HPPI RFI QA_9.4.26.Final.pdf

Question Answer

I was hoping you might be able to inform me if this is a new effort or if there was a previous contractor that performed these requirements? If the latter, would you be able to inform me of the Contract # used for these services?

This work is included in this requirement is currently being performed under existing HPL BPAS: Battelle - 693JJ322A000010; Deloitte - 693JJ322A00011; Guidehouse - 693JJ322A000012; ICF Incorporated - 693JJ322A000013;

Leidos - 693JJ322A000014; MacroSys - 693JJ322A000015; RCF Economic & Financial Consulting - 693JJ322A000016;

WSP USA - 693JJ322A000017. These BPAs have an ordering period that extends through 6/26/27.

What bridging or overlap period does FHWA expect a contractor to run so the HPMS and TMAS series stay comparable across a methodology change?

HPMS consists of annual and annualized data, whereas TMAS provides monthly data. Historically, TMAS Continuous Count Station (CCS) data has been used to generate Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) data for segment station locations, which the FHWA uses for HPMS AADT quality control. HPMS does not prescribe traffic data collection methods; instead, it defers collection and computation guidelines to the TMG.

We do not anticipate fundamental changes to the computation methods for AADT or other traffic data items. The goal remains to ensure high-quality input data, correct implementation of established methods, and cost-effective data collection. Consequently, we do not expect these HPMS, TMAS, and TMG alignment efforts to impact existing trends.

Solicitation Timeline: When does FHWA anticipate releasing the formal solicitation for this requirement?

FHWA anticipates a solicitation in FY 2027.

Award Structure: Does FHWA anticipate a single-award or multiple-award IDIQ?

FHWA anticipates a multiple award vehicle.

Incumbent / Current Support: Are these services currently supported by an incumbent contractor or existing contract/task order? If yes, can FHWA provide the incumbent name, contract/task order number, period of performance, and contract vehicle?

This work is included in this requirement is currently being performed under existing HPL BPAS: Battelle - 693JJ322A000010; Deloitte - 693JJ322A00011; Guidehouse - 693JJ322A000012; ICF Incorporated - 693JJ322A000013;

Leidos - 693JJ322A000014; MacroSys - 693JJ322A000015; RCF Economic & Financial Consulting - 693JJ322A000016;

WSP USA - 693JJ322A000017. These BPAs have an ordering period that extends through 6/26/27.

Current Support Challenges: Are there any service-delivery challenges, capability gaps, performance concerns, or areas for improvement that FHWA wants the future contractor(s) to address?

We would like to place greater emphasis on how AI can enhance our data program by advancing automation, improving error detection and quality control, and driving innovative ways of doing business.

Current Pain Points: Across the four primary domains, what are the most significant operational, technical, data-quality, or analytical challenges FHWA wants industry to address?

Developing cost-effective and scalable methods for federal, state, and local agencies to collect and report data remains our most significant challenge. Additionally, we are seeking alternative high-quality data sources across the entire data spectrum. Finally, we are placing extra focus on data integration to transform raw data into meaningful, actionable insights

Systems, Configurations & Relationships: Can FHWA provide a high-level overview of HPMS, TMAS, NHTS, and the 500 Series Data Tools and Portals, including each system’s current configuration, purpose, major components, data inputs/outputs, interfaces/integrations, and relationship with the other systems?

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) encourages interested parties to review key guidance—including the Traffic Monitoring Guide (TMG), the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) Field Manual, A Guide to Reporting Highway Statistics, and the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)—on its website at www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation.

Current Technical Environment: What are the major hosting, database, analytics/BI, GIS, ETL/integration, programming, and data-exchange technologies supporting these systems?

