EARP FY 2022 BAA _10-13-22.pdf

Title: Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR)

Program 2022

Broad Agency Announcement

EAR BAA 2022

FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION (FHWA)

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA)

No. 693JJ3-22-BAA-0001

“Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program 2022”

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

POINTS OF CONTACT (POCs)

Primary POC: Freida L. Byrd, FHWA Contract Specialist*, (202) 366-6547;

Freida.Byrd@dot.gov

Secondary POC: Robin K. Hobbs, FHWA Contracting Officer*, (202) 366-4004;

Robin.Hobbs@dot.gov

*In the instance(s) that a cooperative agreement is awarded, these individuals will be referred to as “Agreement Specialist” and “Agreement Officer” respectively.

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT DATES

The Federal Highway Administration anticipates that the proposal, evaluation and award process for this Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) will proceed generally in accordance with the following schedule:

BAA Opens in https://sam.gov/ October 13, 2022

Question Period Closes November 4, 2022

Proposals Due 2:00 pm EST December 5, 2022

Anticipated Award Date: February 2023

All administrative correspondence or questions on this BAA must be directed to the Primary POC, Freida L. Byrd at the following email address: Freida.Byrd@dot.gov.

FHWA will provide responses to questions received through the November 4, 2022 cut-off date. FHWA may not respond to questions received after the cut-off date.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION: Electronic proposal transmissions shall be sent to the Primary POC, Freida L. Byrd at Freida.Byrd@dot.gov and to mailto:Freida.Byrd@dot.gov mailto:Robin.Hobbs@dot.gov https://sam.gov/ mailto:Freida.Byrd@dot.gov

FHWAadvancedresearch@dot.gov no later than 2:00 p.m., EST, on December 5, 2022.

Proposals received after this date and time will not be considered.

Proposal transmissions shall be titled in the following sample format:

Topic #, XYZ University – FHWA EAR BAA 2022

FUNDING NOTE: Funding is available in the total amount of $4,000,000 for all awards under this BAA. FHWA anticipates that four (4) to six (6) contracts and/or cooperative agreements may be awarded across the two topic areas identified under this BAA.

II. OVERVIEW

INTRODUCTION: Legislation established the Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program that addresses longer-term, higher risk research and strives to develop partnerships with public and private sector entities. Please see below for more information concerning the specific legislative authority for this program.

FHWA identifies and scopes topics through extensive initial-stage investigation and engages national and international experts to assure use of the most recent advances in science and engineering. FHWA is moving forward with two topics that have a strong scientific and technical basis and national importance through the issuance of this BAA.

Award Type

FHWA may award contracts and/or cooperative agreements as a result of this BAA. In consultation with the technical evaluators, the Contracting Officer (CO) will make the determination whether a contract or cooperative agreement 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

The authority to enter into cooperative agreements for this effort is found under 23 U.S.C. § 502 - Surface Transportation Research, Development, and Technology, paragraph (b)(3)(C), which states: “The Secretary may carry out research, development, and technology transfer activities related to transportation…by making grants to, or entering into contracts and cooperative agreements.”

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 stimulate or support research and development for another public purpose.

file://FHWHRDWFS001VH.ad.dot.gov/FHRD4/Documents%20and%20Settings/thalkyard/Local%20Settings/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/OLK7B/FHWAadvancedresearch@dot.gov

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.

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

PROGRAM SCOPE: This program is intended to spur innovation and focus on transformational research. Exploratory Advanced Research bridges basic and applied research. In contrast to basic research, EAR Program funded research projects have a mission-orientation. In contrast to applied research, EAR Program funded research does not pursue a narrowly-defined application or product. Incremental advances and demonstrations or evaluations of existing technologies are not within the scope of this program. In terms of Technology Readiness Levels (TRL), the EAR Program focuses on moving research from TRL 2 or 3 to TRL 5 or 6. More information about Technology Readiness Levels is located at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/advancedresearch/trl_h.cfm.

Though the overall program scope is intentionally ambitious and broad to address the wide spectrum of topics and objectives that funded investigations will strategically support, this solicitation is intended to address specific technology and knowledge gaps, identified through scanning and convening activities, that will help the FHWA improve highway safety, reduce congestion on the nation’s highways, reduce environmental and health impacts of the nation’s highways and reduce the long term costs and improve the efficiency of the nation’s highways.

OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION: FHWA is soliciting for proposals and applications under its EAR Program for research projects that could lead to transformational changes and truly revolutionary advances in highway engineering and intermodal surface transportation in the United States. This program shall support scientific investigations and studies to advance the current knowledge and state-of-the-art in the sciences and technologies employed in the planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance and management of the nation’s highways. Strategically, this research will enable and expedite the development of revolutionary approaches, methodologies, and breakthroughs required to drive innovation and greatly improve the efficiency of highway transportation.

The research topics described below are intended to guide potential offerors and are based upon the authorizing legislation, stakeholder input, initial stage investigations and the strategic needs of FHWA. Through scanning and convening activities over the past year, FHWA engaged a large number of stakeholders from within and outside the traditional highway research community to identify topics of research that promise transformation and possible breakthroughs in highway technology, processes and policies. Topics found to have strong merit in advancing different fields including http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/advancedresearch/trl_h.cfm engineering, hard sciences, as well as social sciences to support national strategic objectives are included in this announcement.

Given the exploratory and high-risk focus of this program, FHWA anticipates that the results of these investigations will not be methods or technologies that will be immediately implementable and will most likely result in highway industry access to new knowledge and concepts that while proven, will require further development before they would be ready for full implementation. FHWA envisions that these results will undergo further development via the other applied research and development programs of the FHWA and others.

In submitting proposals or applications, offerors are reminded that the intent of this program is to fund applied research that, while high risk and perhaps longer term, is undertaken with a specific problem or need in mind. Basic research is not within the scope of this program.

FHWA may make multiple awards for each of the topics described below.

Topic 1: Artificial Intelligence for Highway Transportation In the last decade, there has been an exponential increase in artificial intelligence (AI) research and development building on access to massive amounts of new data, improved computer processing and data storage, and new communications bandwidth.

Broadly AI applications fall into two areas, one relating to robotics where tools such as machine learning and computer vision are integrated into real time, active control systems, for example in vehicle automation, and a second area where AI applications are solely computational. For highway transportation, much of the private investment and public attention has been on the area relating to vehicle control and automation. Government funding in contrast has focused on system-level benefits – often solely computational – that could substantially increase public safety and mobility.

With the growing number of maturing and commercial applications, there still is a need for early state research to support emerging advances in AI than can solve even more complex questions in highway transportation. Accordingly, the FHWA EAR Program now is seeking to demonstrate the potential of untried advances in AI for solving nationally critical questions in highway transportation.

Examples that FHWA found where AI applications have the potential to solve critical highway transportation questions include:

Safety and Mobility

• Vulnerable road users – Use of AI to analyze data or develop solutions focusing on vulnerable road user safety, especially for understudied topics such as safety outside urban settings or in traditionally underserved communities.

• Pedestrian, cyclist, and micro-mobility detection – Use of machine vision and other AI techniques to analyze pedestrians, cyclists, and micro-mobility device movement on roadways and in intersections to improve signal performance for these modes for all travelers including people using assistive devices such as wheelchairs.

• Pedestrian wayfinding – Use of AI to highly automate dynamic, mapping of pedestrian environment including sidewalks, crosswalks, pathways, transit centers, and other public and private locations.

• Bridge strikes – Use of AI including video analytics to increase understand of root causes for why vehicles, in particular large vehicles, come into conflict with bridges and other highway structures.

• Smart truck parking – Use of AI including video analytics to detect and predict of the availability of truck parking spaces at rest stops with high accuracy. Highly accurate prediction of truck parking availability would improve safety by making it easier for drivers to locate parking.

Infrastructure Modernization

• Physics guided AI-based solutions for predictive asset performance – In general AI systems are based on statistical inference so may provide results that defy realistic physics-based constrains. Integration of physics into AI may help to bridge the gap between collecting data and using it effectively for decision making. Note: Proposals/Applications should discuss how such approaches compare to current predictive modeling approaches used by asset owners.

• Interpreting sensor data – Asset owners struggle to analyze all the data that comes out of their infrastructure condition sensors. This topic could explore ways to use AI increase the reliability and automation of translating raw sensor data to actionable information for asset owners. Note:

proposals/applications on this topic need to articulate how they are different from and substantially better than current work and how results could integrate into current inspection or asset management systems.

Cross cutting

• Significantly increase the ability to process data or integrate disparate data by reducing or eliminating the need for manual data pre-processing or for experts to interpret complex data for highway transportation.

• Incorporate edge computing with roadside hardware to improve data security and privacy, increase the speed of analysis, and reduce resources needed for moving, storing, and analyzing data for highway transportation.

