2010 Transportation Planning Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA) DTFH61-10-R-00013 January 2010 T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S Section Title Page 1 BAA Process Overview 3 2 Focus Areas 5 3 General Proposal Information 7 4 Instructions for Submission of Pre-Proposals 11 5 Pre-Proposal Content 11 6 Pre-Proposal Evaluation 12 7 Instructions for Full Proposals 12 8 Proposal Format 13 9 Evaluation Criteria 16 10 Technical and Cost Negotiations 20 11 Attachments 21 Section 1 BAA Process Overview 1.1 General Information CONTRACTING POINT OF CONTACT: Joseph Fusari Contract Specialist Joseph.Fusari@dot.gov 1.2 Summary of Important Dates This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) describes a two-phase process for proposal submission and evaluation. In the first phase, short pre-proposals will be submitted for review. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will then ask for full proposals of those pre-proposals that are of interest to FHWA. Further detail on proposal dates are as follows: The FHWA anticipates that the proposal, evaluation and award process for this BAA will proceed generally in accordance with the following schedule: BAA opens (FBO publication) January 5, 2009 Pre-Proposals Due 4:30 EST February 16, 2010 Invitation for Full Proposal March 12, 2010 Full Proposals Due 4:30 EST April 23, 2010 Anticipated Contract Award Date June 28, 2010 Proposals shall be sent by electronic transmission to: Joseph.Fusari@dot.gov. Any questions relating to this announcement must be emailed to the contracting point of contact. No telephonic requests will be taken. 1.3 Definitions Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) For additional information visit (http://farsite.hill.af.mil/vffara.htm) Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) The forum for cooperative transportation decision-making; required for urbanized areas with populations over 50,000. Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty For additional information visit (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/index.htm) Regional Planning Organization (RPO) A multipurpose organization composed of representatives of local governments and appointed representatives from the geographic area covered by the council, and designated as the primary organization to address problems and plan solutions that are of greater than local concern or scope Research Programs For additional information visit (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/research.htm) Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) For additional information visit (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/index.htm) 1.4 Background Section 5207 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) established the Surface Transportation Environment and Planning Cooperative Research Program (STEP) authorizing funding to support this new program. The general objective of the STEP is to improve understanding of the complex relationship between surface transportation, planning and the environment. Section 5207 of SAFETEA-LU identifies certain characteristics of STEP regarding program contents and administration including: Develop more accurate models for evaluating transportation control measures and system designs for use by State and local governments to meet environmental requirements; Improve understanding of transportation demand factors; Develop indicators of economic, social, and environmental performance of transportation systems to facilitate alternatives analysis; Meet additional priorities determined through the transportation research and development strategic planning process identified in section 5208 of SAFETEA-LU; Refine the scope and research emphases through outreach and in consultation with stakeholders. Additional information on STEP including resources, research plans, focus areas, and proposal requests are located on page http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/index.htm. 1.5 Objectives and Description The FHWA, through the Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty is soliciting for proposals for research and development projects that could lead to transformational changes and revolutionary advances for transportation planning in the United States. The objective of this BAA is to advance the practice and application of transportation planning among state, metropolitan, regional, local, and tribal transportation planning governments in response to significant changes in the planning process and to identify new tools, techniques, and approaches that respond to national transportation planning priorities. 