Strategic Highway Research Saving Lives, Reducing Congestion, Improving Quality of Life -- Special Report 260 (2001) / Chapter Skim
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8 Administrative and Funding Structure
8 Administrative and Funding Structure
Pages 135-151
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From page 135... ...
In this chapter some key characteristics of successful applied research programs are reviewed; specific criteria based on those characteristics for F-SHRP's administrative structure are set forth; a comparison of potential administrative structures according to these criteria is presented; the administrative structure recommended by the committee is described; implementation considerations are addressed; the funding requirements and mechanism for the proposed research are delineated; and interim work that should be performed prior to passage of the next highway authorizing legislation is outlined. Organizational Characteristics of Successful Applied Research Programs Research is the acquisition of knowledge and the development of solutions through a rigorous, systematic, rational process.1 Regardless of the research category (for example, basic versus applied, scientific versus fundamental 1There are many other ways of gaining knowledge and finding solutions, such as intuition, personal experience, trial and error, and professional judgment.
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From page 136... ...
Mechanisms to Ensure the Quality of the Research Objective: To ensure quality at the project and program levels. In addition to merit review of research proposals, stakeholder and peer review can be employed for ongoing research programs and individual research pro
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Technical scope, scale, and the way a program is carried out (by in-house staff or through contracts or both) all have implications for the administrative structure and support functions required for an effective program.
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A reliable, known commitment of funds, not requiring interim financial decisions at the macro level, allows sufficient flexibility for program managers to make appropriate adjustments as the research progresses. Customer/Stakeholder Involvement Objective: To ensure the relevance of the research and the consequent effectiveness of the implementation of its results.
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From page 139... ...
Criteria for F-SHRP Administrative Structure By tailoring the characteristics described above to the needs of F-SHRP, the committee developed the following criteria for the F-SHRP administrative structure: · The F-SHRP organization should possess essential quality control mechanisms. The organization should be free to choose the best proposals for each part of the research program using open solicitation and selection based on merit.
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These governance mechanisms should exist in addition to the other types of customer and stakeholder involvement described earlier. Comparison of Alternative Administrative Structures In the Strategic Transportation Research Study (TRB 1984)
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It can fully implement merit-based selection processes. And it can establish stakeholder governance mechanisms using processes based on those employed in TRB's cooperative research programs and similar to the processes used for typical NRC committees.
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The annual appropriations process, the impact of outside influences, reduced independence and central control of research, and constraints regarding stakeholder involvement in governance are some limitations of this option. Other Federal Research Programs Examples of salient federal research institutions include the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, which is part of the U.S.
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It is also accustomed to giving researchers a degree of autonomy over the content and direction of research that would be incompatible with the criterion of stakeholder governance. National Cooperative Highway Research Program NCHRP has experience in managing a large contract research program, has staff entirely dedicated to research administration, and is insulated from outside influences.
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From page 144... ...
All four criteria should be met, but most important is for the structure to employ quality control mechanisms, such as competitive award of research contracts and merit review, and stakeholder governance mechanisms at the overall program level, as well as for each of the four component research programs. The choice of administrative structure for F-SHRP should be made during the interim work stage described below after appropriate analysis of the above options (and possibly others)
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While the committee agrees that the requested funding for F-SHRP should be predominantly for research activities, the implementation-related activities described below also require adequate funding, which is included in the committee's overall estimate of required program resources. · Identification of expected research products and their users -- There should be some assessment of what the market will bear, in terms of cost and volume, with regard to products that may result from the proposed research.
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From page 146... ...
· Coordination of research efforts -- The interdependence of the various highway research programs has been emphasized throughout this report, largely from the perspective of the actual conduct of the research. Coordination of these efforts also has benefits from an implementation perspective, including fostering creativity and mutual learning, avoiding unnecessary duplication, and leveraging implementation activities and resources.
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From page 147... ...
· Evaluation and feedback -- Effective research should always incorporate an element of evaluation and feedback, creating an iterative process of continuous improvement both for specific research efforts and for the operation of the overall research program. Evaluation and feedback can be applied to the quality of the research itself (for example, through the peer review process mentioned earlier)
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Interim Work Requirements Should the highway community support F-SHRP as proposed herein, the time between publication of this report and passage of the next highway authorizing Table 8-1 Estimated Distribution of F-SHRP Funding Research Program Goal Distribution of Funding (%) To develop a consistent, systematic approach to 25 performing highway renewal that is rapid, causes minimum disruption, and produces long-lived facilities To prevent or reduce the severity of highway 40 crashes through more accurate knowledge of crash factors and of the cost-effectiveness of selected countermeasures in addressing these factors To provide highway users with reliable travel 20 times by preventing and reducing the impact of nonrecurring incidents To develop approaches and tools for systemati- 15 cally integrating environmental, economic, and community requirements into the analysis, planning, and design of new highway capacity
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In the event that this detailed planning work cannot be carried out during the interim period, it will need to be the first step taken once the research is funded. Reference ABBREVIATION TRB Transportation Research Board TRB.
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1986. Strategic Highway Research Program: Research Plans.
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1998. NCHRP Research Results Digest 225: Putting Research into Practice: A Synopsis of Successful Strategies and Case Histories.
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