[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 125 (Monday, June 30, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38743-38745]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-16459]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Broad Agency Announcement 2003-1, Funds Availability for Research 
Projects and Technology Advancements Under the Next Generation High-
Speed Rail Program

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of funds availability: Broad agency announcement (BAA) 
for research projects and technology advancements under the Next 
Generation High-Speed Rail Program.

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Introduction

    The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is soliciting proposal 
concept papers for various research projects, technology advancements 
and/or demonstrations, which can enhance the deployment of high-speed 
rail service in the United States. Technologies most likely to help 
facilitate the deployment of high-speed rail service are those which 
will (a) enhance the revenue-generating capability of high-speed 
operations by attracting greater ridership by reducing trip times, 
upgrading customer service quality, increasing reliability, or 
improving on time performance; (b) bring about capital cost reductions 
and economy in producing equipment and facilities; (c) reduce operating 
costs of high-speed rail service by providing more efficient 
operations; (d) improve the reliability of equipment and infrastructure 
components by reducing failures and/or reducing false failure 
detections; (e) improve safety by reducing human and technology 
failures; and/or (f) enhance the social benefits and/or environmental 
aspects of high-speed rail.

Eligible Participants

    This is an unrestricted solicitation. Any responsible source may 
submit a proposal concept paper for consideration, including, but not 
limited to, states or local governments, or organizations of state or 
local governments, universities or institutions of higher education, 
hospitals, non-profit organizations, private individuals, corporations, 
businesses or commercial organizations, except that any business owned 
in whole or in part by the Federal Government is not eligible. Although 
businesses owned in whole or in part by the Federal Government are not 
eligible for funding under the Program, they may contract with eligible 
participants. Cooperative arrangements (e.g., joint ventures, limited 
partnerships, teaming arrangements, or collaboration and consortium 
arrangements) are permitted and encouraged. Small, Small Disadvantaged 
(SD), and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Concerns, and 
Veteran-Owned (VO) and Woman-Owned (WO), and Historically Underutilized 
Business Zone (HUBZone) Small Business Concerns, and Historically Black 
Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Minority Institutions (MIs) are 
encouraged to submit proposal concept papers on their own and/or in 
collaboration with others. However, no portion of this BAA will be set 
aside or reserved exclusively for Small, SD, or Service-Disabled 
Veteran-Owned Business Concerns, or for VO, WO, or HUBZone Small 
Business Concerns, or for HBCU and MIs.

Exchanges and Points of Contact

    Exchanges of information between interested parties and the 
Government, prior to submission of proposal concept papers, are 
strongly encouraged. Such informal exchanges may provide potential 
offerors with preliminary information on the Government's level of 
interest in prospective works or projects and possibly forestall costly 
effort on the part of interested parties whose proposed work may not be 
of interest to the FRA under this BAA. Any exchanges of information 
must be consistent with procurement integrity requirements of section 
27 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 423, as 
amended) (see Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 3.104). For pre-
submission technical inquires, interested parties may contact the BAA 
primary technical point of contact, Mr. Robert McCown (Tel: 202/493-
6350, Fax: 202/493-6333), or one of the other, secondary technical 
points of contact identified in Appendix A of the BAA 2003-1 Proposal 
Preparation Package, located at the following address: http://www.eps.gov/EPSData/DOT/Synopses/1042/BAA-2003-1/ (* See Note). 
Offerors are advised that an indication of interest, in the 
affirmative, is not meant to imply nor in any way imparts an obligation 
on the part of the Government that an award will be forthcoming for the 
offered work or project. All non-technical inquiries should be directed 
to the Grants/Contracting Officers, Mr. Robert Carpenter (Tel: 202/493-
6153, Fax: 202/493-6171, Email: [email protected]) or Ms. 
Illona Williams (Tel: 202/493-6130, Fax: 202/493-6171, Email: 
[email protected]). After submission of proposals, all 
exchanges (both technical and non-technical) will be conducted through 
the Grants/Contracting Officers in accordance with FAR 15.306.

