SOW for RST Adaptation for the Transportation Sector_FINAL_071024.docx

Statement of Work Responsible Sourcing Tool Adaptation for the Transportation Sector Background Human trafficking is a crime involving the exploitation of a person for the purposes of compelled labor or a commercial sex act through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. In accordance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, severe forms of trafficking in persons means:

· Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or

· The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

When a person under the age of 18 is induced to perform a commercial sex act, it is a crime, regardless of whether there is any force, fraud, or coercion, or whether or not a third-party benefits from the exchange. As such, human trafficking is a violent crime often connected with the experience of, or exposure to, other forms of interpersonal and community violence, including child abuse and neglect, interpersonal violence, sexual assault, and gang violence.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Counter Trafficking Team within the Office of the Secretary’s Office of International Transportation and Trade, hereinafter referred to as OIT&T, combats human trafficking by working with public and private sector stakeholders to empower transportation employees and the traveling public to prevent, identify, and respond to possible instances of human trafficking.

On behalf of the USDOT, OIT&T manages the Transportation Leaders Against Human Trafficking (TLAHT) Initiative and its corresponding public awareness campaign materials. OIT&T is responsible for providing strategic oversight and coordinating counter-trafficking programs and policies across USDOT with each of the Operating Administrations (OAs) that comprise the following modes of transportation: aviation, maritime (e.g., merchant shipping, commercial fishing, oil rigs, cruise ships, ferries, recreational boating), trucking, local commercial drivers (e.g., taxi, rideshare, and delivery), private vehicles, transit, busing, pipelines, and rail. Through this intra-agency coordination, OIT&T ensures alignment with best practices and fulfillment of strategic actions identified by the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking (NAP), the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF), the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, and the Department’s Advisory Committee on Human Trafficking (ACHT).

Federal laws authorizing USDOT counter trafficking programs and efforts include the 2016 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Extension, Safety, and Security Act; 2018 No Human Trafficking On Our Roads Act; 2018 Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act; 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act; 2019 Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act; 2021 Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58); 2022 Human Trafficking Prevention Act; and the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act.

Scope In support of the USDOT’s obligations, OIT&T has a requirement for a contractor to:

· Develop, maintain, and ensure accessibility of an adaptation of the existing Responsible Sourcing Tool (RST) for the transportation industry over the next year in accordance with the latest guidelines outlined in Section 508;

· Promote awareness around and usage of RST by public and private transportation industry stakeholders;

· Analyze and evaluate the ways that contractors, companies, and other stakeholders are using the site, highlight its impacts, and enhance its usage and useability;

· Identify current resources, evaluate the need for due diligence tools, and develop tailored tools for the various modes of transportation, including aviation, busing, maritime/ports, rail, taxi/rideshare, transit, trucking, and pipelines; and

· Assist OIT&T in efforts to implement Sections 23003 and 27002 of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), also known as the “Infrastructure and Jobs Act”, P.L. 117-58 (November 15, 2021).

Tasks

TASK 1 – PROJECT MANAGEMENT

· The Contractor shall provide the following Project Management support services, upon the issuance of this contract. This support includes the management and oversight of all activities performed by contractor personnel, including subcontractors, to satisfy the requirements identified in this SOW.

· The Contractor shall identify a Project Manager by name, who shall serve as the primary interface and point of contact (POC) with the USDOT program authorities and representatives on technical program/project issues.

· The Contractor shall provide management, direction, administration, quality assurance, and leadership.

· The Contractor shall facilitate Government and Contractor communications and all activities necessary to ensure the accomplishment of timely and effective support.

· The Contractor shall use industry and academia best-standards and proven methodologies to assure all activities are identified, documented, and tracked. The project will continuously be evaluated and monitored for timely and quality service.

· The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer (CO) and Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) in writing of any technical, financial, personnel, or general managerial problems encountered throughout the duration of the contract. Reports, memos, deliverables, and COR approvals are to be tracked electronically by the Contractor that the Government can also access.

