HPL RFI 2026_07_30.pdf

Federal Highway Administration Request for Information

For Office of Policy and Governmental Affairs

Evidence-Based Transportation Studies, Legislative Affairs, International Engagement, and Policy Communications

HPL RFI 2026

1. SUBMITTAL INFORMATION

ISSUE DATE: July 30, 2026 DUE DATE FOR RESPONSES: August 24, 2026, 2pm EDT SUBMIT RESPONSES TO: Carolyn.Lethert@dot.gov SUBMIT QUESTIONS TO: Carolyn.Lethert@dot.gov no later than 8/7/26

SUBMITTALS SHOULD BE MADE IN ELECTRONIC FORMAT:

See below Section 5 entitled, “REQUESTED CONTENT OF RESPONSES TO THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION” for submittal content instructions.

2. INTRODUCTION

This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is conducting market research to identify potential sources for a series of anticipated contracts/task order awards. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information, for planning purposes, regarding (1) the availability and capability of qualified sources to perform all or some of the work described below; and (2) the size classification of the available and capable sources relative to the North American Industry Classification (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition.

This notice does not constitute a solicitation for proposals, and any responses received do not represent offers that the government can accept to establish a binding contract. The United States (U.S.) Government will not reimburse any costs associated with submitting information in response to this Request for Information. All expenses incurred in responding to this Request for Information are the sole responsibility of the respondents. Participating in this market research will have no impact, positive or negative, on an information provider's chances of securing any future contracts with FHWA for these services.

Pursuant to 48 C.F.R., Part 10, the Government is conducting market research to:

● Determine what sources exist that can satisfy the Government’s requirements listed below,

● Determine the capabilities of potential contractors,

● Determine the size and status of potential sources, and

● Determine the level of competition (i.e. 8(a), set-aside, or fill and open).

Participation in the market research in no way affects your eligibility to compete for these services if a Request for Proposal is subsequently issued.

3. BACKGROUND

mailto:Carolyn.Lethert@dot.gov

The FHWA Office of Policy and Governmental Affairs (HPL) contemplates multiple awards for a five-year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract or Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) with Firm-Fixed Price (FFP), Time and Material/Labor Hour (T&M/LH), or hybrid FFP and T&M task orders for Evidence-Based Transportation Studies, Legislative Affairs, International Engagement, and Policy Communications. The purpose of this Request for Information is to conduct market research to identify potential offerors having an interest in, and the resources to support this requirement.

The subject work is currently performed under a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA). This Request for Information is issued in support of the planned re-compete of the contracts in this BPA entitled, “Program Support for Highway Policy Analysis.”

4. SCOPE OF WORK

A. HPL BACKGROUND

HPL has a historical need to integrate economic, engineering, planning, policy and statistics disciplines to advance FHWA’s goals of safety and mobility. From a national perspective, the contractor should understand the overall value and cost-effectiveness of a range of policy approaches for addressing the country’s transportation needs – and how they may shape local/regional economies and help or harm communities and users. This is all accomplished through the FHWA under the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT). HPL’s mission is to provide direction over the following four activity areas: Highway Policy Information, Transportation Policy Studies, and Legislative and International Affairs and Policy Communications:

● Office of Highway Policy Information - The Office of Highway Policy Information serves as the national source of surface transportation data; providing the USDOT, Congress, and transportation community with accurate timely information products to inform the development and implementation of decisions, policies, legislation, programs, and performance goals, while constantly striving to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of data collection and analysis on travelers and the physical, operational and financial condition of our transportation system.

● Office of Legislative and International Affairs and Policy Communications - The Office of Legislative and International Affairs and Policy Communications provides support and assistance to the FHWA, USDOT, Congress, and domestic and international stakeholders on legislative affairs, congressional engagement, policy communications, and international collaboration. The Office analyzes and coordinates legislative proposals and highway authorization activities; facilitates Congressional outreach and engagement;

develops executive briefing materials and manages internal and external policy communications; oversees the clearance and delivery of FHWA authorization reports to Congress; and leads international partnerships, technical exchanges, and information sharing activities that identify and promote innovative transportation technologies, research, and best practices for potential application in the U.S. Supports FHWA's mission, strategic priorities, and the advancement of the Federal-aid highway program.

● Office of Transportation Policy Studies - The Office of Transportation Policy Studies develops analytical tools and data systems for policy development and studies; conducts analyses and studies to support the formulation of transportation policy and legislative initiatives; prepares major Reports to Congress on highway policy issues; and monitors and forecasts economic, demographic, and personal/commercial travel trends.

To learn more about HPL, you can visit the following Website:

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/

B. OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this requirement are to provide readily available support:

(1) To assess the cost-effectiveness and economic impacts of transportation infrastructure investments.

(2) To conduct policy analysis to assess how demographic, geographic, socioeconomic, industry, and technology trends are shaping transportation policy needs now and in the future.

(3) To identify and assess options for paying for and efficiently delivering transportation investments, including innovative finance and revenue mechanisms.

(4) To evaluate and analyze macro-level supply and demand relationships in multimodal freight flows, and assessing the infrastructure, safety, and economic ramifications of transportation policies, such as changes to truck size and weight limits.

(5) To develop new tools and refine existing methodologies for quantitatively assessing the relationships among current and future highway investment, transportation system performance, and the economy.

(6) To support national asset management by updating investment modeling tools for performance and deterioration predictions, refining methodologies for quantifying costs (such as congestion, and crashes), and evaluating alternative approaches for attributing Federal highway user revenues.