BAA Time Line

    BAA 2003-1 will be open from the date of posting of the BAA 2003-1 
Proposal Preparation Package on FedBizOpps, formerly known as the 
Electronic Posting System (EPS), through June 30, 2004. Prospective 
offerors may submit and the FRA will accept proposal concept papers as 
of the date the BAA 2003-1 Proposal Preparation Package is posted on 
FedBizOpps and/or the Federal Register. Unless BAA 2003-1 is superseded 
or canceled, FRA will continue to accept concept submissions and 
inquiries through June 30, 2004. Although the BAA is open for an 
extended period, interested parties would be well advised to submit 
proposals as early as possible. Once posted, the BAA 2003-1 Proposal 
Preparation Package may be download or printed from the following 
Internet address: http://www.eps.gov/EPSData/DOT/Synopses/1042/BAA-2003-1/ (* See Note). The FRA does not intend to make the BAA 2003-1 
Proposal Preparation Package available in hard copy. Reviews will begin 
and will be conducted continuously on receipt of concept papers. 
Offerors will be notified as soon as initial reviews are completed. 
FRA's target for initial review results is 120 days after submission.

Funding Authority and Related Information

    Funds for this program are authorized in the Consolidated 
Appropriations

[[Page 38744]]

Resolution, 2003, Public Law 108-7 (February 20, 2003). FRA will make 
available up to $6.5 million under the BAA during fiscal year 2003 (FY 
03) and fiscal year 2004 (FY 04), through the BAA 2003-1 open period, 
for awards of proposal concept papers evaluated favorably and 
determined by the FRA to be consistent with the objectives of this BAA 
and of interest to the Government, and for which adequate funding 
exists. FY 03 awards are subject to the availability of FY 03 
appropriations or the continued availability of unobligated FY 02 or 
other prior no-year funds. No funding provision or commitment can be 
made at the time of award for phased or expanded work or projects 
beyond the initial or base phase funded at time of award that the 
applicant may propose in its submissions. In the event future 
appropriated funds are authorized for the Program, FRA may, at its 
discretion, provide additional funding for phased or expended effort 
under existing awards. Awards may be of any dollar value (so long as 
those amounts do not exceed the total amount available under the BAA), 
but it is anticipated that most, if not all, individual awards (or that 
part of the Government's portion in a cost sharing arrangement) will 
have dollar values ranging between $25,000 and $500,000 each. 
Prospective offerors are advised that contract awards greater than 
$500,000 will generally require the awardee (except a small business 
concern) to already have in place or prepare, at or before the time of 
award, an acceptable plan to maximize the participation of small 
business enterprises to include separate goals for using small and SD 
businesses, and WO, VO, and HUBZone small businesses as subcontractors. 
Prospective offerors are advised that contract awards greater than 
$500,000 may require the submission and certification of cost and 
pricing data. Although cost sharing by awardees is not mandatory under 
this BAA, because of the potential for long-term benefits to those 
firms or institutions involved in these research development and 
demonstration activities, it is FRA's policy to obtain cost 
participation, whenever possible. This is preferred when FRA supports 
research, development, or demonstration efforts, where the principal 
purpose is ultimate commercialization and utilization of the 
technologies by the private sector, and when there are reasonable 
expectations that the offeror will receive present or future economic 
benefits beyond the instant contract/agreement as a result of 
performance of the effort. For the purposes of this BAA, cost 
participation is a generic term denoting any situation where the 
Government does not fully reimburse the offeror for all allowable costs 
necessary to accomplish the project or effort under the contract or 
other award instrument. The term encompasses cost sharing, cost 
matching, participation in-kind or other investment of resources as a 
means of venture sharing in lieu of a formal cost sharing arrangement, 
third-party in-kind contributions, cost limitations (direct or 
indirect) and similar concepts. Generally, many forms of cost 
participation, by their very nature and definition, minimize or negate 
the opportunity for profit or fee. Prospective offerors are cautioned 
that only the cognizant Grants/Contracting Officers can legally commit 
the Government to the expenditure of public funds under this BAA.