Enterprisewide:

1: HPMS: Azure SQL Database 2: TMAS: Azure SQL Pool 3: PIDP: SQL Databse 4: ITIP: Azure SQL Database Major Hosting: 1) Microsft IIS 2) Azure App Service Anlytics: 1) Tableau, 2)PowerBI, 3) ESRI ArcGIS Enterprise ETL: SQL Server Integrated Services 2) Azure Synapse Programming: Microsoft .NET, C#, Java Script

Modernization Drivers: What current limitations are driving this requirement, such as manual processing, fragmented data, interoperability gaps, data latency, data-quality issues, scalability constraints, or limited analytics/visualization capability?

Data quality and data timiliness are the most critical issue.

Area A – Data Collection: Which transportation data collection/acquisition processes present the greatest challenges in timeliness, completeness, automation, integration, or quality?

The Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) covers a broad range of data categories, with timeliness posing one of its greatest challenges—a difficulty that is particularly pronounced in the area of traffic data.

Area B – Data Processing: What are FHWA’s primary challenges with data processing, validation, quality assessment, methodology review, or publication review?

To ensure data quality and integrity across the agency's multidimensional datasets, enhanced validation methods are required. For instance, variables such as fuel consumption, registered vehicles, electric vehicle adoption, and vehicle miles traveled are inherently interdependent. The agency's objective is to establish effective, quantitative methods that leverage these cross-domain relationships for systematic quality control.

Data Integration / Interoperability: What are the key integration, interoperability, or data-standardization challenges across Federal, State, local, private-sector, survey, sensor, passenger, and freight data sources?

Not all data gathered by the office originates from federal, state, or local transportation agencies, and some datasets are collected primarily for non-transportation purposes, leading to potential data ambiguity. Additionally, while the current approach provides significant flexibility to transportation partners to promote innovation, the agency must determine how to appropriately balance rigid data specifications with this needed flexibility

Area C – Development Scope: Does FHWA anticipate research/prototyping, production software development, requirements/architecture support, or a combination under Area C?

The agency prioritizes scalable methodologies over rigid codebases to encourage broader, easier adoption. Additionally, the office will actively explore new data sources to complement and enhance its current collection efforts.

AI / Advanced Analytics: What role does FHWA envision for AI, synthetic data, and advanced analytics under this requirement?

Integrating AI to enhance data quality and reduce operational cos, ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of the data program, will be a primary focus in this area.

Area D – Information Extraction: What types of analytics, modeling, visualization, dissemination, and decision-support capabilities are most important to FHWA?

The office has long recognized the challenge of being data- rich but information poor. The effort is to extract not merely interesting insights, but actionable information that directly improves safety and reduces congestion.

Desired Future State: What key improvements or outcomes does FHWA expect this requirement to enable across its transportation data and information program?

The scope outlines a wide range of needs that clearly requires diverse expertise. The office encourages participation not only from seasoned transportation professionals, but also other discipline practitioners who can offer fresh perspectives. Together, these contributions will enhance the overall data program, which aims to deliver high-quality, timely, and relevant data.

Staffing / Resumes: Does FHWA currently envision any specific roles or areas of expertise for the anticipated work, and what information would be most useful to demonstrate in the permitted resume appendix?

Please see answeres to #17

For the RFI capability assessment and any future solicitation, may an offeror demonstrate coverage of the four technical task areas through the combined relevant experience and capabilities of the prime plus disclosed subcontractors or teaming partners, or must the prime independently demonstrate direct corporate experience in all four areas?

Offerors may discuss capabilities of subcontractors of teaming partners for the RFI as long as they disclose that the capability is subcontracted/teamed.

If a future solicitation permits teaming, does FHWA anticipate considering relevant experience and past performance of proposed key personnel and/or disclosed subcontractors when evaluating the team’s technical capability and risk?

At this time FHWA anticipates considering past performance and experience of subcontractors.

Does FHWA anticipate that task orders may be organized by discrete functional areas, such that a small-business prime could perform program management, contract administration, financial/administrative controls, records/document management, quality assurance, reporting, and subcontract management while specialized teammates perform advanced transportation-data collection, methodology development, processing, analytics, and information-extraction functions?

All IDIQ contracts have involved both prime contractor and subcontractor participation. In the event a subcontractor is utilized on a task order, the prime contractor remains fully responsible for the subcontractor's conduct and performance.

