SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Public Policy Expert Services to evaluate and provide recommendations to improve the public policy with the federal-aid reimbursement eligibility process for roadside safety hardware - Attachment No. 1
- Notice Date
- 11/4/2015
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary (OST) Administration Secretariate, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, 55 Broadway, Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02142-1093, United States
- ZIP Code
- 02142-1093
- Solicitation Number
- DTRT5716Q80008
- Archive Date
- 1/19/2016
- Point of Contact
- Karen M. Marino, Phone: 6174942437
- E-Mail Address
-
karen.marino@dot.gov
(karen.marino@dot.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Instructions, Conditions, and Notice to Offerors This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation No. DTRT5716Q80008 is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ). This solicitation is being conducted under FAR Part 12, Acquisition of Commercial Items and FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures. This solicitation document and incorporated provisions are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-83-3, effective November 1, 2015. The NAICS Code is 541990; the Small Business size standard is $15 million. This procurement is a 100% small business set-aside. The U.S. Department of Transportation, John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), Cambridge, MA, in support of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), is in the process of completing an independent and full examination of the procedure by which safety hardware is developed, evaluated, deemed eligible for reimbursement, installed, maintained and in-service evaluations on the National Highway System that is being assessed, to determine if improvements are needed. The contractor will be required to provide a Public Policy Expert that will evaluate the existing roadside safety evaluation process and recommend improvements, in accordance with the Statement of Work (SOW) below. Statement of Work (SOW) - Begin Background: The Department of Transportation, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center is reviewing process by which roadside safety hardware development is deemed eligible for federal-aid reimbursement. This SOW provides an outline for this review and development of process improvement recommendations. The Volpe Center in support of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is in the process of completing an independent and full examination of the procedure by which safety hardware is developed, evaluated, deemed eligible for reimbursement, installed, maintained and in-service evaluations (hereafter referred to as the "Roadside Safety Hardware Process") on the National Highway System is being assessed, to determine whether any improvements are needed. This task will include an end-to-end review of the Roadside Safety Hardware - Federal-Aid Reimbursement Eligibility Process including the roles and responsibilities of Federal, State, quasi-governmental, and private sector entities. The end-to-end process will include an examination from product inception and development to product installation and in-service evaluation. Scope of Work: The contractor shall provide an expert in the development and application of public policy related to highway safety. For this effort the public policy expert shall evaluate the existing roadside safety hardware evaluation process and provide recommendations for improvements. This shall include an examination of the existing steps within the evaluation process, the identification of responsible parties for each step, and the evaluation of the overall current process. Included in the review will be an examination of the relationship between and among federal, state, and local agencies within the evaluation process as well as associated organizations, such as AASHTO and TRB. The public policy expert will examine the roles that each of the public agencies plays, determine findings and provide recommended improvements to the existing process. The public policy expert shall be expected to evaluate and provide a proposed structure for improvements in the existing roadside safety hardware evaluation process from a public policy perspective. A focus will be on the relationship among the public agencies involved in the process and a recommendation for which public agencies should be responsible for specific tasks within the overall evaluation process. An emphasis of the work effort will be on identifying the appropriate role that FHWA should play within each stage of the evaluation process as well as the overall roadside safety hardware evaluation process. The public policy expert will address questions including: • From a public policy perspective, does the current process flow chart best utilize public resources and result in a safety focused process? • Is the current process focused on ensuring the proper evaluation and eligibility of roadside safety equipment? • Which public or private agencies are best determined to oversee the specific steps within the process? Which other agencies should be consulted within each of the steps? • What is the proper relationship between public agencies and the sponsors/manufactures of the roadside safety equipment? The public policy expert will work with Volpe staff, Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) and other independent experts from the fields of the design and manufacturing of roadside safety equipment and organizational management. The experts will review the existing process and provide findings and recommendations for improvements to the existing system from their own respective field of expertise and then provide a set of findings and recommendations. Task 1. Review of documentation of existing steps within the process: The contractor will review the work accomplished