Preparation of Final Reports for Before-and-After Studies

This sources sought is for market research and planning purposes only (THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION); it is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. A contract may not be awarded as a result of this sources sought. The Department of Transportation (DOT), Federal Transit Administration (FTA), on behalf of Federal Transit Administration, Office of Planning and Environment, through this sources sought is gathering source information on who could provide services for preparation of final reports for Before-and -After Studies of New Starts and Small Starts projects. The capability package for this sources sought/market research is not a solicitation, a request for proposal, or request quote, but rather specific, detailed information regarding the company's existing experience in relation to the areas specified in the requirements stated below. Respondents who simply submit a standard brochure of its company capabilities may not qualify. Background and Purpose This contract provides for the preparation of final reports for Before-and-After Studies of New Starts and Small Starts projects. These studies are required of project sponsors through a provision in the grant or grant agreement that provides Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding to their projects. The purposes of the studies are: (1) to document the actual outcomes of the project in terms of its physical scope and capital costs and its impacts on transit service levels, operating and maintenance costs, and ridership; and (2) to examine the usefulness of procedures and technical methods employed in planning and project development to predict these outcomes in support of decision making by the project sponsor and FTA. The FTA interest in Before-and-After Studies derives from the 2001 final rule on New Starts (49 CFR 611) and current transit law (49 USC - 5309) that make the study a condition for receipt of Section 5309 New Starts and Small Starts funding. To implement this requirement, FTA initially relied on a performance-based strategy that emphasized the dual purposes of the study and relied on individual project sponsors to develop a plan for the analysis tailored to the specific circumstances of each project. That approach has not succeeded in producing substantive final reports that are consistent nationally in their focus, analytical methods, or meaningful reporting. Consequently, FTA has revised its guidance for project sponsors to include specifics on archiving of predictions made during project development, data collection on actual outcomes and impacts, analytical methods, and a concise 15-20-page final report. Nevertheless, the difficulties that project sponsors encounter in preparing final reports persist. Staff-members assigned to prepare the final report are frequently new to the task and have difficulty crafting a concise report that effectively presents the key findings on project outcomes and the accuracy of predictions of those outcomes. These cases place large demands on FTA staff time and indicate the need for additional resources to produce useful final reports where the project sponsors are struggling with this crucial task. Scope and Objective The contractor's work will focus on the preparation of the final report for projects assigned by FTA. The contractor's involvement will not affect the full responsibility of the project sponsor for a useful Before-and-After Study. The sponsor will continue to archive predictions made during project development, collect data on actual conditions before and after implementation of the project, document the actual project outcomes, examine the accuracy of the predicted outcomes, derive big-picture findings from the analysis, and prepare written documentation of the findings. FTA staff and contractors (including project-management-oversight contractors) will continue to evaluate the usefulness of materials developed by the project sponsor and identify items that require additional work. The contractor's responsibility will be limited to the production of a 15-to-20-page final report that effectively presents the key findings. The required level of effort will vary across projects - primarily driven by the ability of the project sponsor to prepare effective documentation of the study's findings but also dependent on the complexity of the project and its impacts, the accuracy of predictions made during project development, and the extent of analyses needed to document the causes of inaccuracies. Consequently, each assignment to the contractor will include an initial assessment of the information provided by the project sponsor and an agreement with FTA on the level of effort that will be needed by the contractor to produce a useful final report. The contractor's work will be confined to synthesis and updating of materials produced by the project sponsor; the contractor will not undertake basic research tasks using primary data sources. Key skills include clear analytical thinking, effective writing, and basic familiarity with transit project planning and development. A large team of experts will not be needed. Tasks For each Before-and-After Study assigned by FTA, the contractor will accomplish the following tasks. Task 1. Review Materials The contractor will obtain the standard materials from the project sponsor. These materials will include: A standard spreadsheet analysis of actual capital costs and predictions of capital costs in year-of-expenditure dollars and constant year-of-opening dollars; A standard spreadsheet analysis of service levels on the project, associated changes in service levels in the corridor, and contextual changes in service levels system wide; A standard spreadsheet analysis of Operating and maintenance (O&M) costs for the