The information below is from the 2021 request for proposals. Please see the opportunity website for updated information.
The Pacific Southwest Region University Transportation Center (PSR) is the Regional UTC for US Region 9 (California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, and the Pacific Islands). PSR is led by the METRANS Transportation Center, University of Southern California and includes the following partners: California State University, Long Beach, Northern Arizona University, Pima Community College, University of California, Davis, University of California, Irvine, University of California, Los Angeles, and University of Hawaii. PSR-funded research is expected to result in scholarly publications and contribute to generating larger grants from other sources.
This is an RFP for Year 5, the final year of the 5-year program. Future extensions are probable, but will require Transportation funding reauthorization by the U.S. Congress. Because UCLA has had substantial success in previous years, only $100,000 remains for Caltrans projects to UCLA PIs. The amount awarded under this RFP will be determined by the quality and relevance of proposals received. Given the anticipated competition for these funds, prospective applicants should carefully consider their expertise relative to the thematic areas and topics.
Caltrans Priority Research Topics:
- Advancing transportation equity through transportation related tax credits for public participation
- Assessing the role of Indian Reservation Roads in freight movement
- Assessment of California climate change resiliency strategies
- Commodity flow survey for pass-through cargo
- Digitizing corridor airspace for Advanced Air Mobility
- Early consideration of tribal heritage sites and cultural landscapes in long range transportation planning
- Economic and environmental impacts of expanded short line rail service
- Environmental impact avoidance in freight corridors
- Equitably addressing issues arising from the use of State transportation facilities for shelter
- Expand remote access to jobs, goods, services, and education
- Exploring Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) for reducing friction in fare payments
- Facility name assessment pilot for Caltrans District 4
- Feasibility, and efficiency benefits, of dedicated truck lanes
- GTFS, wayfinding, and transit ridership
- Improved tools for "state of good repair" project prioritization
- Infrastructure technology to improve travel safety for vulnerable road users
- Innovative technology and practice to improve goods movement and infrastructure post-COVID-19
- Inventory of the effectiveness of transit, rail, and shared mobility improvements
- Managing the adoption of connected and autonomous vehicles in disadvantaged communities
- Methods to expand access to safe and convenient active transportation options
- Modeling truck/bus created fugitive dust on highway roadsides with narrow or absent shoulders
- Opportunities for housing the unsheltered on State-owned right of way and associated costs and impacts
- Racial equity and the LA Metro consent decree
- Regional advance mitigation to expand protection of natural resources and ecosystems
- Tolling lessons learned for road usage charge
- Tools and best practices in encouraging efficient land use
- Tools for innovative transportation solutions and concept strategies for system planning
- Transit discount verification and barriers to transit access
Research Initiation Awards
Research initiation awards are available to tenure track Assistant Professors, with preference for faculty who have not been previously funded for research in transportation. These awards
are limited to a maximum of $35,000 for one year. These awards will receive priority consideration over regular awards. Research initiation proposals are subject to the same selection criteria and peer review process as regular proposals.
White Papers
White paper proposals are funded to synthesize existing evidence and identify research gaps for critical policy questions, for a maximum of $25,000. White papers are aimed at a broad audience of professionals and policy-makers. The proposal should include a meeting with policy-makers, researchers, and/or practitioners as part of the white paper development process.
Award Amount and Details
- Research project awards have a maximum of $100,000 per year, inclusive of 20% indirect costs.
- The typical project duration is one year.
- Note that conservative and cost-effective budgets are strongly encouraged. PSR reserves the right to reduce the budgets of submitted proposals.
Match Funding:
The USDOT University Transportation Center program requires a non-federal match as a condition of the federal funds. Caltrans provides only a portion of the required match. Thus PSR encourages proposals that include match funding from non-federal sources. Proposals that include at least a 10% hard match (e.g. contribution to direct costs from external source) will receive priority consideration. Pooled fund proposals must include 100% match as part of the proposal. For additional information, contact PSR Associate Director of Administration Cort Brinkerhoff at mcbrinke@price.usc.edu.
Deadlines and Date Information
The due dates listed below are the most recent due dates our office is aware of. Please see the opportunity home page for information about potential upcoming deadlines or other opportunities.
Proposals are due before 12:00 pm PST on March 2, 2021.
- Note that this proposal does not require submission through the Office of Contracts and Grants Administration.
- Proposed projects selected by Caltrans will be processed as incoming contracts by the Office of Contracts and Grants Administration. At the time of selection and processing, UCLA ITS will aid the successful PIs in obtaining vital cost interest waivers required for the required 20% indirect cost rate.
Eligibility Information
- Full-time tenure track and research faculty members eligible to serve as Principal Investigators at any of the partner universities are eligible to serve as Principal Investigators on PSR UTC grants.
- Proposals may include multiple investigators.
- Proposals may also include research faculty and non-tenure track faculty from the partner universities as Co-Principal Investigators.
- A small amount of funding has been reserved for university researchers within Region 9 but outside the consortium. The same eligibility requirements apply.
