Volume 42 - Issue 46 - November 16, 2023

State of Kansas

Department of Transportation

Notice to Consulting Firms

he Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) is seeking a qualified consulting firm or team of firms to perform professional services for the project(s) described in Table 1 below. Interested consultants must submit a proposal as laid out herein by 12:00 p.m. (Central Time) December 6, 2023, to be considered for selection.

Consultant Prequalification

Interested consulting firms must be prequalified by KDOT or otherwise demonstrate qualification in categories:

• 162 Long Range Planning

If a firm is not currently prequalified by KDOT, a proposal may still be submitted. Firms not prequalified must also provide documentation that demonstrates the firm is qualified for each specified category listed in this notice for the project. Firms must use the KDOT prequalification form to provide this documentation. KDOT 1050 Prequalification Category Definitions (Blue Book) can be found at http://www.ksdot.org/descons.asp. Consultants may create a team to meet the prequalification requirements. All firms doing business with KDOT must be registered and in good standing under the laws of the State of Kansas at the time of contracting and must comply with applicable state and federal laws, rules, and regulations.

Table 1: Background and Scope of Project
Project Number	Background and Scope of Project
P-1786-24	Consultant, or team of consultants, to lead the development, production, and implementation of the Kansas Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) update, also referred to as the Kansas Drive to Zero Plan. Over the last three years KDOT retained a consultant to support the implementation of the 2020-2024 SHSP. This contract is for the update of the SHSP as well as implementation following SHSP approval. Consultant will be under contract for about five years, including Phase A for Plan Development, and future phases for Plan Implementation. The SHSP update must incorporate new guidance from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), including incorporation of a Safe System Approach (as defined by USDOT in the National Roadway Safety Strategy). The SHSP must comply with requirements as indicated in the BIL and specific guidance from the Federal Highway Administration. Use of the Safe System Approach will necessitate engagement with numerous organizations in Kansas. Strategies identified in the plan should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound and should consider all agencies and organizations who have a role in saving lives on public roads in Kansas.

Anticipated Consultant Scope

KDOT anticipates the following to be included in the consultant’s scope:

• Planning study services.
• Stakeholder involvement services.
• Transportation safety analysis and planning.

Current expectations for consultant scope are detailed below. The scope included herein may not be all-inclusive. A scoping meeting will take place after consultant selection is made.

Project Management

• Consultant will establish a web presence for the project and the final SHSP update. The website must be Section 508 compliant.
• Consultants will host recurring (at a minimum monthly) project management meetings with appropriate KDOT staff or contractors.
• Consultant will lead all data driven analysis and stakeholder engagement to develop the update of the SHSP.

Data Analysis

• Consultant is expected to, at a minimum, conduct analysis of crash data and other relevant data to support decisions to be made by Emphasis Area Teams (EATs) and the executive-level Drive to Zero (DTZ) Coalition. Consultant will produce graphics, figures, or tables to summarize data analysis.

Stakeholder Engagement

• The consultant is responsible for organizing, coordinating, consulting, and advising all stakeholder groups.
• The consultant is responsible for organizing, coordinating, consulting, and advising the Emphasis Area Teams (EATs) with the best practices relevant to the Emphasis Area. In total, up to 10 EATs will meet at least quarterly (EAT meetings are held online). The DTZ Coalition are currently working on a likely restructuring of the EATs into teams organized by each of the Safe System objectives as well as three support teams. It is possible the 10 existing EATs will be restructured into eight teams (i.e., Safer People, Safer Roads, Safer Vehicles, Safer Speeds, Post-Crash Care, Data Support, Legislative Support, Communications Support). The EATs are led by three individuals: 1) a consultant manager, 2) a KDOT staff member, and 3) a Chair from outside of KDOT with expertise in the subject matter. Consultant manager responsibilities include scheduling meetings, developing the agenda with team leaders, drafting the meeting action items or decisions, and developing related SHSP content. KDOT will provide an EAT Management Guide for the consultant’s use.
• Consultant is responsible for organizing, coordinating, consulting, and advising the executive meetings of the DTZ Coalition. The DTZ Coalition meets at least four times per year and these meetings will likely be in-person meetings held in Topeka, Kansas. KDOT may elect to move the DTZ Coalition meetings online at the project manager’s or Secretary’s direction.
• Consultant will participate in the annual joint workshop of the DTZ Coalition and EAT Leaders to be held in April 2024. The consultant’s role will be to kickoff the SHSP Update process with attendees. Beginning in 2025, the consultant is responsible for coordinating and facilitating the joint workshop in April of each year through the end of the contract.
• Consultant will manage the EAT and DTZ Coalition shared materials, agendas, minutes, etc. on a SharePoint or similar site for use by the stakeholders.
• Following the SHSP update approval, the consultant is responsible for guiding and supporting implementation of strategies. The consultant must track milestone progress and the schedule as well as documentation of strategy implementation.

Plan Development

• Consultant is responsible for development of the draft and final SHSP document. The plan must be published with high quality visuals. The final published SHSP must be Section 508 compliant and posted online.
• Strategies within the SHSP update must be produced in collaboration with the EATs and approved by the DTZ Coalition.
• Strategies must be data driven with relevant information to guide the DTZ Coalition in understanding the potential magnitude of lives that could be saved as well as the path to implementation of the strategy.
• Existing strategies that are currently in the process of implementation may be included in the SHSP update.
• New strategies are needed that fall within the Safe System Objectives (Safer People, Safer Roads, Safer Vehicles, Safer Speeds, and Post-Crash Care). Of note, the 2020-2024 SHSP exclusively focused on Safer People and Safer Roads objectives and focused primarily on KDOT as the implementing organization or the owner of the strategies. At a minimum, strategies are needed for Safer Vehicles, Safer Speeds and Post-Crash Care. Additionally, the SHSP update should aim for all relevant State agencies as strategy owners or implementers. KDOT developed a Kansas Safe System Foundational Report to guide not only the organizations to be engaged but existing state documents that could inform the Safe System Objectives. This document will be made available to the selected consultant.
• Each strategy should include a well-developed action plan to guide the implementation of the strategy. KDOT has a template for the Strategy Action Plan that will be used by the consultant. The action plan is used to determine if the implementation of the strategy is feasible, if additional resources are needed, etc.

