This page includes a quick overview of the committee’s current research activities, some useful information on research programs, resources, and important dates.
Centennial Paper
The Committee Centennial Paper – A Century of Travel Surveys Informing Transportation Investments
Research Needs Statement
A Research Needs Statement (RNS) is a structured description of a research topic that is anticipated to deliver value to practitioners and provides an outlook for the interest of the committee to other parties. RNS are instrumental to formulate committee’s research activities ranging from call for papers, workshops, webinars, and funded research through corporative research programs. All RNS are stored in the RNS Database which is accessible by everyone but edited by committee chairs or research coordinators. Currently, we have 13 RNS included in the RNS database. All existing RNS are archived and based on recent committee activities and discussions, those seemed relevant will be added back to the RNS, by Q1 the latest, to reflect and update the committee’s research interests.
Recently Funded Projects Sponsored/Supported by the Committee
- NCHRP Report 868 Cell Phone Location Data for Travel Behavior Analysis, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018, Washington, DC, The National Academies Press.
- NCHRP Report 775 Applying GPS Data to Understand Travel Behavior, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2014, Washington, DC, The National Academies Press.
- NCHRP Report 571 Standardized Procedures for Personal Travel Surveys, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2008, Washington, DC, The National Academies Press.
Resources for Research
The list below includes a set of key resources on transportation research provided by the TRB.
- TRID combines the records from TRB’s Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS) Database and the OECD’s Joint Transport Research Centre’s International Transport Research Documentation (ITRD) Database.
- For ongoing and recently completed research funded by US DOT and State DOTS, Transportation Research Board’s Research in Progress (RIP) Database is a useful source with more than 12,000 records.
- TRB Library Snap Searches list recent reports from TRB and National Academies, current and upcoming projects, and committees on relevant issues providing a quick overview of recent research by a select set of subject areas, including Travel Behavior and Planning and Forecasting.
Research Programs
The National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) is funded by participating member states of AASHTO and receives critical technical support from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), United States Department of Transportation. The members of AASHTO – the 50 state DOTs and the District of Columbia – come together every year to fund, select, and oversee NCHRP research projects aimed at providing research-based solutions that address the state DOTs’ most critical challenges. The program is administered by TRB under a cooperative agreement with FHWA and in partnership with AASHTO. NCHRP research project is a well-structured, multi-faceted, and multiyear process. A Year of NCHRP provides a useful summary of the timeline and key components of the NCHRP research cycle.
Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) is an applied research program that develops near-term, practical solutions to problems facing public transportation. TCRP is sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), works in partnership with the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), and managed by the TRB.
TCRP solicits statements of public transportation problems in need of research. TCRP’s Transit Oversight and Project Selection (TOPS) Committee reviews problem statements, identifies the highest priority projects, and defines funding levels and expected research products. Research products are disseminated throughout the public transportation industry.
Under the sponsorship of the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP), NCHRP, and TCRP, TRB prepares syntheses of current practice in the highway, transit, and airport fields. These reports are an effective means of assembling and disseminating information on current practice. Each report is prepared by a consultant who has expertise in the topic area, with assistance provided by a technical panel. Practitioners and researchers make extensive use of these reports.
Innovations Deserving of Exploratory Analysis (IDEA)
Through NCHRP, state departments of transportation fund the Highway IDEA program in search of advances in design, construction, safety, maintenance, operations, and management of highway systems.
- The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) funds the Rail Safety IDEA program, which looks for innovative approaches to improve railroad safety or performance.
- Through the TCRP, the FTA funds the Transit IDEA program to support innovations to improve the efficiency, safety, security, and ridership of transit systems.
Every IDEA program supports two types of projects:
- Proof-of-concept projects, which investigate the feasibility of a concept and its potential for application to transportation.
- Prototype projects, which develop concepts that show particular promise.
IDEA projects are initiated by researchers rather than by a request for proposals, and funding can support initial testing of unproven concepts. More detailed descriptions and timeline can be found in IDEA Program Announcement 2022.
Additional Funding Sources
State DOT SPR Subpart B and Pooled Funding have been identified as alternative funding sources for conducting research.
FHWA Federal-Aid Division State Planning and Research Subpart B (SPR-B) Program
The program, which is specific to research, development, and technology, helps States develop research-driven solutions. As administration of the program may vary by State, communication with the committee’s State DOT representatives is important. Please feel free to reach out to the Committee Chair or the CRC for further assistance.
Transportation Pooled Fund (TPF) – Program
The TPF program creates an opportunity for a wide variety of parties, FHWA, State DOTs, academic institutions, regional and local agencies, private industry to pool funds, expertise, and resources for research. One recent example is NextGen Travel Behavior Data Collection and Processing . Please feel free to reach out to the Committee Chair or the CRC for further assistance.
Important Dates
A. The following schedule provides major milestones for the process leading up to the selection of the problem statements for NCHRP project funding.
- NCHRP and FHWA Comments due December
- Ballots with Problem Statements and Comments sent to AASHTO Special Committee on Research and Innovation (R&I) and Research Advisory Committee (RAC) February
- R&I and RAC Ballots due Early April
- R&I Meeting Mid-April
B. Select 2021 TRB Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) Funding Program Deadlines
| TCRP Panel nominations | 02-03-2024 |
| NCHRP Synthesis Topics | 02-16-2024 |
| NCHRP IDEA Proposals | 03-01-2024 |
| TCRP Synthesis Topics | 03-29-2024 |
| TCRP IDEA proposals | 05-15-2024 |
| TCRP problem statements | 06-14-2024 |
| TCRP Synthesis panel nominations | 06-30-2024 |
| NCHRP Regular and Synthesis panel nominations | 06-30-2024 |
| NCHRP IDEA Solicitation for Proposals | 09-02-2024 |
| NCHRP Problem Statements | 11-01-2024 |
C. Key Dates for Committee Activities
| Workshop Proposals to TRB | 06-15-2024 |
| Webinar Submissions (May-August) | 03-01-2024 |
| Webinar Submissions (September-December) | 07-01-2024 |
| Webinar Submissions (January-April) | 11-01-2024 |
Conflict of Interest for Cooperative Research Programs
TRB’s Cooperative Research Programs have revised and updated conflict of interest guidelines for members of panels, oversight committees, and contractors.
The most likely conflict of interest for the committee members applies to panel membership. Authors of a RNS or a Problem Statement or other members of their affiliated organization can bid for conducting the research project or those may become a panel member, BUT NOT BOTH.
More detailed information can be found in the TRB’s Conflict of Interest Resource Page.