Is FHWA currently considering a single-award IDIQ or a multiple-award IDIQ structure for this requirement?

FHWA anticipates a multiple award vehicle.

Does FHWA anticipate open-market competition for the eventual acquisition, or is use of an existing Governmentwide or agency-specific contract vehicle under consideration?

FHWA has not yet determined this - the RFI will provide FHWA with information to make this decision.

Section 5, Item 4 of the RFI states that technical capabilities and relevant experience must cover all four primary domains. Must an individual respondent independently demonstrate capability in all four domains to be considered a potential contract holder, or may respondents demonstrate full coverage through teaming partners/subcontractors? Additionally, will FHWA consider firms that specialize in and propose to support only one or more of the four primary domains?

For the purposes of the RFI, please specify which of the four domains your company can cover. FHWA hasn't determined what would be required for a solicitation.

Procurement Set-Aside Determination: If market research reveals multiple highly qualified small businesses possessing extensive enterprise cloud data experience and relevant intellectual property under NAICS 541611, does the FHWA contemplate restricting the subsequent Request for Proposal (RFP) as a Total Small Business Set- Aside?

FHWA will develop a small business strategy based on the results of market research.

IDIQ Award Structure: Does the government anticipate awarding a single contract or establishing a Multiple-Award Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) framework for this 60-month ordering period?

FHWA anticipates a multiple award vehicle.

Contract Vehicle Utilization: Will the final RFP be released via full and open competition on SAM.gov, or does the government intend to utilize existing Best-in-Class (BIC) contract vehicles, such as GSA MAS or OASIS?

FHWA has not yet determined this - the RFI will provide FHWA with information to make this decision.

Integration of Advanced AI & Predictive Analytics: In reference to Area C (Algorithm & Software Engineering), which notes an intent to adopt and promote AI in coding and coding applications, will the evaluation favor small businesses whose principals possess verified, published technical intellectual property (such as U.S. Patents) in predictive analytics, machine learning, or contextual data intelligence?

The specific criteria for evaluating a task order proposal will be established at the time of issuance and outlined within the Task Work Evaluation Factor section for that specific task order.

Ecosystem & Cloud Interoperability: Will the modernized data processing tools (Area B) and advanced dissemination platforms (Area D) require cloud-native deployment within federal secure cloud instances (e.g., AWS GovCloud environments) to interface with existing 500 Series tools and portals?

The answer is yes.

Existing Infrastructure Modernization: Are the current key data systems (HPMS, TMAS, and NHTS) hosted on legacy, on-premise hardware, or are they partially migrated? To what extent will the contractor be tasked with orchestrating a cloud modernization transition for these specific architectures?

The contractor will be minimally tasked with orchestrating a cloud modernization transition for these specific architectures. However, the contractor may be tasked to offer technical advices to the office on the topics.

Resumes and Appendix Formatting: Section 5 states that capability statements are limited to 5 pages but may include an appendix with resumes with "no page limit." Can the government confirm that appending extended resumes/bios as an appendix will not count toward the core 5-page limitation?

Confirmed.

Does FHWA anticipate this requirement will result in a single-award or multiple-award IDIQ? If a multiple-award IDIQ is anticipated, does FHWA have an estimated number of awards?

FHWA anticipates a multiple award vehicle. FHWA has not decided on an estimated number of awards.

Based on the Government's current acquisition planning, is FHWA considering a total or partial small-business set-aside for this requirement, subject to the results of this market research?

FHWA will develop a small business strategy based on the results of market research.

Are any of the services contemplated under this requirement currently being performed under an existing contract or contracts? If so, would FHWA please identify the incumbent contract vehicle(s), contractor(s), and contract number(s), as appropriate?

