Research Efficient Freight Transportation Regional Economies (Primarily US NW Region & Washington State)

FEDBIZOPPS SPECIAL NOTICE REQUEST SUBMISSION OF STATEMENTS OF QUALIFICATIONS TO UNDERTAKE AND DISSEMINATE RESEARCH ON A VARIETY ON A OF TOPICS AND ISSUES TO IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPORTANCE OF EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION TO REGIONAL ECONOMIES (PRIMARILY, THE UNITES STATES NORTHWEST REGION), STATES (PRIMARILY WASHINGTON) AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE HIGH LEVEL SUMMARY: On a SOLE-SOURCE basis, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), Office of the Secretary, Office of Economic and Strategic Analysis (OST-P-20) plans to acquire contract support from the Freight Policy Transportation Institute at Washington State University to undertake and disseminate research on a variety of topics and issues that will improve our understanding of the importance of efficient and effective freight transportation to regional economies (primarily, the United States Northwest region), states (primarily Washington) and international trade. Research topics will be broadly founded upon the need for improved modal and intermodal freight transportation via effective and implementable policies and actions. Such policies and actions should demonstrate the capacity to increase the performance of modal and intermodal transportation in lowering the operating costs, increasing the safety, and lowering environmental impacts of freight transportation nationwide. Recognition of the importance of translating actions taken by public agencies to improve freight transportation performance into benefits of specific industries and sectors of the economy will be an important objective of this project. Additionally, the potential role of advanced freight transportation technologies that can be implemented over the next decade that can advance the goals stated above will be considered. BACKGROUND: This study builds upon the previous findings and recommendations generated from the Freight Policy Transportation Institute (FPTI) at Washington State University (WSU) pursuant to regional issues in the Northwest and in particular, the state of Washington. Under WSU's previous work with USDOT, operational and administrative protocols were established that: (1) established and organized a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), of state, local and federal representatives; (2) had the TAC and the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) identify issues and possible research topics that would be undertaken through the FPTI; (3) conducted research on several topics approved by the TAC and the COR; and (4) has prepared several final reports on completed research projects with funding partners and has disseminated research findings, information and data through several outlets, including departmental seminars and presentations at TRB,TRF, and Pacific Northwest Regional Economics Conference (PNREC) meetings. A number of research areas and topics were identified during the earlier phases of the research and approved by the TAC and COR but were not initiated and will be conducted during the next phase. These include: - 1) (NEW) Identification of the freight performance measurement gaps left by urban-centric measures (e.g. congestion) in relation to intermodal facility competitiveness and viability, leading to mode neutral, rural-centric freight multimodal performance measures. Rural-Centric measures seek to develop performance measures for the length of the freight movement between origin and destination (e.g. intermodal facilities, connector routes, navigation through smaller towns), much of which occurs outside of the urban first and last miles of transit; - 2) (NEW) Examination and determination of the routing and modal decisions by shippers/carriers within and throughout an economic corridor and the methodology of developing this information and the resultant data. Within this topic area is the consideration of the modal choice stemming from infrastructure improvements; - 3) (EXPANDED) Examination of the effects of the confluence of improved transportation infrastructure, political stability, and institutional capacity on the US's role in international trade. Examination include the review of historically strong sectors and new/evolving sectors; and - 4) (EXPANDED) Enhancement of the capacity of transportation agencies (state DOTs, and MPOs) to fully measure and value the effects of congestion and other inefficiencies on freight transportation using the truck mode, through an investigation of both the value of travel time, and the value of travel time reliability. Additional topics continue to be identified as adding substance and breadth to the ongoing research projects by the TAC, COR, and other partnering sources. Among the topics of focus in this phase of the work are analyses of particular importance to States' capacity to adjust to the policy climate since the Moving Ahead for Progress for the 21st Century Act (MAP 21) , as they pertain to the impact of improvements to the freight transportation system on the general economy and on particular sectors of the economy, including the export sector, the import sector, particular industries, and particular geographic areas (primarily, United States Northwest region and the state of Washington). P-20 recognizes that a single source to Washington State University is rational, prudent, and warranted given their prior involvement in earlier phases of the research makes them the only responsible choice. Nevertheless, any organization which believes that it can provide the delivery required to support the mandate of USDOT described above, at the very HIGH level of QUALITY which is indispensable to DOT----may, not later than 11:59 PM Eastern Time June 18, 2014, e-mail to tyrone.moorer@dot.gov, a Statement of Qualifications attempting to prove the submitter's capabilities.