Research Initiatives in Support of FHWA Bridges and Structures Programs: Call 4.0

The solicitation titled "Research Initiatives in Support of FHWA Bridges and Structures Programs: Call 4.0" (Solicitation Number 693JJ3-23-BAA-0001-4) is an open Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) issued by the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) that invites proposals from all responsible sources capable of addressing the Government’s research needs regarding errant vessel warning and sensing technologies to activate automatic bridge closures. This is a 60-month ongoing BAA with annual calls for concept papers through updates to Appendix C. The Government may award various instruments such as contracts or assistance agreements based on program goals, reserving the right not to reimburse proposal preparation costs. The primary place of contract administration is Washington, DC, and the acquisition office involved is the 693JJ3 Acquisition and Grants Management Office. Proposals are evaluated through a trade-off process giving the highest priority to technical merit, assessed by factors including project impact on bridge and tunnel engineering, technical approach, project management plan, and team qualifications. Past performance is considered less important than technical merit, while cost/price is weighted equally with the non-price factors combined. A small business subcontracting plan is evaluated on a pass/fail basis and is mandatory for contracts exceeding $750,000 if the contractor is other than small. The contract anticipates firm-fixed-price awards with milestone payments. Contractors must comply with FAR subcontracting requirements, report subcontracting via eSRS, and adhere to Section 889 prohibitions on certain telecommunications and video surveillance equipment. The Government retains unlimited rights to all deliverables, including technical data and software, with strict conflict of interest disclosure requirements for offerors. Deliverables must include detailed project task breakdowns, milestones, and performance outputs aligned with the FHWA research priorities. Submission requirements dictate a two-volume proposal format with strict page limits and electronically submitted in PDF, with Quad Charts in editable format. The Contracting Officer is Tamiko Aikens, and the Contracting Officer’s Representative is Tuonglinh Warren. No specific pricing or contract value has been stated, as detailed cost proposals are to be submitted during the proposal phase.