This work is included in this requirement is currently being performed under existing HPL BPAS: Battelle - 693JJ322A000010; Deloitte - 693JJ322A00011; Guidehouse - 693JJ322A000012; ICF Incorporated - 693JJ322A000013;

Leidos - 693JJ322A000014; MacroSys - 693JJ322A000015; RCF Economic & Financial Consulting - 693JJ322A000016;

WSP USA - 693JJ322A000017. These BPAs have an ordering period that extends through 6/26/27.

Can FHWA provide the anticipated IDIQ ceiling, estimated annual ordering volume, or historical annual expenditure associated with the services contemplated under this requirement?

The IDIQ contract ceiling is approximately $19 million over a five-year period. This funding is unlikely to be distributed evenly across the five years; however, the office anticipates allocating no less than $1 million annually

For the data collection requirements under Area A, will FHWA provide access to the required transportation data sources, or will the contractor be responsible for identifying and working with sensor operators, private data providers, Federal/State/local agencies, survey providers, and other third-party sources to obtain the required data?

This will depend on the specific task order. Currently, we manage contracts where contractors collect data independently without direct agency involvement. In other cases, we establish all key contact points while contractors execute the remaining tasks. We encourage all interested parties to think creatively—specifically by identifying external data sources that meet our requirements without necessitating direct federal oversight in daily operations

What level of data collection should contractors be prepared to support in terms of geographic coverage, data volume, frequency, and level of detail? For example, could individual projects require corridor-level, State-level, regional, or nationwide transportation data collection?

This will be further detailed in the specific task order and remains dependent on upcoming surface transportation legislation, as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) expires on September 30, 2026

Will the majority of the work involve collecting and integrating existing transportation datasets, or should contractors also be prepared to develop and implement new data-collection methods where existing data is unavailable or insufficient?

Both.

Does FHWA anticipate real-time or near-real-time collection and processing of transportation data from sources such as traffic sensors, GPS/telematics systems, or private transportation platforms, or will most data collection and processing be performed through scheduled or batch datasets?

Near-real-time collection will apply to a minor subset of the data. The vast majority will be acquired through scheduled dataset submissions

Can FHWA provide additional information about the current technical environment supporting HPMS, TMAS, NHTS, and the 500 Series Data Tools and Portals, including existing databases, APIs, data formats, integration methods, and interoperability standards that contractors may need to work with?

Please see answeres to question #9

Under Area C, should contractors anticipate designing and developing complete software and data solutions including databases, data pipelines, APIs, backend services, web applications, testing, and deployment or will the work primarily focus on developing algorithms and improving existing FHWA systems and methodologies?

No.

Does FHWA anticipate that new or modernized transportation data systems will be developed and hosted in a cloud environment? If so, are there preferred or required cloud platforms, architecture standards, development technologies, or deployment environments that contractors should plan to support?

Yes. The issues raised in the question will be primarily handled by the FHWA IT Office, rather than through this IDIQ contract

The SOW references the use of AI in algorithms and coding, as well as synthetic data generation. Could FHWA provide additional clarification on the types of AI/ML capabilities being considered, such as predictive analytics, forecasting, anomaly detection, automated data-quality analysis, or other transportation-related use cases? Additionally, what types of sensitive data gaps does FHWA anticipate addressing through synthetic data?

All inlusive.

Under Area D, does FHWA anticipate contractors developing new interactive dashboards, GIS/geospatial applications, transportation-demand or corridor models, predictive analytics, forecasting tools, and decision-support platforms, or will contractors primarily enhance and integrate with existing FHWA analytical systems?

Both.

What cybersecurity, data privacy, access-control, accessibility, and other Federal technical requirements should contractors anticipate when collecting transportation data or developing applications, APIs, data platforms, analytical models, and visualization systems under this contract?

The issues raised in the question fall under the purview of the FHWA IT Office. Regarding privacy and security, the anticipated work covered under this IDIQ focuses primarily on Personally Identifiable Information (PII). All data gathered and processed must strictly adhere to federal PII compliance specifications (NIST SP 800-122, OMB Circular A-130, The Privacy Act of 1974 & E-Government Act of 2002)

Section 5, item 4 states that technical capabilities and relevant experience "must cover all of the 4 domains." Will the Government consider responses from firms whose depth varies across the four domains — for example, strong in data processing, method development, and information extraction, with a teaming approach for portions of field data collection?

