Request for Proposals

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ITS America Staff Contact: Adam Hopps | ahopps@itsa.org

Request for Proposals

Connected Responder:

Public Safety and Emergency Response

Community Connected Vehicle Interest,

Context and Business Case Development

RFP Schedule

RFP Release Date: April 30, 2015

Questions due by: May 8, 2015

Responses from ITS America by: May 15, 2015

Proposals due by: May 29, 2015

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ITS America Contact: ahopps@itsa.org

ITS America

Transportation Safety Advancement Group

Introduction and Background

There is considerable interest in Connected Vehicles within the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) community, and for good reason: the promise of connectivity enables delivery of unprecedented data-driven and near real time services spanning safety, mobility and environmental applications. This interest and some foundational work has extended to the public safety and emergency response community with research conducted under the auspices Dynamic Mobility Applications (DMA) Program as part of the Connected Vehicle work within the ITS Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT): the Response, Emergency Staging and Communications, Uniform Management, and Evacuation (R.E.S.C.U.M.E.) project. The project team solicited stakeholder input in developing concept of operation and engineering a prototype for a bundle of applications to leverage portable devices in providing and disseminating new information to “quickly detect and assess incidents and their effects on traffic flow, model the evacuation flow and push information to evacuees, and help responders identify the best available resources and ways to allocate them in the timeliest manner.” It was demonstrated to provide real-time information to operations centers and traffic management centers, which will improve traffic and route guidance during incidents and evacuations.”1 Additionally, the ITS JPO Connected Vehicle Reference Implementation Architecture (CVRIA) includes four explicit public safety concepts: Advanced Automatic Crash Notification Relay, Emergency Communications and Evacuation, Incident Scene Pre-Arrival Staging and Guidance for Emergency Responders (which is a R.E.S.C.U.M.E. application) and Incident Scene Work Zone Alerts for Drivers and Workers. The CVRIA also describes concepts for Emergency Vehicle Alert and Vehicle Emergency Response Applications under the Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) Safety category2.

It is clear that public safety and emergency response community is in the consciousness of the Connected Vehicle community, but there is growing circumstantial evidence that the converse is not true. While R.E.C.U.M.E. was successful and the project did solicit stakeholder input, it was a research program aimed with limited, albeit important outreach, aimed at mobility applications. There is not post facto targeting of public safety and emergency response stakeholders. Critically, there are significant ITS JPO, NHTSA and industry efforts aimed at V2V safety (and rulemaking). In conjunction, there are ITS JPO and FHWA efforts underway to develop vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) deployment guidance for road users and operators, resulting in an incipient V2I Deployment Coalition led by American Association of State Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITSA).

A key to engaging the public safety and response community is a focused effort to provide stakeholders, who are primary service providers and key leadership partners in the roadway safety and operations community, with information and to, in turn, receive that information and channel it to these projects for a successful and expeditious deployment of applications

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See: http://www.its.dot.gov/factsheets/pdf/JPO_FS_RESCUME_v3.pdf

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ITS America Contact: ahopps@itsa.org and services important to the community. Awareness is critical in another dimension as well: the rapid emergence of the Connected Vehicle will present opportunities for affected agencies and service providers to more effectively adapt and manage their systems and operational practices to fully leverage the prospective benefits of Connected Vehicle Implementation.

Objective

In light of the aforementioned needs, this project will:

 Describe Connected Vehicle technology and operational characteristics in the language and operations of the public safety and emergency response community.

o The definition of public safety is to reference and focus on the first responder community.

 Determine and convey the general impacts and realistic benefits of Connected Vehicles to the Emergency Responder community.

 Describe these general impacts and realistic benefits of Connected Vehicles for Emergency Response to the larger transportation community.

 Establish a framework and business case to enable public safety and emergency response agencies to support Connected Vehicles.

Scope of Work

The Scope of Work for this task order contains the following tasks:  Task 1: Project Management

 Task 2: Develop Business Case

o Task 2.1 - Develop Connected Vehicle technology briefing paper and webinar o Task 2.2 Develop public safety and emergency response needs assessment

business case framework o Task 2.3 Develop approach for

 Task 3: Application of Business Case Framework and Development of Business Plan o Task 3.1 - Conduct and synthesize technology scan, then define primary

Connected Vehicle use cases for the public safety and emergency response community

o Task 3.2 - Apply business case framework defined in Task 2 to assess quantifiable benefits, then develop Task 3 summary report and PowerPoint presentation o Task 3.3 - Conduct webinar to solicit inputs

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Task 1: Project Management

Task 1.1 - Project Plan

The contractor shall provide task order management support that will fully integrate, manage, control and document project requirements. The contractor shall be the focal point for all areas assigned by the ITSA project manager (PM) and shall keep the PM fully informed both verbally and in writing. The contractor shall provide a draft and final version of a Project Plan for managing this project. At a minimum this plan shall include:

 All technical activities (including documentation development) identified and organized in a

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) at a level of detail sufficient for the contractor to manage the work to include staffing by task/milestone. At a minimum the contractor shall include start-up, planning, execution and closeout levels.

