FTA Project Management Oversight (PMO) Nearing Release

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is expected to release before the end of the year a solicitation for Project Management Oversight (PMO) services. The solicitation will be to acquire contractor assistance in the administration of FTA grants and loans. These loans help the recipients to finance the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, and capital improvements of transit facilities under 49 U.S.C. Chapter 53. Because of the FTA stewardship requirements, significant amounts of hands-on assistance is required for the recipients while not relieving them of their financial obligations.

The Office of Capital Project Management, within the Office of Program Management, develops and implements a PMO program for major transit infrastructure projects, such as new fixed guideways, core capacity projects, and Small Starts investments. The purpose of the PMO Program is to ensure that recipients have the technical capacity, capability, and appropriate plans to deliver major capital projects on schedule and within budget. The resulting contracts will be Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (ID/IQ) multiple award contracts.

Open to Large and Small Business under NAICS 541611

As stated earlier, it’s expected for the solicitation to be released sometime before the end of this calendar year. The current program has 19 contractors, with the majority of the spend being given to small businesses of all kinds (approximately $185M of $290M going to small business).

FTA Project Management Oversight (PMO) RFP Requirements

Taking a look at the draft RFP released on 9/21, we can see that responding to this solicitation will not be an easy process. The response will be composed of three volumes:

  • Volume I – The Offer and Other Documents is divided into three tabs the first of which is comprised of what we generally think of as an administrative volume and contains things like the SF33, Joint Venture/Teaming agreements, and statements on Section 508 compliance and lobbying efforts. It does have a page limitation of two pages for a cover letter. Tab 2 contains Certs and Reps from the Prime and all major subcontractors. Tab 3 is the Small business subcontracting plan. It’s unknown if a pro forma one will be required ala the ITES-4H solicitation earlier this year.
  • Volume II – The Technical / Management Proposal will be divided into six tabs. These include Tab 1 for Technical and Management with a 110- page limit spread across a variety of factors; Tab 2 for staffing and recruiting to include Key Personnel resumes (a resume form is included and requires a signature); Tab 3 is a 10-page Program Management section; Tab 4 is for identifying any organizational conflicts of interest (no page limit); Tab 5 is for identifying all major subcontractors and is unlimited in page count; and Tab 6 is for Corporate Experience and Past Performance with a written limit of 19 pages plus the Past Performance Questionnaires.
  • Volume III – Cost Proposal is composed of three tabs with a 10-page Executive Summary, fill-in cost spreadsheet, and accounting system audited financial statements from both the Prime and subcontractors.

As you can see from the above information, responding to the FTA Project Management Oversight (PMO) solicitation will not be a simple matter. Some fair amount of content development/refinement will be required, as will a particular emphasis on choosing subcontractors and JV partners who can provide the required information regarding audited financials as well as accounting system certifications. It’s not too early to begin that selection process. Nor is it too early to identify your proposal response team, and assess where you may have shortages.

We invite you to reach out to OCI as a trusted partner for proposal management, technical writing, graphics, and coordination support.

FTA Project Management Oversight (PMO)