Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
FTA Broad Agency Announcement (FY26) -- “Research Initiatives in Support of Safety, Accessibility, and Mobility in Public Transportation
Department of Transportation · Federal Transit Administration
AI summaryStep 1 of a two-step process: short concept papers (5-page research ideas) are due October 30, 2026, 11:59 PM Eastern, and only firms the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) later invites may send full Step 2 proposals, which have no date yet. FTA, part of the Department of Transportation, issued this Broad Agency Announcement (BAA, an open call for research ideas instead of a single statement of work) for applied research on transit safety, accessibility and efficiency, in 18 listed research topics. It is open to any responsible source with no set-aside; individual awards typically run $150,000 to $500,000, and SAM.gov lists Washington, DC. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
This summary may miss requirements: 1 of 5 attachments weren't read (BAA-FTA_FY26_Appendix-A (1).pptx). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
Step 1 of a two-step process: short concept papers (5-page research ideas) are due October 30, 2026, 11:59 PM Eastern, and only firms the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) later invites may send full Step 2 proposals, which have no date yet. FTA, part of the Department of Transportation, issued this Broad Agency Announcement (BAA, an open call for research ideas instead of a single statement of work) for applied research on transit safety, accessibility and efficiency, in 18 listed research topics. It is open to any responsible source with no set-aside; individual awards typically run $150,000 to $500,000, and SAM.gov lists Washington, DC.
Who can bid
- Unrestricted: any responsible source may submit a concept paper (no set-aside); teaming is allowed and encouraged. Businesses owned in whole or part by the Federal Government are not eligible for direct funding.
- Registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) before award
- Topic FTA-URT-004 (track fastening systems) requires a formal commitment of support from at least one operating urban rail transit authority
How to submit: Email the concept paper and quad chart to the Contracting Specialist, Tennile Palmer (tennile.palmer.ctr@dot.gov), with a copy to the Contracting Officer, Crystal Zorich (crystal.zorich@dot.gov). Files must not be encrypted or password protected.. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (8)
From the version posted Oct 14, 2026.
- Serious: Two-step process: Step 2 is by FTA invitation only. This notice is for Step 1, concept papers, due October 30, 2026; a firm that does not send an approved concept paper cannot be considered, and only invited firms may send a full proposal in Step 2, which has no date in the documents.
- Worth checking: Concept paper must answer a listed research topic. FTA will not evaluate ideas that do not fit one of the 18 topics in Appendix C, so a general capability pitch will be set aside.
- Worth checking: Technology readiness levels 3 to 6 only. Technology readiness levels (TRL) rate how mature a technology is, from 1 (basic idea) to 9 (proven in service); FTA excludes work limited to levels 1 and 2 and work beyond level 6, so mature products and pure paper studies do not fit.
Show all 8Show fewer
- Worth checking: Cost sharing preferred and may be required. Projects with transit operator partners and cost sharing are preferred, and FTA may require cost sharing for a project after reviewing the concept paper, which can strain a small firm's cash.
- Worth checking: Rights in data and software. Section 2.7 says the offeror generally owns inventions and the Government gets a license, but Section 2.8 gives the Government ownership and unlimited rights to documents and materials produced, including software source code; ask the Contracting Officer which governs before bringing in your own software.
- Minor: Government may fund none of the proposals. No preparation costs are paid, awards depend on funds, and FTA may award for any, all, part or none of what it receives.
- Minor: Subcontracting plan required with a proposal. Step 2 offerors must include a subcontracting plan or a statement that no subcontracting is planned, which adds paperwork.
- Minor: Deliverables due before the end of the project. All deliverables, including the final report, are due 30 days before the project's period of performance ends, so plan the schedule with that early finish.
Read from the notice and 4 attachments. 1 of 5 not read. Show which files.
- BAA-FTA_FY26_Solicitation_05.pdf (read)
- BAA-FTA_FY26_Appendix-C_03.pdf (read)
- BAA-FTA_FY26_Appendix-D (1).pdf (read)
- BAA-FTA_FY26_Appendix-E_01.pdf (read)
- BAA-FTA_FY26_Appendix-A (1).pptx: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
What they want
- Send a concept paper (up to 5 pages) plus a one-page quad chart (a four-box project summary slide) that answers one specific research topic from Appendix C; one paper per project
- Topics cover: rural community mobility and family-friendly transit, accessibility technology for automated buses, urban rail research (tunnel drones, fiber-optic track sensing, catenary digital twins, track fastening and rail stress, inspection technology), ferry safety, and transit safety data
- Research should sit at technology readiness levels (TRL) 3 through 6, with a preference for proof-of-concept testing at TRL 3
- Include milestones in weeks from project start, a rough cost estimate with a percentage split by team member, and a funding plan naming every source
- If invited to Step 2, send a full proposal: technical volume, cost volume, supplemental information and quad chart
- After award: deliver all deliverables 30 days before the end of the period of performance, and a Data Management Plan within 30 days of award
- Contract type
- Anticipated: firm-fixed-price (FFP: one set price), level-of-effort term contracts under the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO, the 2026 rewrite of the federal buying rules) 16.206; FTA decides the final type, and offerors may propose another type with a reason. Cost-plus-a-percentage-of-cost is prohibited.
