Pipeline Safety Research and Development (R&D) - Research Announcement 12
Department of Transportation · Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration · 693JK3 ACQUISITION SERVICES DIV.
Account requiredWhy it scored this way
Every reason behind the verdict rather than the headline one — which of your certifications match, how much runway is left, whether the work is your size, and what we would need to know to sharpen it.
The requirements that decide a bid — bonding, clearances, experience minimums, page limits — live in the attachments, not in the notice above. Start a free trial to upload them and have them read.
Draft the paperwork
Written against this notice and what you have told us about your company. Anything we do not know is marked [NEEDS INPUT] in the draft rather than guessed at — read it before you send it. Federal notices routinely put the real requirement in an attachment; adding the documents above makes every one of these materially better.
Start a free trial to draft these. Nothing is sent to an agency on your behalf, ever — you get a document to review, edit and submit yourself.
What would disqualify you
Read straight from the solicitation documents: the bonding, clearances, insurance minimums, experience thresholds and deadlines that decide whether you can bid at all — before you write a word.
Compliance matrix
Every stated and implied requirement, its source section, whether it is mandatory, and where your response will address it.
Proposal outline
A submission skeleton where every required element is a heading with its source requirement quoted beneath it. You write the substance; nothing gets forgotten.
Questions to submit
Genuine ambiguities and requirements that disadvantage a smaller bidder, drafted as questions you can submit before the Q&A deadline.
Past performance write-ups
Which of your prior awards best match this requirement, and draft write-ups in the format the agency asked for.
Solicitation details
Solicitation number
693JK326RA001
Notice type
Solicitation
NAICS
54171
Product service code
AJ14
Set-aside
No Set aside used
Posted
2026-09-14
Response deadline
Nov 2, 2026, 10:00 PM UTC
Place of performance
Washington, DC
Contracting contact
stephen.jones@dot.gov
Market intelligence
Account requiredWho wins this work, and what it pays
Comparable awards under NAICS 54171 at this agency — the incumbent, what they were paid, when their period of performance ends, and the real pricing distribution rather than the headline number. From public federal award records.
Through this Research Announcement (RA), the Office of Pipeline Safety, at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), an operating administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation, solicits applications for research projects awarded and funded as Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs). A comprehensive administrative and technical review will be conducted to determine the merits of the proposals and their relevance to the topic areas of focus. All proposals will be evaluated using only the materials provided in each proposal. PHMSA will reject proposals that duplicate work already planned, completed, or validated under recent initiatives. PHMSA reserves the right to fund all, some, or none of the proposals submitted in response to this RA. PHMSA will not reimburse any proposal development costs. All proposals will be treated as sensitive, competitive information and their contents will be used for evaluation and award purposes only. Any questions are to be directed at the PHMSA Acquisition Services Division as listed in this solicitation. Any questions on solicitation content, issues, or procedures must be submitted via email to Stephen Jones at stephen.jones@dot.gov with a cc to Tremayne Terry at Tremayne.Terry@dot.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. EST, Friday, October 9, 2026. The research announcement number (693JK326RA001) must be included in the subject line. Responses to questions submitted on time will be posted publicly on SAM.gov within 2-3 business days after questions deadline. A full proposal package is defined as the proposal that includes Appendices A and B, and the proposal attachments. No award will be made if any of the above documents are missing from the full proposal package. Please submit the proposal and the proposal attachments in PDF format, except for Attachment #3 “Technical and Deliverable Milestone Schedule,” which should be submitted as an editable Excel document. The procedure for submitting a proposal is as follows: Prior to submitting a proposal package: All offerors must be registered in the Federal Government’s System for Award Management (SAM) (www.sam.gov). Each organization must complete an online registration form to access PHMSA’s Pipeline Safety R&D Management Information System (MIS). More information can be found at: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/matrix/RfpHome.rdm?rfp=109. Credentials from past registration will still be valid. To avoid account duplications and for questions or concerns with the registration or application, please submit an e-mail to rd-support@dot.gov prior to starting your submittal to ensure you don’t already have an existing account. Submit Proposal Package: Only electronic submissions, through MIS, will be accepted. Additional instructions regarding the preparation and electronic submission of proposals along with individual questions and answers are available on the website above. Proposals must be uploaded by 5:00 p.m. EST, Monday, November 2, 2026. Late or incomplete submittals will not be considered.
Contact
Point of contact
Stephen Jones
Role
not stated on this notice — SAM publishes a role for only about 5% of them, so this may be a contract specialist rather than the contracting officer
Email
stephen.jones@dot.gov
Secondary
tremayne.terry@dot.gov
Submit questions
Ambiguities and requirements worth clarifying, written as questions you can send before the deadline.
Opens in your own mail client, addressed and with a subject line — you write the message. GovSprint never sends anything on your behalf.
Emails open in your mail client and are sent from your address, so the reply comes back to you and the exchange stays yours. Confirm the correct channel and any question deadline on the notice before sending — many solicitations require questions in a specific way.
