ATRC
Research Program
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is a project sponsor?
A. A project sponsor must be an Arizona Department of Transportation
employee and someone with the authority to make a decision on the
project research recommendations and the ability to carry the
implementation forward where appropriate.
Q. What is a project champion?
A. A project champion is a person who supports the project and assists
and enables the research activity.
Q. How do I find a project champion and/or project sponsor?
A. ATRC project managers can assist you in finding a project sponsor
and project champion for your proposal based on the research objectives
and emphasis area.
Q. What are the research emphasis areas ?
A. Environment, Intelligent Transportation Systems, Maintenance,
Materials & Construction, Planning & Administration, Structures,
Traffic & Safety.
Q. How much money is available for any given emphasis area?
A. SPR research funding is approved annually as a lump sum. Research
funding available for major projects varies each year and is not
allocated per emphasis area. Last fiscal year (FY09), 13 major
projects were funded for a total program of $1.4M.
Q. When does funding become available?
A. SPR research funding is approved annually by the Federal Highway
Administration, which operates on the federal fiscal year commencing
October 1. Typically, money is available after October 1.
Q. When will I know if my proposal has been approved?
A. ATRC releases the proposal results within a week of the Research
Council meeting held in late-June.
Q. Who is on the Research Council?
A. The Research Council is composed of staff from various ADOT
divisions and organizations and at least one person from the Federal
Highway Administration. Membership is voluntary and designed to
represent a wide variety of fields and interests.
Q. Is it possible to see who participated in last year's proposal
voting ballots?
A. While names are required on ballots to ensure that each person gets
a single vote, the votes are kept confidential. The ballots are not
weighted, i.e., each ballot counts as one vote. The cross section of
stakeholders who voted in FY09 represented local jurisdictions,
Arizona universities, private firms, several state agencies, and the
Federal Highway Administration.
Q. What are the qualifications for agencies, firms, or persons to
participate in ranking proposals?
A. No special qualifications are necessary, but some experience in the
emphasis area is required. For example, someone with a background in
one emphasis area would not necessarily have experience in another
emphasis area and may not be suitable to vote on projects outside
their area of expertise.
Q. Who decides who will get to vote?
A. All of the stakeholders.
Q. Can I invite my on-call consultants to participate with their own
ideas for ADOT research?
A. Absolutely! The only caveat is that every proposal requires a
project champion and a
project sponsor before moving forward.
Q. Can I also invite other entities to send in their ideas?
A. Soliciting proposal ideas to other local entities is welcomed. Keep
in mind that proposals are ranked on importance to the state of
Arizona with emphasis on multimodal transportation-related issues.
Q. How are proposals ranked?
A. Proposals are ranked on a scale from 0 to 3 with 3 being of most
importance to Arizona and 0 being of no importance.
Q. Are invitations for proposals issued only by ADOT?
A. No. Any entity may solicit ideas for research proposals related to
multimodal transportation and submit a proposal to ADOT for
review. Moreover, ADOT works in partnership with many agencies on
proposals and often receives funding from them to show their support.
Q. What is the PRIDE program?
A. PRIDE (Product Resource Investment Deployment and Evaluation) is
funded as part of the SPR Program. The PRIDE program coordinates the
review and acceptance of new products for possible use by ADOT and
maintains the Approved Products List (APL). The PRIDE program also
publishes the PRIDE Annual Report during the first quarter of each
calendar year. This report summarizes the main activities of the
program for the previous calendar year.
Q: What is the Approved Products List (APL)?
A. The APL is a list of products that have been tested, evaluated, or
examined under ADOT standards, and were found acceptable to be used in
ADOT projects.
Q. What is a major project?
A. A major project has a minimum budget over $25,000. There is no cap
on the budget.
Q. What is a small budget project?
A. A small budget project has a minimum budget of $5,000 and is less
than $25,000.
Q. What is a Transportation Research Quick Study (TRQS)?
A. A TRQS project has a budget of less than $5,000. TRQS projects are
authorized at the discretion of the ATRC director. Proposals may be
presented to the ATRC director for TRQS funding by anyone in ADOT. The
primary criteria are that the proposal have a research element and
offer a benefit to ADOT.
Q. What does SPR stand for (as in SPR-595)?
A. SPR stands for State Planning and Research which is followed by the
research project number.
Q. What is considered in-kind match (non-profits only)?
A.
Cost-sharing or matching funds are addressed in 49 CFR 19, Uniform
Administration Requirements for Grants and Agreements with
Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-profit
Organizations.
49 CFR 19.23 Cost sharing or matching reads:
(a) All contributions, including cash and third party in-kind, shall
be accepted as part of the recipient’s cost sharing or matching when
such contributions meet all of the following criteria:
| (1) Are verifiable from the recipient’s records.
(2) Are not included as contributions for any other federally-assisted
project or
program.
(3) Are necessary and reasonable for proper and efficient
accomplishment of project
or program objectives.
(4) Are allowable under the applicable cost principles.
(5) Are not paid by the Federal Government under another award, except
where
authorized by Federal statute to be used for cost sharing or
matching. |
Arizona Transportation Research Center
206 South 17th Avenue
Mail Drop 075R
Phoenix, AZ 85007
FAX: 602.712.3400 |
