Competitive Research Funding Opportunity: Redesign of Transit Bus Operator Compartment To Improve Safety, Operational Efficiency, and Passenger Accessibility.
| Citation | 85 FR 7820 |
| Record Number | 2020-02624 |
| Published date | 11 February 2020 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Federal Transit Administration |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 28 (Tuesday, February 11, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 11, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7820-7825]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02624]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Competitive Research Funding Opportunity: Redesign of Transit Bus
Operator Compartment To Improve Safety, Operational Efficiency, and
Passenger Accessibility.
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and Solicitation of
Project Proposals.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the
availability of $2,000,000 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Public
Transportation Innovation Program (49 U.S.C. 5312) funds for the
redesign of the transit bus operator compartment to improve operator
and public safety. Bus operator assaults have been increasing. On July
6, 2015, the Transit Advisory Committee for Safety (TRACS) published
report 14-01, ``Reinventing and Mitigating Transit Worker Assaults in
the Bus and Rail Transit Industry,'' (14-01 Report) highlighting news
articles documenting bus operator assaults. The report recommended
incorporating measures such as installing protective barriers and
educating the workforce in conflict resolution tactics. This NOFO
provides an opportunity to reevaluate the bus operator compartment and
develop innovative solutions to the space around the bus operator with
the purpose to not just increase safety, but also to improve bus
operator efficiency and passenger accessibility. FTA is seeking to fund
cooperative agreements to engage in the research and development of new
transit bus operator compartment designs in partnership with bus
manufacturers, technology vendors, vehicle engineering and design
firms, and transit agencies. The major goals of this program are to
support a redesign of the bus operator compartment that improves bus
operator and public safety, and to improve bus operator access to key
vehicle instruments and controls without hindering the accessibility of
the bus. Transit agency partners would have an important role to test a
promising compartment redesign. This research will apply only to
transit buses that are 40 ft. or longer, and almost exclusively used
for local, fixed-route public transportation revenue service.
An eligible lead applicant and eligible project partners and
subrecipients under this program may include, but are not limited to,
providers of public transportation; State and local governmental
entities; departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the
Government, including Federal laboratories; private or non-profit
organizations; institutions of higher education; and technical and
community colleges. This notice solicits competitive proposals to
address the objectives described under the Program Description of this
notice, provides instructions for submitting proposals, describes
criteria FTA will use to identify meritorious proposals for funding,
and the process to apply for funding.
This announcement is also available at: https://www.transit.dot.gov/grants.
A synopsis of this funding opportunity will be posted in the FIND
module of the government-wide electronic grants at http://www.grants.gov. The funding Opportunity ID is FTA-2020-003-TRI-BCP and
the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number for FTA's
Public Transportation Innovation Program (49 U.S.C. 5312) is 20.530.
DATES: Complete proposals are due by 11:59 p.m. EST on Tuesday, March
24, 2020.
ADDRESSES: All proposals must be submitted electronically through the
Grants.gov ``APPLY'' function. Prospective applicants should initiate
the process by registering on the Grants.gov website promptly to ensure
completion of the application process before the submission deadline.
Instructions for applying can be found on FTA's website at https://www.transit.dot.gov/grants and in the ``FIND'' module of Grants.gov.
