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Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy -- Special Report 268 (2002)

Chapter: 8 Establishment of a Long-Term Research Strategy

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Suggested Citation:"8 Establishment of a Long-Term Research Strategy." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy -- Special Report 268. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10354.
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8
ESTABLISHMENT OF A LONG-TERM RESEARCH STRATEGY

In 1996, the General Accounting Office recommended the development of a long-term research strategy for surface transportation (GAO 1996). In 1998, in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, Congress called for the establishment of a surface transportation environmental cooperative research program, along with the development of a national research agenda on transportation, energy, and the environment. Congress recognized that a research program with a targeted national agenda is critically needed to help transportation decision makers effectively provide for mobility while simultaneously protecting and enhancing the environment.

In the preceding chapters, the Advisory Board has outlined a proposed agenda for the cooperative research program called for by Congress. The work to be carried out under the program encompasses further developing the research agenda and updating it from year to year; sponsoring and coordinating the research itself; and fostering increased coordination, cooperation, and communication among research entities as part of a long-term national research strategy on transportation and the environment.

Research can be used to identify new policies and approaches for resolving, mitigating, and managing adverse environmental impacts resulting from transportation, as well as for enhancing the environment and contributing to public health and community integrity. For example, research could be conducted to refine the current sketchy understanding of the impact of the expansion of transportation facilities on travel behavior, enabling policymakers to predict associated land use changes more accurately. As another example, additional research could lead to better definition of the relationship between

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Suggested Citation:"8 Establishment of a Long-Term Research Strategy." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy -- Special Report 268. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10354.
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roadway width and wildlife habitat fragmentation, thereby assisting transportation planners in protecting and reestablishing wildlife migratory routes.

Current research on transportation and the environment is making valuable contributions, but its ultimate impact is limited because of low levels of funding, inadequate coordination across research entities, and the short-term focus that characterizes most of the work done to date. The Advisory Board has concluded that there is a pressing need for a new strategy for transportation environmental research. This strategy is necessary to (a) fill gaps in the existing research programs of the multiple agencies with interests in transportation, energy, and the environment; (b) extend the scope of research to system-level and long-term issues as well as short-term needs; (c) ensure that all related research initiatives are coordinated; (d) provide for broad dissemination of research findings; and (e) present research findings in forms and formats that are easily accessible to transportation professionals and policymakers. Absent such a strategy, a fragmented, primarily short-term approach to research will persist without a strong relationship to transportation investment policies and operating practices (GAO 1996).

A long-term, coordinated research strategy with sufficient funding is the only way of adequately preparing transportation policymakers to confront the substantial challenges of an increasing population and expanding economy. In this chapter components of a national research agenda for a proposed surface transportation environmental cooperative research program are outlined; the characteristics of successful cooperative research programs are detailed; and mechanisms for funding and implementing the proposed program, as well as fostering increased cooperation and coordination between the surface transportation community and other research entities, are examined.

NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA FOR A SURFACE TRANSPORTATION ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM

The first step in formulating a long-term research strategy for transportation and the environment is to develop a national research agenda that responds to current and anticipated problems and policy choices. That first step has been taken in the previous chapters of this report, in which problems and policy choices have been outlined and six key areas in which targeted research is needed have been identified:

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  • Human health,

  • Ecology and natural systems,

  • Environmental and social justice,

  • Emerging technologies,

  • Land use, and

  • Planning and performance measures.

As noted earlier in the report, these six areas were chosen because they represent the points of intersection between transportation and the human and natural environments. While research is being conducted in each of these areas, important gaps exist. Without new research in each of the six areas, decision makers will lack important information needed to make sound decisions on transportation and the environment.

A new surface transportation environmental cooperative research program is needed to ensure that the national research agenda on these critical issues is implemented. This would be accomplished under the program proposed herein in two ways: in some cases, the program would serve as the sponsoring organization for research, while in others the program would serve as the coordinating body for research carried out by others.

Typically, cooperative research programs are formed for two primary reasons. The first is to leverage financial and other resources, as is the case with the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). For example, NCHRP was formed by state departments of transportation (DOTs) for the express purpose of pooling funds to conduct research of common value. State DOTs realized that many of the problems that were occurring in one state were also occurring in many others. Pooling funds for research to solve these problems instead of duplicating efforts enables the state DOTs not only to carry out more research than would be possible on an individual state basis, but also to conduct this research in a more cost-effective manner.