Yes

Does the Government anticipate a single award or multiple awards for the resulting IDIQ?

FHWA anticipates a multiple award vehicle.

Is there an incumbent contract (or contracts) currently performing any portion of the work described in the draft Statement of Work?

This work is included in this requirement is currently being performed under existing HPL BPAS: Battelle - 693JJ322A000010; Deloitte - 693JJ322A00011; Guidehouse - 693JJ322A000012; ICF Incorporated - 693JJ322A000013;

Leidos - 693JJ322A000014; MacroSys - 693JJ322A000015; RCF Economic & Financial Consulting - 693JJ322A000016;

WSP USA - 693JJ322A000017. These BPAs have an ordering period that extends through 6/26/27.

May a non-U.S. systems integrator respond to this Sources Sought / RFI for market-research purposes, or participate as a prospective subcontractor / teaming participant?

Yes

Would FHWA consider a capability response focused on the software/data workstreams—data processing, quality review, information extraction, visualization/analytics, software or method development, and training—rather than the full transportation-domain scope?

The response shall address all domain areas. Offerors are encouraged to form teaming arrangements or partnerships to ensure full coverage across all four domain areas.

If transportation-domain past performance or U.S. federal past performance is expected, can those qualifications be provided by a prime or teaming partner while the respondent supplies the software/data integration workstreams?

At this time FHWA anticipates considering past performance and experience of subcontractors.

Scope of a partial response. The RFI describes four primary domains.

Would FHWA consider a capability statement responsive if it addresses Domains B, C, and D in full and addresses Domain A only for administrative and third party data acquisition, with physical sensor deployment, instrumented vehicle operation, field traffic counting, and household travel survey field administration identified as work the respondent would team for rather than perform itself?

For the purposes of the RFI, please specify which (or how much of) of the four domains your company can cover. FHWA hasn't determined what would be required for a solicitation.

Acquisition structure. Is FHWA contemplating a single award, or a multiple award IDIQ with task orders scoped by domain? A domain scoped structure, or defined subcontracting pathways, would allow firms with deep capability in data processing, method development, and information extraction to compete for that work without also fielding a physical data collection operation.

FHWA anticipates a multiple award vehicle. Further details have not yet been decided and will be based on market research.

Past performance treatment. For any resulting solicitation, does FHWA anticipate evaluating past performance consistent with FAR 15.305(a)(2)(iv), under which an offeror without a relevant performance record is evaluated neither favorably nor unfavorably?

Yes.

Contract vehicles. Does FHWA anticipate that any resulting requirement would be placed under an existing governmentwide acquisition contract or GSA schedule, or competed as a standalone acquisition open to firms not presently on a vehicle?

This has not been decided at this time, but the decision will be made based on market research.

Teaming information in the market research. Would FHWA find it useful for respondents to indicate their willingness to serve as a subcontractor or teaming partner to a field data collection prime, in addition to the scope they would perform as prime?

Yes. The RFI has been amended to have an interested vendors list that can be used for this purpose.

May a specialist small business respond regarding a defined subset of the four performance areas as a prospective team member or subcontractor, or must each respondent independently demonstrate expertise across all four areas?

Specialist small businesses may make use of the interested vendors list. Additionally, for the purposes of the RFI, a business can indicate that they only have expertise in some domains.

Does FHWA plan to publish an interested-vendor list or provide another industry-engagement mechanism to facilitate teaming?

Yes. The RFI has been amended to include an interested vendors list.

Are resumes or letters of commitment expected with the September 15 RFI response, or would those be required only during a subsequent solicitation or task-order competition?

These would only be required as part of a solicitation.

Does the 12 pt font requirement apply to tables, figures, graphics, captions, headers, and footers?

Yes

May the cover page and TOC be provided outside of and excluded from the five-page limit?

