Transportation Research Board
HomeContact Us Directory E-NewsletterFollow Us RSS

The National Academies
Text Size: Increase Text SizeDecrease Text Size| Share:



Chapter 3: Which Research Programs is the Best Fit for your Research Statement?

This chapter contains the details on transportation research programs. Keep in mind only those programs that accept research statements from the transportation community are included in this listing. A summary of key information on each program can be found in Appendix B
. Suggestions on how to find transportation research products are provided in Chapter 4.

Each research program description in this chapter contains the following information:

  • General Description
  • Type of Research Funded
  • Funding Levels and Project Time Frame
  • Schedule
  • Project Solicitation and Submission
  • Selection Process
  • Project Selection Criteria and Tips for Writing Winning Research Statements

Further Information

Additional information is always available from the program staff. They are able to provide guidance that can either improve the initial submittal or if a submittal is not successful they can provide advice for future funding requests.

Did we miss a research program that should be included? Appendix D contains a form to submit information on additional programs. Alternatively, you can contact Kim Fisher with corrections, suggestions, questions, or additional information.

Table 2 lists available research programs according to topic, geographic relevance, selection frequency, funding range, funding requirements, and specific research type. A similar table listed by programs can be found in Appendix C.

The table below contain general information on the research programs included to date. Click on the program title for complete information

PROGRAMS
MODE/TOPIC
RECENT FUNDING RANGE
PROJECT TYPE
National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Regular Projects Highways, general $200,000–600,000 Standard
NCHRP International Scans (NCHRP 20-36) General $850,000 annually for about 4 scans Scan of international research
NCHRP Domestic Scans (NCHRP 20-68A) General $80,000–150,000 Scan
NCHRP Quick Response Project for the AASHTO Planning Committee (NCHRP 8-36) Highways $50,000–100,000 Quick Response (Task Order Projects)
NCHRP Quick Response Project for the AASHTO Environmental Committee (NCHRP 25-25) Environment $50,000–100,000 Quick Response (Task Order Projects)
Research on Administration of Highway and Transportation Agencies (NCHRP 20-24) Administration of state DOTs $75,000–350,000 Quick Response (Task Order Projects)
NCHRP Quick Response Project for the AASHTO Highways Committee (NCHRP 20-07) Highways; engineering and operations guides, standards, and policies $25,000–100,000 Quick Response (Task Order Projects)
NCHRP Quick Response Project for the AASHTO Public Transportation Committee (NCHRP 20-65) Transit $25,000–100,000 Quick Response (Task Order Projects)
Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Highways, freight and rail safety, transit $25,000–100,000; $25,000–150,000 for Highway Program Standard
Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Air $150,000–500,000 Standard
ACRP Graduate Research Award Program Air $10,000 Graduate research
Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Transit $150,000-$500,000 million Standard
TCRP International Transit Studies Program (TCRP J-03) Transit $500,000 annually International missions
National Cooperative Freight Research Program Freight $20,000–500,000 Standard
Hazardous Material Cooperative Research Program Hazardous material transportation $300,000–350,000 Standard
TCRP Synthesis Program Transit $30,000 Synthesis report
NCHRP Synthesis Program Highways $30,000 Synthesis report
ACRP Synthesis Program Airports $30,000 Synthesis report
Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program  Commercial truck and bus safety $40,000 Synthesis report
TCRP Legal Research (TCRP J-5) Transit and intermodal legal issues Not available Brief of legal issues
ACRP Legal Research (ACRP 11-01) Airport legal issues $15,000–80,000 Brief of legal issues
NCHRP Legal Research (NCHRP 20-6) Highway legal issues $24,000–100,000 Brief of legal issues
Surface Transportation Environment and Planning Cooperative Research Program Environment, Planning, Real Estate Services Varies Typicall applied research / some basic research
Safety Innovation Deployment Program Safety Annual budget of about $12 million Standard
Exploratory Advanced Research Safety, environment, congestion $500,000–2,000,000 Standard
Small Business Innovation Research Program General $100,000–750,000 For small businesses
Remote Sensing and Spatial Technology Program Remote sensing,
spatial information
$600,000–1,800,000 Standard
Intelligent Transportation Systems Program Intelligent vehicles and infrastructure $300,000–3,000,000+ Standard
Highways for LIFE Technology Partnerships Program Improve work zone safety, reduce congestion, improve quality accelerate construction $200,000 - $500,000  Solicitation
Federal Transit Administration National Research and Technology Program Transit technology $50,000–1,000,000+ Standard
State Planning and Research Funds General $5,000–1,000,000+ Typically applied research
Transportation Pooled Fund Programs General $300,000–1,000,000+ Standard
University Transportation Research Centers General $10,000–2,200,000+ Standard

 

Transportation Research Board. 500 Fifth St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Copyright © 2012. National Academy of Sciences. All Rights Reserved.