FHWA identified the above topics through a scanning process. There may be other topics that exploratory advanced research can demonstrate the potential for AI for solving issues of national importance. Offerors that want to suggest other topics should make clear why the topic is exploratory advanced research, of national importance, and would be unlikely to advance without EAR Program funding.

Note: FHWA anticipates that proposals/applications should

i. Provide a clear description of data proposed for training and testing including issues such as data rights, security, privacy, diversity, and bias;

and

ii. Include a team composed of experts and partners from different disciplines and sectors for transition of results.

Topic 2: New Approaches to Reduce Embodied Carbon from Infrastructure Construction, Maintenance, and Operations

Recent fundamental advances in science and technology can enhance existing or provide new data driven approaches for effectively assessing the impact of highway infrastructure on the earth’s climate and engineer construction materials that provide better engineering as well as environmental performance than those currently used. Examples include but are not limited to sensing and communications that allow for ubiquitous tracking of materials from extraction through re-use, machine learning approaches that are explainable, contextually valid, and transferable, and multi-scale modeling that are flexible and open.

There are two key thrusts under this topic.

The first thrust is the ability to quantify and predict impacts of embodied carbon from infrastructure considering the full lifecycle and at multiple scales from material choice at a project level through system-level planning. This thrust should note key decision points where environmental impact assessments can be incorporated into decision-making to effect change, where data are lacking and address approaches for addressing these gaps through novel data sources or analytics techniques.

This thrust may include new methods for obtaining and analyzing data relevant to quantifying climate impacts from highway infrastructure across scales from project to system levels. New methods and approaches may include the use of mobile, vehicle-based sensors. This thrust also may consider new methods for extrapolating across data gaps where there may be ahistorical changes in trends or frequency of rare events. The data gathered through these efforts can then be coupled with the lifecycle assessment (LCA) methodology to quantify embedded carbon and other environmental or climate impacts.

This thrust also may include new methods for modeling that can predict performance reflecting dramatic changes in trends or frequency of rare events. Current models lack flexibility to account for dynamic environmental changes or ability to adjust to regional or local differences. Accordingly, FHWA also is seeking under this thrust modeling approaches that can provide multi-scale and explainable information to support key decision points from planning, development, design, construction, and operations that can accounts for multiple objectives including safety, performance, cost, and climate impacts.

This thrust should take into account vehicle technology advances and dynamic non-historical changes in the environment that could take place during highway infrastructure lifecycles. Methods should be capable of considering societal costs including cost of closures and should provide flexibility to reflect regional and local differences.

Proposals/Applications should describe access to or collection of ground truth data for training or testing of algorithms or models.

Research should describe how models may interface with existing systems or practices, for example, how designers may use vehicle-pavement interaction models or how system owners and operators use asset management systems.

The second thrust is the use of primary materials for highway infrastructure – cement, asphalt, aggregates, or steel (reinforcement) -- that can provide lower levels of embedded carbon from extraction through production, transportation, construction, lifecycle, and potential re-use. The FHWA EAR Program has funded relevant materials research on supplementary and alternative cementitious materials. More information is located at:

• Index - Supplementary Cementitious Material Advancements: Helping to Make Longer Lasting Concrete Highways and Transportation Structures , August 2020 - FHWA-HRT-20-048 (dot.gov),

• Index - Alternative Cementitious Materials in Transportation , August 2018 - FHWA-HRT-18-031 (dot.gov), Index - Inorganic Polymers: Novel Ordinary Portland Cement-Free Binders for Transportation Infrastructure , April 2019 - FHWA-HRT-18-029 (dot.gov),

• Index - Mechanisms of Hydration and Setting of Ordinary Portland Cement in Simple and Complex Systems , April 2019 - FHWA-HRT-17-102 (dot.gov), and

• Novel Alternative Cementitious Materials for Development of the Next Generation of Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure , October 2015 - FHWA- HRT-16-017 (dot.gov)

The program also has funded materials research on supplements to asphalt binders. More information is located at:

• Index - Improving the Compatibility of Waste , August 2021 - FHWA-HRT-21- 084 (dot.gov), and

• Index - Researching Novel Approaches for Aging Resistant Binder Technologies ,August 2020 - FHWA-HRT-20-051 (dot.gov)

At this time, FHWA is not seeking new research that is similar to or building on recent and ongoing funded projects. FHWA is interested in other types of low carbon materials or approaches that could reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the highway infrastructure lifecycle including transport, construction, and re-use.

