Synthesis of Information Related to Highway Practices

NCHRP Announces New FY 2023 Synthesis Study Topics - Seeking Panel Member Nominations

19 May 2022

Panel Nominations Due by June 30, 2022

NCHRP announces 22 new synthesis study topics selected for the FY 2023 program. The new project numbers, titles, and preliminary scopes of work are available online at this link.

NCHRP invites you to nominate yourself or other candidates to serve on the expert panels that oversee the technical content of these studies. Nominees should be knowledgeable about the subject matter and willing to serve on a panel that will meet twice in a 10-month period and review materials developed by the principal investigator. Panels for the new projects will meet virtually in September and October.

Nominations should be submitted online from the TRB website at the MyTRB portal. You will be asked to login to MyTRB. If you do not already have an account, you will be asked to quickly create one using your email and a password.

Before nominating yourself to serve as a panel member, please review our Conflict of Interest policy. Please be advised that if you are selected to serve on a panel and we receive a Letter of Interest for that project that presents a conflict of interest for you, we will reject the Letter of Interest. This also applies to liaisons.

Please submit nominations by June 30, 2022. If you have any questions, please contact Jo Allen Gause at jagause@nas.edu. Contacts to determine an individual’s interest in serving will be made from this office after we have matched available expertise with that required by the nature of the project.

We are grateful for your support of the NCHRP Synthesis Program by providing nominees each year. With the nominees continuing to outnumber the available positions, we have been able to establish panels outstanding in their ability to play a critical role in the accomplishment of successful research. Please know that if your nominee(s) is not selected, there are several factors to be considered when forming well balanced and objective panels. Although expertise is the primary factor, we also attempt a proper balance in terms of organization or agency types (e.g., state departments of transportation, private consulting firms, universities), geographic areas, gender, and ethnic diversity.

Seeking Principal Investigators for New FY 2023 Synthesis Study Topics

19 May 2022

Due by August 26, 2022

NCHRP is looking for consultants to perform as principal investigators for 22 new synthesis topics. To express interest in being a principal investigator for a topic, a two-page Letter of Interest and a resume and CV are required. The Letter of Interest and resume should convey a concise idea of the principal investigator's knowledge and related work experience in the subject area. The deadline for Letters of Interest is August 26, 2022. Panel meetings for the new topics will be held virtually in September and October. During these meetings, scopes of work will be finalized and principal investigators chosen.

Please note the following information for consultants:

1. View a sample of our consultant contract. (There is a modified version of this for state entities.) Please note that TRB does not negotiate the terms of these fixed-price contracts.
2. The eleven-month contract period is based on the following milestones:
3. The principal investigator will be participate in a conference call with panel members at the start of the project and a meeting with the panel to review the first draft report. NCHRP pays for the principal investigator’s travel cost.
4. New This Year: Consultants will be paid $55,000 on a fixed-price basis.
5. To propose, please send a single PDF containing a two-page Letter of Interest, a resume providing the principal investigator's qualifications, and a statement that you can comply with the terms of our contract. Note: the statement of compliance should be signed by the contracting entity (e.g., university, company, or an individual sole proprietor). This is the only requirement for expression of consultant interest. The PDF file containing consultant Letters of Interest, resumes, and statements of compliance should be submitted by COB on Friday, August 26, 2021.

Please submit Letters of Interest to the Letters of Interest Submission Portal.

For further information on the NCHRP synthesis program and processes, see Information for Principal Investigators Preparing Syntheses.

Propose New Topics for the FY 2023 NCHRP Synthesis Program

1 August 2022

Due by February 17, 2023

You are invited to propose a new NCHRP Synthesis topic. Upload your synthesis topic statement in a Word document to the NCHRP Synthesis Topic Submission Portal by February 17, 2023.

An outline to guide you in creating your synthesis topic statement is available here: Synthesis Topic Outline.

A synthesis study documents current practice for specific highway topics.  The following factors are considered in the selection of a synthesis topic:

• The objective of the scope of work is to document current highway practice in state departments of transportation (DOTs);

• The synthesis documents current practice not best practice; it is not a research project or a guidebook;

• The topic addresses an area of practice that is widespread and of general interest to state DOTs; and

• The topic should be timely and critical for expediting delivery, improving the quality, or lowering the cost of highway programs.

New topics will be selected in May 2023 and will be posted on this website.

For further information on the NCHRP synthesis program, please see the Background section of this website.  Scroll down to view links to NCHRP Synthesis topics currently under study and completed.

Questions can be directed to Jo Allen Gause by email at jagause@nas.edu.