to date by the Volpe Center in documenting the steps with the roadside safety hardware review process for federal-aid reimbursement eligibility. The Volpe Center will provide its work product for the contractor to review. The work product will include a documentation of the existing flow of steps within the roadside hardware evaluation process, identifying what organizations participate in the process and who has ownership of each step in the process. The contractor shall be tasked with reviewing the draft memo/flowchart (GFI) and providing comments and recommendations for process changes to the documentation of steps. Once the documentation of existing steps within the process has been refined, the contractor shall review a final draft product that details the procedures for evaluating each step within the process as well as the overall process. The contractor shall also provide recommendations on what interviews or further research shall be conducted, and how the overall roadside safety hardware review process will be evaluated. In addition, the contractor shall participate in the determination of how the independent experts will formulate findings and recommendations. Receivables (GFI): Draft memo/flowchart developed by the Volpe Center staff that documents the evaluation process. Deliverables: Written comments on the draft memo/flowchart are due to the COR within 10 days after receipt of the receivable (GFI). Task 2. Evaluation of steps within the process: The contractor shall work to apply the evaluation procedures developed in task 1 to assess the overall hardware review process as well as the individual steps within the process. The evaluation will examine actions by FHWA, State DOTs, other transportation agencies, testing labs, and any other relevant organizations, as determined by the independent experts. The team shall determine key stakeholders that need to be interviewed about both specific portions of the process as well as the overall evaluation process. Included within this evaluation will be an examination of the current regulations and guidance as it now exists, comments that have been received on the roadside safety hardware review process, and an assessment of the information found during the interview process of key stakeholders. The Volpe Center staff will provide technical support to the independent experts by helping set up interviews, taking notes and producing interview summaries for the independent experts. The Volpe Center staff will develop a draft memo/flowchart that documents the improved evaluation process, the outreach process, and the review efforts. Receivables: Draft interview summaries of interviews conducted by the research team. Draft memo/flowchart developed by the Volpe Center staff that documents the improved evaluation process conducted by the independent experts. Deliverables: Written comments on the draft memo/flowchart are due to the COR 10 days after receipt of the receivable. Task 3. Develop a set of findings and recommendations: The contractor shall work to develop a set of findings and recommendations. Based upon the work developed in task 2, the contractor shall develop a draft set of findings and recommendations that, at a minimum: • What actions are recommended be taken to change the process and provide a likely timeline for when recommendation could be implemented? • What was identified in the existing step or overall process that prompted each process improvement recommendation? • How the recommendation will improve the process? • What organization(s) will be affected by the process recommendation? • What organization(s) would need to take action to implement the process recommendation? The identification and refinement of the findings and the recommendations shall be developed by the independent experts. The Volpe Center staff will provide staff support to the independent experts as required. This will include conducting additional research that may be needed and providing any drafting of text or graphics. Receivables: Draft memo/flowchart that outlines the findings and recommendations. Deliverables: Written comments on the draft findings and recommendations are due to COR within 30 days after completion of task 2. Task 4: Review of report: The Volpe Center will produce a report that incorporates the research conducted for this evaluation. This will include documentation of the existing conditions, the documentation of the current evaluation process, and the documentation of the set of findings and recommendations developed by the other independent experts. The contractor shall review the draft report to ensure accuracy and consistency. The contractor will focus on ensuring that the sections of the report that document the evaluation, findings and recommendations properly reflect their own input as an independent expert. Receivables: Draft report that will be written by the Volpe Center staff. The report will include a section that describes the proposed findings and recommendations by all independent experts. Deliverables: Written comments on the draft report are due to COR within 10 days of receipt of the receivable. Task 5: Briefing: The contractor shall review and provide final recommended changes to the draft presentation (in PowerPoint) that will be developed by the Volpe Center staff. The Volpe Center will incorporate those recommendations into the final presentation. The contractor may participate in a briefing of the findings and recommendations of the report to FHWA staff at a date to be determined. Receivables: Draft Briefing presentation (in PowerPoint) developed by the Volpe Center staff. Deliverables: Written comments on the draft briefing due to COR within 10 days of receipt of the receivable. Monthly Status Reports: Contractor shall submit to COR monthly status report during the period of performance no later than the 15th of the month. Place of Performance: All services will be performed at contractor's