TRB s IDEA Programs: Funding Your Transportation Innovation Questions and Answers

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Albert Walton
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1 TRB s IDEA Programs: Funding Your Transportation Innovation Questions and Answers IDEA Programs General Information Q: Where can we find program managers contact info? A: Harvey Berlin, Program Officer for Safety IDEA and Transit IDEA, hberlin@nas.edu Inam Jawed, Program Officer for NCHRP Highway IDEA, ijawed@nas.edu Q: I would like to have an idea on who are the members of the evaluating committee. Are they only DOT members? A. Listings of committee members are at- Safety- Highway- Transit- Q: Where can we find a list of all previously funded projects? A: At this Web site- Q: How long can projects run? A: IDEA projects are awarded for an average of a 12-month duration. In some cases, they may be awarded for up to 18 months to accommodate field testing in collaboration with a highway or transit agency. In some limited circumstances, an award for a Type 2 project with extensive field testing can be for up to 24 months. See the IDEA Program Announcement for further information on this question. Q: Any rules on the IDEA funds that project resources must be based in the US? A: We only require that the research and the research product be acceptable for application in the U.S. and be usable in the U.S. Q: Will the High Speed Rail IDEA program be resurrected? A: The Federal High Speed Rail program has ended, so there will be no continuation of the IDEA program with that name. We have discussed with the Federal Railroad Administration whether they might fund a new Rail IDEA program, and that decision is up to them. They have not funded such a program. Q: Is the IDEA program lined up to get extra funding in 2009 from the Transportation & Infrastructure stimulus package being drafted in Congress right now. A: To our knowledge, none of the IDEA programs are a line item in the stimulus package.

edu Q: I would like to have an idea on who are the members of the evaluating committee. Are they only DOT members? A. Listings of committee members are at- Safety- http://gulliver.trb.

2 Research Topics Q: What were the three new targeted areas in the Highway program discussed by Sandra Larson? A: Innovative materials and techniques for highway construction and maintenance; work zone safety; transportation safety and security Q: Does a proposal need to be submitted to a single NCHRP Highway topic or can it address several topics simultaneously? A: Often a proposed concept may relate to more than one highway focus area or topic. In case of totally different areas, if you think you can address more than one topic adequately in terms of explaining the concept, describing the research approach, providing cost/benefit analysis, and outlining plans for implementation/commercialization in 15 pages along with other needed information, then you may do so. Q: Would a rail efficiency improvement fit into one of the IDEA categories? If so, which one? A: The Safety IDEA program continues to consider proposals for innovations related to railroad safety. The Transit IDEA program continues to consider proposals for innovations addressing any aspect of rail transit, including commuter rail, light rail transit, or rail rapid transit, as further discussed in the IDEA Program Announcement, which is at: Q: Are Transit IDEA proposals just limited to innovative technologies? Will innovative policy evaluation methods also be considered? A: Transit IDEA proposals are not limited to technologies. Innovative policy evaluation methods would be eligible for consideration in a Transit IDEA proposal. Among the important considerations in evaluating Transit IDEA proposals is how the proposal addresses a real problem or need of transit agencies, as further discussed in the IDEA Webinar. Q: Does the program support parking-related ideas? A: Innovations for parking at transit stations or park-and-ride lots can be considered by the Transit IDEA program. The Highway IDEA program can consider proposals on parking-related innovative concepts. Q: Does the program support airport-related ideas? A: Not currently, though we might possibly in the future. Q: If you are unsure of which IDEA program a project could fit, or have a project that could possibly fit into more than 1 of the IDEA programs, could an introduction to the concept be discussed with someone on staff for guidance prior to submission? A: Yes, you can call us at to discuss that question before preparing a proposal.

topic or can it address several topics simultaneously? A: Often a proposed concept may relate to more than one highway focus area or topic.

