An ad-hoc committee will conduct an expert review for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Office of Research and Development (R&D) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to assess its R&D products and services to the agency and railroad industry. The goal of the review will be to provide strategic feedback to the Office of R&D for program improvement and planning purposes with specific emphasis on: 1) validating FRA’s process to identify new priorities for addressing emerging safety issues and trends, and 2) evaluating the feasibility, usefulness, effectiveness, and impact of R&D products and services in railroad safety. The committee will evaluate each of the four major division areas (Track, Rolling Stock, Train Control and Communications, and Human Factors), including cross division efforts, and R&D support functions (planning, evaluation, and management).
In conducting the review, the committee will consider the following questions:
1. To what extent has the Office of R&D excelled in engaging, maintaining communication with, and using inputs from the full range of stakeholder groups?
2. To what extent does R&D excel in conducting and using results from needs assessments and diagnostic studies to prioritize, focus, and plan projects and programs?
3. To what extent has R&D’s planning support function defined a sound mission and associated goals and priorities that reflect assessed safety needs in the railroad industry?
4. To what extent is R&D sufficiently flexible and responsive in addressing changing economic, political, social, and technological contexts? (Question does not apply to planning and evaluation support functions.)
5. To what extent does R&D’s current and planned portfolio and budget appropriately address its defined mission, goals, and priorities?
6. Do the Office of R&D's defined mission and priorities align with its staffing and budget levels?
7. To what extent is the R&D Office’s science and engineering work of excellent technical merit and quality, and appropriate and feasible for implementation? (Question does not apply to R&D support functions.)
8. To what extent are R&D services and products being, or planned to be used by the railroad industry both internal and external to FRA? (Question does not apply to R&D support functions.)
9. How effectively have R&D services and products helped the railroad industry improve safety and reduce fatalities? (Question does not apply to R&D support functions.)
10. To what extent does the Office of R&D evaluate its services and products prior to or during an implementation to help improve their usability and likelihood of adoption by industry?
11. To what extent is the Office of R&D effective in providing its key stakeholders with summative evaluation reports, technical reports, conference presentations, and other communications that validly assess R&D efforts, impacts, & cost-benefits?
The committee will deliver two letter reports on its findings and recommendations. The first letter report will include descriptive assessments and actionable comments and advice on the evaluation questions. It will present a holistic assessment of the Office of R&D, the individual divisions, and the R&D support functions. The second letter report will provide an evaluation of the content and delivery of a two-day, public meeting in which the FRA will present its R&D program to stakeholders.