USDOT seeks applicants for Beyond Traffic Innovation Centers

Updated Dec 12, 2016

highway-traffic-generic-2The U.S. Department of Transportation is seeking applicants to create a network of “centers” using academic activities and programs focused on providing solutions to transportation issues outlined in the “Beyond Traffic” draft report.

The report outlines trends in U.S. transportation through the year 2045 and was created as “an invitation to the American public … to have a frank conversation” about the needs of the country’s transportation system.

These entities would be designated USDOT Beyond Traffic Innovation Centers, and would serve as “thought leaders” to help carry on discussions about the future of transportation, says Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, through curriculum, workforce training, outreach events and research.

“Beyond Traffic launched a national conversation about how our country will change in the next 30 years, often in ways that seriously test our transportation system,” Foxx says. “Our educational institutions are critical to helping us solve these challenges. These designations will create a community of forward-thinking researchers, students, and thought leaders who will play an important role in ensuring our economy continues to grow, as we protect our planet and the American people through a safe, strong and sustainable transportation network for decades to come.”

USDOT wants the centers to address the following questions:

  • How will we move? How will we build a transportation system to accommodate a growing population and changing travel patterns?
  • How will be move things? How will we reduce freight chokepoints that drive up the cost of owning a business?
  • How will we move better? How will we knock down barriers to new technologies that promise to make travel safer and more convenient?
  • How will we adapt? How will we make our infrastructure resilient to more frequent catastrophic weather events?
  • How will we grow opportunity for all Americans?
  • How will we align decisions and dollars, and invest the trillions of dollars our transportation system needs in the smartest way possible?

Eligible entities for the designation include:

  • S. non-profit institutions of higher education as defined under 20 U.S.C. § 1001(a). Non-profit institutions of higher education may include qualifying two-year institutions that meet the requirements of 20 U.S.C. § 1001(a). This includes existing and future University Transportation Centers and applicants.
  • Non-profit organizations described under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (IRC) and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of the code.

The deadline for application is Dec. 21. More information is available here..