RAIL SAFETY HIGHWAY TRANSIT

1 Program AnnouncementInnovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis ProgramsIDEA2020 RAIL SAFETY TRANSIT HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD2019 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE* Publications of the IDEA Programs are available on the internet at Research Board publications may be ordered directly from the TRB Business Office (202-334-3213), through the internet at , or by annual subscription through organization or individual affiliation with TRB. Affiliates and library subscribers are eligible for substantial further information, contact the Transportation Research Board Business Office,500 Fifth St., NW, Washington, DC 20001, (telephone 202-334-3213; fax 202-334-2519; or email Victoria A. Arroyo, Executive Director, Georgetown Climate Center; Assistant Dean, Centers and Institutes; and Professor and Director, Environmental Law Program, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, Vice chair: Carlos M. Braceras, Executive Director, Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake CityExecutive Director: Neil J.)

2 Pedersen, Transportation Research BoardMEMBERSM ichael F. Ableson, CEO, Arrival Automotive North America, Detroit, MIGinger Evans, CEO, Reach Airports, Arlington, VANuria I. Fernandez, General Manager/CEO, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, San Jose, CANathaniel P. Ford, Sr., Executive Director CEO, Jacksonville Transportation Authority, Jacksonville, FLA. Stewart Fotheringham, Professor, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University, TempeDiane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Transportation, TrentonSusan Hanson, Distinguished University Professor Emerita, Graduate School of Geography, Clark University, Worcester, MAStephen W. Hargarten, Professor, Emergency Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, MilwaukeeChris T. Hendrickson, Hamerschlag University Professor of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PAS. Jack Hu, Vice President for Research and J. Reid and Polly Anderson Professor of Manufacturing, University of Michigan, Ann ArborRoger B.

3 Huff, President, HGLC, LLC, Farmington Hills, MIAshby Johnson, Executive Director, Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), Austin, TXGeraldine Knatz, Professor, Sol Price School of Public Policy, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles William Kruger, Vice President, UPS Freight for Fleet Maintenance and Engineering,Richmond, VAJulie Lorenz, Secretary, Kansas Department of Transportation, Topeka Michael R. McClellan, Vice President, Strategic and Network Planning, Norfolk Southern Corporation, Norfolk, VA Melinda McGrath, Executive Director, Mississippi Department of Transportation, JacksonPatrick K. McKenna, Director, Missouri Department of Transportation, Jefferson CityBrian Ness, Director, Idaho Transportation Department, BoiseSusan A. Shaheen, Adjunct Professor, Co-Director, Transportation Sustainability Research Center, University of California, BerkeleyJames M. Tien, Distinguished Professor and Dean Emeritus, College of Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FLShawn Wilson, Secretary, Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, Baton RougeEX OFFICIO MEMBERSR onald Batory, Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation, Washington, R.

4 Berube, Acting Assistant Secretary for Sustainable Transportation, Department of Energy, Washington, H. Buzby (Rear Admiral, Navy), Administrator, Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation Steven Cliff, Deputy Executive Officer, California Air Resources Board, Sacramento Edward N. Comstock, Independent Naval Architect, Sunbury, MDStephen Dickson, Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, R. Elliott, Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials SAFETY Administration, Department of Transportation Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, Office of the Secretary of Transportation, Washington, Gishi, Chief, Division of Transportation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, Germantown, MD John T. Gray II, Senior Vice President, Policy and Economics, Association of American Railroads, Washington, Nikola Ivanov, Director of Operations, Center for Advanced Transportation Technology Laboratory, University of Maryland, College Park, and Chair, TRB Young Members CouncilRaymond Martinez, Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier SAFETY Administration, Washington, Nason, Administrator, Federal HIGHWAY Administration, Washington, Owens, Deputy Administrator and Acting Administrator, National HIGHWAY Traffic SAFETY Administration, Department of TransportationLeslie S.

5 Richards, General Manager, SEPTA, Philadelphia, PACraig A. Rutland, Air Force Pavement Engineer, Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Tyndall Air Force Base, FLKarl Schultz (Admiral, Coast Guard), Commandant, Coast Guard, Washington, Karl Simon, Director, Transportation and Climate Division, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, Paul Skoutelas, President and CEO, American Public Transportation Association, Washington, A. Spellmon (Major General, Army), Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations, Army Corps of EngineersKatherine F. Turnbull, Executive Associate Director and Research Scientist, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station (voting)Jim Tymon, Executive Director, American Association of State HIGHWAY and Transportation Officials, Washington, K. Jane Williams, Acting Administrator, Federal TRANSIT Administration, Department of Transportation* Membership as of November Deserving Exploratory AnalysisIDEAP rogram Announcement2020iiiCONTENTSIDEA PROGRAM SPONSORS 1 PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION 1 Program Funding 1 Proposal Submitting Deadlines 2 Protections 3 EVALUATION criteria 3 INFORMATION RESOURCES 4 SUGGESTED FOCUS AREAS 4 HIGHWAY IDEA Topics for Investigation 4 TRANSIT IDEA Topics for Investigation 6 Rail SAFETY IDEA Topics for Investigation 7 INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING IDEA PROPOSALS 8 Contract and Budget Instructions 11 Intellectual Property Rights 12 Project Negotiations 12 Liability Requirements 13 REQUIRED FORMATTING FOR PROPOSALS 13 SUBMITTING PROPOSALS 14 REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS 15 ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 15 Attachment 1 Proposal Cover Sheets Attachment 2 IDEA Budget Summary Attachment 3 Liability Statement Attachment 4 Proposal Evaluation/Ballots 1 The IDeA web sITe lIsTs upDATeD InformATIon on.

