The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is seeking qualified contractors to provide professional services for the peer review and publication of vehicle safety research technical papers in preparation for the 28th Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) Conference, scheduled for May 12-15, 2026, in Canada. The contract, effective from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, aims to publish 50-100 papers focusing on innovative vehicle safety technologies, ensuring that these documents are accessible to the public via an electronic platform. This initiative underscores NHTSA's commitment to enhancing vehicle safety research accessibility and fostering international collaboration in automotive safety developments. Interested parties must submit their proposals by June 20, 2025, to the designated NHTSA contact, Latinia Buck, at latinia.buck.ctr@dot.gov.

Combined+Synopsis_Solicitation+693JJ925R000021+ESV+Peer+Review+Final+(04+June+2025).pdf

The Request for Proposal (RFP) 693JJ925R000021 from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) seeks qualified contractors to provide professional services for the peer review and publication of vehicle safety research technical papers in preparation for the 28th Enhanced Safety of Vehicles Conference in Canada, scheduled for May 12-15, 2026. The contract, effective from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, aims for a firm fixed-price agreement, and proposals are invited for publishing 50-100 papers focusing on innovative vehicle safety technologies. Proposals must include a technical approach, qualifications of project personnel, and examples of similar past performance. The contract deliverables include a kickoff meeting, peer review plan, and the final electronic publication, ensuring public access to the published papers. Interested parties are required to submit their proposals by June 20, 2025, to the designated NHTSA contact. This initiative underscores NHTSA's commitment to enhancing vehicle safety research accessibility and fostering international collaboration in automotive safety developments.

**PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY AS IT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY NOTICE THAT WILL BE ISSUED**

(i) This is a COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice.  This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; a proposal is being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.  Interested parties are responsible for monitoring this site to ensure they have the most current information in reference to this acquisition.

(ii) The solicitation number for this procurement is 693JJ925R000021 and is issued as a Request for Proposal (RFP).

(iii) The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2025-03. 

(iv) The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code associated with this procurement is 813920 – Professional Organizations.  The small business size standard is $23.5. This procurement has not been set-aside for small business participation.

(v) Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINS).  NHTSA intends to award a Firm Fixed-Price Commercial Items Contract.

B.1 Price Schedule:

Base Period: Year One (1) costs shall cover the period from the effective date of contract award through twelve (12) months thereafter.

From:  07/01/2025 TO 06/30/2026

BASE PERIOD, YEAR 1 CEILING:  TBD

Item Description:   Publish Vehicle Safety Research Technical Papers

Line Item Number

Item Description

Qty

Unit

Unit

Price

Total Extended Price

1

Publish Vehicle Safety Research Technical Papers

1

Lot

$TBD

Total Firm Fixed-Price Amount

$TBD

(vi) Description of requirements for the items to be acquired.

STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1       BACKGROUND

The U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (USDOT/NHTSA) mission is to prevent and reduce deaths, injuries, and economic losses resulting from automotive travel on our nation's roadways.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), United States Department of Transportation will lead the U.S. Delegation as the sponsoring Government that is responsible for certain technical aspects of the conference in Canada.  The Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) Program consists of 15 member countries and/or international organizations each represented by a Government Focal Point Member (GFP).  The United States GFP serves as Chairman of the ESV Program and is responsible for the technical program.  For purposes of improving the overall quality of vehicle safety research presented at the 28th Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) Conference, in Canada, May 12-15, 2026.  NHTSA is giving authors an opportunity to have their research papers peer-reviewed and published in a special edition of a recognized vehicle safety scientific journal.  NHTSA will contract for professional services to review and publish these documents containing information about leading edge vehicle safety technology and innovation.  The published papers shall be available via an internet accessible link hosted by NHTSA and made free to the public.

C.2      OBJECTIVE

The Contractor shall furnish the necessary qualified personnel, facilities, material, supplies, equipment, and services to perform a non-personal Firm Fixed Price Contract in accordance with the Statement of Work (SOW), Section C entitled, “28th Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) Peer Review”, and other terms and conditions of the contract.  All support services provided to the Government shall be performed by the Contractor.

C.3      GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall provide professional editing services to review and publish up to 50-100 vehicle safety research technical papers containing information about leading edge vehicle safety technology and innovation.  These documents, once published, shall be made available via a Windows accessible link that is free to the public.

C.4      SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall perform all tasks as listed below:

C.4.1 TASK I – KICKOFF MEETING

The Contractor shall meet with NHTSA Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and other interested NHTSA personnel (via conference call/web meeting) to discuss the project’s objectives and the Contractor’s approach within one (1) week of award.

C.4.2 TASK II – PEER REVIEW PLAN REVIEW/APPROVAL

The Contactor shall provide a detailed work plan to NHTSA no later than 2 weeks after the kickoff meeting.  The Contractor shall be responsible for the coordination of reviews (selection of reviewers and correspondence with authors/reviewers), editing, and selection (with reviewer’s approval) of 50-100 vehicle safety research technical papers for formatting and electronic publishing.  Reviewers are asked to select one paper under each technical session topic area for best in category.  Technical papers will be limited to 6000 words unless otherwise agreed upon by the Government in coordination with the Contractor.

