7, 13 and blank on the form)

• SF424A

Note: Section A: block 1(a) print title of your project, block 1(b) print 20.205, block 1(c) print $ Total Federal Funds Requested, 1(d) print $ Total Cost Share, and leave blank columns (e), (f), and (g) and rows 2, 3, and 4.

• SF424B

• SFLLL

http://www.grants.gov/ http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/index.htm

Note: The SFLLL form must be completed and submitted even if no lobbying to report. If no lobbying to report insert “none” or “n/a” in the relevant blocks.

Subcontractors

All subcontracted work must be properly identified as such. The offeror must ensure that the subcontractor adheres to the guidance set forth herein. FAR 15.404-3 requires that the offeror provide an analysis of subcontractors’ cost proposals.

To that end, each offeror’s proposal must:

(1) Identify principal items / services to be subcontracted;

(2) Identify prospective subcontractors and the basis on which they were selected. If non-competitive, provide the sole source justification;

(3) Identify the type of contractual arrangement contemplated for the subcontract and provide a rationale for selecting the contractual arrangement;

(4) Identify the basis for the subcontract costs;

(5) Provide an analysis of the proposed subcontract cost / price in accordance with FAR 15.404-3(b). Provide an analysis concerning the reasonableness, realism and completeness of each subcontractor’s proposal. If the analysis is based on comparison with prior prices, identify the basis on which the prior prices were determined to be reasonable. The analysis should include, but not be limited to, an analysis of: materials, labor, travel, other direct costs and proposed profit or fee rates.

SECTION 6 -- EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR PROPOSALS

6.1 Evaluation Criteria

The primary basis for selecting proposals for acceptance shall be technical, importance to agency programs, and fund availability. Cost realism and reasonableness shall also be considered. A review of each offeror’s past performance on prior Government contracts will also be conducted during the responsibility determination phase of the Government review process and prior to any contract award.

Technical

Technical merit will be evaluated based on the following elements: Overall technical merit of the proposal, including the potential to result in increased understanding/knowledge. Demonstrated sound, feasible and achievable technical approach. Capabilities, including the qualifications and experience of the key personnel; the offeror's qualifications and experience in related technical areas; and the offeror's facilities and demonstrated ability for achieving the proposal objectives; overall capability to manage the effort.

Importance to Agency Programs

The proposed anticipated result’s importance to the FHWA will be assessed and evaluated.

Funds Availability

Availability of adequate funding for the proposed effort must exist. Price realism and reasonableness in meeting performance objectives will be assessed and evaluated to the extent appropriate. The FHWA strongly encourages proposals that offer a significant non-Federal matching funds or in-kind resources.

6.2 Administrative Information

It is the policy of the FHWA to treat all proposals as competitive information and to disclose the contents only for the purposes of evaluation. Only Government evaluators will make selections under this BAA. This announcement constitutes the public announcement as contemplated by FAR 5.203(e) and is in accordance with the competitive procedures outlined in FAR 6.102(d)(2)(i), and no formal Request for Proposals or other solicitation regarding this announcement will be issued. Requests for same will be disregarded.

SECTION 7 -- TECHNICAL DISCUSSIONS AND COST / PRICE NEGOTIATIONS

7.1 Contract Vehicle

The offeror shall propose the anticipated contract type based on its proposal. The Government encourages offerors to propose firm fixed price contracts, but understands that the nature of the work proposed may better lend itself to labor hour / time and material and / or cost reimbursable contract types. The type of contract proposed by the offeror will be negotiable.

7.2 Discussions / Negotiations

If any technical clarifications, technical discussions or if there are questions / exceptions taken to costs / price proposed, the Government will contact the offeror to initiate discussions / negotiations.

7.3 Revised or Updated Cost Proposal

If necessary, at the same time an offeror is notified of their selection, they may be requested to submit either an updated or revised cost proposal and any additional cost information or backup cost data.

7.4 Selecting Part Versus All

It is the Government’s intention to make awards on proposals based on an entire proposed effort; however, FHWA may be interested in making an award based on part or parts of a proposal. As such, it is important that the requirement to prepare the proposed SOW in the form of separate tasks as it facilitates evaluation and provides an easy way to select desired tasks. If FHWA decides to make an award based on part or parts of a proposal, the Government may request that the offeror revise its cost / price proposal to reflect only the part or parts of the proposal the FHWA is interested in making an award based on.