TBP IDIQ_SOW 5-29.docx

Budget and Policy Data-Driven Policy Management Statement of Work (SOW) Budget and Policy Data-Driven Policy Management

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) mission is to enhance citizens' mobility, accessibility, and economic well-being through the development and management of public transport services that are comprehensive, affordable, efficient, reliable, safe, and environmentally sound. The Office of Budget and Policy (TBP) is responsible for policy development, strategic and program planning, program evaluation, budgeting, and accounting. This particular contract will advance TBP’s objectives and FTA’s mission by integrating economic, engineering, data analysis, planning, policy and statistics disciplines to advance FTA’s goals of safety, infrastructure, and mobility innovation. This contract will leverage transportation and other areas of expertise to provide objective and empirical research services and data analysis as needed while organizing resources to answer sophisticated research questions that will often be multifaceted, national in scale, contentious in nature, and provide a broad range of support functions.

The overarching objective of this requirement is to provide the Government with expert analysis in the following:

a) Transportation policy topics and issues;

b) Data acquisition, collection, analysis, and application;

c) Strategic planning;

d) Legislative analysis; and

e) Intergovernmental policy analysis.

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

(1) Assess the cost-effectiveness and economic impacts of transportation infrastructure/capital investments;

(2) Assess how mobility, socioeconomic and technology trends are shaping transportation policy needs in the future;

(3) Assess options for paying for and efficiently delivering transportation investments;

(4) Help facilitate discussion of the policy and strategic implications of the changing transportation system;

(5) Develop and refine the tools, data and information needed to analyze current trends and emerging issues relating to transportation;

(6) Develop new tools and refine existing tools for quantitatively assessing the relationships among current and future transit investment, transportation system performance, and the economy;

(7) Develop new tools and refine existing tools for collecting and analyzing transit industry financial, service and safety-related data;

(8) Enhance the agency’s strategic planning and performance management processes and products through the development of analytical tools, procedures and reports;

(9) Develop, improve, and innovate data collection and processing systems and methods with the goal of timely and quality data to enable the monitoring, analysis, and evaluation of transportation system characteristics and performance;

(10) Design and operate integrated data systems to enable efficient and timely analysis of a broad scope of data;

(11) 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;

(12) Develop and refine the tools and information needed to formulate program policy positions in areas relating to procurement and revenue mechanisms, public-private partnerships, innovative finance and other aspects of project development;

(13) Undertake studies relating to the international transfer of transportation innovations and practices and to facilitate international technical collaboration; and

(14) Develop, obtain and deliver data and data analysis and management tools, such as data dashboards, and provide the means by which FTA can maintain and update such information, ongoing analyses and studies.

The Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs) for this respective work are shown below:

CLIN 0004 Legislative Analysis

TASKS

Specific work to be performed will be set forth under individual, awarded. Task Orders under this IDIQ contract will be determined and issued on an as-needed basis by the FTA and will generally consist of work in the areas outlined below. FTA will provide the appropriate access levels in order to obtain data; contractors will have to complete the relevant background checks needed in order obtain an email address with the Department. When ordered, the Contractor shall provide the necessary hardware, computers, networks, and software in place to perform the requirements (e.g. access FTA’s cloned data systems). A task may also require special methods or algorithms, these shall be furnished by the Contractor, if needed. The Contractor shall propose personnel they feel are sufficient to support the requirements of the RFP in their data validation efforts.

CLIN 0001 – Data Analysis

The Contractor shall provide assistance in (a) statistical, engineering, environmental, economic, financial, service, safety, and planning/forecasting data collection and analysis; (b) reevaluating current data collection, analysis, and reporting methods and systems; (c) designing and updating software/algorithms/methods as needed in administrative and technical matters relating to the improvement of transportation data collection, analysis, reporting, and dissemination; and (d) developing new methods and approaches to capture and analyze transportation data. Specific activities may include, but are not limited to the following:

(1) Improve and update methods and processes to gather comprehensive transportation data collection and analysis systems/platforms/dashboards and processes. This includes, but is not limited to, financial, service, asset condition, and safety data;

(2) Improve and develop new methods to disseminate transportation data including, but not limited to, financial, service, asset condition, and safety data to support timely and informed decision-making and the public;

(3) Assist in the identification, evaluation, and analysis of existing data as well as the identification of emerging data needs for domestic and international transportation data;

(4) Identify gaps and develop strategies to support the coordination of transportation data collection activities within the public sector and in cooperation with the private sector including the development of consistent data collection standards;

(5) Support the development and application of special purpose software, methods, and algorithms in support of all tasks as well as the development and application of software responsive to emerging data needs. Purchase materials and equipment as may be required to test and evaluate such software, methods, and algorithms;

(6) Evaluate data collection technology and methods;