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/ear/20048/ https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/ear/20048/ https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/ear/20048/ https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/ear/18031/index.cfm https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/ear/18031/index.cfm https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/ear/18029/index.cfm https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/ear/18029/index.cfm https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/ear/18029/index.cfm https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/ear/17102/index.cfm https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/ear/17102/index.cfm https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/ear/16017/index.cfm https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/ear/16017/index.cfm https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/ear/16017/index.cfm https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/ear/21084/index.cfm https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/ear/21084/index.cfm https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/ear/20051/ https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/ear/20051/

Note: FHWA anticipates proposals/applications shall:

i. Address one or the other thrust in Topic 2 – either the ability to quantify and predict impacts of embodied carbon from infrastructure considering the full lifecycle and at multiple scales or use of primary materials for highway infrastructure that can provide lower levels of embedded carbon from extraction through production, transportation, construction, lifecycle, and potential re-use – and not attempt to cover both.

ii. Include cross-disciplinary teams with experience in cutting edge research in computer science, civil engineering, material science as well as economics and other social sciences.

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.

III. INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS/APPLICATIONS:

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION: Offerors are required to follow the guidance contained herein. The following sections provide information on proposal format, the submission process, evaluation and funding processes, and other general information.

Proposals not meeting the format described in this BAA will not be reviewed.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION: Electronic proposal transmissions shall be sent to the Primary POC, Freida L. Byrd at Freida.Byrd@dot.gov and to FHWAadvancedresearch@dot.gov no later than 2:00 p.m., EST, on December 5, 2022.

Proposals received after this date and time will not be considered.

IV. EVALUATION CRITERIA: Evaluations will be performed using the following criteria listed in descending order of relative importance:

A. Scientific and Technical Merit: Overall scientific and technical merit of the proposal/application, including the potential to result in increased understanding/knowledge in the field of highway research. Overall capabilities, including the qualifications, capabilities, and experience of the proposed principal investigator, team leader, and key personnel who are critical in achieving the proposal objective; the offeror's qualifications, capabilities, 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, including plans to objectively measure the value and impact of the research and ensure value whether the inquiry leads or does not lead to anticipated results; and http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/advancedresearch/contacts.cfm file://FHWHRDWFS001VH.ad.dot.gov/FHRD4/Documents%20and%20Settings/thalkyard/Local%20Settings/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/OLK7B/FHWAadvancedresearch@dot.gov the offeror’s demonstrated ability to transfer or hand-off results within and across scientific and engineering communities may be considered as part of scientific and technical merit.

B. Importance to Agency Programs: Overall importance of the proposal/application in providing foundational research that would promote research investment in applying technology, process improvements or policy solutions that could lead to significant innovations in the highway system. Significant partnering is an essential aspect of the EAR program. Within the EAR Program, successful research teams often include entities or researchers who traditionally have not been involved in transportation research partnering with entities or researchers who have. The degree to which the proposal/application develops partnerships with public and private sector entities will be considered under importance to Agency programs.

C. Funding Availability: FHWA will consider the availability of funding for awards selected under the BAA.

D. Past Performance: Past performance will be evaluated on a “Pass/Fail” basis for the purposes of making a determination of acceptable or unacceptable risk and responsibility.

E. Small Business Subcontracting Plan: The Small Business Subcontracting Plan

(required by all Offerors who are other than small business entities) will be evaluated on a “Pass/Fail” basis.

Note: The Small Business Subcontracting Plan is required for other than small businesses with proposals over $750,000 only and does not apply to applicants pursuing cooperative agreements.

The number of awards, and their dollar value, will vary depending on the merit of proposals/applications received.

V. GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE PROPOSAL/APPLICATION

PROCESS

FHWA will evaluate proposals/applications against the evaluation criteria outlined above.

Cost realism and reasonableness shall also be considered to the extent appropriate.

FHWA may make more than one award or no award for each of the topics listed in the

BAA.

Offerors may submit more than one proposal/application; however, each one must be in response to a single topic on the BAA. The topic of the proposal/application must be clearly identified in the proposal title on the cover page.

The technical evaluation panel will evaluate the Scientific and Technical Merit as defined in section IV.A, as well as the Importance to Agency Programs as defined in Section IV.B, of all offers and make award recommendations to the CO based on those criteria and available funding. The CO is responsible for determining whether a contract or cooperative agreement will be awarded, as well as the evaluation of an offeror’s/applicant’s past performance, and small business subcontracting plan. The selection decision will be subject to the results of the evaluation of the criteria listed above, a cost analysis and funding availability. However, the Government is not obligated to make any award as a result of this announcement.