1.6 Program Scope The program scope is intentionally ambitious and broad to address the wide spectrum of topics and objectives that the funded investigations can support. This program is intended to spur innovation and focus on high risk and high pay-off research and development projects. Incremental advances, demonstrations of existing technologies or applications of state and metropolitan transportation planning activities are not within the scope of this program. Section 2 FOCUS AREAS 2.1 Focus Areas The FHWA is looking for projects within seven focus areas that are of particular strategic interest and relevance. Proposals in these areas are highly encouraged. These areas are consistent with emphasis areas identified for the Surface Transportation Environment and Planning Cooperative Research Program developed under Section 5207 of Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU); see http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/index.htm for more information. Additional information on the planning focus areas are located under the "Research Plans" heading located on page http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/plans.htm. The seven focus areas include: (2.1.1) Tools and Techniques That Support State and local Planning Capacity Building The FHWA seeks to expand the knowledge, understanding, and implementation of efforts that will advance state and local planning capacity building including the consideration of audience needs, agency practices, and process requirements in statewide and metropolitan transportation planning. Key emerging planning research issues for State Departments of Transportation (DOT), Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO), and small and rural areas could consider: How States, MPO, and Regional Planning Organizations (RPO) and benefit from livability, performance-based planning, asset management, and program cost management, What new and innovative forecasting techniques are available through the development of new process or decision-support tools for planning that can be tailored to multi-use development, program finances and revenue, and coordination with new planning partners, What emerging tools and techniques are available that would assist communities in maintaining their transportation system and more effectively prioritize and limited program resources, and What jurisdictional and institutional issues exist, such as the development of new planning tools that provide a framework for developing a shared vision for the future by analyzing various forces (e.g., health, transportation, economic, environmental, land use, etc.) that affect growth. How jurisdictional and institutional issues including the development of new planning tools to provide a framework for developing a shared vision for the future by analyzing various forces (e.g., health, transportation, economic, environmental, land use, etc.) and their affects on each other to promote sustainable growth can be addressed. How regional and local impacts of transportation investments on various sustainability indicators (economy, environment, health, et cetera.) are considered in planning and project selection. (2.1.2) Tools and Techniques That Support Tribal Planning Capacity Building The FHWA seeks to expand the knowledge, understanding, and implementation of efforts that will advance the development of innovative tools or approaches that promote the integration of tribal issues into the transportation planning and programming processes at the State and metropolitan levels. Tribes are not required by law to develop or maintain transportation planning programs. This limits their ability to interface at the same level with States and metropolitan transportation planning and programming efforts minimizing their ability to interface through consultation efforts and their effectiveness when competing for State and metropolitan funding opportunities. Key emerging planning research issues are: Development of "information tools" for Tribal Departments of Transportation can use to improve consultation practices in the statewide and metropolitan transportation planning processes, and Identifying how innovative planning techniques can assist tribes in developing their own transportation planning program using novel processes that apply tools, techniques, and technology specifically designed for tribal transportation planning programs with limited staff and resources. (2.1.3) Global Climate Change and Air Quality Research needs should consider advancing the practice and application of transportation planning among state, regional, and local transportation planning agencies to successfully meet growing concerns about the relationship between transportation, air quality, and climate change. Key emerging research issues to consider include: How entities can better understand the contribution of transportation facilities and services to air pollution and greenhouse gases and their potential implications, including environmental and human health impacts, How entities can develop and assess analytical methods to adequately identify and reduce transportation emissions that contribute to global climate change, What cost-effective mitigation strategies are available to reduce transportation emissions that contribute to global climate change, How can State DOT's improve the understanding of climate change impacts on transportation facilities and systems and the ability to consider adaptation and mitigation, How can State DOT's evaluate greenhouse gas mitigation efforts, What new and innovative methods of communicating scientific and regulatory information on transportation-air quality to partners are available at State and local agencies and to stakeholders, and How can State DOT's assess the potential impacts of climate change on transportation; and determine how to avoid and minimize potential climate change impacts during transportation system planning (2.1.4)Congestion Management Congestion