(7) Assist staff in the identification of needed changes to existing data systems through the conduct of requirements analyses and related information management techniques;

(8) Conduct various reassessments on current data needs, data collection and reporting methods, and data analysis mechanism and propose new appropriate changes to meet the needs of technology challenges and other needs challenges;

(9) Provide support in the area of big data analytics enabling comprehensive and multimodal analysis as related to new policy and policy orientated scenarios;

(10) Assist in the identification, evaluation, analysis, and remediation of historic data gaps. Support efforts to improve the usability of existing data sets;

(11) Support the development and production of the biennial Status of the Nation’s Highways, Bridges, and Transit: Conditions and Performance (C&P) report to Congress. Improve data visualization and communications for the C&P Report;

(12) Provide interactive visualizations, based on the C&P Report, using Tableau and other analytics and data presentation software;

(13) Evaluate, update, and refine the Transit Economic Requirements Model (TERM) to support analyses of the relationship between transit investments to asset conditions and performance, including updating and enhancing model documentation;

(14) Evaluate, update, and the refine the Transit Economic Requirements Model-Lite (TERM-Lite) for use by individual transit agencies, including developing and updating documentation, outreach materials, and trainings; and

(15) Develop tools to integrate data and assess the impacts of transit investment.

CLIN 0002 – Policy Analysis The Contractor shall provide economic, policy and data analysis; policy and program evaluation; and/or data, engineering, and systems design assistance to FTA staff as needed in matters relating to the analysis of current and emerging issues in transportation safety, policy, funding, and financing; and administrative and technical matters relating to the analysis of the relationship between transit investment and current and future conditions and performance of the Nation’s transit industry, as well as the impact of such investment on the broader national economy. Specific activities may include, but are not limited to the following:

(1) Provide expert analysis on emerging transportation policy issues that may affect transportation programs and policies, and analyze these issues under varying policy, demographic, technological and economic scenarios;

(2) Provide expert analysis on transit industry safety issues and trends that may affect programs and policies;

(3) Conduct research in transportation system conditions, supply, and travel demand including areas such as rural programs, urban development patterns, socio-economic and demographic groups, transportation corridors, and regional systems including scenario development, forecasting, trend analysis, performance metrics, and policy evaluations;

(4) Conduct analysis of emerging social, demographic, technological, and geographic trends and their potential interaction with existing or planned policy and future travel demand and distribution;

(5) Produce short-term and long-term forecasts of passenger and freight travel, taking into account population and employment trends, new technologies, and changes in transportation prices;

(6) Conduct analysis of emerging environmental, social and energy issues;

(7) Conduct research and policy evaluations on the Federal role and transportation policies with regards to the national interest of the national transit industry;

(8) Analyze and research emerging vehicle-related technologies, such as automated and connected vehicles, to determine their impacts on the transportation system;

(9) Analyze and research emerging mobility service models, such as demand responsive service provided by transportation network companies, to determine their impacts on the transportation system;

(10) Analyze current and alternative revenue sources and tax structures with regards to their revenue potential, feasibility, equity, efficiency, privacy implications, and implications for transit operations and capital funding, as well as their potential impacts on the national transit industry, economy and society;

(11) Extend, modify and provide the means to maintain FTA tools and models to evaluate and incorporate forecasting methodologies for revenue generated by alternative sources of Federal funding, financing and revenue;

(12) Analyze changes in State and local transit funding, particularly focusing on public/private sector involvement and or other emerging trends in transit financing;

(13) Assess, develop and refine analytical tools for analyzing the economic impacts of transit investment on the local and national economy over time;

(14) Examine job creation from transit investment. Review and develop appropriate tools to measure employment under different government investment strategies and socioeconomic conditions;

(15) Assess the relationship between various modes of transport and industrial sector efficiency, estimating efficiency gained or lost through transportation’s own input usage as well as efficiency gained or lost in other industries due to advances in transportation technology;

(16) Understand the geo-economics of public transportation. Produce measures of population density, congestion, industrial concentration, land value, and travel costs. Visually illustrate intertemporal and geospatial distribution. Examine the spatial distribution of economic benefits in rural and urban areas;

(17) Develop, update, and improve estimates of the economic value of transit industry capital investments, and estimates of typical costs associated with different types of transit investments;

(18) Assess the impacts of current and potential institutional/regulatory requirements on costs, economic productivity, safety, and operations of the transportation system. Prepare Regulatory Impact and Regulatory Flexibility Act analysis for FTA Regulations as well as complete quality reviews of regulatory evaluations prepared by other entities. Assess the cost savings from deregulatory actions;

(19) Prepare data and analyses to compare United States (US) investment level with other major developed and emerging economics;

(20) Evaluate and measure the impact of Federal transportation grants on State/local and private investment in transportation investment over time and across jurisdictions; and

(21) Develop the means to relate highway and transit investments, to estimate the impacts of each, and to analyze the tradeoffs of capital improvements in each mode.