Before the actual award, the Government may enter into negotiations concerning such items as program components, staffing and funding levels, small business subcontracting plans, administrative systems, and terms and conditions of the resulting contract/cooperative agreement. If the negotiations do not result in an acceptable submittal, the Government reserves the right to terminate the negotiation and decline to fund the proposal. Also, a responsibility determination or risk assessment will be conducted prior to award of all contracts and/or cooperative agreements.

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 located at IT Accessibility Laws and Policies | Section508.gov and the Government-wide IT Accessibility Program (Home Page) located at https://www.section508.gov/ for detailed information.

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA): Offerors are advised that any activities involving information collection (i.e., surveys, questionnaires, etc.) from 10 or more non- Federal entities, including States, are subject to PRA requirements and may require FHWA to coordinate an OMB Information Collection Clearance, a process that generally takes six months or more.

VI. PROPOSAL FORMAT AND CONTENT

Format

All proposals/applications should be submitted in Microsoft® Word 2010 (compatible) or text searchable Adobe® Portable Document Format (PDF). Pricing data shall be submitted in Microsoft Excel 2010 (compatible).

The format of the proposal volumes discussed below shall be as follows:

(a) Proposals shall be prepared on 8½ x 11 inch sized pages using one and one-half line spacing or double spacing.

(b) Text shall be printed using a Times New Roman or Arial font, size no less than

12-point font.

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(c) Page margins (exclusive of headers and footers) shall be a minimum of 1inch top, bottom and each side. Columns shall not be used as they are difficult to read electronically.

(d) Footnotes, legends, or labels associated with tables or diagrams, and other information that is ancillary to the main text, may be presented in a font size smaller than 12-point font---provided that any such smaller font is fully legible.

Proposals/Applications shall consist of two separate volumes:

Volume I – Technical Proposal and Management Approach Volume II – Cost Proposal and Business Information

Each Volume shall be titled according to the sample format below:

Topic #, XYZ University – FHWA EAR BAA 2022 – VOLUME I Topic #, XYZ University – FHWA EAR BAA 2022 – VOLUME II

Volume I – Technical Proposal and Management Approach

Volume I must be no longer than 30 pages in length. The contents of any appendices shall count against the 30-page limit and shall be limited to figures that directly support items discussed in the text of the proposal. If items are included in an appendix, which is not explicitly discussed in the basic proposal, the appendix may not be reviewed.

Proposals/Applications with Volume I in excess of 30 pages may not be reviewed.

Proposals/Applications with less than the maximum number of allowed pages will not be penalized. Offerors are encouraged to submit concise, but descriptive, proposals/applications.

Volume I of the proposal/application shall include the following sections, each starting on a new page (an estimated page breakdown is included):

(a) Cover Page: This must include (1) the BAA number, (2) proposal title, (3) project duration, (4) type of business (large business, small disadvantaged business, other small business, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) or Minority Institutions (MI), other educational, or other nonprofit), (5) complete list of subcontractors, (6) technical and administrative points of contact including addresses, telephone numbers, electronic mail addresses, and facsimile machine numbers and (7) a project abstract of no more than 200 words. The cover page does not count against the page limit for Volume I.

(b) Executive Summary: The summary (approximately 4 pages) must include:

(1) a description of the proposed visionary technology or system and how the proposed effort will meet the objectives of the BAA,

(2) a description of the significant innovative ideas proposed for the nation’s intermodal transportation systems,

(3) a comparison of these innovative ideas with current approaches and the current state of the art,

(4) the expected impact of the research if successful including the contribution and relevance of this proposed effort to related FHWA and highway programs,

(5) a brief description of the technical approach and the key technology and system development milestones for proof of concept,

(6) the process and metrics recommended for measuring the impact of the developed technologies and system, and

(7) a summary of the anticipated program deliverables.

(c) Innovative Claims (required): Provide a summary of significant innovative technical claims, if any, that would be used as part of this proposal (approximately 2 pages). Also identify any innovative technologies and technical ideas to be pursued and the expected impact on the state of the art if the proposed efforts are successful.