Management Systems reflects a substantive shift in perspective and practice to address congestion management through a process that provides for effective management and operations an enhanced linkage to the planning process, and to the environmental review process, based on cooperatively developed travel demand reduction and operational management strategies as well as capacity increases. In support of the reduction of congestion on America's transportation network as well as support other initiatives to link operations and transportation planning, key emerging research issues to consider includes: What innovations in congestion pricing and private sector involvement in transportation investment are available, What advanced analysis tools are available for use in the measurement and evaluation of operational improvements and strategies in transportation planning and advance the Congestion Management Process, and Whether new planning tools and programs for understanding, analyzing and responding to congestion problems are available. (2.1.5) Safety Planning Transportation safety planning should include the development and improvement of data collection methods and project selection processes that respond to the needs of planning and safety decision making processes and how helping planning agencies (State DOTs, MPOs, and Tribal Governments) can build their institutional capacity to integrate safety into their transportation planning and decision-making process. (2.1.6) Public Involvement, Environmental Justice, Visualization in Planning There is a continued need for assessing new methods in public involvement and community impact assessment practice. Environmental justice (including disabled and elderly which are 2 groups of individuals rapidly increasing in numbers) and visualization are emerging areas of research and practice for transportation planning practitioners that can be utilized to help convey and obtain technical information with communities that traditionally were not involved in the planning process. Increasing awareness among State DOTs, MPOs, and other government agencies of the importance of ensuring civil rights and environmental justice in the transportation planning process would be beneficial where there is an opportunity to make trade-offs to avoid impacts. Similarity, visualization applied to transportation planning is an emerging area of both research and practice. Stakeholders from State DOTs, MPOs, and other interested parties would benefit from knowing how to effectively apply visualization and how it can result in applying new methods of communication between transportation practitioners, decision-makers, and the general public. (2.1.7) Freight Planning Freight movements are growing as a share of transportation system volumes. Key emerging research issues to consider includes: How State DOTs can develop methods for the integration of freight into the transportation planning and programming processes at the State and metropolitan levels, What innovative methods for effectively engaging the private sector freight community into the State and metropolitan planning processes; how parameters such as price, travel time, permitting, and user fees affect modal shift; what elasticities are inherent in these parameters; and new approaches for applying benefits/cost analyses of freight projects in the transportation planning process, and How new planning tools and programs such as freight analytical techniques, freight modeling improvements, methods of innovative freight data collection and data sharing can be used. SECTION 3 GENERAL PROPOSAL INFORMATION 3.1 General Information All business and administrative correspondence or questions on this BAA should be directed to the contract specialist identified in section 1. The FHWA has budgeted approximately $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2010 to fund this research announcement. Proposals will be evaluated using a two-part process consisting of pre-proposals and full-proposals. Offerors whose pre-proposals are of interest to the FHWA will be invited to submit full proposals. The FHWA may select for award all, none, or a subset of the acceptable proposals meeting its needs. The FHWA anticipates making multiple awards, typically of 12-24 months duration with the size of individual awards varying depending on the research area and study requirements. The FHWA strongly encourages cost sharing under any contract that may result, and can offer cooperative agreements if the proposer can offer a cost share of 50 percent from non-federal sources of funding. The FHWA strongly encourages proposals that offer a significant non-federal matching funds or in-kind resources. Cost reasonableness and realism will also be considered in the overall selection process. Individual proposal evaluations will be based on acceptability or non-acceptability without regard to other proposals submitted under the announcement. Selection will be based primarily on scientific or technical merit, partnership, relevance and importance to agency, and the availability of funds. For cooperative agreements, the Federal share of the cost of a project or activity carried out under this program is limited by Section 5101(b) of SAFETEA-LU to fifty (50) percent, unless otherwise determined by the Secretary of Transportation. The number of awards, and their dollar value, will vary depending on the merit of proposals received and their potential to lead to transformational changes and advances in transportation planning practice. Offerors should prepare proposals with a baseline period of performance of 12-24 months and, if needed, with one or more options up to an additional 24-month period of performance. 