CLIN 0003 – Strategic Management

The Contractor shall provide facilitation support, process design, stakeholder analysis, financial and/or statistical analysis, database management, and software programming assistance to FTA staff as needed in administrative and technical matters related to the development and improvement of the Agency’s strategic planning and performance management processes and products. Specific activities may include, but are not limited to the following:

(1) Develop and assist in implementing approaches to obtain stakeholder input in the formulation of strategic goals and performance objectives;

(2) Undertake analysis of key future political-socio-economic-demographic trends and their impacts on transit;

(3) Propose alternative process design models or frameworks for strategic planning and performance management that are applicable to the Department of Transportation (DOT) and FTA;

(4) Assist FTA offices in the development, validation, and reporting of performance measures to monitor goal attainment as part of the strategic planning process;

(5) Assist FTA offices in evaluating program performance from the standpoint of achieving transportation system-wide outcomes;

(6) Provide analytical support to FTA offices in the development and production of performance-based budgets and reports;

(7) Develop and/or evaluate database software specifically designed to collect, analyze, and report results required for strategic management; and

(8) Evaluate existing work (i.e., planning, reporting, and evaluation) processes used in strategic management and recommend possible improvements.

CLIN 0004 – Legislative Analysis The Contractor shall provide analytical support relating to intergovernmental policy issues and communications support regarding current and proposed legislation. Specific activities may include, but are not limited to the following:

(1) Evaluate legislative issues and recommendations for the reauthorization of the Nation’s transit program;

(2) Assist the FTA staff in developing informational material such as visual aids and brochures on proposed and enacted legislation;

(3) Organize and conduct workshops on issues critical to the development of new legislation and to provide information on new legislative requirements;

(4) Explore issues relating to the relationships among Federal, State, and local governments in managing transit assets;

(5) Develop systems for tracking and summarizing transportation policy interests of State and local stakeholders;

(6) Evaluate the effectiveness of tribally based transportation programs;

(7) Evaluate tribal coordination, including peer-to-peer approaches, tribal–State consultation policies, and Federal Native American policy related to tribally driven transportation programs; and

(8) Assess the impacts of current and potential institutional/regulatory requirements on costs, economic productivity, safety, and operations of the transportation system. Prepare Regulatory Impact and Regulatory Flexibility Act analysis for FTA Regulations as well as complete quality reviews of regulatory evaluations prepared by other entities. Assess the cost savings from deregulatory actions;

CLIN 0005 – Reports, Reviews, and Plans

(1) Develop internal and external reports;

(2) Develop training materials;

(3) Support capacity building;

(4) Organize and facilitate workshops applicable to DOT and FTA; and

(5) Organize and conduct seminars, visioning sessions, and workshops applicable to the transportation industry and public on emerging issues relating to revenue and finance, transportation systems, demographics and travel, future policy directions, intergovernmental relationships, including changing relationships between tribes and the Federal government, and tribes and States.

CLIN 0006 – Travel Travel (other than local) may be expected to occur throughout the duration of the contract and must have the advance written approval of the COR with the submittal of documentation for all travel costs. Travel requirements under this contract shall be met using the most economical form of transportation available. All travel shall be scheduled sufficiently in advance to take advantage of offered discount rates, unless authorized by the CO. The following website provides information on current Per Diem rates: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/100120.

CLIN 0007 Special Projects The Contractor will execute special analyses for FTA as needed. Direct access to data sources (i.e. cloned database and business intelligence suites) will be utilized to facilitate rapid analysis and data product deployment efforts. Contractor shall develop useful analyses that do more than simply present data but build on the depth of FTA’s data and orientation to transit industry issues. The Contractor will maintain web-based catalog, within DOT’s domain, of all special analyses for future FTA and analyst access (i.e. Sharepoint library, access database, MicroStrategy reports, Socrata library, etc). Special analyses will be developed through an initial review of business requirements necessary to support the request. The Contractor will then pull the applicable data and conduct the analysis and, if necessary, engage any stakeholders identified by FTA. Upon completion, the Contractor will deliver the requested analysis. Specific activities may include, but are not limited to the following:

(1) Data maps that clearly define the NTD table and field sources used for the analysis;

(2) Presentation of data through spreadsheets, tables, and charts, as needed;

(3) Expert text analysis and summary of analyzed issue or topic.

GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY/INFORMATION

The Government does not anticipate furnishing property for this requirement. If the Government furnishes information, it will be considered most likely as unclassified.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

One base year with four one (1) year option periods

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The contractor shall furnish necessary facilities to undertake the scope of work and perform the services specific in this requirement.

CONTRACT TYPE

Work to be provided may be Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) and labor hour or a combination of both.