Competitive Research Funding Opportunity: FTA's Public Transportation Innovation Program, 31587-31593 [2020-11129]

Agencies

• Federal Transit Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 101 (Tuesday, May 26, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31587-31593]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11129]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Competitive Research Funding Opportunity: FTA's Public 
Transportation Innovation Program

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) And Solicitation of 
Project Proposals for Real-Time Transit Infrastructure and Rolling 
Stock Condition Assessment Demonstration Program.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the 
availability of $1.25 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Public 
Transportation Innovation Program funds to demonstrate and evaluate 
innovative technologies and designs to improve the state of good repair 
for transit agencies. Public transit is an essential and integral part 
of America's transportation infrastructure. When transit assets are not 
in a state of good repair, the consequences include increased safety 
risks, decreased system reliability, higher maintenance costs, and 
lower system performance. The Real-Time Transit Infrastructure and 
Rolling Stock Condition Assessment Demonstration Program supports the 
U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Infrastructure strategic 
goal, and the strategic objective of life cycle and preventive 
maintenance to field asset management planning and innovative 
maintenance strategies to keep public transit assets in a state of good 
repair. This demonstration program will fund innovative

[[Page 31588]]

approaches to eliminate or mitigate known infrastructure deficiencies 
in public transportation via innovative technologies and designs.
    FTA is seeking applications for demonstration projects that deploy 
cutting edge technologies to provide real-time condition assessment of 
transit infrastructure and rolling stock conditions. An eligible lead 
applicant under this notice must be an existing FTA grant recipient and 
eligible project partners and sub-recipients 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 addressing priorities established by FTA for these research 
areas, provides instructions for submitting proposals, and describes 
criteria FTA will use to identify meritorious proposals for funding, 
and the process to apply for funding. This announcement is also 
available on the FTA website 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 website at https://www.grants.gov. The funding Opportunity ID is FTA-2020-013-TRI-TIR and 
the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number FTA's Public 
Transportation Innovation Program, (49 U.S.C. 5312) is 20.530.

DATES: Complete proposals are due by 11:59 p.m. EDT on July 17, 2020. 
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 on this 
notice to [email protected] or contact Sam Yimer, Office of 
Research, Demonstration, and Innovation (TRI), (202) 366-1321. A TDD is 
available for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing at 1-800-877-
8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of 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
    b. Participation in Information Exchange
D. Application and Submission Information
    1. Address and Form of Application Submission
    2. Content and Form of Application Submission
    3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management 
(SAM) Registration Brief
    4. Submission Dates and Times
    5. Funding Restrictions
E. Application Review Information
    1. Evaluation Criteria
    2. Review and Selection Process
F. Federal Award Administration Information
    1. Federal Award Notice
    2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
    a. Pre-Award Authority
    b. Grant Requirements
    c. Planning
    d. Standard Assurances
    e. Buy America
    f. Reporting
G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts

A. Program Description

    FTA's Public Transportation Innovation Program (49 U.S.C. 5312), 
authorizes FTA to fund research, development, demonstrations, and 
deployment projects to improve public transportation. The Real-Time 
Transit Infrastructure and Rolling Stock Condition Assessment 
Demonstration Program is a competitive demonstration opportunity under 
FTA's research emphasis area of infrastructure. This priority area 
supports the U.S. Department of Transportation's Infrastructure 
strategic goal, and the strategic objective of life cycle and 
preventive maintenance to field asset management planning and 
innovative maintenance strategies to keep public transit assets in a 
state of good repair. This demonstration program will fund innovative 
approaches to eliminate or mitigate known infrastructure deficiencies 
in public transportation via innovative technologies and designs.
    Effective monitoring of transit infrastructure (elevated track, 
bridges, tunnels, transit right-of-way, etc.) and rolling stock is 
essential for efficient public transit operations and safety. Transit 
infrastructure inspection using state-of-the-art technologies, such as 
``smart sensors,'' unmanned aerial vehicles, big data analytics and 
other technologies can automatically measure, record, and report in 
real-time detailed information regarding the condition of the 
infrastructures. These approaches benefit transit agencies' asset 
management activities by earlier identification of detects; tracking 
and monitoring deficiencies before they negatively impact transit 
operations; and optimizing resource allocation for preventative vs. 
critical maintenance.
    The primary goal of this program is to enhance asset management of 
infrastructure and safety through innovative technologies. The specific 
objectives for the program are to:
     Explore advanced cutting-edge technologies that can 
provide real-time condition assessment of transit capital and 
facilities.
     Allow a more effective way for transit agencies to assess, 
detect, monitor and track deficiencies and defects related to 
infrastructure and rolling stock.
     Evaluate the cost-effectiveness and the practicality of 
proposed state-of-the art solutions.
    All proposed demonstration projects must address the needs of 
transit agencies. To ensure this requirement is met, all applications 
should show how the project lead will partner with at least one transit 
agency. FTA will assess the strength of these partnerships in its 
evaluation of applications.