Mail and fax submissions will not be accepted.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please send any questions related to
this notice to Jamel El-Hamri, Office of Research, Demonstration, and
Innovation (TRI), by email at [email protected], or by telephone
at (202) 366-8985. A TDD is available for individuals who are deaf or
hard of hearing at 1-800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Contents
A. Program Description
B. Federal Award Information
C. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants
2. Eligible Projects
3. Cost Sharing or Matching
4. Other Requirements
a. Evaluation and Data Requirements
D. Application and Submission Information
1. Address and Form of Application Submission
2. Proposal Content
3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management
(SAM) Registration in Brief
4. Submission Dates and Times
5. Funding Restrictions
E. Application Review
1. Evaluation Criteria
a. Project Innovation and Impact
b. Project Approach
c. National Applicability
d. Team Capacity and Commitment
e. Commercialization or Dissemination Plan
2. Review and Selection Process
3. SAM Review
F. Federal Award Administration
1. Federal Award Notices
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
a. Pre-Award Authority
b. Grant Requirements
c. Planning
d. Standard Assurances Reporting
3. Reporting
G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts
[[Page 7821]]
A. Program Description
FTA's Public Transportation Innovation Program (49 U.S.C. 5312)
authorizes FTA to fund research, development, demonstration, and
deployment projects to improve public transportation. The ``Redesign of
Transit Bus Operator Compartment to Improve Safety, Operational
Efficiency, and Passenger Accessibility Program'' is a competitive
research and development opportunity under FTA's research emphasis
areas of innovation, infrastructure and safety. This program supports
the U.S. Department of Transportation's Safety and Infrastructure goals
to provide technical and financial support to design, build, and deploy
innovative solutions and advanced-technology systems to make crucial
improvements in public transit infrastructure that reduce injuries and
fatalities.
Over the past decade, the level and intensity of assaults on
transit bus operators has increased. Bus operators are being physically
assaulted and do not have enough protection in their bus compartment.
Bus operators need a compartment that is safe and secure, and one where
they can safely steer transit buses through congested traffic,
protecting the lives of passengers, pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers
of other vehicles. The physical and emotional impact of these assaults
on transit bus operators and their travelers is significant. While many
bus operators recover from their physical wounds, the mental and
debilitating emotional damage may linger indefinitely.
Transit agencies are not immune to the effects of these assaults.
Lost work hours due to related injuries and illness have impacted
service. As an indirect consequence ridership decreases due to declines
in service reliability and loss of public confidence in buses being
secure and safe.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, there is an increased
risk of workplace violence for workers who have direct contact with the
public, have mobile workplaces or deliver services, work in community
settings, deliver passengers, handle money, and work in small numbers.
Transit bus operators fall into this larger group. Therefore, a safe
working environment coupled with access to key instruments and controls
is critical for transit bus operators.
The Transit Advisory Committee for Safety (TRACS) states in its 14-
01 Report, ``protective infrastructure can hinder assault through
design and technology, thereby playing a key role in assault mitigation
and prevention systems.'' Additionally, TRACS recommended FTA conduct
further research on protective infrastructure for situations in which
transit workers must leave the bus or rail transit vehicle unattended.
For these reasons, FTA is issuing this NOFO to fund innovative
proposals that will increase workplace safety for bus operators, reduce
the opportunity for assaults, and increase security and safety for
travelers. Modifying the bus operator compartment, however, cannot be
at the expense of operator visibility of other roadway users or
passenger accessibility. Because of this, FTA also seeks to address
recommendations put forth by the public transit industry to improve
operator visibility of other roadway users and passenger accessibility
as equal evaluation criteria for this project.
The primary objectives of this project are as follows:
Increase bus operator safety from assaults.
Increase operator visibility to improve safety of
pedestrians and other roadway users (e.g. minimizing bus operator
blind-spots around A-pillars and mirrors of the bus).
Increase passenger accessibility for positive interactions
between operators and passengers, including assisting passengers in
need of special assistance.
Improve ergonomics to reduce bus operator work-related
health issues and injuries, as well as locate key instrument and
control interfaces to improve operational efficiency and convenience.
Reduce operator distractions.
Accommodate Americans with Disabilities Act compliance for
passenger boarding, alighting and securement.
The Redesign of Transit Bus Operator Compartment to Improve Safety,
Operational Efficiency and Passenger Accessibility Program will be
carried out in two phases, based on the availability of Federal
funding.
Phase I: Bus operator compartment re-design competition;
Phase II: Procure, manufacture, and test the redesign through one
or more partner transit agencies and vehicle manufacturers.