Yes

May a company use the technical capabilities, relevant project experience, and personnel experience of proposed teaming partners to demonstrate coverage of all four primary domains?

Yes

Is there an incumbent for this contract? If so, please provide the incumbent name, current contract number, duration, historical level of effort, and value of the contract.

1. 693JJ322A000010 BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE

2. 693JJ322A000011 DELOITTE FINANCIAL ADVISORY SERVICES LLC

3. 693JJ322A000012 GUIDEHOUSE INC.

4. 693JJ322A000013 ICF INCORPORATED, L.L.C.

5. 693JJ322A000014 LEIDOS, INC.

6. 693JJ322A000015 MACROSYS, LLC

7. 693JJ322A000016 RCF ECONOMIC & FINANCIAL CONSULTING INC

8. 693JJ322A000017 WSP USA SOLUTIONS INC.

Will the government consider and evaluate the past performance of commercial clients?

No

65 Did the government identify key personnel for this effort? No

Can the government provide key personnel required and their Job Description for this requirement?

No. This will be specified with the specific task order

Does FHWA expect each offeror to demonstrate direct corporate experience across all four Task Areas (A-D), or may the required expertise be demonstrated collectively through the prime contractor and its teaming partners/subcontractors?

Collectively.

Does FHWA anticipate this being a single-award or multiple-award IDIQ?

If multiple awards are contemplated, will individual task orders generally be competed among the IDIQ holders?

FHWA anticipates a multiple award vehicle. FHWA anticipates task orders will be competed among the awardees.

Can FHWA provide an estimate of the anticipated number, size, duration, and frequency of task orders expected during the contract period?

Not at the present time.

Among Task Areas A-D, are there particular capabilities, programs, or activities that FHWA anticipates will represent the largest or most immediate portion of the workload?

No.

Can FHWA identify its current or preferred cloud platforms, databases, data integration technologies, analytics/BI tools, GIS platforms, programming languages, and development environments that contractors should anticipate supporting?

Contractor involvement will be minimal, as this work will primarily be handled by the FHWA IT office. However, the contractor may be asked to provide advisory support under specific task orders.

Can FHWA provide additional information regarding the anticipated data sources, formats, volumes, update frequencies, and existing data repositories/platforms that contractors may be required to support?

Not at the presnet time

The SOW references adopting and promoting AI in algorithms and coding. Can FHWA clarify the anticipated AI/ML use cases, including whether the scope may involve predictive analytics, generative AI, automated data-quality analysis, synthetic data, or other AI-enabled capabilities?

All inclusive

Where transportation data must be obtained from private-sector providers, will FHWA provide the required data licenses/subscriptions, or should contractors anticipate acquiring and pricing commercial data under individual task orders?

No. The contractor will be fully responsible for all involved.

For national transportation demand, origin-destination, corridor, environmental, causation, and forecasting models, does FHWA expect contractors to maintain and enhance existing FHWA models, develop new models, or both?

Both.

Which capabilities does FHWA anticipate placing the greatest emphasis on during evaluation, such as transportation-domain expertise, research, data engineering, AI/analytics, modeling, software development, data visualization, or overall multidisciplinary program delivery?

The scope encompasses four data domains. The evaluation will weigh all four domain areas equally

What is the relationship between this RFI and HPL RFI 2026 also posted on SAM?

Both RFIs support the FHWA Office of Policy and Governmental Affairs. However, they are for different work.

Can you confirm whether this is a new requirement or if there is someone already fulfilling this requirement?

This work is included in this requirement is currently being performed under existing HPL BPAS: Battelle - 693JJ322A000010; Deloitte - 693JJ322A00011; Guidehouse - 693JJ322A000012; ICF Incorporated - 693JJ322A000013;

Leidos - 693JJ322A000014; MacroSys - 6

Does FHWA anticipate that future National Household Travel Survey activities, including survey design, recruitment, data collection, processing, weighting, analysis, and related support, may be issued as task orders under the anticipated IDIQ contract?

Yes. The NHTS may be carried out under this anticipated IDIQ.