Awards

    An offer must be found acceptable under all applicable evaluation 
factors and subfactors to be considered eligible for award. All 
evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, are 
significantly more important than cost or price alone. Technical 
evaluation is appreciably more important than cost or price and, as 
such, greater consideration shall be given to technical excellence 
rather than cost or price alone. Cost or price is somewhat more 
important than past performance and, as such, greater consideration 
shall be given to cost or price rather than past performance alone. 
Tradeoffs, as described in FAR Part 15, are also allowed. Awards will 
be made to those responsible offerors whose offers provide the best 
value to the Government, in terms of technical excellence, cost or 
price, and performance risk (as applicable), and other factors--to 
include consistency and accord with the objectives of the BAA and the 
FRA's mission and its interest in pursuing the proposed research 
project, technology advancement and/or demonstration. Awards may take 
the form of contracts, grants or cooperative agreements. Contracts will 
be used when the principal purpose is the acquisition of supplies or 
services (including research and development) for the direct benefit or 
use of the Federal Government. It is anticipated that most contracts 
resulting from this BAA will be cost-reimbursement type contracts 
(i.e., cost, cost-sharing, or cost-plus-fixed-fee). These types of 
contracts permit reimbursement of the actual cost of performing the 
contracted work, and may or may not allow for profit or fee. Cost-
reimbursement contracts are suitable for use only when uncertainties in 
contract performance do not permit costs to be estimated with 
sufficient accuracy to use any type of fixed-price contract. Some 
contracts resulting from this BAA may be awarded on a fixed-price basis 
(e.g., firm-fixed price completion, or firm-fixed-price level-of-effort 
term contracts). Fixed-price contracts are used when the research/work 
effort can be estimated accurately and the services to be rendered are 
reasonably definite. Other contract types, as described in FAR Part 16, 
may also be used. To the maximum extent practicable, the Government 
will structure contracts awarded under the BAA using ``Performance-
based contracting'' methods. As described in FAR Part 37.6, 
performance-based contracting methods are intended to ensure that 
required performance quality levels are achieved and that total payment 
is related to the degree that services performed meet contract 
standards. Performance-based contracts (a) describe the requirements in 
terms of results required rather than the methods of performance of the 
work; (b) use measurable performance standards (i.e., terms of quality, 
timeliness, quantity, etc.) and quality assurance surveillance plans; 
(c) specify procedures for reductions of fee or for reductions to the 
price of a fixed-price contract when services are not performed or do 
not meet contract requirements; and (d) include performance incentives 
where appropriate. Because of the broad range and diversity of 
activities that may be proposed under the BAA, it does not lend itself 
to the use of a common work statement. As such, no single North 
American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code (formerly Standard 
Industrial Classification (SIC) codes), will be issued for the BAA. 
NAICS codes will be specific to each individual contract award, as 
determined by the type of activity in which the actual offeror will be 
engaged, and as a function of the ownership characteristics of the 
prospective offeror. Grants or cooperative agreements will be used when 
the principal purpose of the transaction is to stimulate or support 
research and development for public purposes. When awarding federal 
financial assistance through a grant or a cooperative agreement, the 
most appreciable difference in choosing between the two forms will be 
the level of involvement between the FRA and the recipient when 
carrying out the activity contemplated in the agreement. Substantial 
FRA involvement is permitted in cooperative agreements.

[[Page 38745]]

Offers (i.e., proposal concept papers) being pursued as (or which are 
subsequently determined by FRA as) Federal financial assistance (e.g., 
grants or cooperative agreements), must be accompanied by the 
appropriate application forms. Applicants may include in their 
submissions for consideration an opinion on the type of award 
instrument they consider would be the most suitable or appropriate 
venue for their proposed research projects, technology advancements or 
demonstrations. This will normally also be reflected in the structure 
of the cost/price portion of the applicants' proposals. All awards will 
be subject to the availability of funds. Prospective offerors are 
cautioned that only the Grants/Contracting Officer can legally commit 
the Government to the expenditure of public funds under this BAA.

Areas of Technology Interest

    Technologies that are high priority research candidates for 
evaluation pursuant to this announcement include (a) grade crossing 
hazard mitigation systems, (b) innovative, low cost technologies to 
improve track and structures, (c) advanced train control systems, (d) 
non-electric locomotives and passenger equipment systems, and (f) other 
scientific study, technology adaptation, or demonstration directed 
toward advancing the state-of-the-art or increasing the knowledge or 
understanding of high-speed passenger rail service in the U.S.