TASK 2 – NEEDS ASSESSMENT & STAKEHOLDER CONVENINGS

To build awareness and understanding of the potential unaddressed risks for human trafficking, including forced labor, in multimodal transportation industries regulated by USDOT and in USDOT-funded projects (both grants and contracts), the Contractor shall conduct a needs assessment (or environmental scan) and risk mapping of the transportation sector.

This will include (but not limited to) the following:

· USDOT Advisory Committee on Human Trafficking reports, the most recent Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report, Department of Labor List of Goods, and Other Federal Government Reports

· Phone Interviews w/ Stakeholders (e.g., Industry, Government Agencies, NGOs, Lived Experience Experts)

· Stakeholder Convenings

· Published News Articles

· Prosecuted Case Summaries

· Peer Reviewed Journal Articles & Grey Literature Relatedly, the Contractor shall engage and convene stakeholders to provide insights on 1.) the identification of key risks; 2.) prioritization of and considerations for unique industry sub-sectors and their supply chains; 3.) aligned on resources and response across the sector; and 4.) how the RST Base Tool Set can be adapted to support efforts to prevent, identify, and report human trafficking.

The Contractor shall work with USDOT and representatives from the various Operating Administrations to identify and engage multimodal representatives from multilateral forums, State departments of transportations, transportation associations, trade unions, advocacy groups, private companies, NGOs, and others.

TASK 3 – PRODUCE MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION SECTOR REPORT

Building off the efforts outlined in Task 2, the Contractor shall product a public-facing RST Transportation Sector Report for USDOT review and approval. This report will provide a snapshot of human trafficking and forced labor risks within transportation-specific supply chains (e.g., what does it look like, where is it found, how prevalent is it, how is the risk of forced labor similar or different to sex trafficking and vice versa, what precedence already exists, where are the opportunities, etc.).

The report must include sub-sections on the various transportation modes that fall under USDOT’s purview: aviation, maritime, trucking, local commercial drivers, private vehicles, transit, busing, pipelines, and rail.

TASK 4 – ADAPTATION OF RST BASE TOOLSET FOR MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY AUDIENCE(S) Using the existing RST Base Toolset, the Contractor shall customize, develop, and adapt content to ensure its relevance across the previously mentioned modes of transportation. These tools, templates, and resources include:

· Model of Supply Chain Due Diligence Program

· Sample Code of Conduct

· Good Practice Benchmarks (Performance Standards)

· How to Conduct a Country-Level Legal Review

· Sample Supplier Agreement

· How to Conduct Supply Chain Mapping & Risk Screening

· Criteria for Screening Labor Recruiters / Providers

· Sample Supplier Self-Assessment Tool

· How to Monitor Labor Recruiters’ / Providers’ Performance

· Worker Interview Form

· Worker Engagement Models

· Federal Acquisition Regulation Compliance Plan If funding permits, there is the potential to develop new tools, including (but not limited to), Stakeholder Engagement, Remediation Plan(s), and an eLearning Module.

The Contractor shall ensure that its adaptation of the RST Base Toolset for the Transportation Sector transportation sector in alignment with the United Nations’ Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct, the Federal Acquisition Regulations, and other related legislation and regulatory frameworks.

The Contractor shall ensure that its adaptation and development of these tools, templates, and model policies are multimodal in their relevance and include callouts, case studies, considerations, and modifications (as appropriate) for the various modes of transportation.

TASK 5 – PROMOTE AWARENESS & USAGE

The Contractor shall develop and conduct tailored webinars and trainings promoting the usage and awareness of the RST Adaptation Tool for the Transportation Sector by diverse private and public transportation entities, including (but not limited to) State DOTs, USDOT grant recipients and partners, professional associations, government/industry workgroups, large companies, medium-sized companies, and small companies.

The Contractor shall ensure that all newly created materials, content, and convenings (as needed) are accessible and 508 Compliant.

The Contractor shall update and maintain the RST website to reflect these new tools and/or research.

As appropriate and with direction from the COR, the Contractor shall ensure that usage of the USDOT logo, color palette, and branding of materials aligns with the USDOT Digital Brand Guide.