           

C.4.3 TASK III – ELECTRONIC PUBLICATION FOR FREE PUBLIC USE

 

The Contractor shall make available to NHTSA the electronic publication for review, testing and quality control of data for consistency in the final program booklet and abstract booklet two (2) weeks prior to final electronic publication.  The approved special edition scientific journal will be provided to NHTSA via email link and shall be available to the public at no cost on-line no later than TBD, 2026. 

Acronym List

COR

Contracting Officer Representative

ESV

Enhanced Safety of Vehicles

GFP

Government Focal Point

NHTSA

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

SOW

Statement of Work

USDOT

U.S. Department of Transportation

D.1   Deliverables/Milestones Schedule:

The following deliverables apply to this contract and are considered important to the successful completion of the project.

Item #

Task #

Deliverables (D)/ Milestones (M)

# of Hard

Copies

Due Date

1

C.4.1

Initial Kickoff Meeting (M)

N/A

Within 1 week of the award date

2

C.4.2

Peer Review Plan Review/Approval

(D) (M)

1

Within 2 weeks of item # 1

3

C.4.2

Responsive edits regarding comments from COR review. (D) (M)

1

Within 1 week of receipt of item # 2

4

C.4.3

Electronic Publication and Freedom for Public Use (D) (M)

1

 TBD

D.2      PLACE OF DELIVERY

Unless otherwise specified, deliverables shall be furnished, electronically, to the following email addresses:

Item No.

Address

2,3 & 4

Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NSR-0010)

Attention: TBD

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, WXX-XXX

Washington, DC 20590

Telephone: (202) 366-XXX

E-mail: TBD

4

Department of Transportation

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Office of Acquisition Management

Attention: Latinia Buck, Contract Specialist

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.

Washington, DC 20590

Email: latinia.buck.ctr@dot.gov

(vii) Date(s) and place(s) of delivery and acceptance and FOB point.

D.3      Administrative Consideration

D.1.1 Points of Contacts:

D.1.1.1 Contractor’s Project Manager: 

TBD

           

D.1.1.2   NHTSA COR:

TBD

D.4      Place of Performance: 

Toronto, Canada

D.5      Duration of Task:

D.5.1 Estimated Period of Performance:  

The Period of Performance for this firm fixed-price contract shall be twelve (12) months from the date of award.  There is no obligation by NHTSA to renew this contract beyond the initial fixed order term.

D.5.2 Effective Dates:

This contract will be a Firm Fixed-Price one (1) year contract, from July 01, 2025 through June 30, 2026. 

(vii) 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-- Commercial Items (OCT 2015).

L.1      TECHNICAL APPROACH/UNDERSTANDING

The technical proposal shall include a discussion of the Offeror’s understanding of the requirements and their corporate knowledge. 

The technical proposal shall include the approach, methods, and procedures for satisfying the requirements and a discussion of potential problems to be encountered.  The technical proposal shall provide a discussion of present or proposed facilities and equipment that will be used in the performance of the contract.  The technical proposal shall provide their procedures for assuring quality in the work, products, and deliverables.

L.2      QUALIFICATIONS OF PROJECT PERSONNEL

The technical proposal shall discuss the Offeror’s plan for managing and meeting the requirements of the SOW to include milestone schedules, meeting task deadlines and communicating with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) technical managers.  Offerors shall provide a management plan that describes how the Offeror will manage and coordinate the efforts of subcontractors and consultants, if used.  They shall further demonstrate how the infrastructure and resources (i.e. facilities, personnel) of the subcontractor will contribute to the overall success of the project.

The technical proposal shall describe the Offeror’s plan to recruit and retain a highly skilled staff.  The technical proposal shall demonstrate the knowledge and experience of proposed personnel on similar projects.

The technical proposal shall include a staffing plan.  The plan shall include labor categories and skill levels of proposed personnel and the availability of staff.  The Offeror shall propose one individual to serve as Project Manager (PM).   The proposed PM shall be identified by name in the Offeror’s proposal. 

The technical proposal shall include resumes for proposed personnel.  Résumés(s) must be limited to 3 pages.  Resumes shall be current and up to date within the past year.  Resumes must include information on education, background, recent work experience, and specific scientific or technical accomplishments. 

L.3      CORPORATE EXPERIENCE/SIMILAR PAST PERFORMANCE

The Offeror shall provide a list of recent projects completed that were similar to the effort described in this solicitation.  This list should include dates on which the project began and was completed, total dollar value of the contract, customer name, and a brief synopsis of the project.  Additional information may be provided to help explain the relevant corporate experience provided.

Offerors shall also provide information regarding any contracts that were terminated for default or convenience of the Government within the past three years.  Affected Offerors must provide explanations of the circumstances in each case.

(ix) 52.212-2, Evaluation--Commercial Items (OCT 2014).