 A matrix of all deliverables, their version/release, and planned delivery dates.

 A matrix of all personnel assigned to the program and total aggregate level of effort for all tasks.

The Contractor shall establish and maintain a Scope Management process to track and control scope of their work activities throughout the execution of this project. Basic functions in the Scope Management process shall include but are not limited to:

 Identifying and characterizing scope elements and drivers for the project in enough detail to establish scope, cost, schedule and deliverable-acceptance criteria.

 Discussing the proposed scope baseline with the PM and TSAG representatives and reviewing data, assumptions and constraints to resolve misunderstandings and gain approval of the scope baseline.

 Monitoring scope elements and drivers throughout the project for possible changes that may impact the baselines.

Risk Management - The Contractor shall document risks that might affect the project and the

characteristics of the risk. Types of risks that must be considered include risks potentially impacting: task order schedule, scope, and costs. A Risk Management Log must be maintained on an on-going basis during the entire period of performance to track risks, mitigation plans and status. Each risk will have a unique number, probability of occurrence and impact of occurrence rating.

Task 1.2 - Schedule

The expected project duration is six months. The contractor shall provide a task order project schedule for all work to be completed as part of this task order concurrently to the PM. The schedule shall be provided in Microsoft Project (2007) or approved Ghant chart format and shall be updated on no less than a monthly basis.

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ITS America Contact: ahopps@itsa.org The Contractor is required to provide monthly progress reports addressing work completed, forecasts and hours expended. Specific schedule and information includes:

 Monthly Progress Reports – the Contractor shall submit to the PM a progress report one (1) month after the effective date of the contract, and every month thereafter during the period of performance. The Contractor shall prepare a progress report advising of the work completed during the performance period and the work forecast for the following period.  Risk Monitoring – See Risk Management (Subtask 5)

Task 1.4 – Review of Services

The contractor shall participate in and report on telephonic reviews associated with the work performed as part of this task order. If requested, the contractor shall capture meeting minutes, action items, etc. from these reviews/meetings and provide to the Task Manager within 3 business days of the conclusion of the review/meeting. Assume one review meeting every two months

Task 1 – Deliverables

 Project Plan including a Risk Management Plan  Project schedule

 Monthly Reports

 Review of services (every two months with ITSA PM)

Task 2: Develop Business Case

Task Overview

This task accomplishes a systematic development of a Connected Vehicle business case, beginning with development of a Connected Vehicle technology briefing paper, dissemination of this paper to the public safety and emergency response community, and then development of a needs assessment and business case framework. The task concludes with an approach for the application of the business case framework. Subtasks are:

 Develop Connected Vehicle technology briefing paper and webinar

 Develop public safety and emergency response needs assessment business case framework

 Develop approach for application of business case framework

Task 2.1 - Develop Connected Vehicle technology briefing paper and webinar

The goal of this subtask is to communicate Connected Vehicle technologies in the operational context, practice and parlance of public safety and emergency response personnel and agencies.

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ITS America Contact: ahopps@itsa.org To address this goal, the contractor shall develop a technology briefing paper of Connected Vehicles, with sources to include but not limited to publically available R.E.S.C.U.M.E. documentation, CVRIA concepts matched to needs of the target stakeholder communities. The briefing paper shall contain example applications, and the Connected Vehicle technologies under consideration shall encompass the contractor’s assessment (and reasons for) short (2-5 year)-, mid (6 – 10 year)-, and long (10+ year)-term deployments. Vehicle, communication and location-based technologies should be described, along with the enterprise or institutional arrangements to realize the tailored Connected Vehicle description. Based on the briefing paper, the contractor shall develop a PowerPoint presentation suitable for a one-hour Webinar (with question and answer time allocated); The PowerPoint presentation should convey the briefing paper and the project goals, tasking and schedule such that stakeholders can anticipate interaction and products.