The second primary reason for forming cooperative research programs is to resolve political stalemates and scientific debates. In other words, when tough political choices are made more difficult by scientific uncertainty or conflict, forming a cooperative research program can be the key to producing credible research results that are accepted by multiple parties. For example, the Health Effects Institute (HEI) was formed in 1980 to produce research necessary for resolving disputes between the automotive industry and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the health effects attributable to vehicle emissions. By thus bringing EPA and the automotive manufacturers

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Suggested Citation:"8 Establishment of a Long-Term Research Strategy." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy -- Special Report 268. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10354.
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together, it was possible to reach agreement on the questions that needed to be researched and the methodologies to be employed. Interpretations of the results may still vary, but underlying conflicts over basic data have been resolved. Essentially, the primary benefit of such cooperative research programs is the ability to conduct research in a manner that is both transparent to and accepted by all relevant parties.

Today, transportation policy choices have become more polarized than necessary because interested parties hold different positions on the likely answers to important but unresolved scientific questions. For example, what combination of transit and automobile-oriented investments will best provide for population growth while minimizing environmental harm? Do noise barriers produce more benefit or harm to wildlife near highways? Will denser land use configurations lead to decreased automobile dependency? Does transportation influence land use, or is the converse true? Can travel behavior be significantly altered if the right incentives are provided? What are the right incentives? The list of questions currently unanswered ranges from the complex to the relatively simple. Unfortunately, in the areas in which research has been conducted, definitive results have remained elusive. The primary reasons for this are that the research generated is often narrowly scoped, frequently because funding is limited; there is not always agreement on the scientific interpretations, the conclusions, or even the fundamental methodology used to conduct the research; and new forums for discussion of the findings and their interpretations and implications have emerged. Further, research findings are often narrowly disseminated, so that they are known within academe but not the broader community of professionals, or are known in the state where the work was conducted but not elsewhere. If a surface transportation environmental cooperative research program were established, all parties representing contending perspectives could be brought together to define the research questions, review the research methodology, and jointly interpret the findings, thereby increasing the likelihood of acceptance of the results.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A SUCCESSFUL COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM

Cooperative research programs must have certain characteristics to succeed. These characteristics, listed below, are designed to instill a basic level of trust

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and confidence in the integrity of the research process, which is just as important as the research that is produced (Deen and Harder 1999):

  • A clearly articulated mission from which a strategic focus and research priorities can be ascertained;

  • An institutional structure that provides for complete scientific independence from outside influences;

  • A credible and openly competitive process for soliciting and evaluating research proposals based on merit review;

  • A rigorous standard for evaluating research products;

  • A mechanism for widely disseminating research findings and for involving a wide array of stakeholders; and

  • An ability to obtain competent staff and to secure a stable funding source.

The Advisory Board reviewed the organizational structures of four leading cooperative research programs: HEI,1 EPA’s Science to Achieve Results Program (STAR),2 NCHRP, and the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP).3 Summaries of these programs are included in Appendix B. On the basis of this review, the following specific program elements appear to be most important for success:

  • Core partners—entities that should contribute to the overall governance of the program, the primary customers and recipients of the research products.4 Three categories of core partners should be considered when forming a surface transportation environmental cooperative research program: public entities, the private sector, and nongovernmental/nonprofit organizations.

  • Institutional arrangement—establishment of the research program in a setting that provides for independence and credibility. A partnership between industry and the public sector enhances a cooperative research program’s ability to create a cohesive, integrated research environment and should offer the added attraction of securing private investments while

1

See www.healtheffects.org.

2

See es.epa.gov/ncerqa/ncqwelc.html.

3

Interviews were conducted with Chris Jenks, Senior Program Manager, TCRP; Ronald

4

For purposes of this report, core partners are classified as sponsors, a separate and distinct category from stakeholders.