- Period of performance
- Not set by FTA: each proposal sets its own period, and multi-year projects are allowed (the cost template is laid out in 12-month years)
- Place of performance
- Washington, DC, USA (SAM.gov field); the BAA does not say where research work is done
- Estimated value
- Individual awards typically range between $150,000 and $500,000, subject to fund availability (FTA's anticipated range per award, or the Government's share where cost is shared)
- How they'll choose
- Two-step selection with negotiation. Step 1: concept papers are reviewed for technical value within available funding. Step 2 (invited firms only): proposals are rated Exceptional, Acceptable, Marginal or Unsatisfactory; technical merit and importance to agency programs together are significantly more important than cost or price. Cost is evaluated only for proposals that look good technically.
- Offers due
- October 30, 2026, 11:59 PM Eastern
- How to submit
- Email the concept paper and quad chart to the Contracting Specialist, Tennile Palmer (tennile.palmer.ctr@dot.gov), with a copy to the Contracting Officer, Crystal Zorich (crystal.zorich@dot.gov). Files must not be encrypted or password protected.
- Page limits
- Concept paper: 5 pages, not counting the quad chart (10-point font or larger, single-spaced, letter size, 1-inch margins). Quad chart: 1 page, 500,000 bytes (0.5 MB) maximum. If invited to Step 2: Volume I technical proposal 20 pages (Volume I only).
What they'll judge offers on
- Technical: Responsiveness to BAA Objectives and Requirements (fit with program objectives, funding limits and published requirements)
- Technical: Technical Approach: (a) impact on the research topic goals, (b) technical framework and prior progress, (c) reasonable, logical approach that involves the transit industry, with reports, quality controls and a realistic risk assessment, (d) completeness of the project management plan, (e) experience and capability of the team and key personnel
- Cost and Pricing: realism and reasonableness, value of the work against the cost, and the level of cost sharing
- Oral presentation, if requested: counted as part of the technical proposal
What to include when you submit
- Send two files: the concept paper with cover page as a PDF, and the project quad chart as .ppt or .pptx using the FTA template
- Answer one specific Appendix C research topic; send a separate concept paper for each project
- Cover page: working project title, research topic title and reference number, technical and contract contacts who can bind the organization, partner addresses if any, date of submittal, and proprietary data restrictions if any
- Technical approach: Background (mission statement, description of need, technology assessment against technology readiness levels, development framework), Scope of Work with major milestones and deliverables, and Expected Outcomes and Impacts
- Scope of work must show each team member's share of effort as a percentage of each activity and list third-party resource needs
- Qualifications: key personnel with roles and short background, business type (small, large or disadvantaged) for each organization, relevant experience, and unique capabilities
- Schedule and cost: milestones as weeks from project start, a rough order-of-magnitude cost estimate with percentage breakdown by organization, and a funding plan listing each source as a percentage
- Step 2, only if invited: Volume I technical proposal (PDF), Volume II cost and pricing (Excel and PDF), Volume III supplemental information (PDF), and a quad chart; Volume III includes SAM registration, cognizant audit agency, intellectual property declaration, subcontracting plan, key personnel summaries (2 pages each) and letters of support
After award, you must have
- Data Management Plan (DMP): every awardee must deliver one as a condition of receiving funds; the first version goes to the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) for approval within 30 days after award From BAA-FTA_FY26_Solicitation_05.pdf:
All Offerors receiving an award must prepare and deliver a Data Management Plan (DMP), as a condition…
Not in the notice text
- Date for Step 2 full proposals: the documents say FTA may invite offerors after concept paper review but give no due date; concept paper reviews are planned within 60 days of receipt
- The quad chart template (Appendix A, a PowerPoint file) was not read; the quad chart layout rules are described in the solicitation
- Whether the Appendix D telecommunications representation (FAR 52.204-24, a Section 889 statement about certain Chinese telecom equipment) must be returned with the concept paper or only with a proposal: not stated
- Which topics FTA will fund and how many awards: not stated
- Cost-share amounts: FTA will tell each offeror in writing after reviewing its concept paper
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside: any business, large or small, can bid unless the notice says otherwise.
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email the concept paper and quad chart to the Contracting Specialist, Tennile Palmer (tennile.palmer.ctr@dot.gov), with a copy to the Contracting Officer, Crystal Zorich (crystal.zorich@dot.gov). Files must not be encrypted or password protected. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 14, 2026
- Notice type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- Office
- 693195 Office of Acquisition MGT, Washington, DC
- Product/service code
- AS12 · Transportation R&D Services; Surface Transportation, Public Transit, and Rail; Applied Research
- Business type
- Engineering, architecture & research (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 541715)
- Versions
2 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 14, 2026 · Amendment 0001 (this version)Due Oct 30, 2026 (changed)
- Sep 4, 2026 · Combined Synopsis/SolicitationDue Oct 19, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
Terms on this notice: Solicitation
Latest amendment note (Amendment 1) from SAM.gov
AMENDMENT No. 0001 - The purpose of this amendment is to extend the due date to October 30, 2026. This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) solicits applied research projects to improve the safety, reliability, efficiency, and accessibility of public transportation in the United States. Purpose: To solicit innovative applied research that reduces deployment risks, improves safety, lowers costs, and facilitates domestic transit manufacturing. Eligibility: This is an unrestricted solicitation; any responsible source (excluding Federal Government-owned businesses) may submit a concept paper. Teaming and collaboration are encouraged. Funding: Individual awards typically range between $150,000 and $500,000, subject to fund availability. While cost sharing is not always mandatory, projects including transit operator partnerships and cost sharing are preferred. Technology Readiness: Projects should focus on technology readiness levels (TRL) 3 through 6, with a preference for proof-of-concept testing (TRL 3).
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