This notice will provide funding for Phase I; thus, applicants
should submit proposals to address Phase I. The post award evaluation
process will be managed and conducted by FTA personnel along with FTA
hired independent evaluators. Recipients of Phase I awards with the
most promising redesigns--as determined by FTA in accordance with the
evaluation criteria--will be eligible for Phase II, subject to the
availability of funding.
B. Federal Award Information
A total of $2,000,000 in FY 2018 funds is available for award under
this announcement. FTA intends to fund as many meritorious projects as
possible under this announcement, and FTA recognizes that the available
funding may be insufficient to fund all meritorious projects. FTA may,
at its discretion, select an application for award of less than the
originally-proposed amount if doing so is expected to result in a more
advantageous portfolio of projects. Consequently, proposals should
provide a detailed budget proposal for the fully-realized project as
well as a reduced scope and budget if the project can be scaled down
and still achieve useful results. Applicants should specify and justify
the minimum award amount needed to achieve effective project results.
FTA anticipates a minimum grant award of $250,000 to maximum amount
of $1,000,000. Only proposals from eligible recipients (see section
C.1, below) for eligible activities will be considered for funding.
Funds made available under this program may be used to fund operating
expenses and preventive maintenance directly associated with the
demonstration of the proposed prototype transit bus, but may not be
used to fund such expenses for equipment not essential to the project.
FTA may, at its discretion, provide additional funds for selections
made under this announcement or for additional meritorious proposals,
if additional funding is made available for Section 5312 of title 49,
United States Code. FTA will announce final selections on its website
(www.transit.dot.gov) and may also announce selections in the Federal
Register. FTA seeks projects that can be implemented/started within six
months of project award. The maximum period of performance allowed for
the work covered by the award should not exceed thirty-six (36) months
from the date of award.
C. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants
To be eligible for funding under this notice, applicants must
demonstrate that the proposed project is supported by a lead applicant
in partnership with one or more strategic partner(s) with a substantial
interest and involvement in the project. An application must clearly
identify the eligible lead applicant and all project partners on the
team.
[[Page 7822]]
Eligible lead applicants must be one of the listed entities
prescribed below. Additionally, project partners and subrecipients
under this program may include, but are not limited to:
(a) Public Transportation Systems;
(b) Private for profit and not-for-profit organizations, including
technology system suppliers and bus manufacturers;
(c) Operators of transportation, such as employee shuttle services
or airport connector services or university transportation systems;
(d) State or local government entities; and
(e) Other organizations that may contribute to the success of the
project team including consultants, research consortia or not-for-
profit industry organizations, and institutions of higher education.
The lead applicant must have the ability to carry out the proposed
agreement and procurements with strategic partners in compliance with
its respective State and local laws. FTA may determine that any named
strategic partner in the proposal is a key party and make any award
conditional upon the participation of that key party. A key party, as
approved by FTA, is essential to the project and is, therefore,
eligible for a noncompetitive award to the lead applicant to provide
the goods or services described in the application. A key party on a
selected project may not later be substituted without FTA's approval.
For-profit companies may participate as a strategic partner; however,
entities receiving funding under this program may not charge a fee or
profit from the FTA research program funding.
In instances where a provider(s) of public transportation is a
partner and not the lead applicant, a detailed statement regarding the
role of the provider(s) in the conduct of the project is required. Also
required is a signed letter from the public transportation service
provider's General Manager, or equivalent, of their commitment to the
project and the understanding of the agency's roles/responsibilities in
the project.
2. Eligible Projects
Applicants may submit one proposal for each project but not one
proposal containing multiple projects. Applicants can submit multiple
proposals, but each eligible project proposal must demonstrate the
redesign proposal meets the three main objectives: Operator safety,
operational efficiency, and passenger accessibility.
