FHWA_EAR_BAA_2016_AMENDMENT_NO._1-_QUESTIONS_ _RESPONSES.docx

AMENDMENT NO. 1 - FHWA EXPLORATORY ADVANCED RESEARCH PROGRAM BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT 2016; ANNOUNCEMENT NO. DTFH6116R00036 The following changes are made to Broad Agency Announcement DTFH6116R00036

Page 12 – Volume II…delete Sentence No. 1. There is no page limitation for the cost proposal.

Page 21 – Section B.3 (3)…revise the sentence as follows: “A completed copy of their representations and certification from the System for Award Management site (www.SAM.gov).

Page 21 – Section B.3 (5)…delete the paragraph. If a proposal is selected for a contract award, a formal contract document will be forwarded to the offeror for review and signature.

Page 21 – Section B.3 (6)…delete Sentence Nos. 2 and 3.

The following is a list questions received by the September 26 cutoff date for questions. Where duplicate or similar questions were received, one response is provided to respond to the general topic.

Questions on Topic 1, Computational Methods for Analysis of Mobile Device Data

Question: Regarding Topic 1, “Computation Methods for Analysis of Mobile Device Data”, our first interpretation of the BAA leads us to think that the target/desired applications are limited to those that mainly benefit from the “location/spatial” data collected from mobile devices, perhaps augmented by other data types to achieve higher accuracy, for rich semantics, etc. We are wondering if applications that leverage other mobile data modalities without any leverage on location data (e.g., a safety application that monitors mobile device activities to detect distracted driving) are also of interest of the program.

Response: FHWA interest is in data from mobile devices not just location data. The interest in mobile device data is to assess population-level travel behavior or transportation system performance. Applications for mobile devices that provide information, warning, or control for individual drivers or travelers are outside the scope of this topic.

Question: on “Topic 1, Computation Methods for Analysis of Mobile Device Data” With regard to the term, “Mobile Device Data:”

1. Does this include only smartphone data or

2. Specific data generated by the smartphone for the purpose of highway information or

3. Data from other mobile devices (i.e. non cell phones) over other networks or

4. Data passed through the smartphone that is tethered to other onboard systems Response: The answer is “YES” to all of the above.

Question: “I am interested in the topic 1. Can I get some more information like is there a data set available for use?”

Response: FHWA encourages researchers to team with partners that have collected relevant data. Proposing research only based on collection of new data could delay the primary thrust of the topic, which is new approaches in data analytics. This does not preclude collection or creation of sample data to test new approaches.

Question: We are very interested in this EAR BAA solicitation especially Topic 1: Computation Methods for Analysis of Mobile Device Data. We do have a question. By reviewing the report of the Cell Data Symposium held in Feb. 2014, it appears that this solicitation focuses on cellular data (e.g., those based on handoff and triangulation). Is this the case or the solicitation focuses all types of mobile device data, including cellular data and data from GPS devices and connected vehicles? Since the data analytics methods to deal with different types of mobile data may be different, we appreciate if you could clarify this in a bit more detail.

Response: FHWA is interested in data from mobile devices including but not limited to cellular data.

Question: For Topic 1, does FHWA have data?

Response: FHWA has data available for research uses through a site located at https://www.its-rde.net/. Topic 1 does not require or suggest use of these data since they are generally smaller and less complex that data envisioned. They could be an addition to other data as part of Topic 1.

Question: For Topic 1, can we include private data or do the data need to be open access?

Response: Proposals may include private or public data, data that have open access and data that have restricted access. For data that are private or have restricted access, the proposal should note this under Section (g) Proprietary Claims and discuss data access under Section (i) Technology Transition Plan. Data that would be difficult or unreasonably costly for agencies to obtain would reduce the potential for transition in results and thus importance to FHWA Programs.

Questions on Topic 2, Behavioral Science and Experimental Economics Approaches for Transportation

Question: We are trying to understand how broad or narrow FHWA's interests are in Topic 2B -- Behavioral Science and Experimental Economics Approaches for Transportation/Platooning, CACC or other CV Applications. Would FHWA be receptive to a proposal that involves testing of driver preferences regarding different levels of CACC performance when driving actual CACC test vehicles, with successive adjustments to CACC performance characteristics under different traffic situations/scenarios based on feedback provided by drivers from the general public?

