Photo by Cait McCusker

The National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) program has released its 2020 general research request for proposals. Faculty at NITC's partner universities* are invited to submit abstracts by March 23, 2020.

Through funding provided by the U.S. DOT, we will award up to $1,000,000 to research projects that support NITC’s theme: improving mobility of people and goods to build strong communities. Our theme includes a few key topics:

Increasing access to opportunities.

Well-connected regions and communities can improve social equity by providing access to jobs, services, recreation, and social opportunities. Research should examine barriers to access, including the connections between transportation, land use, and housing. It should look at how to overcome these barriers and improve accessibility, affordability, and equity in our communities.

Improving multi-modal planning and shared use of infrastructure.

Improved mobility requires a range of options for moving people and goods. As concepts of mobility evolve, research is needed to understand how people and firms make mode choices so that we can design better multi-modal systems. Research should examine how different modes can share our infrastructure safely. It should look at how cities and regions can better plan for and prioritize multi-modal transportation, integrated with land use.

Advancing innovation and smart cities.

The growth of urban areas of all sizes requires the innovative use of technology and new mobility options. Smart cities research should examine the feasibility of integrating connected and automated technologies in our cities and overcoming the social, political and economic barriers to implementation. This includes ensuring that smart cities improve access for all people and modes.

Developing data, models, and tools.

Our complex transportation system demands better data and tools for decision-making. Research is needed to develop tools to collect and analyze multimodal data from a variety of sources, aimed at optimizing the use of the system. These new models and tools should examine the implications of changes to the system on a range of outcomes including mobility, economic equity, the environment, and health.

Read more and download the full RFP here. See the ten projects that were chosen for funding through our 2019 General Research Grant.

KEY DATES

• Abstracts due: March 23, 2020
• Proposals due: April 22, 2020
• Peer reviews: May 2020
• Project Selection, Awards, and Task Orders: June–August 2020
• Projects begin: August/September 2020

ELIGIBILITY

*Faculty members and research associates from Portland State University, University of Oregon, Oregon Institute of Technology, University of Utah, University of Arizona, and University of Texas at Arlington are eligible to submit proposals.

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The National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), one of five U.S. Department of Transportation national university transportation centers, is a program of the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University. The NITC program is a Portland State-led partnership with the University of Oregon, Oregon Institute of Technology, University of Utah and new partners University of Arizona and University of Texas at Arlington. We pursue our theme — improving mobility of people and goods to build strong communities — through research, education and technology transfer.