(d) Statement of Work (SOW): This section (approximately 6 pages) must detail the relevant background information, the objective(s) of the proposed effort, the overall planned scope of the effort, and the technical approach for accomplishing the proposed effort. A chart of the proposed Work Breakdown Schedule (WBS) must be provided to describe both the high-level tasks and the subtasks at a level of detail sufficient to ensure that individual subtasks are clearly identified and allocated to a single project group or functional group within the proposing organization or to a single clearly identified subcontractor. For each task and subtask, provide a description of the proposed effort, significant timing constraints associated with the specific task and subtask to be performed (such as, "this task y can only be initiated after successful completion of task x"), the anticipated duration in both calendar time (weeks) and in resource time (person-hours and person-weeks), the planned specific utilization of personnel from specific project groups, functional groups and subcontractors, and also the anticipated results, products, or deliverables associated with the completion of each tasks and subtasks.

(e) Schedule, Milestones, and Evaluation Metrics: This section must provide a summary (approximately 3 pages) of the schedule, milestones, and associated evaluation metrics for the proposed effort. A Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) format must be utilized in which the technical tasks and subtasks from the SOW, described in section (d) above, will be listed along the vertical axis of the schedule chart and time, with planned program phases (in 12-month increments), calendar year and fiscal year identified along the horizontal axis of the schedule chart. All significant experiments, simulations, lab demonstrations and field demonstrations to be performed should be identified. Each milestone on the chart(s) will be numbered. There must be a separate table listing each of these milestones, the planned date of completion, the planned evaluation metrics, and the criteria for successful completion of the milestone. This table must be specific, with both goal and specific quantified performance criteria (or range of anticipated performance) described for each planned milestone.

This section must also provide a summary description of any Measures of Effectiveness expressions planned to be utilized in this development effort. A descriptor of the proposed approach to designing experiments, simulations and demonstrations to ensure consistent and effective software/system development and associated test planning should be provided if appropriate. Techniques or methodologies to facilitate repeatable, risk mitigation experimentation in all phases of the proposed development effort should be described.

This section also must describe the two or three most challenging technical areas and activities related to the proposed research or technology development and indicate approaches for mitigating technical and schedule risk should proposed technologies produce weaker than anticipated results. This section also may describe any parallel or alternative development approaches or technologies, and the rationale for their use.

Please indicate the potential impact of these alternatives on the performance goals and objectives described for the topic in the BAA.

(f) Deliverables and Products: This section (approximately 2 pages) must consist of two subsections: Deliverables and Products. The deliverables subsection must describe and enumerate the anticipated deliverables for the proposed effort, both preliminary and final.

The products subsection must describe and enumerate any additional anticipated results or products, including transferable technology expected for users on this program or for developers or users on related programs. This section should address specific innovative approaches the offeror will take to facilitate technology transition. This subsection should contain a clear description of how results will be made sharable to other funded highway research programs and what use these results might be to these other activities. Any restrictions on software, other data, or hardware developed under proposals/applications that would affect this practice should be clearly identified in this section. The government expects to obtain no less than Government Purpose License Rights to all software delivered as a part of these funded efforts. All software deliveries, preliminary and final, will include as a minimum, well-documented source code in electronic readable format, overall software architecture documentation, overall and individual module interface documentation, and a users’ operations manual. All hardware deliveries will include all documentation necessary to reproduce (assemble) and operate the delivered hardware system(s).

Note: FHWA seeks research that encourages continued research and development by providing reasonable and broad access to products such as models, algorithms, software, or data.

(g) Proprietary Claims: This section (approximately 1 page) must provide a summary of any proprietary claims to results, software, hardware, prototypes, or systems supporting and/or necessary for the use of the research, results, software, hardware, prototype, or system proposed for development under this BAA. Any claims made in other parts of the proposal, such as in sections (c) and (f) above, which would impact the claims in this section must be identified in a cross-reference table in this section. As mentioned in section (f) above, the government expects to obtain no less than Government Purpose License Rights to all software delivered as a part of these funded efforts. If there are no proprietary claims this section shall consist of a statement to that effect.

Note: Exploratory advanced research can lead to unexpected inventions and processes.

Accordingly, FHWA may ask for disclosure of inventions and new processes that result from Program awards in order to discuss and advise the research team on how the results could continue through the research and development process and be taken up by the highway transportation industry or by other industries.