project itself, for associated changes in service in the corridor, and for area-wide system; Standard spreadsheet analyses of subarea-to-subarea trips on the project itself and changes in transit trips (both by trip purpose, by access mode, and by socio-economic class); Detailed responses from the project sponsor to a standard questionnaire on: - o As-built project scope and capital costs; and - o Actual impacts on transit service levels, O&M costs, and ridership; Detailed responses from the project sponsor to a standard questionnaire on: - o Accuracy of predictions on project scope and capital costs; and - o Accuracy of predictions on transit service levels, O&M costs, and ridership; An initial draft of the final report. The contractor will review these materials, estimate the level of effort needed to produce a useful final report, and document the review and the estimate in a technical memorandum. FTA will evaluate the memorandum and set a budget and schedule for the remaining work by the contractor. Task 2. Synthesize findings and identify gaps The contractor will synthesize draft findings on each topic of interest (scope, capital costs, service levels, O&M costs, and ridership) into an annotated outline of the final report with supporting figures and tables, and include the outline within a technical memorandum that also identifies gaps and uncertainties in the findings. FTA will review and comment on the annotated outline and, after any necessary updates to the materials, transmit them to the project sponsor. Task 3. Confer with the project sponsor and FTA FTA and the contractor will confer with the project sponsor on the Task 2 materials to identify necessary clarifications by the sponsor. The contractor will document the conclusions of these discussions in a brief memorandum. FTA and the contractor will monitor efforts by the project sponsor to provide the clarifications. FTA will determine the point at which the sponsor has provided the necessary clarifications. Task 4. Update the findings The contractor will use the clarifications provided by the project sponsor to update the draft annotated outline and supporting figures and tables. FTA and the project sponsor will review and comment on the updated annotated outline to come to agreement on the findings that will be presented in the final report. The contractor will make the appropriate adjustments to the annotated outline to reflect this agreement. Task 5. Prepare a draft version of the final report The contractor will prepare a draft of the final report that presents the findings agreed upon in Task 4 and includes the supporting figures and tables. FTA and the project sponsor will prepare comments on the draft report. FTA will identify the specific adjustments to the final report needed to respond to these comments. Task 6. Prepare the final report. The contractor will update the draft with the adjustments identified by FTA in Task 5. Personnel Requirements - 1. Sr. Project Manager: Provides specific experience in travel demand analysis, transportation planning, complex technical studies, capital and O&M cost analysis, and research activities. Responsible for all aspect of resources allocation, budget development, task deliverable, quality control, and task performance requirements. Job Qualification: Bachelors degree or Masters Degree in planning, engineering or related field with experience in the planning and development of transit capital projects. Demonstrate significant experience with the key characteristics of transit projects and their development, including physical scope of the project, capital cost, transit service plans, operating and maintenance costs, and ridership impacts. Demonstrate analytical capabilities and clear writing skills. Responsible for interaction with transit agencies/metropolitan planning organizations on technical issues, providing analytical report and assistance to senior government officials on related issues. - 2. Senior transit planner(s): Provide additional capacity to undertake and complete the final reports for assigned projects, working under the direction of the Senior Project Manager. Bachelors degree or Masters Degree in planning, engineering or related field with experience in the planning and development of transit capital projects. Demonstrate significant experience with the key characteristics of transit projects and their development, including physical scope of the project, capital cost, transit service plans, operating and maintenance costs, and ridership impacts. Demonstrate analytical capabilities and clear writing skills. - 3. Administrative Support: Prepare graphical and print/production-ready materials, integrates materials from various sources, and provides meeting support. Job Qualification: Bachelor's degree with no experience or high school with experience performing administrative support activities. All social economic categories will be accepted. If an award is made in the future it is anticipated NAICS code 541611 will be designated for this procurement, but interested parties are encouraged to submit a more suitable NAICS Code along with their capability packages. The capability package should contain the following information: your company's name, point of contact (POC), address, phone number, DUNS number, your business size under the above NAICS code (small business or large business), if you are considered a small business identify your small business social economic category (for example: Small Business, Small disadvantage Business, HUBZone), if you are on the GSA schedule list your GSA contract # and schedule, and your capability statement. Capability package must not exceed 10 pages and must be submitted electronically. All of the requested information should be sent to the POC Alexander.Miller@dot.gov by 1:00 pm EST on 26 September 2012.