The goal of this program is to ultimately manufacture the selected
redesign proposals from Phase I in Phase II. For this reason, lead
applicants must partner with at least one transit agency and at least
one transit vehicle manufacturer in Phase I to ensure the redesigns are
feasible and can be manufactured into a prototype. Proposals should
include a cost-benefit analysis of the redesign.
Proposals should also show how bus operators and their unions will
be consulted and involved in the process. FTA will assess the strength
of these partnerships and inclusion activities in the evaluation of
applications.
At the conclusion of Phase I, feasible redesign project(s) will be
selected and move forward to Phase II where applicants will then need
to develop and test a prototype bus(es). Proposals in Phase I should
include how they intend to test their future prototype, including, but
not limited to, a test procedure that validates the redesign's
operability, and identification of the test laboratory that will be
running the test.
Phase I proposals should be separated into a research phase and
design phase. The research phase should document the process to partner
with a vehicle transit manufacturer and transit agency. It should also
demonstrate how the prototype will meet the objectives described in the
Program Description section of this notice, above. The design phase
should include engineering drawings and computer renderings that are
ready for prototype manufacturing. The design phase should demonstrate
that the redesign complies with Federal requirements applicable to
buses.
3. Cost Sharing or Matching
The Federal share of project costs under this program is limited to
eighty percent (80 percent). Applicants may seek a lower Federal
contribution. The applicant must provide the local share of the net
project cost in cash or in-kind, and must document in its application
the source of the local match. Regardless of minimum share
requirements, cost sharing is an evaluation criterion and proposals
with higher local cost share than the minimum twenty percent (20
percent) share requirement will be considered more favorably. Cash and
other high-quality match will be considered more favorably than in-kind
cost matching, though all are acceptable. Eligible sources of local
match are detailed in FTA Research Circular 6100.1E. (available at
https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/fta-circulars/final-circulars).
4. Other Requirements
a. Evaluation and Data Requirements
Upon completion of Phase I, projects funded under this announcement
will be required to gather and share all relevant and required data
with FTA or its designated independent evaluator within appropriate and
agreed-upon timelines, to support project evaluation. The Department
may make available a secure data system to store data for evaluation
(more information available at https://its.dot.gov/data/secure/), or
recipients may suggest an appropriate third-party system where
Departmental analysts can conduct their work, with FTA approval.
Applicants should budget for the costs of data storage and sharing as
appropriate.
In response to the White House Office of Science and Technology
Policy memorandum dated February 22, 2013, entitled ``Increasing Access
to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research,'' U.S. DOT is
incorporating public access requirements into all funding awards
(grants and cooperative agreements) for scientific research. All work
conducted under the Redesign of Transit Bus Operator Compartment to
Improve Safety, Operational Efficiency, and Passenger Accessibility
Program must follow the Department data policies outlined in the DOT
Public Access Plan at: https://ntl.bts.gov/public-access/how-comply.
Recipients are required to include these obligations in any sub-awards
or other related funding agreements.
FTA expects recipients to remove confidential business information
(CBI) and Personally Identifiable Information (PII) before providing
public access to project data. Recipients must ensure the appropriate
data are accessible to FTA and/or the public for a minimum of five
years after the award period of performance expires.
Additionally, information submitted as part of or in support of
this demonstration program-funded project shall make every attempt to
use publicly-available data or data that can be made public and
methodologies that are accepted by industry practice and standards, to
the extent possible. FTA recognizes that certain partnerships may pose
a challenge to data sharing and will work with each recipient to
develop an appropriate data management plan (DMP). Recipients must make
available to FTA copies of all work developed in performance of a
project funded under this announcement, including but not limited to
software and data. Data rights shall be in accordance with 2 CFR
200.315, Intangible property.