(h) Management Plan: This section (approximately 2 pages) must describe the overall approach to management of this effort, including a brief discussion of the proposed organization and the use of personnel and other resources. Provide a description of how the proposed effort, as described in the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), will be executed. Refer to significant tasks and subtasks identified in the SOW (section (d) above) and to the Schedule, Milestones, and Evaluation Metrics (section (e) above) and provide a rationale for allocation of resources to proposed project groups, functional groups, and subcontractors. Indicate planned government research and facility interfaces, and planning, scheduling and control practices. 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, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, Universities, Foundations, etc.

Note: The Management Plan and Technology Transfer plan (section (i), next) shall provide discussion on how FHWA will know the work is successful. Project evaluations will be conducted at key mid-point milestones or at completion to document accomplishments.

(i) Technology Transition Plan: The technology transition plan (approximately 2 pages) must describe the plans and capabilities to accomplish technology transition. It must describe the anticipated stage of development of the technology at the completion of the proposed effort, describing how the research is anticipated to result in an increased understanding/expansion of the knowledge base for the topic, and the anticipated overall approach to advancing the technology further, either through further applied research, commercialization, or other mechanisms.

The transition plan must include a discussion of long-term use of and access to data or software developed as part of the research and approaches for exploiting the use of intellectual property developed through licensing or other means.

Note: For Proposals/Applications that result in awards, FHWA intends the transition plan to be a living document during the conduct of research.

(j) Facilities: This section must include a description (approximately 2 pages) of the facilities that would be used for the proposed effort.

(k) Experience: This section must include a description (approximately 2 pages) of relevant capabilities, work, and significant accomplishments in areas associated with proposed research area or in closely related areas. Associate the described relevant experience to the specific project group or functional group in the proposing organization or to the specific proposed subcontractor(s).

(l) Key Personnel: This section must include a list of key personnel (approximately 1 page), 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 (by both calendar year and by fiscal year). Resumes shall be provided for all key personnel. Resumes shall not exceed one page, and are not included in the total page limitation for this part of the proposal.

(m) Qualifications: This section must include a concise summary of the relevant qualifications of all key personnel proposed (limited to no more than one page per key person). If necessary, the government will request additional resume and qualification related information. Note: This section is not included in the page limit.

(n) Other Proposals/Applications: This section must include a summary list of all current and pending proposals/applications (approximately 2 pages) being executed or proposed to be executed with the support of personnel proposed in this effort. This list should be ordered by the size of the effort and should include start and end dates, total project cost, and the average amount of time (person-hours per month) planned or currently being expended on each effort. The list should be organized by names of the key personnel and other significant senior personnel. If the summary list is greater than 2 pages long, indicate at the bottom of the second page the number of additional current and pending proposals/applications and the total project cost associated with these remaining efforts.

If required, the government will request the complete list.

(o) Bibliography: This section should include a bibliography (approximately 1 page) of relevant technical papers and research notes which support the technical concepts and innovative ideas described in this proposal.

Volume II – Cost Proposal and Business Information

There is no page limit on Volume II of the proposal. If necessary, the government will request additional cost back-up information, as appropriate.

All offerors shall include on the proposal Cover Page the following mandatory business information regarding your business or institution:

a. Business Size

b. Federal Tax Identification Number (TIN)

c. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)

d. Name and contact information (mail address, telephone, and email address) of your authorized business representative/point of contact

The Cost Proposal and Business Information shall consist of the following parts:

Part A – Cost/Price Information Part B – Other Financial/Organizational Information Part C – Subcontracting Plan (not included for cooperative agreement) Part D – Past Performance (not to exceed four pages)

Part E – Special Instructions for Assistance Award Applicants (as applicable)

A. Cost/Price Information

Include annual and total costs proposed with a baseline period of performance up to 12 months, and if needed, with one or more options, each no longer than 12 months.

A.1 Funding

The total amount of federal funding (federal share) that is available for awards under this BAA is $4,000,000. Include the amount of Federal funding proposed.

Please note that for cost reimbursable type contracts, offerors must have an acceptable accounting system for cost type Government contracts.

A.2. Proposal/Application (as applicable)

Provide a detailed cost break-down showing costs by each major cost category, including (as applicable) direct labor, fringe benefits, subcontract costs, other direct costs (travel, equipment, etc.), and indirect costs for the initial phase of the proposed effort.

Provide a separate and fully detailed cost breakdown for each optional future phase proposed.

Note: Some application areas anticipate successful results in an initial phase before moving into one or more subsequent phases. In these cases, proposals/applications shall include a fully detailed cost breakdown for the initial phase. Where the approach of subsequent phases is dependent on the work of the initial phase, offerors should use their best judgment regarding the levels of direct and indirect costs and categories of personnel.