3.2 Note: Not all technically meritorious proposals may be funded due to budgetary constraints. 3.3 Pre-Proposal and Full Proposal Process Proposals may respond to one or more of the focus areas but must indicate which area is primary and which area or areas are subordinate. Organizations also may submit more than one proposal when the proposed effort includes multiple disparate objectives and tasks, covers multiple or disparate technologies areas, or would have a more supportable budget if provided in parts; however, each proposal will be considered independently. Proposals will be evaluated using a two-part process consisting of a pre-proposal and a full-proposal. The FHWA will evaluate pre-proposals against the evaluation criteria outlined below. Those offerors whose pre-proposals are of interest may be invited to submit a formal full-proposal. Offerors whose pre-proposals are determined not to be of interest are not precluded from submitting a full proposal and may do so if they desire. Approximately thirty (30) days after the pre-proposal submission deadline, offerors submitting pre-proposals will be contacted with a letter informing them either that the FHWA is requesting a formal cost and technical proposal or that the effort proposed is not of interest to the Government. 3.4 Other Administrative Information Proposals that plan to collect information from more than 9 non-Federal entities may require the FHWA to obtain clearance prior to the commencement of any information collection (Approximate time for clearance, 6 months). Awards involving any Privacy Act-covered data will require special clearances and protections. It is the policy of the FHWA to treat all proposals as competitive information and to disclose the contents only for the purposes of evaluation. Only Government evaluators will make selections under this BAA. This announcement constitutes the public announcement as contemplated by FAR 6.102(d)(2), and no formal Request for Proposals or other solicitation regarding this announcement will be issued. Requests for same will be disregarded. 3.5 Deliverables The specific deliverables will depend upon the scope and objectives of the negotiated award. At a minimum, the contractor shall present results for at least one peer review and submit a final report, with a technical summary, that documents the research conducted in each task identified in the proposal. Additional deliverables such as interim reports, documentation, and instrumentation could be required and the specific deliverables will be identified in the negotiated statement of work. 3.6 Period of Performance The base contract period of performance is negotiable, but shall be no more than 24 months from date of award. 3.7 Optional Future Phase or Phases Proposals may include a discussion of work products for an optional, future phase or phases of work for up to an additional 24 months (up to three more pages). Such discussion shall be clearly labeled as "optional future phase or phases of work." The original phase or work shall in no way depend on work described under future phases in order to meet the program criteria. If a future phase or phases are included, a separate budget shall be included for the phase or phases and be labeled clearly as "separate budget for optional future phase or phases." 3.8 Pre-Proposal and Full Proposal Information The Government reserves the right to select for award any, all, part, or none of the proposals received in response to this announcement. In addition, the Government reserves the right to award either contracts, grants, or other instruments determined to be of benefit to the government in achieving the goals of this program. This BAA is an expression of interest only and does not commit the Government to pay any direct pre-proposal or proposal preparation costs. All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit proposals, which will be evaluated. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Minority Institutions (MI) are encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals. However, no portion of this BAA will be set aside for HBCU and MI participation due to the desire to solicit ideas as broadly as possible. The FHWA has budgeted approximately $1,500,000 to fund this research program. Proposals will be evaluated using a two-part process consisting of pre-proposals and full-proposals. Offerors whose pre-proposals are of interest to the FHWA will be invited to submit full proposals. The FHWA may select for award all, none, or a subset of the acceptable proposals to construct a balanced program meeting its needs. The FHWA anticipates making multiple awards from the $1,500,000, typically of an 16-18 month duration. Note: Awards with a total value (including full period of performance and any option periods) of $100,000 and below will be issued as purchase orders. Note: Awards over $100,000 will be issued as contracts or cooperative