In January 2010, the USDOT Research and Innovative Technology Administration issued a request for public comment regarding their Strategic Research Direction, Research Priority Areas and Performance Metrics To Guide Departmental Strategic Plan for Research, Development and Technology Activities (2010ó2015). OTREC and our partners crafted a three part response that identified barriers and ways to research innovation, including:

• Broadening federal match for University Transportation Centers (UTCs);
• Embracing the cross-modal perspective on transportation;
• Better tracking of how research is implemented; and
• Increasing the role of national university transportation centers.
• Making better linkages between research groups.

In regards to the key priorities, areas that could key areas could be emphasized and perhaps not fully captured in the key priorities as currently stated included:

• Resiliency in the face of climate change & natural disasters;
• Considering equity issues across all priorities; and
• Recognizing active transportation as a mode.

To view the full OTREC memo, go to: https://trec.pdx.edu/OTRECUS/RefDocuments/RDT_OTREC_Final.pdf