Plan Implementation

• Once the SHSP update is approved by the DTZ Coalition and FHWA, the consultant will be retained to guide all implementation activities through the horizon year of 2030. A future supplemental to this contract will cover the scope of work and budget for the implementation years following SHSP update approval.

Special Conditions

• Consultants must have demonstrated experience in SHSP development and implementation including demonstrated experience in crash data analysis.
• Consultant experience must include project management; stakeholder facilitation and organizing; subject matter expertise in the Safe System Approach; behavioral and engineering strategies to improve traffic safety, and traffic safety culture; technical writing and editing; graphic design; and publishing.
• Consultant must present an understanding of the Safe System Approach.

Anticipated Schedule and Key Dates

1. Proposals are due by or before 12:00 p.m. (Central Time) December 6, 2023.
2. Ranking of proposals is expected to occur on or around January 3, 2024
3. Depending on the number and quality of responses received, KDOT anticipates shortlisting (based on proposals) to no more than 3-5 firms and may hold in-person interviews prior to final selection (which may be based on both proposals and interview content). If KDOT deems them necessary, evaluation criteria for interviews will be distributed to shortlisted consultant teams in advance. Also, interviews may extend the schedule described below.
4. Negotiations with the most highly ranked firm are expected to begin on or around January 31, 2024. An executed agreement is anticipated around February 28, 2024.
5. The Plan Development schedule is anticipated to begin in early 2024 (3rd quarter of State FY2024). The Plan approval is anticipated to occur prior to July 2025 (prior to State FY2026). Plan Implementation will begin following SHSP update approval through FY2030.

Consultant must be on-board and ready to facilitate an SHSP Update workshop in April 2024.

Instructions for Proposal

1. No cost or pricing information shall be submitted with the proposal. Proposals including cost or pricing information will be considered non-responsive and withdrawn from further consideration.
2. The consultant’s proposal must not exceed 8 pages total (including any cover letter, index, etc.). All pages shall be standard letter size (8.5” x 11”). Any page larger than standard letter size will be counted as two or more pages depending on size.
3. A single PDF (10MB maximum size) of the proposal including all attachments must be uploaded to the appropriate bid form on Bid Express by the proposal due date and time.
4. The subject line of the PDF file name must read:
   1. “P-1786-24_Strategic Hwy Safety Plan_FIRM NAME”
5. The proposal must be accompanied by Special Attachments No. 8 (“Tax Clearance Certificate”) and No. 10 (“Policy Regarding Sexual Harassment”). If you need a Tax Clearance Certificate, you can request one at https://www.ksrevenue.gov/taxclearance.html. Allow 2-3 business days for processing. Both attachments are required for every firm involved in a multi-consultant team.
6. The outline in Table 2 below describes the expected proposal organization and content sections.
7. Table 3 lists the evaluation criteria and associated weights which will be used to make a selection.

Table 2: Proposal Content
Section	Description of Intent	Page Limit
Cover Letter		1 Page
Project Approach	Demonstrate a unique approach to accomplish the project efficiently and to a high standard. Include cost-effective and optimized solutions to address project goals. Include unique qualifications or experience related to the project approach.
Approach to Schedule	Describe the approach to accomplish the scope of services within the schedule requirements. Include anticipated key milestone dates and availability of staff.
Approach to Quality Control	Describe methods or procedures your firm will use to provide all figures, reports and other services with professional quality and technical accuracy.
Qualifications and Experience	For key personnel to be assigned to the project provide names, office location, qualifications, education, training, and expertise. Identify their area(s) of responsibility and the percentage of their time dedicated to the project. List work for which you do not have in-house capability and name the firm you propose to subcontract with.
Past Performance	Describe team’s past performance with respect to ability to meet project scope and schedule; quality of work; and ability to control costs on similar transportation projects, especially those performed for KDOT. Indicate which project team members worked on the past experience referenced in this section. Include three references and contact information.
Familiarity with KDOT and Project Area	Describe team’s familiarity with KDOT’s safety processes. Describe familiarity with the project area and any identified special conditions.

Table 3: Evaluation Factors
Evaluation Factor	Weight
Qualifications and experience of project manager and other key project team members proposed for services	25%
Project approach	15%
Approach and commitment to meet advertised schedule	10%
Availability to respond to the work	15%
Approach to quality control	10%
Demonstrated understanding of nature and scope of project	15%
Identification of special conditions to be considered for the project	10%

Contract Terms and Conditions

A standard KDOT agreement for engineering and technical services will be used for professional services projects. The following special attachments will need to be provided by the selected consultant and all subconsultants with the signed work order following negotiations and will become attachments to the contract.

• Special Attachment No. 8 (“Tax Clearance Certificate”)
• Special Attachment No. 10 (“Policy Regarding Sexual Harassment”)

Special Contract Conditions

The total contract timeline is anticipated to begin in early 2024 and end by June 30, 2030.

Questions

All questions regarding this Request for Proposals shall be submitted via Q&A section of bid form in Bid Express.

Questions can be submitted until November 16, 2023; answers will be provided to all prequalified consultants in Bid Express on November 29, 2023.

Calvin Reed
Secretary
Department of Transportation

Doc. No. 051646