TASK 6 – TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON FORCED LABOR POLICIES AND PRACTICE

In accordance with Section 27002 – Coordination Regarding Forced Labor of the 2021 Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58), otherwise known as BIL, the Contractor shall provide technical assistance and strategic advice to USDOT on mechanisms, policies, and tools that could be implemented to ensure that “no illegal products or materials produced with forced labor are procured with funding made available under [the BIL].”

Upon request and subject to the availability of funding, the Contractor shall work with USDOT POC(s) to identify considerations for building out a risk profile, risk-mapping exercise, and compliance plan(s) for high-risk and high-volume USDOT contracts.

Key Personnel The Contractor shall assign to this contract the following key personnel:

· Senior Project Manager

· Supply Chain Advisor

· Research Assistant

· Training Specialist

· Communications Specialist Demonstrated experience or past performance in the following areas is required:

· Research and assessments of both sex and labor trafficking supply chains and commodity production;

· Program development and evaluation;

· Training and technical assistance;

· Technical writing;

· Public outreach and communications;

· Communicating and working with governments, NGOs, trade unions, private companies, and suppliers; and

· Knowledgeable about 508 compliance and accessibility requirements and/or willing to take training on 508 and compliance guidelines.

The Contractor agrees that a partial basis for award of this contract is the list of key personnel proposed. Accordingly, the Contractor agrees to assign to this contract those key persons whose resumes were submitted with the proposal necessary to fulfill the requirements of the contract. No substitution shall be made without prior notification to and concurrence of the CO. During the first ninety (90) days of performance, the Contractor shall make no substitutions of key personnel unless the substitution is necessitated by illness, death, or termination of employment.

All proposed substitutes shall meet or exceed the qualifications of the person to be replaced. The CO shall be notified in writing of any proposed substitution at least forty-five (45) days, or ninety (90) days if a security clearance is to be obtained, in advance of the proposed substitution. Such notification shall include:

· an explanation of the circumstances necessitating the substitution;

· a complete resume of the proposed substitute; and

· any other information requested by the CO to enable them to judge whether or not the Contractor is maintaining the same high quality of personnel that provided the partial basis for award.

Place of Performance The principal places of performance for this contract shall be:

Services will be provided in Washington, DC and at the location of the contractor’s place of performance.

Period of Performance This contract is comprised of a one-year base period. The CO can extend the term of the contract for an additional six months at no additional cost in accordance with the clause at Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.217-8 (Option to Extend Services).

Deliverables

· Host monthly check-in meetings with USDOT POC(s)

· Provide a delivery schedule to be approved by the COR and used for monitoring purposes

· Provide monthly reports summarizing all activities performed under this contract

· Host at least four (4) to six (6) stakeholder convenings with relevant government, NGO, private industry, and other multimodal subject matter experts to gather input for the development of the new (or adapted) RST Tool Set for the transportation sector

· Produce one (1) Multimodal Transportation Sector Report

· Draft and develop one (1) tailored toolset of due diligence and risk management tools for the transportation sector using the general format of the existing tools and to be housed on both the RST (responsiblesourcingtool.org) and USDOT websites

· Host at least two (2) to four (4) education webinars to enhance education and use of the adapted RST Tool Set for transportation sector

· Provide at least one (1) to three (3) case studies / evaluations of transportation companies and stakeholders and their use of the adapted RST Tool Set

· Coordinate hard/soft launch of adapted RST Tool Set with USDOT

· Ensure USDOT branding (as appropriate) and co-ownership of all materials produced under this contract, which must remain freely accessible in the public domain The Contractor shall provide soft copies of all reports and documents to the COR, as required. Microsoft Word and Excel shall be used (as appropriate) unless otherwise mutually agreed to in advance by the COR.

The Contractor shall ensure that all newly created materials, resources, and content developed under the contract will be 508 compliant and accessible.

The Contractor shall ensure that the branding of all materials, resources, and content developed under the contract will be updated to reflect USDOT branding in accordance agency’s official digital brand guide, and with prior review and approval of the COR.