B. Federal Award Information

    FTA's Public Transportation Program (49 U.S.C. 5312) authorizes FTA 
to make grants, or enter into contracts, cooperative agreements and 
other agreements for research, development, demonstration and 
deployment projects, and evaluation of research and technology of 
national significance to public transportation that the Secretary of 
Transportation determines will improve public transportation.
    A total of $1.25 million in FY 2016 funds is available for award 
for demonstration projects under this notice. Successful proposals will 
be awarded as Cooperative Agreements. FTA intends to fund as many 
meritorious projects as possible. FTA recognizes that the funding 
available under this notice may be insufficient to fund all meritorious 
projects. So, 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

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needed to achieve effective project results.
    Only proposals from eligible recipients (see C.1) 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 
project, 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. 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, and contains a minimum of six months of data 
collection and evaluation effort. 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 at least one transit agency, and one or more 
strategic partner(s) with a substantial interest and involvement in the 
project. Eligible lead applicants under this notice must be existing 
FTA grant recipients. An application must clearly identify the eligible 
lead applicant and all project partners on the team.
    Eligible project partners and sub-recipients 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 team members 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 is 
essential to the project as approved by FTA and is therefore eligible 
for a noncompetitive award by the lead entity to provide the goods or 
services described in the application. A key party's participation on a 
selected project may not later be substituted without FTA's approval. 
For-profit companies may participate on teams; however, recipients and 
subrecipients of funding under this program may not charge a fee or 
profit from the FTA research program.
    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 of his/her 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 should focus on advanced 
cutting-edge technologies that can provide real-time condition 
assessment of transit infrastructures to effectively detect, monitor, 
and track deficiencies and defects of infrastructure and rolling stock.
    Project proposals must include a research and/or synthesis phase, 
development phase and a demonstration phase. All phases are critical to 
project selection. Revenue-service, full-scale demonstrations are 
preferred where practicable. However, in cases where a full-scale 
demonstration would be impractical, detailed plans for non-revenue 
service or limited demonstration of the innovative technology or 
designs will be considered. Basic research or studies that do not 
result in any demonstration of the potential for commercialization or 
broad deployment within the scope of the project will not be considered 
for funding.

3. Cost Sharing or Matching

    The federal share of project costs under this program is limited to 
eighty percent (80%). 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 cost share than 
the minimum twenty percent (20%) 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
    Projects funded under this announcement will be required to gather 
and share all relevant and required data with the 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 or projects 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, the Department 
is incorporating Public Access requirements into all funding awards 
(grants and cooperative agreements) for scientific research. All work 
conducted under the Real-Time Transit Infrastructure and Rolling Stock 
Condition Assessment Demonstration 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.
    The 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 the 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

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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 the Department 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.
    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.
    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 (APTA), 
Transportation Research Board (TRB), and the Department, among others.
    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 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 applicant timely notice of such order to allow the 
applicant the opportunity to challenge such an order. FTA will not 
challenge a court order on behalf of applicant.
b. Participation in Information Exchange
    The selected project teams may be asked to participate in state of 
good repair related information exchange meetings, conferences, 
webinars, or outreach events where project teams share information with 
the transit industry and stakeholders on the progress and results of 
their project activities.