The contractor shall provide the PM a list of Webinar invitees (categorized at contractor’s discretion by stakeholder type) at the same time the draft PowerPoint presentation is delivered. The PM will provide additional inputs within 2 weeks of the invitee list, whereupon the contractor has 30 days to work with ITSA staff to find, schedule and advertise the Webinar. The contractor shall contact the individuals and organizations from the approved list and make direct email and/or telephonic invitations.

Task 2.2 Develop public safety and emergency response needs assessment business case framework

The goal of this subtask is to provide a framework and discussion to develop Connected Vehicle deployment business case for public safety and emergency response stakeholder agencies.

The contractor shall expand on the examples of that subtask to develop a comprehensive, by-function and/or by-agency public safety and emergency response needs assessment

categorization and objective means of scoring, based on user-input weights of time to deploy, cost of deployment, and benefits derived.

Contractor shall provide a business case framework and provide a brief rationale to explain how and why the framework is categorized. The target audience for the business case framework is the decision makers in the public safety and emergency response communities including transportation agencies at the local, regional, state and Federal levels.

Task 2.3 Develop approach for application of business case framework

Upon the development of the business case framework, the contractor will develop a brief memorandum to outline and explain the approach for the application and evaluation of the business case framework that is to be completed in Task 3. The application and technology scan may be conducted through a mix of literature review, interviews, polling of agencies,

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ITS America Contact: ahopps@itsa.org the contractor will propose within the timeframe of the project minimizing extensive efforts that will impact the project schedule.

Task 2 Deliverable Table

o Draft and Final Connected Vehicle technology briefing paper and presentation o Development business case framework

o Approach memorandum for application of business case framework

Task 3: Application of Business Case Framework and Development of Business

Plan

Task Overview

This task exercises the product of Task 2 to form specific and deployable applications and business cases of Connected Vehicles for the public safety and emergency response community. Subtasks are:

 Conduct and synthesize technology scan, then define primary Connected Vehicle use cases for the public safety and emergency response community

 Apply business case framework defined in Task 2 to assess quantifiable benefits, then develop Task 3 summary report and PowerPoint presentation

 Conduct webinar to solicit inputs

 Complete Business Plan and Presentation

Task 3.1 - Conduct and synthesize technology scan, then define primary Connected Vehicle use cases for the public safety and emergency response community

Upon approval of Task 2.3 the contractor shall systematically investigate the public safety and emergency response needs that may be addressed by Connected Vehicle technologies and systems.

The contractor shall conduct a technology scan and develop a synthesis or interpretation of the needs. In tandem, the contactor shall define Connected Vehicle use cases that may address the needs for the public safety and emergency response community. A minimum of five use cases are required for this task. Contractor to submit a brief memo of the technology scan with a description of the five use cases.

Task 3.2 - Apply business case framework defined in Task 2 to assess quantifiable benefits, then develop Task 3 summary report and PowerPoint presentation

Upon the completion of Subtask 3.1, the contractor shall exercise the business case

methodology defined in Task 2 to assess the estimated quantifiable benefits of each use case that has been identified. The details of this business case analysis shall be compiled into a Task 3.2 summary report and PowerPoint presentation suitable for a one-hour Webinar (with question and answer time allocated)The PowerPoint presentation should solicit stakeholder feedback on the specific Connected Vehicle concepts and the application of the quantifiable benefits.

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Task 3.3 - Conduct webinar to solicit inputs

The contractor shall conduct a webinar using the PowerPoint presentation developed in Subtask 2.3 to solicit input from a broader stakeholder community. The presentation and webinar agenda will be determined by the contractor to allow for increased stakeholder participation.

The contractor shall provide the PM a list of Webinar invitees (categorized at contractor’s discretion by stakeholder type) at the same time the draft PowerPoint presentation is delivered. The PM will provide additional inputs within 2 weeks, whereupon the contractor has 30 days to work with ITSA staff to find, schedule, and advertise the Webinar and in-person workshop. The contractor shall contact the individuals and organizations from the approved list and make direct email and/or telephonic invitations.

Task 3.4 - Complete Business Plan and Presentation

The contractor shall document feedback received from Task 3.3 - Webinar and in-person workshop and document which feedback to use in adjusting the business cases for Connected Vehicles that addresses the needs for the public safety and emergency response community. After receipt of comments on the business cases, contract shall submit a complete business plan and presentation based on the synthesis of the project thus far. The business plan should at a minimum address the appropriate agencies, private companies and other entities to target for an accelerated deployment of Connected Vehicle technologies for Emergency Responders. The business plan and presentation is intended to be shared with the Emergency Response stakeholder community by TSAG and related associations and organizations.