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Suggested Citation:"8 Establishment of a Long-Term Research Strategy." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy -- Special Report 268. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10354.
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establishing a firewall of independence around the program. Representatives from nongovernmental organizations can form the third leg of the partnership, thereby differentiating the model from that of HEI.5

  • Strategic focus—program direction, as established by the core partners and stakeholders of the program and guided by the national research agenda. To ensure that all core partners and relevant stakeholders are in agreement on the priorities of the cooperative research program, a mechanism is needed for formulating, articulating, and periodically updating the program’s strategic focus areas. HEI and STAR, for example, develop multiyear strategic plans.

  • Solicitation and evaluation of research proposals—the ability to exercise vital quality control mechanisms through open competition and merit review. Establishing clear criteria aids in the selection of the most appropriate research projects, thereby ensuring a selection process that is transparent, fair, and subject to open competition. HEI, STAR, NCHRP, and TCRP all use clear selection criteria in addition to insisting that the selected research projects undergo external merit review. Although the merit review processes differ among the four programs, each incorporates the fundamental elements of both external and internal merit review, as well as open competition.

  • Evaluation of research—peer review and other approaches designed to ensure the validity and credibility of both the research and the operating functions of the cooperative research program. In addition to evaluating specific research projects upon completion, periodic programmatic evaluations can serve to increase confidence in the operations of the program (NRC 1999) and may be important when a significant number of end users/customers/stakeholders are to be satisfied.

  • Dissemination of research—mechanisms for effectively disseminating research findings. Too often, the research process ends with the publication of findings. Unless research programs make a concerted effort to inform other researchers and research institutions, practicing professionals, decision makers, and the general populace about those findings, a system of fragmented, uncoordinated research initiatives will persist.

5

The primary drawback associated with creating a new institution is the customary lag time between the creation of a new entity and its full implementation. This problem can be solved by either establishing the cooperative research program in an existing independent, nonprofit entity with appropriate capabilities for managing such a program, or by simply incorporating the lag time into the initial strategic planning stage and communicating clear expectations to all involved in the partnership.

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Suggested Citation:"8 Establishment of a Long-Term Research Strategy." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy -- Special Report 268. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10354.
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  • Funding—stable funding that enables support of long-term basic and applied research (see below).

  • Competency and availability of staff—the ability to attract and retain highly skilled and independent staff. Next to stable and sufficient funding, the support of competent staff is the most crucial element in achieving a successful program. If the program is to avail itself of the best and most experienced representatives of the multiple disciplines needed for the research efforts, long-term stable arrangements and flexible contracting processes must be offered with established and emerging institutions that can demonstrate the ability to assemble appropriate teams and complete the tasks assigned. The staffs and institutions involved must also be shielded from political interests and undue influence from key stakeholders and core partners; that is, they must be granted full independence so they can apply the highest standards of scientific rigor to their work (NRC 1999).

  • Stakeholder involvement/communication—mechanisms for providing for meaningful stakeholder involvement in the selection, evaluation, and coordination of the research.6 To maintain stakeholder confidence, the process for determining research priorities, selecting and structuring studies, and reviewing the final research products must be clearly understood and readily transparent. All four of the research programs reviewed share common features for actively soliciting stakeholder involvement. Stakeholders are invited to participate in the formulation of the program’s strategic plan and strategic focus areas, to submit research proposals, to participate in merit reviews of the research proposals, to participate in workshops at which ongoing research is presented, and to participate in peer reviews of the research products. They are also apprised of the research findings and recommendations.

In summary, the structure and characteristics of a cooperative research program designed to improve the quality and credibility of research in the surface transportation arena should have the following elements:

  • Core partners

    • Public partners

    • Private partners

    • Nonprofits

6

For purposes of this report, stakeholders are defined as all entities, excluding core partners, who demonstrate an interest in the work of the cooperative research program or are fundamental to the successful completion of the program’s work.