site. No travel will be required. However, participation in periodic teleconferences as need to discuss the status reports, schedule and issues encountered in performing the work tasks are required and shall be coordinated with the COR. Period of Performance: The period of performance will be date of award through February 26, 2016. Conflicts of interest: To avoid a conflict of interest, the proposal shall identify if contractor or Public Policy Expert: • Are a party to any legal proceedings associated with roadside safety hardware (for either the plaintiff or defendant) • Have a financial interest in a roadside safety hardware device or a testing facility Position Qualifications: Proposals shall contain a resume that details the applicant's qualifications with respect to Public Policy on Highway Safety Hardware. The expert shall evaluate the development and application of public policy as it relates to highway safety hardware. They shall review the current roadside safety hardware evaluation process, the Federal-aid Reimbursement Eligibility process and provide recommendations for improvement of these processes. A minimum of 15 years Public Policy experience of which a minimum of 7 years of experience must be in highway safety policy. Master's degree from an accredited school in business, engineering, or a related technical field. Working knowledge of the Federal Highway Administration and AASHTO's Roadside Safety Hardware policies and guidance. ATTACHMENT Attachment 1: Instructions, Conditions, and Notice to Offerors Statement of Work (SOW) - End REQUIREMENTS/SPECIFICATIONS The Government intends to award a non-personal labor-hour purchase order as a result of this Combined Synopsis/Solicitation. This notice is expected to result in a single award, subject to receipt of an acceptable proposal. The Offeror's proposal shall be prepared in accordance with Attachment 1, Instructions, Conditions, and Notice to Offerors. The Offeror's price quotation shall include a labor-hour price for CLIN 0100. CLIN 0100 - Evaluate and provide recommendations to improve the public policy with the federal-aid reimbursement eligibility process for roadside safety hardware Unit Price: $_____________HR x 225 Hours = Total Price: $_________________ INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS: FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items - The Offeror's proposal shall be prepared in accordance with the instructions described in Attachment 1, Instructions, Conditions, and Notice to Offerors. The offer should be addressed to the following: U.S. Department of Transportation, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Attn: Karen Marino, V-222, 55 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02142. The signed offer must be submitted via e-mail to Karen.Marino@dot.gov. The time for receipt of offers is 3:00 PM Eastern Time on 11/19/2015 All Offerors must include a completed copy of the provision at FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items. An Offeror shall complete only paragraph (b) of this provision if the Offeror has completed the annual representations and certifications electronically using the System for Award Management (SAM) accessible via http://www.sam.gov. If the Offeror has not completed the annual representations and certifications electronically in SAM, the Offeror shall complete only paragraphs (c) through (o) of this provision. The Offeror is reminded that if it completes its annual representations and certifications electronically in SAM it must update its representations and certifications as necessary, but at least annually, to ensure they are kept current, accurate, and complete. All Contractors must be registered in SAM in order to receive an award from a DOT Agency. FAR Clause 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, is hereby incorporated by reference. FAR Clause 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items, is hereby incorporated by reference Additional clauses cited in 52.212-5 that apply to this acquisition are: 52-209-6, 52.222-3, 52.222-19, 52.222-21, 52.222-26, 52.222-35, 52.222-36, 52.222-37, 52.222-40, 52.222-50, 52.223-15, 52.223-16, 52.223-18, 52.225-1, 52.232-33 and 52.232-40. These references may be viewed at www.acquisition.gov/far. No telephone requests will be honored. The Government will not pay for any information received. The following FAR provision is incorporated by full text: FAR 52.203-98 PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTING WITH ENTITIES THAT REQUIRE CERTAIN INTERNAL CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS-REPRESENTATION (DEVIATION FEB 2015) (a) In accordance with section 743 of Division E, Title VII, of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Resolution Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235), Government agencies are not permitted to use funds appropriated (or otherwise made available) under that or any other Act for contracts with an entity that requires employees or subcontractors of such entity seeking to report fraud, waste, or abuse to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting such employees or subcontractors from lawfully reporting such waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information. (b) The prohibition in paragraph (a) of this provision does not contravene requirements applicable to Standard Form 312, Form 4414, or any other form issued by a Federal department or agency governing the nondisclosure of classified information. (c) Representation. By submission of its offer, the Offeror represents that it does not require employees or subcontractors of such entity seeking to report fraud, waste, or abuse to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting such employees or subcontractors from lawfully reporting such waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information. (End of provision)
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