[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 5 (Friday, January 8, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1115-1116]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-30944]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Innovative Technology Administration


Invitation for Public Comment on Strategic Research Direction, 
Research Priority Areas and Performance Metrics To Guide Departmental 
Strategic Plan for Research, Development and Technology Activities 
(2010--2015)

AGENCY: Research and Innovative Technology Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice, request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) is providing 
notice that it is engaging in a strategic planning effort that will 
guide the Department's research, development, and technology activities 
as required by SAFETEA-LU. The Research and Innovative Technology 
Administration (RITA)'s Office of Research, Development, and Technology 
(RD&T) is coordinating this effort in collaboration with partner modal 
administrations and offices across the U.S. DOT. As recommended by the 
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the National Research 
Council (NRC), RITA and its partners are seeking public stakeholder 
input on research strategies and metrics necessary to achieve U.S. DOT 
strategic transportation goals and to drive transportation policy in 
both the short and long terms.
    The U.S. DOT's research, development, and technology (RD&T) efforts 
and outcomes play critical roles in attaining the vision of a safe, 
truly multimodal transportation system that provides the traveling 
public and U.S. businesses with safe, convenient, affordable and 
environmentally sustainable transportation choices. A previous DOT 
Research, Development, and Technology Strategic Plan was published in 
2006 and served as a compendium of modal research pursuits at that 
time. The Department is now pursuing a more cross-modal, collaborative 
and strategic planning process to cover the years 2010-2015 and to 
address the proposed Departmental key priorities as outlined in the 
Background section.

DATES: Comment Period: Written comments should be submitted by February 
8, 2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by RITA Docket ID Number 
RITA 2009-0005 by any of the following methods:
    [cir] Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
    [cir] Mail: Docket Management Facility: U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building Ground 
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    [cir] Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room 
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. 
and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    [cir] Fax: 202-493-2251.
    Instructions: Identify docket number, RITA 2009-0005, at the 
beginning of your comments. To receive confirmation that DOT received 
your comments, include a self-addressed stamped postcard containing the 
Docket number.
    All comments received by DOT will be posted at http://www.regulations.gov.

[[Page 1116]]

All comments/questions will be posted electronically without change or 
edits, including any personal information provided.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments/questions filed in our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment or question (or signing the comment, if 
submitted on behalf of an association, corporation, business entity, 
labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement 
in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78) or 
you may visit http://DocketInfo.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: M.J. Fiocco, Office of Research, 
Development and Technology, Research and Innovative Technology 
Administration, Telephone Number (202) 366-8018, or E-mail_
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Act: A 
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) enacted in 2005 called for the U.S. DOT 
to develop a strategic plan to guide its RD&T activities. The strategic 
plan being pursued as outlined in this notice addresses this 
requirement and also responds to feedback from the National Research 
Council's review (http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/reports/letterreport_usdotrd&tplan.pdf) of an earlier plan, published in 2006, 
``Transportation Research, Development and Technology Strategic Plan 
2006-2010'' (http://www.rita.dot.gov/publications/transportation_rd_t_strategic_plan/pdf/entire.pdf), and the recommendations of the GAO 
report published in 2006, ``Transportation Research: Opportunities for 
Improving the Oversight of DOT's Research Programs and User 
Satisfaction with Transportation'' (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06917.pdf).
    The U.S. DOT, with leadership and coordination from its Research 
and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), is engaged in an 
ongoing collaborative process involving all of the U.S. DOT operating 
administrations. Two cross-modal bodies participate in this process: 
the RD&T Planning Council (composed of the heads of the operating 
administrations, the Under Secretary for Policy, and other senior U.S. 
DOT leaders) and the RD&T Planning Team, which includes the Associate 
Administrators for RD&T in each operating administration. Through this 
Federal Register notice, the U.S. DOT is seeking input from 
stakeholders including individual citizens, members of the private 
sector, the academic community, non-governmental organizations, and 
other interested parties.
    Stakeholder suggestions for strategic research direction, research 
priority areas and performance metrics for research outcomes should be 
aligned, if possible, with the new key priorities for the Department, 
that will be set forth in the U.S. DOT's 2010-2015 Strategic Plan 
(which is still in development) for all federal transportation programs 
and activities. Other high priority research areas also are invited. 
Stakeholder suggestions also should provide overall guidance for DOT 
RD&T activities over the next five years and provide a high level view 
of appropriate research areas. Suggestions for longer term research 
needs also are welcome. These DOT key priorities include:
     Safety--Fostering a safety culture in our daily work and 
encouraging our partners, stakeholders and the public to redouble their 
efforts to reduce transportation-related fatalities and injuries.
     Livable Communities--Creating livable communities that 
provide residents with affordable transportation options to promote 
increased access to jobs, school, health services, and other activities 
for our citizens while improving the quality of life in their 
communities.
     State of Good Repair--Adequately maintaining and 
modernizing our vast, existing infrastructure to maximize its 
reliability, capacity and performance, to reduce operational and 
replacement costs and to extend the system's useful life.
     Economic Competitiveness--Achieving the maximum economic 
impact from our transportation investments and lay the groundwork for 
long-term economic growth and prosperity.
     Environmental Sustainability--Advancing transportation 
policies and investments that reduce carbon emissions and consumption 
of fossil fuels as well as protecting and enhancing natural resources.
    The RD&T strategic planning process is collaborative, cross-modal, 
and forward looking, focusing on articulating the U.S. DOT's key 
research priorities with measurable outcomes over the next five years. 
The process is taking a department-wide, systems-level view of the 
multimodal transportation system, and is setting strategies to address 
research areas that stress a multi-modal-oriented perspective as well 
as a modal-specific and modal-funded perspective. The strategies 
described in the plan will be designed to ensure that RD&T resources 
are invested wisely to achieve measurable improvements in our Nation's 
transportation system.

    Issued in Washington, DC on December 23, 2009.
Robert L. Bertini,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. E9-30944 Filed 1-7-10; 8:45 am]
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