M.1     Solicitation Provisions-  

FAR 52.252-2, Clauses Incorporated by Reference (FEB 1998).  This solicitation and any resulting contract incorporates one or more provisions and clauses with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text.  Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available.  Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this web address: (http://www.aquisition.gov/far/).

The contractor shall comply with the following Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clauses.

As prescribed in 12.301(c), the Contracting Officer may insert a provision substantially as follows:

(a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforms to the solicitation and will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered.  The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers:

Listed in descending order of importance:

(a.i) Section M.2, “Technical Approach/Understanding” (see L.1)

(a.ii) Section M.3, “Qualifications of Project Personnel” (see L.2)

(a.iii) Section M.4, “Corporate Experience/Similar Past Performance” (see L.3) and then finally,

(a.iv) Price.

All evaluation factors other than price, when combined, are significantly more important than price.

(b) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement.  The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced.  Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

(c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

EVALUATION FACTORS

M.2     TECHNICAL APPROACH/UNDERSTANDING

Offerors will be evaluated on their ability to successfully demonstrate the capability to provide professional editorial and publishing services.  Offerors technical approach, methods, and procedures in producing a stand-alone, special edition of their journal will be scored.  The level of understanding described in Offerors proposals documenting their process for assuring that only the highest quality products are delivered in accordance with the Statement of Work will also be evaluated.

Offeror’s plan for managing each task, meeting contract requirements and performance measures to include communicating with DOT/NHTSA/ management will be scored.

M.3     QUALIFICATIONS OF PROJECT PERSONNEL

Offerors will be evaluated on the quality of their proposed professional and technical personnel.  This includes identifying a qualified staff member to be the program manager under the contract ensuring the program manager has a high level of experience that ensures the ability to successfully complete the work.  The qualifications of other proposed staff will also be evaluated to ensure a depth of technical background relevant to the project. 

M.4     CORPORATE EXPERIENCE/SIMILAR PAST PERFORMANCE

Offerors will be evaluated on their ability to demonstrate one or more years of experience conducting the work required in this solicitation.  In addition, the amount of experience conducting similar work will be considered.  The offeror will also be evaluated on its performance under similar efforts, including whether it has a history of meeting schedule and deliverable deadlines.  In addition, offerors past performance will be evaluated on the level of satisfaction from past clients.

Note: Offerors, for which no historical record of past performance has been established, will only be rated on “Corporate Experience” for this factor. Offerors, whose established record of past performance is poor, will be given a “poor” rating for the evaluation factor.

(x) 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications--Commercial Items (APR 2016). 

(xi) 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-- Commercial Items (MAY 2015). 

(xii) 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statues or

                        Executive Orders-- Commercial Items (MAR 2016).

(xiii) Special Contract Clauses and Provisions.

(a) FAR Part 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services. (NOV 1999)

 

As prescribed in 17.208(f), insert a clause substantially the same as the following:

                                 Option to Extend Services (Nov 1999)

The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract.  These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor.  The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months.  The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 60 days. (insert the period of time within which the Contracting Officer may exercise the option)].

(End of clause)

(b) SPECIAL PROVISIONS

Seat Belt Use Policies and Programs

In accordance with Executive Order 13043, the recipient of this award is encouraged to adopt and enforce on-the-job seat belt use policies and programs for its employees when operating company-owned, rented, or personally owned vehicles.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is responsible for providing leadership and guidance in support of this Presidential initiative.  Information on how to implement such a program or statistics on potential benefits and cost-savings to companies or organizations, can be found in the Click It or Ticket section on NHTSA’s website at www.nhtsa.dot.gov.  Additional resources are available from the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS), a public-private partnership headquartered in Washington, DC dedicated to improving the traffic safety practices of employers and employees.  NETS is prepared to help with technical assistance, a simple, user-friendly program kit and an award for achieving the goal of 90 percent seat belt use.  NETS can be contacted at 1 (888) 221-0045 or visit its website at www.trafficsafety.org.

This Special Provision shall be included in all contracts, subcontracts, and assistance agreements entered into by the recipient under this award.

(xiv) Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS)

N/A = Not Applicable

(xv) Date, time and place offer are due.

Proposals shall be transmitted electronically via email to the Contract Specialist, Latinia Buck, at latinia.buck.ctr@dot.gov with a courtesy copy to NHTSAOAM@dot.gov no later than Friday, June 20, 2025  at 2:00PM EDT.

(xvi) Name and Telephone of individual to contact for more information.

ADDITIONAL INFO:

Questions pertaining to this acquisition should be addressed to Latinia Buck, Contract Specialist, via email at latinia.buck.ctr@dot.gov with a courtesy copy to NHTSAOAM@dot.gov, as soon as possible, but no later than Wednesday, June 11, 2025 at 2:00PM, EDT.  Phone calls or voice messages will not be entertained.

28th Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) Peer Review

Contract Opportunity Analysis

Classification Codes

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Related Contract Opportunities

Project Timeline

Agency Information

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Official Sources