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Suggested Citation:"8 Establishment of a Long-Term Research Strategy." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy -- Special Report 268. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10354.
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  • Board of directors

    • Formed by core partners

    • Solicits stakeholder input

    • Develops strategic focus

    • Manages priority setting

  • Proposal solicitation

    • Request for proposals

    • Open competition

    • Merit review—project selection criteria

    • Stakeholder involvement

  • Evaluation of research proposals

    • Expert peer review

    • Publication of final report with reviewers’ comments

  • Dissemination of research results

    • Set-aside funds for distribution of reports

    • Internet, professional databases, libraries, and so forth

    • One-page summaries of reports for the nonscientific community

    • Presentations of research at workshops

  • Periodic program evaluation (measures of success)

  • Stakeholder involvement

    • Strategic plan

    • Open solicitation of research proposals

    • Merit review of research proposals

    • Research presentations at workshops

    • Peer review of final research

    • Dissemination of research reports

FUNDING

Adequate and stable funding must be available for the proposed program on a multiyear basis to support administrative, contracting, and sponsorship activities, including the ability to enter into partnerships with other public and private entities; to support long-term research, both basic and applied; and to sponsor workshops and demonstrations of implementation.

Congress first established a continuing commitment to transportation research beyond the budget of the then Bureau of Public Roads of the Department of Agriculture through the Hayden-Cartwright Act of 1934, enabling the

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Suggested Citation:"8 Establishment of a Long-Term Research Strategy." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy -- Special Report 268. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10354.
×

states to use federal transportation funds for surveys, planning, and engineering investigations in support of future highway improvements (FHWA 1976). The scope of this commitment was subsequently expanded to encompass broader planning and research activities. In these early years, the development of fundamental science and engineering knowledge to support transportation improvements and operations was essential.

The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1962 (Public Law 87-866) first enabled the states to pool funds collaboratively to further research interests. NCHRP was established to conduct research in acute problem areas that affected highway planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance nationwide. In 1991, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act increased funding for planning and research to 2 percent of the funding for certain federal-aid highway program categories and required that at least 25 percent of those funds (now known as State Planning and Research Funds) be spent for research. These funds, along with limited direct apportionments to DOT, remain the principal source of transportation research support today.

With passage of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, transportation agencies were given broader responsibilities and required to coordinate with environmental organizations. However, no funding commensurate with such responsibilities was ever identified. Nor was any mechanism created to further collaborative approaches rather than regulatory research initiatives. While transportation-derived funding remains one of the largest sources of investment in many environmental research areas, most of the activity associated with this funding is tied directly to individual transportation projects instead of to the development of knowledge that would assist in enhancing the overall condition of the environment. Also, little research into the effects of past projects and current operations is undertaken, the focus being primarily on new endeavors.

Because transportation–environment research has been underfunded during the past 30 years, a significant investment is now needed to address both the backlog of issues requiring attention and the issues that continue to arise. Current programs are not designed to address the full range of pressing research needs in surface transportation and the environment. HEI focuses on only one such issue—the health effects of air pollution. NCHRP and TCRP focus on their respective surface transportation modes, and while the scope of both programs includes topics in planning, economics, and environmental protection, program resources are devoted each year primarily to modal concerns. NCHRP research dollars are used mainly for the design and

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Suggested Citation:"8 Establishment of a Long-Term Research Strategy." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy -- Special Report 268. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10354.
×

construction of highway structures and pavements, and on issues related to safety and operations; TCRP focuses on transit concerns. In contrast, the transportation–environment research agenda proposed in this report would address all surface transportation modes (highways, transit, and rail) and would cover the full range of environmental impacts, with research spanning the six priority areas identified above. Both research addressing short-term needs and longer-term efforts aimed at uncovering fundamental relationships and devising basic new approaches to transportation and the environment would be funded.

While a precise budgetary estimate has not been developed, it is the judgment of the Advisory Board that full implementation of the agenda proposed in this report would necessitate a multiyear investment of well over a $100 million. In reviewing the NCHRP, TCRP, and HEI programs, the Advisory Board ascertained that the minimum operating budget of each was $8 million. The multiyear investment envisioned for the proposed transportation–environment research agenda would be an important complement to these other expenditures. Indeed, by developing new knowledge and helping to put that knowledge into practice, a focused, coordinated investment in transportation–environment research would enhance the efficacy of these existing programs.7

A large-scale research program requires a careful startup phase and review of success before a sustainable and effective annual level of research activity can be determined. Thus it is prudent to anticipate that full implementation of the proposed program should and will be phased in over several years. However, there is little reason for growth of the program to be constrained by a lack of funding. At current federal funding levels, as little as 0.05 percent of annual authorizations of certain federal-aid program categories produces approximately $150 million. While a precise annual budgetary estimate for the eventual surface transportation cooperative research program cannot be established until after the startup phase, it is the Advisory Board’s opinion that the budget will not exceed such a small fraction of the overall federal transportation program. A national commitment of this scale would not pose a significant financial challenge to the federal transportation program, and given the importance of the environmental issues at stake in the proposed research program, could be expected to produce benefits many times as large.

