U. S. Department of Transportation Small Business Innovation Research Fiscal Year 2024. 1 Solicitation

The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), is providing this notice to issue its Fiscal Year (FY) 2024.1 Phase I solicitation pursuant to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program.  The purpose of this solicitation is to invite U.S. small businesses to submit innovative research offers in response to the solicitation topics, which serve as key research areas for the U.S. DOT.  Each small business concern submitting an offer must qualify as a small business in accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR); 13 CFR 121.702.  The applicable North American Industry Classification System code is 541715 with a size standard of 500 employees.

In addition to this SAM posting, the U.S. DOT SBIR FY 2024.1 Phase I solicitation and any documents related to it will be available on the U.S. DOT SBIR program website at http://www.volpe.dot.gov/work-with-us/small-business-innovation-research. This solicitation is issued through electronic means only; no hard copies will be available. A pre-offer webinar is being held on February 14, 2024 from 1:00-2:00 pm Eastern Time. Information on the pre-offer webinar may be found in the solicitation on page ii and/or from the U.S. DOT SBIR program website.

Technical questions and answers received on the SBIR FY24.1 topics released during the pre-solicitation period of January 4 through February 6, 2024 are available at https://usdot.uservoice.com/forums/956960. On the U.S. DOT SBIR  program website there are frequently asked questions and answers (FAQs) relative to the overall SBIR program. Offerors must go to the website to access the FAQs.

As shown in the solicitation document, the U.S. DOT's topic list shared during the pre-solicitation period has been amended as follows:

• Topic 24-NH5, the title has been changed from “Prehospital Post-Crash Care Systems Improvement” to “Prehospital Blood Transfusion Systems Improvement:  Expanding Access through Innovative Technologies and Tools.”  Additionally, the topic has been updated with clarifications.  These updates are provided within the topic in the solicitation document.

• Topic 24-PH1, Innovative Solutions for Internal Corrosion Control of Hazardous Liquid Pipelines, has been updated with clarifications, inclusive of Phase I outcomes.  These updates are provided within the topic in the solicitation document.

• Topic 24-PH2, Survivability of Hazardous Materials Placards, has been updated with clarifications.  These updates are provided within the topic in the solicitation document.

• Topic 24-PH3, Non-Destructive Testing of High-Pressure Cylinders, has been updated with clarifications, inclusive of Phase I and Phase II outcomes.  These updates are provided within the topic in the solicitation document.