Does FHWA currently anticipate making multiple awards under the IDIQ, or a single award?

FHWA anticipates a multiple award vehicle.

The RFI states that technical capabilities and relevant experience must cover all four primary domains. May those capabilities be demonstrated collectively through the prime contractor and its proposed subcontractors/team members, or is the prime contractor expected to independently demonstrate substantial capability in each domain?

Offerors may discuss capabilities of subcontractors of teaming partners for the RFI as long as they disclose that the capability is subcontracted/teamed.

Does FHWA anticipate that individual task orders may focus on only one or a subset of the four primary domains, such as household travel survey data collection, even though offerors for the base IDIQ are expected to demonstrate capability across all four domains?

It depends on the specific situation.

Does FHWA anticipate establishing separate pools, functional areas, or task-order competition groups based on the four primary domains, or would all IDIQ awardees generally be eligible to compete for task orders across all areas?

This has not been decided at this time, but the decision will be made based on market research.

If available at this stage, can FHWA provide any additional information regarding the anticipated number, size, or frequency of task orders under the IDIQ?

The IDIQ contract ceiling is approximately $19 million over a five-year period. This funding is unlikely to be distributed evenly across the five years; however, the office anticipates allocating no less than $1 million annually.

Personnel Requirements: Does the government have a specific team size in mind for this effort?

No.

The RFI does not identify any Key Personnel requirements. Can the Government confirm whether specific positions or personnel will be designated as Key Personnel for this requirement?

No. Key personnel will be handled for individual task order.

Can the Government confirm whether a Facility Clearance will be required for the contractor to perform the work under this requirement? If so, please specify the required clearance level.

No.

If the Government utilizes the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) as the contract vehicle for this requirement, can the Government confirm whether the resulting task order will be issued on a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) basis?

FHWA intends to use FFP to the maxiumum extend possible for this award.

Based on the market research described in the RFI, is FHWA leaning toward a small-business set-aside (e.g., Total Small Business, SDB, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, or WOSB) under NAICS 541611, or full and open competition?

This has not been decided at this time, but the decision will be made based on market research.

The RFI indicates an IDIQ structure - does FHWA anticipate a single-award or multiple-award IDIQ, and if multiple, approximately how many awards?

FHWA anticipates a multiple award vehicle.

Will the IDIQ be a standalone agency contract, or does FHWA intend to use an existing governmentwide vehicle (e.g., GSA OASIS+/OASIS or

MAS)?

This has not been decided at this time, but the decision will be made based on market research.

Is there an incumbent or predecessor contractor performing this or similar work today? If so, what is the current contract number and period of performance?

The work included in this requirement is currently being performed under existing HPL BPAS: Battelle - 693JJ322A000010; Deloitte - 693JJ322A00011; Guidehouse - 693JJ322A000012; ICF Incorporated - 693JJ322A000013;

Leidos - 693JJ322A000014; MacroSys - 6

How does this requirement relate to adjacent FHWA efforts such as 'Data Science for Highway Transportation' (SS 693JJ3-26-SS-0002) - will they be consolidated or remain separate procurements?

Data Science for Highway Transportation' (SS 693JJ3-26-SS-0002) is a Research, Development, and Technology (RD&T) program focused on advanced methodology development that will benefit all FHWA and entire transporation community programs."

What is FHWA's anticipated timeline for releasing a draft RFP and/or final RFP, and is there an estimated total contract ceiling for the 60-month ordering period?

A solicitation is anticipated in FY 2027. At this time FHWA anticipates a total ceiling of approximately $19M.

Is task-order performance expected to be on-site in Washington, DC, remote, or hybrid, and are there data-hosting, FedRAMP, or FISMA requirements for processing FHWA data (e.g., HPMS, TMAS, NHTS)?

It will depend on the task order.

The SOW encourages adopting AI in algorithms and coding (Area C). Are there constraints on approved AI tools/models, or specific data-handling/security requirements for FHWA data used with AI?

No.