3 Proposal Submission Q: My audio cut out momentarily; what are the two dates for submission? March 1 and what else? Thank you. A: Proposals are due March 1 and September 1 for the Highway IDEA program and the Transit IDEA program. Proposals are due March 1 for the Safety IDEA program, which has one review cycle per year. Q: How long is the typical turn around time between proposal submission and selection and award? A: Normally within four or five months for completion of the committee review and selection process. The period after that for award depends on the nature and extent of committee comments and conditions and the time it takes the proposer to make any revisions to satisfactorily address those comments and conditions and complete contract negotiations. Q: Are IDEA products or concepts FHWA-approved for state DOT projects? A: IDEA products do not receive any special approvals from FHWA. Q: How many proposals can a PI submit? A: There is no stated limit. Cost Sharing Q: What kind of contributions qualify as matching funds? Would you accept inkind contributions in the matching fund mix? A: Cost sharing can include in-kind contributions, contributed staff services, and cash contributions as part of the cost of carrying out the proposed IDEA project. The NCHRP IDEA program prefers cash contributions. Q: How do we pursue cost sharing if we do not have any leads from agencies who might be willing or able to fund? A: Cost sharing can be from participating transportation agencies, private industry or manufacturers. Q: How's matching fund evaluated for Type 1 proposal? i.e. what is the score and how important is it? A: Matching funds or cost sharing for Type I proposals is considered favorably and encouraged, but is not mandatory to include in a Type I proposal. There is no score attached to it. Q: I work with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory -- are federally funded R&D centers eligible? A: Yes, if they can sign our liability statement. In the past, experience is that energy research labs cannot sign this statement. We have received proposals that had federal agencies provide cost-sharing.

Q: How long is the typical turn around time between proposal submission and selection and award? A: Normally within four or five months for completion of the committee review and selection process.

4 Q: Are there any expectations on the level or % of cost sharing? A: While there is not a mandatory % cost sharing for Type 1 (Concept Exploration) projects, cost sharing is encouraged. For Type 2 (Prototype Development and Testing), significant cost sharing is required. Proposal Review and Awards Q: Do you provide review of the submitted proposals? And if not funded can a proposer submit the proposal again? A: Yes, after a proposer receives a letter indicating that a proposal has not been selected, the proposer can contact the program officer who sent that letter to discuss the review of that proposal. In general, a proposer may resubmit a revised version of a proposal that was not selected in a previous review cycle. However, the IDEA review committees advise if they would be interested in resubmission of a proposer s revised proposal, and then the IDEA program officer will advise the proposer of that. Q: Is a written debriefing provided for unsuccessful proposals? A: Yes, if requested. Q: About how many proposals do you receive each funding period within each area? A: On average, per review cycle, the Transit IDEA program receives around 12 to 14 proposals, the Safety IDEA program receives around 12 to 14 proposals, and the Highway IDEA program receives around 35 proposals. Q: What percentage of successful RFP responders were generated through DOT research units? (if any) A: We do not know what percentage of proposers were generated through referrals from DOT research units. Q: Typically, what is the distribution of awards between universities, small businesses and large businesses? A: The average distribution of awards in recent review cycles were as follows: For the Transit IDEA program, the percentages were: 33% university, 50% small business (less than 10 employees), and 17% large business For the Safety IDEA program, the percentages were: 67% university, 0% small business, and 33% large business For the NCHRP Highway IDEA program, the percentages were: 70% university, 30% small business, 0% large business. Generally, the NCHRP Highway IDEA program receives most proposals from universities (about 65%), and universities have received the bulk of awards for that program. Small Business Innovative Research Program Q: Is there a more detailed description of the topics like the SBIR program - Is there a solicitation?

And if not funded can a proposer submit the proposal again?

5 A: SBIR programs are federal government s research programs. Specific federal agencies' websites have information about their SBIR program. For transportation related concepts, consult the US DOT SBIR web site: DriveCam Q: What is the DriveCam? A: DriveCam is a small video camera for motor vehicles, which is installed behind a vehicle's rearview mirror. It was developed in an IDEA project. The camera continuously records both the view forward out the front of the vehicle and inside back at the driver but does not save any data unless its accelerometer is triggered by an erratic or unusual vehicle movement such as extreme braking, cornering, acceleration, or a collision. When the devices is activated, it records the event consisting of the 10 seconds before and after the triggering of the accelerator, showing what happened and why it happened. Vehicle fleets use DriveCam's event recordings as part of a driving feedback system to provide unbiased feedback on driving performance. When incidents occur, the information captured by DriveCam can be useful for legal defense and insurance purposes.

A: DriveCam is a small video camera for motor vehicles, which is installed behind a vehicle's rearview mirror. It was developed in an IDEA project.

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