Proposal Concept Papers and Preparation Instructions

    Proposal concept papers should be twenty (20) pages or less (except 
as otherwise noted), in letter print no less than 10 point type, on 
letter-size paper, numbered, and fully legible in all required copies. 
Each concept should be submitted only once. An offeror's submission of 
substantially the same concept (under different topical Areas of 
Interest) will only be evaluated once. FRA will consider each proposal 
concept paper in the topical Area of Interest identified in the BAA 
that is most relevant and provides for the greatest opportunity or 
chance for award. Proposal concept paper submissions should not include 
promotional brochures, advertisements, taped recordings, or other 
extraneous material. Proposal concept paper submissions must contain a 
Technical Concept Section and a separate Cost or Pricing Section. A 
separate Past Performance Information Section is also required from all 
offerors other than state or local governments, or organizations of 
state or local governments, or universities or institutions of higher 
education where the total estimated project cost is $100,000 or 
greater. A separate Optional Phased or Follow-on Section is required 
for concepts involving phased or follow-on research projects. Offers 
(i.e., proposal concept papers) being pursued as (or which are 
subsequently determined by FRA as) Federal financial assistance awards 
(e.g., grants or cooperative agreements) should be accompanied by the 
appropriate application forms or related submission materials. 
Successful offers that are to be awarded as Federal financial 
assistance must have the appropriate application forms in place prior 
to award. Submissions that are incomplete or materially lacking, 
pursuant to the instructions in the BAA 2003-1 Proposal Preparation 
Package, may be returned unevaluated, or evaluated as is, without 
further opportunity for revision, at the discretion of the Source 
Selection Authority. Specific content and format requirements and 
additional instructions for preparing submissions, as well as further 
information on the areas of interest themselves and the evaluation/
selection process, are provided in the BAA 2003-1 Proposal Preparation 
Package, available at the following location: http://www.eps.gov/EPSData/DOT/Synopses/1042/BAA-2003-1/ (* See Note).

Evaluation Criteria

    Proposal concept papers (and other submissions, if and when 
requested) will be evaluated using the following criteria, which are 
listed in descending order of relative importance: (1) The relationship 
of the proposed research project, technology advancement and/or 
demonstration to the FRA's mission and its potential to advance U.S. 
high-speed rail technology, and the extent to which its application to 
railroad operations would improve intercity passenger operations 
through improved railroad capital equipment or infrastructure, traffic 
control centers, interfaces among these, or operating methods, and/or 
its potential for performance improvement in one or more qualities such 
as, cost effectiveness, reliability, safety, availability, or 
maintainability. (2) The overall scientific and/or technical merit of 
the proposal. (3) The technical qualifications and demonstrated 
experience of key personnel proposed to perform the technical efforts. 
(4) The administrative qualifications and demonstrated experience of 
the proposing organization to support the project. (5) The 
reasonableness and realism of the proposed costs and fee (if any). (6) 
The extent of any proposed cost sharing/cost participation under the 
proposed effort (exclusive of the offeror's prior investment). (7) The 
extent or level of relevant corporate past performance, or relevant 
past performance by key personnel or by subcontractors or parties to 
cooperative arrangements. (Note: Assessments of past performance will 
not be applicable to offers/applications from states or local 
governments or organizations of state or local governments, or 
universities or institutions of higher education.) This announcement 
constitutes the only solicitation. No other request for proposals or 
announcements will be issued. The complete BAA 2003-1 Proposal 
Preparation Package can be found at: http://www.eps.gov/EPSData/DOT/Synopses/1042/BAA-2003-1/ (* See Note).

    * Note: In the event that this link fails to lead to the 
directory for the BAA 2003-1 Proposal Preparation Package, it can be 
found by performing a search from FedBizOpps Home Page: http://www.fedbizopps.gov/. From the homepage, select ``Find Business 
Opportunities'', and then perform a search for ``BAA 2003-1'' under 
Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration.


    Dated: June 9, 2003
Mark Yachmetz,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Development.
[FR Doc. 03-16459 Filed 6-27-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P