agreements. The FHWA strongly encourages cost sharing under any contract that may result, and can offer cooperative agreements if the proposer can offer a cost share of 50 percent or greater from non-federal sources of funding. For cooperative agreements, the Federal share of the cost of a project or activity carried out under this program is limited by Section 5101(b) of SAFETEA-LU to fifty (50) percent, unless otherwise determined by the Secretary of Transportation. The number of awards, and their dollar value, will vary depending on the merit of proposals received and their potential to lead to transformational changes and advances in transportation planning practice. Offerors should prepare proposals with a baseline period of performance of 18 months and, if needed, with one or more options up to an additional 24-month period of performance. The scope of this announcement is intentionally broad to invite innovation and to provide the FHWA the flexibility to sponsor research that best addresses its objectives. In keeping with FHWA's desire for innovation and flexibility, the specific approach in the selected full proposals will vary and will be negotiated. Any resulting contracts will contain appropriate federal agency clauses for the type of procurement vehicle awarded. Prior to award, the Offeror shall be required to submit "Certifications and Representations." Data and reporting requirements will be negotiated with the offeror (s) selected for award(s). The proposal submission shall be conducted in two phases: - 1. Pre-proposal for FHWA review - 2. Full Proposal. Proposals may respond to one or more of the subject areas but must indicate which area is primary and which area or areas are subordinate. Organizations also may submit more than one proposal when the proposed effort includes multiple disparate objectives and tasks, covers multiple or disparate technologies areas, or would have a more supportable budget if provided in parts; however, each proposal will be considered independently. Proposals will be evaluated using a two-part process: pre-proposals and full-proposals. The FHWA will evaluate pre-proposals against the evaluation criteria outlined above. Those offerors whose pre-proposals are of interest may be invited to submit a formal full-proposal, as described below. Offerors whose pre-proposals are determined not to be of interest are not precluded from submitting a proposal and may do so if they desire. Approximately thirty (30) days after the pre-proposal submission deadline, offerors submitting pre-proposals will be contacted by the Technical Point of Contact with a letter informing them either that the FHWA is requesting a formal cost and technical proposal or that the effort proposed is not of interest to the Government. The FHWA strongly encourages proposals that offer a significant non-federal matching funds or in-kind resources. Good proposals will evidence strong internal backing with matching funds, innovative approaches in contracting and leveraging current and past technology development efforts that support this program. Such proposals will receive consideration in addition to and above how they respond to the technical criteria above. Cost reasonableness and realism will also be considered in the overall selection process. Individual proposal evaluations will be based on acceptability or non-acceptability without regard to other proposals submitted under the announcement. Selection will be based primarily on scientific or technical merit, partnership, relevance and importance to agency, and availability of funds. Section 4 4.1 Pre-Proposal Instructions Pre-proposals must be submitted via electronic mail and must be received on or before 4:30 PM (EST), February 16, 2010. Facsimile transmissions or hard copy transmissions of the pre-proposal will not be accepted; so any sent will be disregarded. Pre-proposals shall be submitted via email to: Joseph.Fusari@dot.gov. SECTION 5 CONTENT OF PRE-PROPOSALS 5.1 Content of Pre-Proposals Proposals should be submitted in Microsoft Word 2003 or Adobe Portable Document Format. The pre-proposals shall be no longer than 7 pages in length and include the following 7 sections: Page 1 shall include proposal information including (a) the Broad Agency Announcement Number, (b) project title, (c) name of organization, (d) name of principle investigator(s), (e) phone and addresses for both technical and business contacts; and (f) the identification of the primary subject area and subordinate subject area or areas, if any, the proposal addresses. Pages 2 & 3 shall provide a brief statement of objectives, narrative to demonstrate an understanding of current practices, trends and future needs, and major intended tasks and proposed deliverables. Page 4 shall describe how the research would provide value to advancing practitioners involved in Statewide, metropolitan, rural, regional, local, or Tribal transportation planning. Page 5 shall describe how the research will respond to current or future needs in Statewide, metropolitan, rural, regional, local, or Tribal transportation planning. Page 6 shall introduce the research team, their general qualifications and other resources to accomplish the proposed effort. Page 7 shall outline a draft budget (including the use of matching non-federal funds and