6 Current andcompleted projects Panel members Proposal submissiondeadlines Contact the IDEA office:E-mail: Program Announcement describes the IDEA programs and how they are admin-istered, provides instructions and documents for submitting proposals for funding, and lists general research topics derived from program PROGRAM SPONSORSOn behalf of sponsors, the Transportation Research Board (TRB) administers three programs that invest in the potential of innovations: Innovations Deserving of Ex-ploratory Analysis (IDEA). Through the National Cooperative HIGHWAY Research Program (NCHRP), statedepartments of transportation fund the HIGHWAY IDEA program in search ofadvances in design, construction, SAFETY , maintenance, operations, and manage-ment of HIGHWAY systems. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) funds the Rail SAFETY IDEA pro-gram, which looks for innovative approaches to improve railroad SAFETY orperformance. Through the TRANSIT Cooperative Research Program (TCRP), the Federal TransitAdministration (FTA) funds the TRANSIT IDEA program to support innovationsto improve the efficiency, SAFETY , security, and ridership of TRANSIT programs differ from traditional research programs: IDEA projects are initiated by researchers rather than by a request for proposals, and funding can support initial testing of unproven concepts.

7 Each of the sponsoring agencies supports programmed, fundamental research through other means. Their investment in the IDEA programs is meant to capture the unexpected concept that challenges conventional thinking. IDEA programs are open to all, including foreign nationals living and working outside the United States. However, please note that private sector investigators submitting proposals should register their business with the federal government at System for Award Management (SAM); website: If their proposal is selected, the award cannot be processed without this registration. Also, federal policies may not allow the IDEA programs to fund research at a federal agency. Researchers from federal agencies or national laboratories that are managed by non-federal orga-nizations should check with their contracting and legal authorities on whether they may receive funding from IDEA ADMINISTRATIONTRB administers the IDEA programs on behalf of their sponsoring agencies. A senior staff officer supports the work of panels of unpaid experts who volunteer their time to review proposals, select projects for funding, and offer guidance on the conduct of are two project types: Type 1 projects are concept explorations that demonstrate the validity of unproven concepts, and Type 2 projects develop and test prototypes of proven concepts.

8 Funding varies by program and by project type, as described below. 2 ConTACT The IDeA sTAff: TRANSIT IDEAV elvet Rail SAFETY IDEAV elvet HIGHWAY IDEAInam Jawed Fax: 202-334-3471 SponsorsState & Federal DOTA genciesprovide fundingCooperativeResearchProgramsInvent ors, Businesses& Academiapropose and perform projectsTRB IDEAC ommitteesExperts from theTransportationCommunityproposal selection andprogram oversightIDEA Staffnegotiate andadminister contractsProjectContractsProgram Goals& LiaisonsHow TRB Manages IDEA ProgramsIDEA Awards& ProceduresIDEAP roposalsCost Sharing& Other ResourcesPartnersState & Local TransportationAgencies, Private IndustryProgram FundingThe TRANSIT IDEA program and the Rail SAFETY IDEA program can consider Type 1 and Type 2 proposals for up to $100,000 in IDEA costs, not including any cost sharing. Type 2 proposals for the TRANSIT IDEA and Rail SAFETY IDEA programs require cost sharing of at least 20% in addition to IDEA costs. Funding for a Type 1 HIGHWAY IDEA project will be in the $125,000 - $150,000 range, depending on the amount of funds available and the number of proposals selected for the particular review cycle under consideration.

9 Cost sharing is encouraged but not mandatory for a Type 1 project. Funding for a Type 2 project is limited to a maximum of $100,000 and requires at least 25% match to the proposed HIGHWAY IDEA budget. The duration of a HIGHWAY IDEA project is generally one to two years. This can be adjusted if warranted by the specific situation and is mutually agreed. Please note that the IDEA contracts are fixed-price contracts and so if the work is completed and final deliverables received earlier than scheduled, the contractor will still be paid the full contracted Submitting DeadlinesThe HIGHWAY IDEA program conducts two review cycles each year with due dates of March 1 and September 1. The TRANSIT IDEA and the Rail SAFETY IDEA programs will have one review cycle each in 2020. TRANSIT IDEA proposals will be due June 15 and Rail- SAFETY IDEA September 15. Please keep checking the IDEA website (www. ) for the most updated cut-off time for receiving proposals is 12:00 midnight Pacific Standard Time of the due the proposal submission due date for any IDEA program falls over a weekend or on a federal holiday, the due date automatically moves to the next business received by the IDEA programs are held in confidence.

10 The information they contain is used only for evaluation during the review process by panel members who are instructed not to disclose it. Proposal reviews by panel members are also selected for IDEA funding retain intellectual property rights to their ideas and are encouraged to obtain patents or in other ways secure their CRITERIAP roposals are reviewed by technical experts in the program area who are selected from industry, academia, and state and federal transportation agencies to serve on IDEA panels. In evaluating proposals, panel members require that proposals present clear, concise information and be written in a way that will be understandable to a transportation generalist. Reviewers will, as a minimum, expect responses to the fol-lowing general questions: Quality of Innovation Is this a credible technical concept, and would it produce a significant advance for the state of the art or the practice?Potential Payoff Is this an important problem that the IDEA program should investi-gate, and would the product have potential for implementation or commercialization?