Response: In Topic 2 FHWA seeks to integrate behavioral experiments with economics. Proposals should include elements of both. Proposals that are narrowly focused on human factors testing are outside the scope of this topic. Proposals that engage in economic analysis without a basis in behavioral data also would be outside the scope of this topic.

Question: For Topic 2, how specific should we be in terms of the population(s) we’re going to recruit to participate in this study?

Response: Please be as specific and succinct as you can about recruitment. You do not need to have agreements in place to submit the proposal. If FHWA plans to make an award, agreements would need to be in place prior to award.

Questions on Topic 3, New Methods in Simulation

Question: We recently submitted a proposal to NSF on developing a framework and infrastructure for safety assurance testing of autonomous vehicles. Topic 3 in the FHWA EAR BAA calls for something very similar. Is FHWA ok if we were to submit a proposal similar to the one we submitted to NSF, to FHWA EAR program? NSF rules do not prohibit us from submitting a similar proposal to other agencies, while it is being reviewed by NSF.

Response: Section N should include a list of all current and pending proposals. Having proposed a similar proposal to another funder does not preclude submissions to FHWA.

Question: We are primarily looking at Topic 3, given that we have an extensive background in Virtual and Augmented Reality as well as user monitoring and analysis. However, the solicitation seems to be very widely open in terms of possible research directions, do you have any other information/links to material that would help us better understand what the FHWA is looking for (and, more importantly, what you are not looking for)?

Response: The topic is intentionally broad. FHWA encourages investigators to partner with asset owners to leverage existing experimental and pilot deployment resources. Partnering also may assist investigators with identifying where and how advances in science and technology applications could be of importance to highway transportation programs, which is an evaluation criterion.

Question: Under Topic 3, our interpretation of the solicitation are to research and prototype a federated simulation environment that can facilitate multiple distributed user surface transportation simulation and research. The solicitation description lays out two primary phases. A first that focuses on preparing the simulation / research environment design, and a second focused on conducting proof of concept experiments to demonstrate the system’s capabilities. Can you please confirm that the intention of these experiments is to demonstrate the technical capabilities of the federated simulation environment and not to execute a research experiment focused on investigating a hypothesis on actual transportation behaviors?

Response: FHWA is seeking researchers in Topic 3 to demonstrate the capabilities of connected simulation including federate simulation. FHWA anticipates that doing so would require applying a novel approach in an experiment relevant and important to highway transportation research then explaining how the approach could be extended to or applied to a broader set of research questions.

Question: For Topic 3, would the research team be able to work with FHWA on recruitment of participants for experiments?

Response: The proposal may include work that would take place at the Human Factors Laboratory at the Turner Fairbank Highway Research Center as noted in the Special Note at the bottom of page nine. The proposal also may include a university or private research laboratory partners that have processes in place for recruitment of subjects for human factors experiments.

Questions on Volume I – Technical Proposal and Management Approach Question: Section L-Key Personnel. Since the resumes are not included in the page count, may they be inserted at the end of the proposal as an appendix?

Response: No.

Question: Section M-Qualifications-This section is not included in the page count. May we move this section to an appendix?

Response: No.

Questions on Volume II – Cost Proposal and Business Information Question: I just want to confirm that applications seeking an assistance (cooperative) agreement, rather than a contract, are also submitted directly to FHWAadvancedresearch@dot.gov (and to you), along with the requisite additional forms as described in Section F of the announcement. I just want to be certain that we haven’t overlooked instructions to submit to Grants.gov.

Response: All proposals/applications are to be submitted to the FHWA addresses provided in the announcement.

Question: BAA says agency will decide whether they will have contracts or assistance agreements. My question is- do we need to choose one (contract or assistance agreement) when we submit the proposal?

Response: The offeror elects whether to propose a contract or an assistance agreement as there are separate forms to complete for an assistance agreement as well as a cost sharing requirement. Please note however, that there have been instances in the past for which the agency decided to award a cooperative agreement vice a contract because they wanted the offeror to share in the cost.