[[Page 7823]]
If the submission includes information the applicant considers to
be trade secret or confidential commercial or financial information,
the applicant should do the following: (1) Note on the front cover that
the submission ``Contains Confidential Business Information (CBI)'';
(2) mark each affected page ``CBI''; and (3) highlight or otherwise
denote the CBI portions. FTA protects such information from disclosure
to the extent allowed under applicable law. If FTA receives a Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) request for the information, FTA will follow
the procedures described in the U.S. DOT FOIA regulations (49 CFR part
7). Only information that is ultimately determined to be confidential
under that procedure will be exempt from disclosure under FOIA. Should
FTA receive an order from a court of competent jurisdiction ordering
the release of the information, FTA will provide the recipient timely
notice of such order to allow the recipient the opportunity to
challenge such an order. FTA will not challenge a court order on behalf
of a recipient.
Project teams may be asked to participate in information exchange
meetings, webinars, or outreach events to support FTA's goal of
advancing the state of the practice. Project teams will be required to
work with FTA to support knowledge transfer by participating in a
relevant community of practice or similar activity. Applicants should
allocate a portion of their budgets to support such work, which may
include travel or presentations at key industry gatherings, such as
conferences of the American Public Transportation Association,
Transportation Research Board, and U.S. DOT, among others.
D. Application and Submission Information
1. Address and Form of Application Submission
Project proposals must be submitted electronically through
Grants.gov (www.grants.gov) by Tuesday, March 24, 2020. Mail and fax
submissions will not be accepted. A complete proposal submission will
consist of at least two files: (1) The SF 424 Mandatory form
(downloaded from Grants.gov) and (2) the Applicant and Proposal Profile
supplemental form for the ``Redesign of Transit Bus Operator
Compartment to Improve Safety, Operational Efficiency, and Passenger
Accessibility Program'' found on the FTA website at https://www.transit.dot.gov/research-innovation. The supplemental form provides
guidance and a consistent format for applicants to respond to the
criteria outlined in this NOFO. Once completed, the supplemental form
must be placed in the attachments section of the SF 424 Mandatory form.
Applicants must use the supplemental form designated for the ``Redesign
of Transit Bus Operator Compartment to Improve Safety, Operational
Efficiency, and Passenger Accessibility Program'' and attach it to
their submission in Grants.gov to successfully complete the application
process. A proposal submission may contain additional supporting
documentation as attachments. Supporting documentation could include
but is not limited to support letters, pictures, digitized drawings,
and spreadsheets.
Within 24 to 48 hours after submitting an electronic application,
the applicant should receive 3 email messages from Grants.gov: (1)
Confirmation of successful transmission to Grants.gov, (2) confirmation
of successful validation by Grants.gov, and (3) confirmation of
successful validation by FTA. If confirmations of successful validation
are not received and a notice of failed validation or incomplete
materials is received, the applicant must address the reason for the
failed validation, as described in the email notice, and resubmit
before the submission deadline. If making a resubmission for any
reason, include all original attachments regardless of which
attachments were updated and check the box on the supplemental form
indicating this is a resubmission. Complete instructions on the
application process can be found at https://www.transit.dot.gov/grants.
FTA strongly encourages applicants to submit their applications at
least 72 hours prior to the due date to allow time to receive the
validation messages and to correct any problems that may have caused a
rejection notification. FTA will not accept submissions after the
stated submission deadline for any reason. Grants.gov scheduled
maintenance and outage times are announced on Grants.gov. Deadlines
will not be extended due to scheduled maintenance or outages.
Applicants are encouraged to begin the process of registration on
the Grants.gov website well in advance of the submission deadline.
Instructions on registration process are available at Grants.gov.
