Advanced Safety Research

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), under the U.S. Department of Transportation, is establishing an Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract titled Advanced Safety Research to support critical work in vehicle safety technologies. This contract will provide technical research and analysis services focused on Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), Automated Driving Systems (ADS), vehicle cybersecurity, and the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve vehicle safety outcomes. Work under the contract includes planning and conducting vehicle safety studies, testing and evaluating safety technologies, simulation and modeling of vehicle systems and driver behavior, functional safety assessments, on-road and naturalistic driving studies, and cybersecurity vulnerability evaluations. The performance period spans up to five years, with a 36-month base period and a 24-month option period, and all work must be conducted within the continental United States. The contract is structured to accommodate a variety of task order types including Firm-Fixed-Price, Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee, and hybrid arrangements, with a total potential value of $100 million. Contractors must be registered in SAM.gov and maintain active compliance with federal procurement requirements. No set-aside provisions apply, and the procurement is open to all eligible entities under the NAICS code 541380 for Testing Laboratories and Services. The solicitation was posted on April 23, 2026, with responses due by June 23, 2026, and awards anticipated before September 1, 2026, to ensure uninterrupted support for NHTSA’s research mission. There are no security clearance requirements for personnel, and while no specific key personnel or organizational conflict of interest clauses are defined in the available information, acceptance of deliverables will be governed by adherence to federal motor vehicle safety standards, ISO 26262, and NHTSA research protocols. All proposals must be submitted electronically through SAM.gov, and no physical delivery or packaging specifications are required due to the nature of the services being procured.