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 July 17, 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 ``Real-Time Transit Infrastructure and Rolling Stock 
Condition Assessment Demonstration Program'' (supplemental form) found 
on the FTA website at https://www.transit.dot.gov/research-innovation. 
The supplemental profile provides guidance and a consistent format for 
applicants to respond to the criteria outlined in this NOFO. Once 
completed, the supplemental profile must be placed in the attachments 
section of the SF 424 Mandatory form. Applicants must use the 
supplemental profile designated for the ``Real-Time Transit 
Infrastructure and Rolling Stock Condition Assessment Demonstration 
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 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 at 
Grants.gov well in advance of the submission deadline. Instructions on 
the Grants.gov registration process are available at Grants.gov. 
Registration is a multi-step process, which may take 3 to 5 days, but 
could take as much 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 applicant 
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 ``Real-Time Transit Infrastructure and 
Rolling Stock Condition Assessment Demonstration Program'' funding.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

    At a minimum, every proposal must include an SF-424 form, with the

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Applicant and a 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 asset management practice, 
challenges and how the proposed project will address those needs.
    (c) Details on whether the proposed demonstration is a new effort 
or a continuation of a prior research and the degree of expected 
improvement from the project over current asset management technologies 
and practices.
    (d) Address each evaluation criterion separately, demonstrating how 
the project responds to each criterion as described in Section E.
    (e) Provide a line-item budget for the total project with enough 
detail to indicate the various key components of the project. 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 location(s) of the research and demonstration, the 
type of public transportation service where the technology or design 
modifications will be demonstrated.
    (i) The technology(ies) and design modification to be used in this 
demonstration and explanation of the principle of operation for the 
public transportation service, type of transit vehicle (example: Bus, 
articulated bus, over-the-road bus, heavy rail, light rail, etc.), 
vehicle manufacturer and model. Including, the number of transit 
vehicles involved in the demonstration, if necessary. And, how the 
proposed technology and design modification will address the primary 
goal of this program to enhance asset management of infrastructure and 
safety through innovative technologies, and how it will meet the 
specific objectives for the program:
     Explore advanced cutting-edge technologies that can 
provide real-time condition assessment of transit capital and 
facilities;
     Allow a more effective way for transit agencies to assess, 
detect, monitor and track deficiencies and defects related to 
infrastructure and rolling stock.
     Evaluate the cost-effectiveness and the practicality of 
proposed state-of-the art solutions.
    (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 deviations from its requirements, but may 
consider deviations if the applicant can show a compelling benefit. 
Example: Buy America requirement, Deferred Local Share, Letter of No 
prejudice, etc.
    (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 of performance.
3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) 
Registration in Brief
    Each applicant is required to: (i) Be registered in SAM before 
submitting its application; (ii) provide a valid unique entity 
identifier in its application; and (iii) continue to maintain an active 
SAM registration with current information at all times during which it 
has an active Federal award or an application or plan under 
consideration by a Federal awarding agency. 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 an award, FTA may determine that the applicant is not 
qualified to receive an award and use that determination as a basis for 
making an award to another applicant.
    Registration can take as little as 3-5 business days, but since 
there could be unexpected steps or delays (for example, if you need to 
obtain an EIN), 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. If your organization does not 
have one, you will need to go to the Dun & Bradstreet website at https://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 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 is registered with the 
System for Award Management (SAM) at System for Award Management (SAM). 
If your organization is not, an authorizing official of your 
organization must register.
    STEP 3: Username & Password: Same day. Complete your AOR 
(Authorized Organization Representative) profile on Grants.gov and 
create your username and password. You will need to use your 
organization's DUNS Number to complete this step. https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/OrcRegister.
    STEP 4: AOR Authorization: Same day (depending on responsiveness of 
your E-Biz POC). The E-Business Point of Contact (E-Biz POC) at your 
organization must login to Grants.gov to confirm you as an Authorized 
Organization Representative (AOR). Please note that there can be more 
than one AOR for your 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 (enter your username & password you obtained in Step 3) under 
applicant profile.

4. Submission Dates and Times

    Project proposals must be submitted electronically through https://
www.GRANTS.GOV by 11:59 p.m. EDT on July 17, 2020.