Task 3 Deliverables

 Memo of technology scan and use cases  Task 3 summary report and presentation

 Webinar to solicit inputs and brief memo of minutes and feedback received from the webinar

 Complete business plan and presentation

Proposed Key Staff

The Contractor shall provide a description of each key role and person proposed for the project. For each proposed person, include a resume. Key personnel at a minimum must include the Project Manager and Technical Lead. Key personnel shall not be removed or re-assigned from this project without a suitable replacement that is approved by the PM.

Staffing Plan

The Contractor shall provide a project staffing plan of management, technical, and support staff necessary to execute the activities proposed. The staffing plan shall include a project organization chart and staff assignment by task. The Project Organization Chart shall describe

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ITS America Contact: ahopps@itsa.org the approach to project organization, identifying project team roles and their relationships to each other and the Government's project organization. The staffing plan shall include:

• Proposed position, function, or role • Education and years of experience

• Specific experience related to the requirements of the position, specific experience on projects of similar size/scope/complexity/functionality, and specific experience related to public safety, emergency response and Connected Vehicles.

Evaluation Criteria for Judging the Task Order Proposal

Proposals will be evaluated in terms of quality, depth, and relevance of information presented in response to this Statement of Work.

The proposals will be rated on Technical Understanding, Project approach and Professional Staff. Cost will not be part of the evaluation criteria but will be considered after the technical proposals have been evaluated.

Project Management (10%)

The Contractor must submit a proposal that demonstrates that they have project management procedures in place to support the successful accomplishment of the goals and objectives for this project. This includes management of tasks with respect to cost, schedule, and performance as well as the management, supervision, and assignment of appropriate staff to project tasks.

Technical Approach (40%)

The Contractor must submit a proposal that demonstrates full understanding of the project goals and the objectives of Connected Vehicles, the needs of public safety and emergency response agencies, as well as the scope of tasks to be performed. The Contractor shall clearly identify the approach to conducting the tasks detailed in this SOW in their proposal. The Contractor shall also identify any expected variances between the SOW requirements and how the Contractor will complete the project. Contractor is encouraged to reduce the overall project schedule based on available resources.

Relevant Project Experience (30%)

The Contractor must submit a proposal that demonstrates previous experiences, expertise and capability to perform the requirements of this RFP. The Contractor shall clearly demonstrate the previous experience in the fields of Connected Vehicle, Public Safety, Incident Management/Response and Emergency Management/Response.

Staff Capabilities (20%)

The Contractor must clearly identify the availability and qualifications of the proposed staff, their experience in similar projects, and their capability to fully and professionally accomplish the tasks stated herein. The successful Contractor shall maintain the level of expertise covered by the professional staff proposed with the offer for the duration of the contract. If a staff

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ITS America Contact: ahopps@itsa.org member leaves the project, his/her replacement must have at a minimum the same level of experience, education, etc. Any replacement staff is subject to the review and acceptance of the PM.

Proposal Requirements

Firms responding to this RFP should conform to all requirements defined and generally presented in the following format.

1. Cover letter and Signature – The proposal shall be signed by an official authorized to bind the firm. Include the name, title, address and telephone number of the

individual(s) with authority to represent the company and who may be contacted during the proposal evaluation. The project manager or project leader should also be

identified.

2. Work Plan - The work plan shall define key tasks and activities to ensure proper execution of the SOW outlined above. The consultant is encouraged to use past experience and technical expertise in identifying tasks and activities necessary to execute the project.

3. Project Schedule – The expected project duration is six months. Contractor is expected to propose a project schedule that will complete the project and ensure that all tasks are completed in a timely manner. Review of deliverables will be provided within two weeks of submittal. Contractor to account for review time within the project schedule. Cost proposal – Cost proposal shall be submitted in a separate document detailing the staff, hours, rate and cost to complete the project. Cost will be evaluated and considered for the top ranking proposals only and not part of the technical evaluation of the proposals.

This project will be administered as a Fixed Fee, milestone basis project. Contractor to define milestones based on project deliverables.

Proposal Due Date

An electronic copy of the proposal must be submitted to Adam Hopps <ahopps@itsa.org> by May 29, 2015 at 5:00 pm EDT. Late proposals will not be accepted.

Request for Proposals