Registration is a multi-step process, which may take 3 to 5 days, but
could take as long as several weeks to complete before an application
can be submitted if the applicant needs to obtain certain identifying
numbers external to Grants.gov (for example, applying for an Employer
Identification Number). Registered applicants may still be required to
take steps to keep their registration up to date before submissions can
be made successfully: (1) Registration in the System for Award
Management (SAM) is renewed annually and (2) persons making submissions
on behalf of the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) must be
authorized in Grants.gov by the AOR to make submissions. Applicants may
submit one proposal for each project but not one proposal containing
multiple projects. Information such as proposer name, Federal amount
requested, local match amount, description of areas served, etc. may be
requested in varying degrees of detail on both the SF 424 Form and
Supplemental Form. Applicants must fill in all fields unless stated
otherwise on the forms. Applicants should use both the ``CHECK PACKAGE
FOR ERRORS'' and the ``VALIDATE FORM'' validation buttons on both forms
to check all required fields on the forms, and ensure that the Federal
and local amounts specified are consistent. The information described
in Sections ``E'' through ``H'' below MUST be included and/or addressed
on the SF 424 Form and other supplemental forms for all requests for
the ``Redesign of Transit Bus Operator Compartment to Improve Safety,
Operational Efficiency, and Passenger Accessibility Program'' funding.
2. Proposal Content
At a minimum, every proposal must include an SF-424 form, with the
Applicant and Proposal Profile supplemental form attached. The
Applicant and Proposal Profile supplemental form for this Program can
be found on the FTA website at https://www.transit.dot.gov/research-innovation.
Consistent with the Department's R.O.U.T.E.S. Initiative (https://www.transportation.gov/rural), the Department encourages applicants to
describe how activities proposed in their application would address the
unique challenges facing rural transportation networks, regardless of
the geographic location of those activities.
All applicants are required to provide detailed information on the
Applicant and Proposal Profile supplemental form, including:
(a) State the project title, the overall goals of the project, and
describe the project scope, including anticipated deliverables.
(b) Discuss the current state of practice regarding bus operator
safety, visibility, and passenger accessibility,
[[Page 7824]]
their challenges, and how the proposed project will address those
needs.
(c) Details on whether the proposed project is a new effort or a
continuation of a prior research and degree of improvement over current
bus compartment design and practices.
(d) Address each evaluation criterion separately, demonstrating how
the project responds to each criterion as described in Section E of
this notice, below.
(e) Provide a line-item budget for the total project with enough
detail to indicate the various key components of the project. As FTA
may elect to fund only part of some project proposals, the budget
should provide for the minimum amount necessary to fund specific
project components of independent utility. If the project can be
scaled, provide a scaling plan describing the minimum funding necessary
for a feasible project and the impacts of a reduced funding level.
(f) Provide the Federal amount requested and document the matching
funds, including amount and source of the match (may include local or
private sector financial participation in the project). Provide support
documentation, including financial statements, bond-ratings, and
documents supporting the commitment of non-federal funding to the
project, or a timeframe upon which those commitments would be made.
(g) A project time-line outlining steps from project implementation
through completion, including significant milestones and the roles of
the responsible team members.
(h) The proposed methods to demonstrate the engineering designs and
computer renderings of Phase I.
(i) The technologies and design modifications to be used in this
project and explanation of the principle of operation.
(j) A description of any exceptions or waivers to FTA requirements
or policies necessary to successfully implement the proposed project.
FTA is not inclined to grant exceptions from its requirements, but may
consider exceptions if the applicant can show a compelling benefit.
(k) Potential issues (technical or other) that may impact the
success of the project.
(l) Address whether other Federal funds have been sought for the
project.
(m) Provide Congressional district information for the project's
place(s) of performance.
3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (Sam)
Registration in Brief
FTA recommends allowing ample time for completion of all steps.
STEP 1: Obtain DUNS Number: Same day. If requested by phone (1-866-
705-5711) DUNS is provided immediately. Go to the Dun & Bradstreet
website at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform to obtain the number.
STEP 2: Register With SAM: Three to five business days or up to two
weeks. If you already have a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), your
SAM registration will take 3-5 business days to process. If you are
applying for an EIN please allow up to 2 weeks. Ensure that your
organization or an authorizing official is registered with SAM. FTA may
not make a Federal award to an applicant until the applicant has
complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and SAM
requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the
requirements by the time FTA is ready to make a Federal award, FTA may
determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal
award and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal award
to another applicant.