[[Page 31592]]

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 Information

1. Evaluation Criteria

    Projects will be evaluated by FTA according to the following six 
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 
applicant 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 objectives of this program.
    (ii) Demonstration of benefits in addressing the needs of the 
transit agency and industry and impacts to infrastructure and rolling 
stock investments.
    (iii) Degree of technological improvement over current and existing 
technologies applicable to the state of good repair in the transit 
industry.
(B) Project Approach
    (i) Quality of the project approach, including interface design, 
existing partnerships and collaboration strategies in meeting the 
objectives of the program.
    (ii) Proposal is realistic in its approach to fulfill the 
milestones/deliverables, schedule and goals.
    (iii) Proposal clearly establishes a research phase, a development 
phase and a demonstration phase.
(C) National Applicability
    (i) Degree to which the project could be replicated by other 
transit agencies regionally or nationally.
    (ii) Ability to evaluate technologies and designs in a wide variety 
of conditions and locales.
    (iii) Degree to which the technology, designs and/or practices can 
be replicated by other rail modes and/or transportation modes.
(D) Commercialization and/or Knowledge Transfer Plan
    (i) Demonstrates an effective, timely, and realistic plan for 
moving the results of the project into the transit marketplace through 
conferences, webinars, publications, site visits, tec.
    (ii) How the project team plans to work with the industry on 
improving best practices, guidance and/or standards, if applicable.
    (iii) Demonstrate a clear understanding and robust approach to data 
collection and management.
(E) Return on Investment
    (i) Cost-effectiveness of the proposed project.
    (ii) Anticipated measurable safety benefits and/or potential impact 
on industry guidance and standards.
    (iii) The anticipated intangible benefits, such as making public 
transportation service more appealing to potential passengers, 
providing educational opportunities, or reducing negative externalities 
such as traffic congestion or others.
(F) Team Capacity and Commitment
    (i) The level of local match (minimum of 20%) and the quality of 
cost share by project partners (in-kind or cash).
    (ii) Availability of existing resources (physical facilities, human 
resources, partnerships) to carry out the project.
    (iii) Demonstrated capacity and experience of the partners to carry 
out the demonstration project of similar size and/or scope.

2. Review and Selection Process

    A technical evaluation panel comprised of FTA staff and possibly 
other DOT staff will review project proposals against the evaluation 
criteria listed above. Members of the technical evaluation panel 
reserve the right to evaluate proposals they receive and 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 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.
    Prior to making an award, FTA 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 Information

    FTA intends to fund multiple meritorious projects 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

    Subsequent to announcement by FTA of the final project selections, 
FTA may publish a list of the selected projects, including Federal 
dollar amounts and recipients, on its public website.

[[Page 31593]]

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 even 
then, Federal requirements must be met before costs are incurred. 
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
    The 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. The applicant acknowledges that it is under 
a continuing obligation to comply with the terms and conditions of the 
grant 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.
e. Buy America
    FTA requires that all capital procurements meet FTA's Buy America 
requirements per 49 U.S.C. 5323(j), which require that all iron, steel, 
or manufactured products be produced in the United States. Federal 
public transportation law provides for a phased increase in the 
domestic content for rolling stock between FY 2016 and FY 2020. For FY 
2020 and beyond, the cost of components and subcomponents produced in 
the United States must be more than 70 percent of the cost of all 
components. There is no change to the requirement that final assembly 
of rolling stock must occur in the United States. FTA issued guidance 
on the implementation of the phased increase in domestic content on 
September 1, 2016 (81 FR 60278). Applicants should read the policy 
guidance carefully to determine the applicable domestic content 
requirement for their project. Any proposal that will require a waiver 
must identify in the application the items for which a waiver will be 
sought. Applicants should not proceed with the expectation that waivers 
will be granted. Consistent with Executive Order 13858 Strengthening 
Buy-American Preferences for Infrastructure Projects, signed by 
President Trump on January 31, 2019, applicants should maximize the use 
of goods, products, and materials produced in the United States, in 
Federal procurements and through the terms and conditions of Federal 
financial assistance awards. Additional information on Buy America 
requirements can be found at https://www.transit.dot.gov/buyamerica.
f. Reporting
    Post-award reporting requirements include submission of Federal 
Financial Reports and Milestone 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 the 
FTA Real-Time Transit Infrastructure and Rolling Stock Condition 
Assessment Demonstration Program Manager Sam Yimer at 
[email protected] or 202-366-1321. 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. 2020-11129 Filed 5-22-20; 8:45 am]
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