The U.S. Department of Transportation's Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) has extended to November 21 the deadline for submitting papers on technical or project activities that would improve the security or reduce the vulnerability of transportation services to accidental or intentional disruption.
Recognizing the need to develop innovative technologies and operational concepts that address transportation security, RSPA issued Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) No DTRS56-01-BAA-0002 September 25, 2001 in response to the tragic transportation related incidents in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington DC. RSPA's objective is to identify developing technologies, methods and concepts that would have the ability to predict, detect, or deal with security threats in all types of transportation services and operations.
Examples of these activities would be in-flight aviation threats, service disruptions to marine operations and ports, and surveillance of transportation systems through land and space-based sensing, communications, and control technologies.
A two-phase proposal submission process is currently underway. During the first phase, interested parties are requested to submit white papers which describe their ideas in response to the BAA. RSPA will subsequently convene an evaluation panel to review all submitted descriptions. In the second phase, submitters of the most innovative ideas will be requested to provide more detailed descriptions to have their submissions formally evaluated. These full proposals in the second phase may form the basis for a subsequent contract. To obtain additional information concerning the BAA, interested parties can visit: www.rspa.dot.gov/rbaa0002_d.html.