STEP 3: Username & Password: Same day. Complete your Authorized
Organization Representative (AOR) profile on Grants.gov and create your
username and password.
STEP 4: AOR Authorization: Same day. The organization's E-Business
Point of Contact (E-Biz POC) must login to Grants.gov to confirm the
AOR. Please note that there can be more than one AOR per organization.
In some cases, the E-Biz POC is also the AOR for an organization.
STEP 5: Track AOR Status: At any time, you can track your AOR
status by logging in with your username and password. Login as an
Applicant under applicant profile.
4. Submission Dates and Times
Project proposals must be submitted electronically through http://www.grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. EST on Tuesday, March 24, 2020.
5. Funding Restrictions
Funds under this NOFO cannot be used to reimburse projects for
otherwise eligible expenses incurred prior to FTA award of a Grant
Agreement or Cooperative Agreement unless FTA has issued a ``Letter of
No Prejudice'' for the project before the expenses are incurred.
This program is a research and development effort and as such FTA
Circular 6100.1E rules will apply in administering the program
(available at https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/fta-circulars/final-circulars).
E. Application Review
1. Evaluation Criteria
Projects will be evaluated by FTA according to the five evaluation
criteria described in this section. Each applicant is encouraged to
demonstrate the responsiveness of a project to all the criteria shown
below with the most relevant information that the proposer can provide.
Consistent with the Department's R.O.U.T.E.S. Initiative (https://www.transportation.gov/rural), the Department recognizes that rural
transportation networks face unique challenges. To the extent that
those challenges are reflected in the merit criteria listed in this
section, the Department will consider how the activities proposed in
the application will address those challenges, regardless of the
geographic location of those activities.
FTA will assess the extent to which a proposal addresses the
following criteria:
a. Project Innovation and Impact
i. Effectiveness of the project in achieving and demonstrating the
specific requirements identified under the objectives of this program.
ii. Degree of public and operator safety, and operational
efficiency improvement over current and existing technologies
applicable to the bus operator compartment design and passenger
accessibility.
b. Project Approach
i. Quality of the project approach, including bus interface design,
existing partnerships and collaboration strategies in meeting the
objectives of the program.
ii. Level of cost share by project partners to support the proposed
project (in-kind or cash).
iii. Details on whether the proposed project is a new effort or a
continuation of a related research project and how the project plans to
move from Phase I to Phase II if the proposed redesign is selected.
c. National Applicability
i. Degree to which the new compartment design could be replicated
by other transit bus manufacturers regionally or nationally.
ii. Ability to evaluate technologies and designs in a wide variety
of conditions and locales.
[[Page 7825]]
iii. Degree to which the proposed redesign could be used for buses
of different capacity such as 35-foot or 60-foot buses. Applicability
to smaller body-on-chassis buses is not required for this program, but
is desirable.
iv. Degree to which the compartment design elements could be
retrofitted to existing transit buses.
d. Team Capacity and Commitment
i. Timeliness of the proposed project schedule, and reasonableness
of the proposed milestones.
ii. Availability of existing resources (physical facilities, human
resources including bus operators and civil rights specialists,
partnerships with TVMs and vendors) to carry out the project.
iii. Demonstrated capacity and experience of the partners to carry
out project of similar size and/or scope.
iv. Clear performance management strategy for tracking results and
a public data management plan approach including where data will be
housed and shared.
e. Commercialization or Dissemination Plan
i. Demonstrates cost-effective manufacturability of the redesigned
compartment.
ii. Description of how the project team plans to disseminate the
result of the project to the transit industry.
iii. The anticipated intangible benefits, such as increasing bus
operator retention, making public transportation service more appealing
to potential passengers, providing educational opportunities, or
reducing negative externalities such as bus operator injuries, stress,
and downtime.