Question: Related question- Do we need to show 20% cost share. It seems to me that 20% cost share is required for assistance agreement proposals only.

Response: The 20% cost share is mandatory for an assistance agreement; however, all offerors are encouraged to cost share on contract awards.

Question: Section B.3 Other Financial / Organizational Information #5: References a model contract in Section A through J. I’m unable to find this in the solicitation. Is this available?

Response: Item No. 5 of Section B.3 will be removed. If a proposal is selected for contract award, a formal contract document will be forwarded to the offeror for review and signature.

Question: Section B.3 Other Financial / Organizational Information #6: This section references signing hard copies of the submission as indicated in I.H. I’m unable to find this section in the solicitation. Do we need to send hard copies of our proposal as well as submit via email?

Response: No. Sentence Nos. 2 and 3 of this paragraph will be removed. Only electronic submissions are needed.

Question: Please verify that the guidance provided on page 23 “Volume 2-Budget Application” is only a requirement for offerors requesting an assistance agreement.

Response: The Budget Application is required for offerors requesting assistance agreements. A cost proposal is needed for offers of contract awards.

Question: Page 13 it references that the pricing data should be submitted in MS Excel. May we include embedded Adobe Acrobat files in the MS Excel Workbook?

Response: No.

Question: Page 18 states that Volume II is limited to 12 pages. Could you provide further clarification regarding the 12 page limit for Volume II? Is Part B part of the page limit? Is the Past Performance section included in the 12 pages? Is the separate breakdown of costs by major task part of the 12 pages?

Response: The page limitation will be removed.

Question: Question about 20% cost sharing: The University has to match 20% of the proposed budget. So if my requested budget is $100,000, the university has to provide $20,000. Can $20,000 include part of my salary at the University State?

Response: If your total budget (federal + non-federal) is $100,000, your cost share is $20,000. Please click on the link provided for additional information on cost-sharing. https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/operations/mang-sys/fiscal-mang/Non-Federal%20Share.htm Other Questions

Question: Multimodal Simulator: Network pedestrian/bike and driving simulators to as well as network multiple driving simulators. To accomplish this in the true sense, we will track the body motion of the pedestrian/driver and create an avatar of the pedestrian/driver in the other environment. We would like to talk with the Lab Manager of the Human factors Lab at FHWA about possibly working together on this. Would you please direct us to the right person for this?

Response: The special note on the bottom on page nine provides a hyperlink to contact information about the Saxton Transportation Operations Laboratory and the Human Factors Laboratory at the Turner Fairbank Highway Research Center. “For more information, see http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/research/tfhrc/labs/operations/ and http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/research/tfhrc/labs/humanfactors/.”

Question: We are wondering if statistics on the number of the received proposals and the number of awards in the previous round(s) of this solicitation are available for the proposers’ consideration.

Response: Over past broad agency announcements for the FHWA Exploratory Advanced Research Program, slightly less than one in five proposals received an award. Yield rates for specific topics vary considerably from the average.

Question: We are also wondering if this FHWA is the sole sponsor of this program, or there are other agencies that are participating.

Response: FHWA is the sole sponsor of the solicitation. FHWA may engage subject matter experts from other agencies to assist with technical review of proposals.

Question: On “Future Topic Areas” Per the paragraph below, if a company identified a new topic area that FHWA found interesting, might FHWA consider funding it under the EAR program? If so, could we propose our idea as an option under the EAR program? If not, how would one go about sharing our idea with FHWA? Would a concept paper submittal be appropriate?

Note: Future Topic Areas FHWA continues to investigate other research areas for potential breakthrough opportunities. FHWA welcomes questions or thoughts about opportunities and other areas of focus that could lead to transformation changes in highway research. At this time, however, FHWA has not identified other focus areas or topics for funding under the EAR Program. For further information about the EAR Program, please see http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/advancedresearch/contacts.cfm.

Response: An entity could submit an abstract, problem statement, or short white paper to introduce a different topic. The FHWA Exploratory Advanced Research Program would conduct an initial stage study of the topic. Should FHWA determine to invest in the topic after an initial investigation, the topic most likely would be included in a future open solicitation.