FHWA anticipates that proposals/applications funded would have an approximate award date of February 2023.

The cost detail shall include:

Direct Labor:

o Personnel by name or labor category o Number of hours proposed (commercial organizations) or percent of effort (organizations subject to OMB Circulars) o Hourly unburdened labor rate (commercial organizations) or salary rate and basis (9- or 12-month basis) (organizations subject to OMB Circulars) o Fringe Benefits Rates applied o Profit/Fee percentage and amount

Other Direct Costs. Other Direct Costs shall be supported by explanation of estimating factors and other relevant supporting details. For example, travel costs shall be supported by detail on the estimated trips, number of travelers, and associated costs for airfare, per diem, other transportation, etc. A similar level of detail shall be provided for any meeting costs, equipment, duplication/printing charges, and other direct costs.

Indirect Costs. Discuss your proposed rates for all years. Identify the various specific indirect rates and what they are based on (e.g., labor overhead based on direct labor dollars) and how they are applied/calculated. State any differing rate applications (for example if there is a different proposed rate when applied to travel or material purchases than when applied to subcontractor costs). Offerors must provide dollar values as well as percentages.

Subcontractor costs should be fully detailed, and the information used by the proposer to analyze the price of the subcontract shall be provided.

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

Include a separate breakdown of costs by major task area. Use the same task or subtask numbers as described in the SOW submitted in Volume I.

If necessary, the government will request additional cost back-up information, as appropriate.

B. Other Financial / Organizational Information (Applies to contract proposals and cooperative agreement applications):

Provide the following information:

(1) Standard Form LLL - Submit a completed Standard Form LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, included as Exhibit 1.

(2) Terminated Contracts - List any contract that was terminated for convenience of the Government within the past 3 years, and any contract that was terminated for default within the past 5 years. Briefly explain the circumstances in each instance.

(3) Representations and Certifications – Provide a completed copy of the offeror’s/applicant’s representations and certifications from the System for Award Management.

(4) Conflicts of Interest - Provide a brief statement that describes in a concise manner all past, present or planned organizational, contractual or other interest(s), which may affect the offeror’s/applicant’s ability to perform the proposed contract /cooperative agreement in an impartial and objective manner. The CO will review the statement and may require additional relevant information from the offeror/applicant. In accordance with FAR Subpart 9.5 (for contracts) and 2 CFR

200.112 (for cooperative agreements), all such information, and any other relevant information known to DOT, will be used to determine whether an award to the offeror/applicant 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 offeror/applicant, or (b) determine that it is otherwise in the best interest of the United States to contract with the offeror/applicant and include appropriate provisions to mitigate or avoid such conflict in the contract/cooperative agreement awarded.

(5) A statement to indicate whether a Federal, State or independent organization has audited or reviewed the offeror’s/applicant’s accounting system, purchasing system, and/or property control system. If such systems have been reviewed, provide summary information of the audit/review results to include as applicable summary letter or agreement, date of audit/review, Federal, State or independent point of contact for such review.

(6) If subcontractors and/or individual consultants will be used in carrying out the requirements of this project, the following minimum information concerning the subcontractor shall be furnished:

(a) Name and address of the subcontractor or consultant.

C. Subcontracting Plan

Subcontracting Plan:

Proposals submitted for CONTRACT award consideration from other than small businesses and that exceed $750,000 in total value must include a Small Business Subcontracting Plan in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 19.7.

The Subcontracting Plan does not count against the page limit for Volume II.

Each prime offeror who is other than a small business shall include within its proposal a complete copy of the prime offeror’s Master Subcontracting Plan, satisfactorily addressing all the administrative requirements set forth in FAR section 52.219-9, Alternate II (Nov 2016).

The offeror shall also submit a subcontracting plan in accordance with the FHWA Subcontracting Plan instructions/format included as Exhibit 2 to this BAA. In the event that the offeror has no such plan, the form shall be submitted with “no plan identified” indicated on the form as applicable and the offeror shall submit a statement of circumstances supporting that determination.

D. Past Performance

The offeror shall submit in its proposal past performance references for no more than two relevant contracts or subcontracts performed by the offeror, its predecessor companies, its key personnel who have relevant experience, or its performance as a subcontractor performing major or critical aspects of the requirement, relevant contracts/subcontractors are those similar in nature to the requirements of this announcement and performed within the last three years. Each past performance reference shall not exceed two pages for a total maximum page count of four pages.