We are pleased to announce the release of the inaugural National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) Request for Proposals (RFP). The Oregon Transportation Research and Education Center at Portland State University (OTREC@PSU) invites proposals for research, education, and technology transfer projects under our new grant program – the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC). This new grant is part of the University Transportation Center (UTC) program funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), and is a partnership between Portland State University (PSU), the University of Oregon (UO), the Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech), and the University of Utah (UU). 

The NITC program is focused on contributing to transportation projects that support innovations in: livability, incorporating safety and environmental sustainability. The total funding available is approximately:

• Approximately $1.75 million for research, education and technology transfer projects that support NITC’s theme.
• $150,000 for researchprojects that specifically develop models and pooling of information for data collection (e.g., surveys, pedestrian/bicycle counts, real-time transit information, GPS and other technologies, etc.).
• $70,000 for transportation education projects that specifically target creating community leaders among the general public (not university students).

Eligibility: Faculty members and research faculty eligible to serve as Principal Investigators (PIs) at Portland State University, the University of Oregon, the Oregon Institute of Technology, or the University of Utah may submit proposals and serve as PIs. Also eligible are pre-approved faculty associates from other campuses.

You can download the RFP, proposal and budget forms here: https://trec.pdx.edu/OTRECUS/for_researchers/rfp

Abstracts are due 5:00 pm (PST) on Friday, April 13, 2012. We will only accept full proposals for abstracts that are submitted by the deadline.  Full proposals are due 5:00 pm (PST) on Friday, May 4, 2012.  To submit abstracts and proposals, go to to: https://trec.pdx.edu/OTRECUS/rfp/.

For questions, contact Hau Hagedorn at hagedorn@otrec.us.