(7) To support regulatory and deregulatory benefit-cost analysis (BCA), and to improve the applications of lifecycle-cost, and economic-impact analysis for decision-making, and infrastructure resiliency.

(8) To design and operate integrated data systems to enable the efficient and timely analysis of a broad scope of data, including advancing Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) through data governance, automated pipelines, and visualization.

(9) To provide rigorous program evaluation support to assess the outcomes, impacts, and consistent implementation of transportation policies and investments.

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/

(10) To provide comprehensive project management support, ensuring effective planning, stakeholder coordination, schedule tracking, and documentation across agency initiatives.

(11) To develop and improve strategic planning and performance management processes by providing facilitation support, process design, stakeholder analysis, and statistical analysis.

(12) To help facilitate high-level discussions of critical policy and strategic transportation topics to support situational awareness, policy development, and decision-making.

(13) To provide technical authorship, Subject Matter Expertise (SME), and editorial support for communication dissemination, ensuring ADA 508 compliance on critical publications like the statutorily required Conditions and Performance Report.

(14) To analyze intergovernmental policy issues relating to the relationships among the

Federal government, States, cities, and Indian tribal governments, and to investigate broader issues that may impact future policy decisions, budgetary processes, and legislative recommendations.

(15) To undertake studies relating to the international transfer of transportation innovations and practices and to facilitate international technical collaboration.

(16) To develop, obtain, and deliver data analysis and Enterprise Performance

Management tools, and provide the means by which FHWA can maintain and update such information, on-going analyses, and studies.

(17) To facilitate the logistics, hosting, and documentation of organized events (virtual and/or in-person) that further the Agency’s understanding of policy or are in support of pertinent activities.

Participation in the market research in no way affects your eligibility to compete for these services if a Request for Proposal is subsequently issued.

5. REQUESTED CONTENT OF RESPONSES TO THIS REQUEST FOR

INFORMATION

Interested parties who consider themselves qualified to perform the listed services for all or some of the knowledge and skill areas are invited to submit a response to this Request for Information.

PAGE LIMIT & FORMAT: The total page limit, including the capability statement and response to questionnaire, shall be no more than 10 pages in length, single-spaced, with font sized 12 or larger. The document shall be in Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word, or Google Docs format. Do NOT submit marketing material. Do NOT submit resumes.

Responses shall clearly identify:

1. Name, Address, Point of Contact;

2. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)

3. Size standard under NAICS code 541611

4. Identify all applicable classifications for your organization such as:

a. Small Business

b. Woman-owned business

c. 8A business

d. Large business

e. Small disadvantaged business

f. HUBZone business

g. SDVOB business

h. Non-profit

5. Capability Statement

Keeping FHWA’s HPL’s business objectives and anticipated support requirements in mind, outline how you would support the requirements. Sources are requested to submit a capability statement that addresses their ability to deliver the required products and/or services. The capability statement should clearly identify the following items regarding the interested organization(s): (1) technical capabilities to perform the work; (2) relevant experience and credentials; (3) synopsis of experience and expertise of potential staff; (4) relevant projects completed related to the anticipated objectives of the contract with information on the client, scope, and products; and (5) a description of available facilities to perform the work outlined above.

6. Questionnaire

FHWA has created a skills questionnaire that will allow the opportunity for sources to provide an at-a-glance view of their expertise to meet the anticipated FHWA/HPL requirements. Sources should complete this questionnaire as completely as possible.

Please complete the following skills questionnaire:

Please choose YES or NO beside each requirement your firm would be able to satisfy.

Additionally, a brief description must be provided to support the requirement.

1. Would your firm be able to support the completion of task orders to conduct studies relating to the international transfer and dissemination of transportation innovations, research, and practices; facilitate international technical collaboration and information exchange; and support international engagement activities that identify and evaluate innovative transportation technologies and practices for potential application in the U.S.? Yes / No

Please provide a brief description of your experience and methodology:

2. Would your firm be able to support the completion of task orders to analyze intergovernmental policy issues relating to the relationships among the Federal government, States, cities, and

Indian tribal governments, and investigate broader issues that may impact future policy decisions, budgetary processes, and legislative recommendations? Yes / No

3. Would your firm be able to support the completion of task orders to help facilitate high-level discussions of critical policy and strategic transportation topics, and facilitate the logistics, hosting, and documentation of organized virtual and/or in-person events? Yes / No

4. Would your firm be able to support the completion of task orders for regulatory and deregulatory analysis, benefit-cost analysis (BCA), and improve the applications of lifecycle-cost and economic-impact analysis for decision-making and infrastructure resiliency? Yes / No.

5. Would your firm be able to support the completion of task orders to design and operate integrated data systems through data governance and visualization, and provide technical authorship, SME, and editorial support ensuring ADA 508 compliance on critical publications?

Yes / No.

6. Would your firm be able to support task orders to develop quantitative modeling tools for highway asset management—including performance, cost, and deterioration predictions— while also assessing the overarching economic impacts, cost-effectiveness, and innovative financing and revenue mechanisms for transportation infrastructure investments? Yes / No

7. Would your firm be able to support the completion of task orders to provide policy analysis, evaluation tools, and program assistance to FHWA staff as needed in technical matters relating to building the professional capacity of staff at State departments of transportation and other agencies to consider, understand, and use innovative finance, procurement and revenue mechanisms, including public-private partnerships (“P3s”), for highway and multi-modal surface transportation projects? Yes / No

Thank you for participating in FHWA’s Market Research.