resources, if applicable) The budget shall further include the anticipated period of performance and any anticipated option periods, and partnership/subcontractor structures. Offerors should refer to the Evaluation Criteria below to ensure that their pre-proposal addresses the FHWA's requirements. SECTION 6 EVALUATION CRITERIA OF PRE-PROPOSALS 6.1 Evaluation Criteria The primary basis for selecting pre-proposals will be technical merit, importance to the FHWA programs, and the availability of funds. Technical merit will be evaluated based on the following criteria, listed below in descending order of importance: Category I: Category I proposals are well-conceived, scientifically/ technically sound, pertinent to program goals/objectives, and offered by a responsible offeror. Category I proposals are recommended for full proposal (subject to availability of funds) and normally will be displaced only by other Category I proposals. Category II: Category II proposals are scientifically or technically sound that may require further development. They can be recommended for full proposal, but are a lower priority than Category I. Category III: Category III proposals are not technically sound or do not meet agency needs. Proposals in this category are not recommended for full proposal. SECTION 7 INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF FULL PROPOSALS 7.1 Full Proposal Instructions After the pre-proposals evaluation stage is complete, offerors who are invited to submit full proposals will be notified of the actual dates for submission and will provided with specific instructions for submission of full proposals. Offerors who choose not to submit a pre-proposal, but who wish to submit a full proposal may do so, without invitation. It is presently anticipated that full proposals will include a technical proposal that is 20 pages or less in length, as well as a separate appropriate cost proposal. Offerors submitting full proposals will be asked to submit technical proposals that provide a refined research problem statement and work scope, a management plan, technology transition plan, staffing qualifications, and information regarding other ongoing research and work. In addition to the technical proposal, offerors will be requested to submit a cost proposal that provides complete and detailed budget information (length as necessary), information on proposed cost sharing, and other general business information. If necessary, the FHWA will request additional cost back-up information, resumes or supplemental information as appropriate. Recipients of cooperative agreements will be asked to complete the applicable SF-424 series of forms Each Offeror shall submit their proposal electronically in Microsoft Office 2003 or equivalent formats. The evaluation board may take into account when making its evaluation, any failure to conform to the instructions and rules in this section or any attempt to evade these specifications and rules on the basis of technicalities, as indicators of future performance. If an Offeror does not understand the instructions as described herein, then they must submit their questions(s) to the Contract Specialist (Joseph Fusari) for clarification sufficiently in advance of the deadline for the receipt of offers to get an answer in time to meet that deadline. 7.2 Questions on the BAA content, issues, or procedures should be emailed to: Joseph.Fusari@dot.gov. 7.3 Proposal Due Date Proposals are due by 4:30 pm EST on April 23, 2010 electronically to: Joseph.Fusari@Dot.gov Offers must be received by the time and due date specified herein to be considered timely and acceptable. SECTION 8 Proposal Format 8.1 Proposal Format Full proposals shall be submitted by an authorized representative and include a technical proposal 20 pages or less in length, a separate cost proposal, resumes, and past performance. The technical proposal shall include the following four (4) sections and subsections: Part I Technical Proposal (1) Cover Page with (A) the BAA number, (B) proposal title, (C) type of business (large business, small disadvantaged business, other small business, HBCU or MI, other educational, or other nonprofit), (D) complete list of subcontractors, (E) technical and administrative points of contact including addresses, telephone numbers, electronic mail addresses, and facsimile machine numbers. (2) Refined research problem statement (up to three pages) with a description of the proposed visionary technology or system and how the proposed effort will meet the objectives of the broad agency announcement, a comparison of these innovative ideas with current approaches and the current state of the art and the expected impact of the research if successful. (3) Complete work scope (up to five pages) describing research methods, steps, schedule (for a period of performance up to two years) with milestones, expected deliverables and associated evaluation metrics for the proposed effort. (4) A Management Plan (no more than one page) describing the overall approach to management of this effort, including a brief discussion of the proposed organization and the use of personnel and other resources. This section should also describe the partnership structure between the entity proposing work and other public and private sector entities funding or otherwis...