Notice of Intent to Single Source -Center of Excellence for Technical Training and Human Performance (COE TTHP)

In accordance with The FAA Acquisition Management System (AMS), section 3.2.2.4, Single Source, the purpose of this announcement is to inform industry of the basis for the FAA's decision to enter into a contract on a single source basis with Orion America Technologies, LLC (OAT) for administration and technical support of the Orion Information Management System database. The contract is for a base and four option years.

The FAA’s Air Traffic Organization (ATO) Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Technical Training and Human Performance (COE TTHP) was congressionally mandated by the Reauthorization Act of 2012. The FAA Administrator and Secretary of Transportation selected the COE TTHP team in August 2016. The center comprises 15 core universities, 11 affiliate universities, and more than 40 industry partners. The COE TTHP period of performance of ten years ends August 2026, followed by a two-year orderly shutdown.

The FAA established Cooperative Agreements with each of the 15 core universities to formalize the program. The COE team’s mission is to establish and manage a consortium among government, academia, and industry to evaluate and create solutions to enhance air transportation personnel training and operational performance.

The team conducts research predominantly on topics of critical interest that seek solutions in the following training and human performance areas: • Workforce development and training • Human factors • Safety • Analytics The FAA’s COE TTHP Cooperative Agreements require FAA fund university administrative oversight for the COE.

Upon the inception of COE TTHP in 2016, ATO standardized on FAA AST’s Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation’s COE CST) use of the Orion Management Information System (OMIS) as the official database for the COE’s period of performance. For the first eight years of operation, FAA funded Wichita State University to serve as COE TTHP’s Administrative Lead. Wichita State sub-contracted to Orion America Technologies for administrative and technical support of OMIS.

To streamline operations during the last two years of the Center’s operations, Wichita State will no longer serve as a lead. The FAA will award a contract directly to OAT to cover the final two years of the cooperative agreement and the two-year orderly shutdown. OAT is the only provider capable of meeting this requirement.

No other source can administer their proprietary OMIS database, and continuity of operations between the federal and academic sides of COE TTHP is critical as the COE TTHP cooperative agreements come to an end. Any questions or comments about this announcement may be directed to the Contracting Officer, Manish Patel, at manish.patel@faa.gov by 12PM Eastern on August 13, 2024.