The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is seeking a contractor to support its Drone Advisory Committee work.
The Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended, gives federal agencies the authority to charter advisory committees (FACs). FACS are provisional bodies designed to solicit opinions from a variety of experts and give federal officials and the public access to information and advice on a broad range of issues affecting federal policies and programs. They also provide the public with an opportunity to provide input in a forum that may form the basis for government decisions.
In May of 2018, FAA completed the process of chartering two FACs; the Drone Advisory Committee (DAC) and the NextGen Advisory Committee (NAC).
The FAA’s Drone Advisory Committee is a broad-based, long-term advisory committee that provides the FAA with advice on key UAS integration issues by helping to identify challenges and prioritize improvements. The Committee helps to create broad support for an overall integration strategy and vision. Membership will be comprised of CEO/COO-level executives from a cross-section of stakeholders representing the wide variety of UAS interests, including industry, research and academia, retail, and technology.
The FAA formed the NextGen Advisory Committee (NAC) to partner with industry stakeholders, set priorities, and deliver tangible benefits to industry and the National Airspace System (NAS). Led by airline executives and aviation community leaders who have a comprehensive understanding of shared challenges and opportunities, the NAC convenes three times per year, in public, so that deliberations and findings are fully visible to everyone. Because the NAC has a multi-faceted industry perspective, it can develop a common understanding of modernization capabilities and constraints. It seeks consensus on a broad range of topics, with an emphasis on the near and mid-term. The NAC also fosters a common understanding of success with joint performance objectives and development milestones. It focuses on the scope of implementation, such as prioritization criteria at national level, joint investment priorities, and the location and timing of capability implementation.
FAA requires contractor support to facilitate the activities of the FACs to ensure that they satisfy the requirements of FACA and achieve the desired outcome of obtaining expert advice and public input.
The FAA intends to use FAA and contractor support staff in reviewing and evaluating any responses to this announcement and will ensure that the appropriate organizational conflict of interest and nondisclosure agreements are signed prior to any review.
Solicitation Number: 693KA9-18-R-00018
Response deadline: 11 August 2018
Issuing agency: Federal Aviation Administration
