Cooperative Research for Hazardous Materials Transportation Defining the Need, Converging on Solutions -- Special Report 283 (2005) / Chapter Skim
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6 Options for Program Finance, Governance, and Management
6 Options for Program Finance, Governance, and Management
Pages 119-131
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From page 119... ...
Chapter 5 discussed the experiences of several long-standing cooper ative research programs within and outside the transportation sector to gain insight into possible ways of structuring such a program for haz ardous materials transportation. Program financing possibilities range from voluntary contributions by individual organizations to annual fed eral appropriations.
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From page 120... ...
Revenues raised from federally imposed and broadly based user fees, exemplified by the Hazardous Materials Registration Fee. All three of these options are presumed to be the main means of financing the program.
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From page 121... ...
· Federal funding may be perceived as ensuring program objectivity and broader coverage of research needs within the hazardous materials sec tor, including the needs of those with limited means of financing the program, such as local public safety agencies. The following are disadvantages of this approach: · It is subject to the year-to-year uncertainties associated with the fed eral budget process and the changing priorities of federal decision makers.
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From page 122... ...
Models for such a voluntary approach for pooling program funds include the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) , the Construction Industry Institute (CII)
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From page 123... ...
In either instance, congressional action would be required to allow this alternative use of registration fee revenues. The Hazardous Materials Registration Fee Program offers a way to approximate the user fee needed to pay for a cooperative research program
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From page 124... ...
Increases in the fee could be weighted toward larger businesses to avoid burdening small businesses. Among the advantages of a user fee approach to program financing are · The potential for year-to-year reliability in program funding, espe cially if the fees are placed in a trust fund for use in research; · A strong sense of ownership of the program by a cross section of the hazardous materials transportation community that contribute fees; · Spreading of the cost burden of the program, especially if the fee cov ers carriers, shippers, container manufacturers, and others in the haz ardous materials industry that would benefit from the research; and · The establishment of a connection between those who create soci etal risks by causing the transport of hazardous materials and the contribution to research aimed at reducing these risks.
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From page 125... ...
The cooperative research programs reviewed in this report offer vari ous models of governing boards. Each is structured differently, but all have many of the same basic roles and responsibilities.
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From page 126... ...
For example, a cooperative research program sponsored and governed exclusively by industry or federal agencies might sacrifice the insights and expertise of state and local emergency response agencies that do not have the means to help sponsor the program. Option 2: Governance by a Broad Base of Users of the Research The governing board of TCRP is composed mostly of transit system oper ators, but it is supplemented by many other public transportation inter ests, including federal agency officials, transit suppliers, and university researchers.
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From page 127... ...
A disadvantage is that multiple boards run the risk of becoming unwieldy, slow to make decisions, and costly to organize and administer. MANAGEMENT OPTIONS Depending on the structure, size, and mission of the program, the entity charged with managing it will have many responsibilities such as pro cessing contracts and research agreements, supporting and arranging meetings of the governing board and any technical panels formed for individual projects, administering program funds, and disseminating the results of research.
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From page 128... ...
Each offers a model for hosting and manag ing a hazardous materials transportation cooperative research program. The three organizational options considered here are management by · A research management organization; · A nonprofit trade, educational, or professional society; and · A university or university consortium.
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From page 129... ...
Each would need to make a substantial investment in research management staff and quality control methods. 1See Chapter 2 for a description of several organizations with prominent roles in the hazardous materials transportation sector.
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From page 130... ...
SUMMARY Finance, governance, and management stand out as important features of existing cooperative research programs. Whatever financing approach is used in a future hazardous materials cooperative research program must yield fairly predictable streams of rev enue at levels that can sustain a program covering a wide array of research topics of interest to a broad base of users.
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From page 131... ...
It will need to be able to bring to bear administrative and technical exper tise from a range of disciplines to define, oversee, and ensure quality control for research projects covering many problem areas. It will need the capability to disseminate research results through a wide variety of means accessible to a diverse body of users.
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