2018 Biennial Peer Review and Evaluation (№10681304)

The United States Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Office of Acquisition Services, under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 6.302-1 - Only One Responsible Source, intends to issue a sole source purchase order to the National Academy of Science"s (NAS) Transportation Research Board (TRB) to provide services for the requirement titled "2018 Biennial Peer Review and Evaluation of FRA"s R&D Program." The Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is fully qualified and capable of conducting the Peer Review and Evaluation of FRA"s R&D Program and has been successfully conducting this program since 2010. TRB is the only entity with the capability of carrying out this program because it is an independent non-profit entity that has no affiliation with railroad providers, manufacturers, or suppliers. This makes TRB a unique organization for being fully independent, with no bias on behalf of any organization. Additionally, the Senate Appropriations Committee subsequently asked that TRB extend the scope of the peer review to include the R&D program, which focuses on research in support of safety regulations. The reputation enjoyed by TRB has enabled it to establish a distinguished committee composed of a diversified group of experts in the railroad field, to conduct the peer review and evaluation of the R&D program.

The long established status of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) as a noncompetitive source of scientific research and policy advice to the Government derives from its creation by Congress in 1863 (36 U.S.C. Sec. 253). This special status and relationship with the Government was reconfirmed by E.O. 2859, May 11, 1918, as amended by E.O. 10668, May 10, 1956. The noncompetitive status of the NAS was most recently formally recommended in E.O. 12832 on January 19, 1993. This order cites the special relationship of the Academy to Government and its unique capacity to martial scientific expertise of the highest caliber in order to provide independent and objective science policy advice. The NAS has the unique ability to assemble the Nation"s most eminent scholars, who serve as volunteers without compensation on committees and boards, which are then able to render advice and guidance of the highest quality and unparalleled objectivity to address national problems of high priority. Accordingly, only NAS can provide the measure of expertise, independence, objectivity and audience acceptance necessary to meet our program requirements.