7

The transportation–environment research agenda also would complement the proposed Future Strategic Highway Research Program, which includes proposals for applied, short-term work on planning and the environment as one of its components (see TRB 2001).

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IMPLEMENTATION

The Advisory Board envisions that representatives from appropriate federal government agencies would establish a relationship with an independent entity capable of implementing and managing a national surface transportation environmental cooperative research program having the characteristics of a successful program outlined above. The implementing organization would be directed to report the program’s activities each year to the appropriate federal agency representatives and to Congress.

INCREASED COOPERATION, COORDINATION, AND COMMUNICATION

The proposed surface transportation environmental cooperative research program could serve as a coordinating body for many entities involved in such research. Such entities might include federal agencies conducting environmental and transportation research, universities, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, state transportation and environmental agencies, international bodies, and other research institutions. Specifically, the program could be tasked with (a) annually surveying the research being conducted in the area both domestically and internationally; (b) providing specific recommendations for enhancing coordination, eliminating duplication, and identifying research gaps and priorities, with particular attention to long-term research needs; (c) enabling and supporting ongoing information sharing and collaborative debate; (d) sponsoring demonstrations and operational tests of promising research findings in cooperation with other parties; (e) soliciting stakeholder input to the management and evaluation of the program; and (f ) fostering further education and capacity building in both research and professional practice.

REFERENCES

Abbreviations

FHWA Federal Highway Administration

GAO General Accounting Office

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NRC National Research Council

TRB Transportation Research Board

Deen, T. B., and B. T. Harder. 1999. NCHRP Synthesis of Highway Practice 280: Seven Keys to Building a Robust Research Program. TRB, National Research Council, Washington, D.C.

FHWA. 1976. America’s Highways 1776–1976. U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C.

GAO. 1996. Surface Transportation: Research Funding, Federal Role, and Emerging Issues. Report GAO/RCED-96-233.

NRC. 1999. Evaluating Federal Research Programs: Research and the Government Performance and Results Act. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.

TRB. 2001. Special Report 260: Strategic Highway Research: Saving Lives, Reducing Congestion, Improving Quality of Life. National Research Council, Washington, D.C.

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Suggested Citation:"8 Establishment of a Long-Term Research Strategy." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy -- Special Report 268. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10354.
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Suggested Citation:"8 Establishment of a Long-Term Research Strategy." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy -- Special Report 268. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10354.
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Suggested Citation:"8 Establishment of a Long-Term Research Strategy." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy -- Special Report 268. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10354.
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Suggested Citation:"8 Establishment of a Long-Term Research Strategy." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy -- Special Report 268. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10354.
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Suggested Citation:"8 Establishment of a Long-Term Research Strategy." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy -- Special Report 268. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10354.
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Suggested Citation:"8 Establishment of a Long-Term Research Strategy." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy -- Special Report 268. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10354.
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Suggested Citation:"8 Establishment of a Long-Term Research Strategy." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy -- Special Report 268. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10354.
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Suggested Citation:"8 Establishment of a Long-Term Research Strategy." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy -- Special Report 268. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10354.
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Suggested Citation:"8 Establishment of a Long-Term Research Strategy." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy -- Special Report 268. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10354.
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TRB Special Report 268 - Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy defines a broad and ambitious research program to address and inform major public policy debates about the effects of surface transportation facilities and operations on the human and natural environments. The committee that conducted the study identified major gaps in knowledge that could be filled through a cooperative program of research involving federal agencies, states, and environmental organizations. The committee recommended creation of a new cooperative research program to carry out its recommended research agenda. Special Report 268 Summary

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