The SOW requires FHWA approval of all key staff and prior written CO approval for changes. Approximately how many key personnel roles does FHWA expect to designate, and are there minimum qualifications or certifications anticipated?

At a task order level, typically 2 key personnel are designated.

Area A - Data Collection & Acquisition (GFI vs. contractor-acquired): For Area A, to what extent is the contractor expected to (a) ingest, integrate, and quality-control data already submitted to or owned by FHWA (e.g., state-submitted HPMS data, TMAS traffic counts, NHTS results, 500- Series tools) versus (b) independently source or procure new third-party/commercial data (e.g., probe/connected-vehicle or OD data) or field new household/travel surveys? Where new third-party data or survey fielding is required, will the associated data subscriptions/licenses be Government-furnished, or is the contractor expected to acquire and fund them under task orders?

Answer: (a) The contractor is expected to develop and refine methodologies for subsequent deployment by the FHWA IT Office. (b) Requirements depend on the specific data involved. For new datasets, the contractor is expected to acquire and fund them under individual task orders

Is there a current incumbent and if so can you provide the associated contract # associated?

The work included in this requirement is currently being performed under existing HPL BPAS: Battelle - 693JJ322A000010; Deloitte - 693JJ322A00011; Guidehouse - 693JJ322A000012; ICF Incorporated - 693JJ322A000013;

Leidos - 693JJ322A000014; MacroSys - 6

The RFI does not specify, but are there multiple stakeholders or lines of effort within the Transportation landscape that this may touch? This list does not need to be all-inclusive, but knowing this information helps us demonstrate an enterprise approach to execution.

he data program supports the full project lifecycle—spanning transportation planning, NEPA compliance, design, operations, and construction. Furthermore, it informs strategic programming, policy formulation, and legislative decision-making, demonstrating its broad and far-reaching scope.

Does FHWA anticipate requiring each prime contractor to independently demonstrate and perform all four primary domains, or may offerors satisfy the requirement through teaming partners, subcontractors, or task-area-specific award pools?

For the purposes of the RFI, please specify which of the four domains your company can cover. FHWA hasn't determined what would be required for a solicitation.

What are the anticipated IDIQ ceiling, guaranteed minimum, number of contract awards, and approximate annual task-order volume or allocation across the four primary domains?

The IDIQ contract ceiling is approximately $19 million over a five-year period. This funding is unlikely to be distributed evenly across the five years; however, the office anticipates allocating no less than $1 million annually

For software, data-platform, and interactive-portal task orders, what hosting environment, DOT authority-to-operate process, data classifications, privacy requirements, and cloud security standards should respondents anticipate?

See answers to question #9.

What level of responsibility is anticipated for operating or modifying HPMS, TMAS, NHTS, and the 500 Series Data Tools and Portals, and what APIs, data formats, source-code access, and technical documentation are currently available for those systems?

The anticipated IDIQ Contractors are not expected to be directly responsible for operating or modifying enterprise systems such as HPMS, TMAS, NHTS, or the 500 Series tools. Any work involving these tools will be implemented through the FHWA IT Office

Does FHWA anticipate allowing commercial SaaS subscription licensing and contractor retention of pre-existing platform intellectual property, provided the Government retains ownership and appropriate access rights for its data and task-specific deliverables?

Yes.

How does this work differ from the HPL RFI 2026 “Evidence-Based Transportation Studies, Legislative Affairs, International Engagement, and Policy Communications”, which was due Aug 24?

Both RFIs support the FHWA Office of Policy and Governmental Affairs. However, they are for different work.

Is there an incumbent(s) for this work, and if so, who?

The work included in this requirement is currently being performed under existing HPL BPAS: Battelle - 693JJ322A000010; Deloitte - 693JJ322A00011; Guidehouse - 693JJ322A000012; ICF Incorporated - 693JJ322A000013;

Leidos - 693JJ322A000014; MacroSys - 6

108 What is the anticipated spending under this IDIQ? The estimated ceiling for the period of performance is $19M

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