2. Review and Selection Process
A technical evaluation panel comprised of FTA subject matter expert
and possibly other U.S. DOT staff will review project proposals against
the evaluation criteria listed above. Members of the technical
evaluation panel reserve the right to seek clarification from any
applicant about any ambiguous statement in the proposal. FTA may also
request additional documentation or information to be considered during
the evaluation process. After a thorough evaluation of all valid
proposals, the technical evaluation panel will provide project
recommendations to the FTA Administrator. The FTA Administrator will
determine the final list of project selections, and the amount of
funding for each project. Geographic diversity, diversity of project
type, and the applicant's receipt of other Federal funding may be
considered in FTA's award decisions.
3. SAM Review
FTA, prior to making a Federal award with a total amount of Federal
share greater than the simplified acquisition threshold (currently
$350,000), is required to review and consider any information about the
applicant that is in the designated integrity and performance system
accessible through SAM (currently FAPIIS) (see 41 U.S.C. 2313). An
applicant, at its option, may review information in the designated
integrity and performance systems accessible through SAM and comment on
any information about itself that a Federal awarding agency previously
entered and is currently in the designated integrity and performance
system accessible through SAM. FTA will consider any comments by the
applicant, in addition to the other information in the designated
integrity and performance system, in making a judgment about the
applicant's integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under
Federal awards when completing the review of risk posed by applicants
as described in Sec. 200.205 Federal awarding agency review of risk
posed by applicants.
F. Federal Award Administration
FTA intends to fund as many meritorious projects as possible to
support executing eligible project activities. To enhance the value of
the portfolio of research and demonstration projects to be implemented,
FTA reserves the right to request an adjustment of the project scope
and budget of any proposal selected for funding. Such adjustments shall
not constitute a material alteration of any aspect of the proposal that
influenced the proposal evaluation or decision to fund the project.
FTA also reserves the right to terminate and re-compete a
project(s) awarded under this notice when a project sponsor(s) fail to
meet the requirements set forth under this notice.
1. Federal Award Notice
FTA will publish final project selections on the FTA website, to
include a list of the selected projects, including Federal dollar
amounts and recipients.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
a. Pre-Award Authority
FTA will issue specific guidance to recipients regarding pre-award
authority at the time of selection. FTA does not provide pre-award
authority for competitive funds until projects are selected and the
applicable Federal requirements are met. Preparation of proposals is
not an eligible pre-award expense.
b. Grant Requirements
Successful proposals will be awarded through FTA's Transit Award
Management System (TrAMS) as Cooperative Agreements.
c. Planning
FTA encourages applicants to engage the appropriate State
Departments of Transportation, Regional Transportation Planning
Organizations, or Metropolitan Planning Organizations in areas likely
to be served by the project funds made available under this program.
d. Standard Assurances
The applicant assures that it will comply with all applicable
Federal statutes, regulations, executive orders, FTA circulars, and
other Federal administrative requirements in carrying out any project
supported by the FTA grant or cooperative agreement. The applicant
acknowledges that it is under a continuing obligation to comply with
the terms and conditions of the grant or cooperative agreement issued
for its project with FTA. The applicant understands that Federal laws,
regulations, policies, and administrative practices might be modified
from time to time and may affect the implementation of the project. The
applicant agrees that the most recent Federal requirements will apply
to the project, unless FTA issues a written determination otherwise.
The applicant must submit the Certifications and Assurances before
receiving a grant if it does not have current certifications on file.
3. Reporting
Post-award reporting requirements include submission of Federal
Financial Reports and Milestone Progress Reports in FTA's electronic
grants management system on a quarterly basis for all projects.
G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts
For further information concerning this notice please contact Jamel
El-Hamri at [email protected] or 202-366-8985. A TDD is available
for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing at 1-800-877-8339.
Issued in Washington, DC.
K. Jane Williams,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2020-02624 Filed 2-10-20; 8:45 am]
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