CRP Web-Only Document 1

Evaluation of the Transportation Pooled Fund Program

The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Neil Shubin is president.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. Tsu-Jae Liu is president.

The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Monica Bertagnolli is president.

The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine.

Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org.

The Transportation Research Board is one of four centers of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to mobilize expertise, experience, and knowledge to anticipate and solve complex transportation-related challenges. The Board’s varied activities annually engage more than 5,500 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state departments of transportation, federal agencies including component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation.

Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.TRB.org.

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS

CRP STAFF FOR CRP WEB-ONLY DOCUMENT 1

Monique R. Evans, Director, Cooperative Research Programs

Waseem Dekelbab, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs

Gwen Chisholm Smith, Manager, Transit Cooperative Research Program

Patrick Zelinski, Senior Program Officer

Kevin Padilla, Senior Program Assistant

Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications

Brian Haefs, Associate Director of Publications

Jennifer Correro, Assistant Editor

CRP SPECIAL RELEASE TFPE-06 PANEL

Tyson D. Rupnow, Applied Research Associates, Inc., Baton Rouge, LA (Chair)

Chandra K. Akisetty, Maryland State Highway Administration, Hanover, MD

Anne Kay Freeman, Washington State Department of Transportation, Olympia, WA

Beverly Thompson Kuhn, C-DEX Advisors, LLC, College Station, TX

Megan E. Swanson, Illinois Department of Transportation, Springfield, IL

Mary Huie, FHWA Liaison

AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The evaluation team acknowledges Devin Johnson, Ariadna Mendoza, Jocelyn Reyes, and Charlotte Rector from the University of Memphis for their valuable contributions to this project.

ABOUT THE RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION PROGRAM

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation that supports state and local governments in the design, construction, and maintenance of the nation’s highway system (Federal Aid Highway Program) and various federally and tribally owned lands (Federal Lands Highway Program). A significant portion of FHWA’s research activities, evolved over many years in response to successive legislative initiatives, is managed by agency staff from the Research and Technology (R&T) Program housed at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, Virginia, and other locations. The aim of FHWA’s R&T activities is to support FHWA’s mission through deployment of innovations that address current issues and emerging challenges, create efficiencies in the highway and transportation sector, and provide information to support policy decisions.

The FHWA Research and Technology Evaluation Program seeks to assess and communicate the benefits of FHWA’s R&T efforts; ensure that the organization is expending public resources efficiently and effectively; and build evidence to shape and improve policymaking. FHWA partners with state transportation departments, local agencies, industries, and academia to conduct research on issues of national significance and accelerate adoption and deployment of promising research products.

To ensure that R&T activities are effectively and efficiently contributing to FHWA’s mission, R&T staff apply leading practices in research management and occasionally undertake formal evaluations of select activities, projects, or programs. In addition, FHWA’s R&T staff solicit advice from the Transportation Research Board (TRB), particularly the Research and Technology Coordinating Committee (RTCC). The RTCC issues annual reports commenting on R&T programs generally and suggesting adjustments to program strategies and approaches to improve program relevance, effectiveness, and impact.

In 2014, FHWA initiated the R&T Evaluation Program with two core objectives:

1. To evaluate the selection process by which research is funded, and
2. To assess the effectiveness of selected projects within the R&T portfolio, in terms of both research outcomes and technology transfer activities.

Under the R&T Evaluation Program’s initial phase, 16 evaluations were conducted by the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center.

In 2019, FHWA asked TRB to undertake management of evaluations under a second phase of the R&T Evaluation Program. TRB’s activities under this TRB-FHWA Program Evaluation (TFPE) effort comprise a series of projects evaluating research activities designated by FHWA and conducted by multiple research teams under TRB’s direction and oversight. To date, the following projects have been completed:

• TFPE-01, Asphalt Binder Quality Tester
• TFPE-02, Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program
• TFPE-03, Ultra-High Performance Concrete Connections
• TFPE-04, FHWA’s Every Day Counts Program
• TFPE-05, FHWA’s Initiative on Integrating NEPA and Permitting
• TFPE-06, Evaluation of the Transportation Pooled Fund (TPF) Program
• TFPE-07, Evaluation of the Planning and Environment Linkages (PEL) Program

These evaluations are intended to generate evidence and provide data-driven assessments that substantiate the contributions of FHWA’s R&T Program to fulfilling the agency’s mission and strategic goals. The evaluations are focused on estimating and forecasting the socioeconomic returns from investments in R&T Program activities to inform future research plans and improve technology transition outcomes. To this end, the evaluations include quantitative estimates of impact metrics. In addition, the evaluations provide input on data collection, tracking, and monitoring for ongoing program evaluation and improvement.

Table of Contents

Summary

TPF Program Background

Evaluation Approach

Evaluation Findings

Evaluation Question Responses

Strategies for Program Improvement

Conclusions

Chapter 1. Introduction

Organization of this Final Report

Chapter 2. Understanding of the TPF Program

Program Administration & Participants

Program Portfolio

Establishing a TPF Study

Funding Commitments and Contributions

Managing TPF Projects

TPF Excellence Awards Program

TPF Logic Model

Chapter 3. TPF Evaluation Scope and Approach

Evaluation Indicators

Evaluation Workplan

Anticipated Project Outcomes

Chapter 4. Program Data Analysis

Methodology

Findings

Proportion of State DOT Research Dollars used for TPF Studies

Chapter 5. Document Review

Program-Level Document Review

Study-Level Document Review

Chapter 6. Digital Surveys

Methodology

Findings

Chapter 7. Focus Groups

Methodology

Findings

Chapter 8. Evaluation Synthesis

Efficiency

Implementation

Cost Effectiveness

Effectiveness

Program Participation

Chapter 9. Conclusions

Evaluation Findings

Strategies for Program Improvement

Next Steps

References

Appendix A

Appendix B

FHWA-Led Studies

State-Led Studies

Appendix C

Appendix D