Question: Could you provide additional explanation about the expected duration of the projects that will be selected under Broad Agency Announcement No. DTFH6116R00036?

Response: Research project duration should reflect the research methods, research team composition, and interdependencies between different research tasks. Past awards mostly have ranged from two to four years in length.

Question: This is the first time I've explored the opportunities listed in the FHWA Exploratory Advanced Research Program Broad Agency Announcement. It appears to be similar to a FHWA/DOT research grant, but I do not see any award amounts or $ anywhere. So is this an opportunity to obtain funded research or is it pro bono?

Response: The Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) is a competitive process. The agency reviews proposals/applications submitted and may fund contracts and cooperative agreements in accordance with the evaluation criteria provided within the BAA document. All of the information regarding this procurement can be found in the BAA.

Question: “On page 4 of the BAA, it states that the focus is moving from TRL 2-3 to TRL 5-6. Then on page 10, it is said that researchers would prepare framework for a proof of concept design, then move to a second phase following approval of the framework. Does it imply a two-step approach in the review process? Do you expect the proposal mainly focus on the framework and options for proof-of-concept design?”

Response: FHWA may fully fund awards for the entire period of performance covering all phases of work. Accordingly, proposals should include a work scope and budget for all phases of work. For Topic 3, FHWA expects the work scope details for the initial stage will be more precise and for subsequent phases less detailed.

Question: Most of our past funding has come from grants. Given this is a cooperative agreement, how much of the science will be directed by the DOT and how should we plan on building that into the proposal?

Response: You should provide a detailed technical direction in the proposal. FHWA will appoint an Agreement Officer’s Representative that will serve as a technical point of contact. That person generally will discuss progress with the research team on a monthly or quarterly schedule and coordinate government review of interim reports and deliverables.

Question: Are there specific directions/aims you would recommend we pursue that would be in line with what the DOT wants?

Response: Partnering with subject matter experts in highway transportation such as departments of transportation as part of the research team or as research project stakeholders often can assist in keeping the research on target and relevant to critical transportation industry needs.

Question: Can someone participate on more than one proposal?

Response: The broad agency announcement states on page 12, “Offerors may submit more than one proposal; however, each one must be in response to a single topic on the BAA.” Within a topic a person may submit only one proposal. The same person may participate in a proposal submitted by someone else.

Question: Is the one and one-half (1.5) line spacing mandatory?

Response: Yes Question: Would a single-spaced submission be accepted?

Response: No Question: Is an embedded video in the PDF submission permitted?

Response: No Question: Is there a file size limit for the emailed submission?

Response: Files that exceed 8M may be bounce back from our servers.

Question: Will we receive confirmation that you received the proposal?

Response: Yes Question: Is it possible for a University to serve as the lead institution on different proposals on the same topic?

Response: Yes Question: Is it possible for a University to serve as a lead institution on one proposal and a sub on one or more proposals on the same topic.

Response: Yes Question: Are proposers permitted to include a one-page table of contents and a one-page cover letter in both Volume I and Volume II for contract and assistance agreement type proposals?

Response: Yes Are these elements counted toward the proposal page limitations for either type of proposal? No Is Standard Form LLL required of both the prime contractor and proposed subcontractors?

Response: Prime Only Question: Do subcontractors need to be registered with SAM as well, or just the prime contractor?

Response: The Prime contractor has to be registered in SAM.gov for the responsibility determination.

Question: Is the information requested in Section B.3 of the RFP “Other Financial/Organizational Information” required of both the prime contractor and subcontractors?

Response: The Prime contractor must provide the information requested in Section B.3. If a proposal is selected for award and additional information is needed for a subcontractor, it will be requested.

Question: The RFP states that the Subcontracting Plan is evaluated on a pass/fail basis. Are there any specific goals or utilization percentages that must be met by proposers in order for them to be evaluated as a “pass?”

Response: No. However, we encourage all offerors to utilize small businesses to fullest extent possible.

Question: Is the Department of Transportation willing to extend the current due date of October 14, 2016 of the subject RFP?

Response: The FHWA does not intend to extend the October 14, 2016 due date for receipt of proposal/applications for the broad agency announcement.