Using strategic tools for long range performance-based planning is a valued analytical approach. These tools are helping state and metropolitan area governments select policies to address pressing issues that are fraught with uncertainty.  Strategic tools are designed to explore efficiently the joint effects of a wide range of trends and policies to equip decision makers and the public with a clearer understanding of possible outcomes.  These tools do not replace traditional travel models but rather support them by addressing a wide range of factors in shorter run times to evaluate many alternative futures. This allows planners to reason more effectively about intended and unintended consequences of prospective policies, in ways more flexible than traditional travel demand modeling tools.

VisionEval (https://visioneval.org) is an open-source family of strategic tools improved by two previous pooled funds since 2017 (“Collaborative Development of New Strategic Planning Models” and “Extending and Sharing Benefits of Strategic Planning”).  A supporting community of partner agencies and others share in its use and enhancement. VisionEval supports strategic planning by allowing users to run, visualize and explore thousands of scenarios, testing a broad set of policies and actions.  Past Pooled Fund enhancements have captured need to assess telework, vehicle and fuel technology adoption, autonomous vehicle technologies, pricing, accessibility, multimodal options such as car service, short trip diversion, and transit impacts, changes in population and employment forecasts, household budgets and land use. VisionEval’s range of inputs and quick runtime also make it valuable for conceptual framing prior to long range plans and testing plans under future uncertainties.  VisionEval requires considerably less time to run than traditional network-based travel demand models and thus can be used to explore a wide range of alternatives with the best performers advancing for additional analysis.

The VisionEval framework includes the Regional Strategic Planning Model (VERSPM) and the state-wide VisionEval model (VE-State). Numerous state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations use VisionEval to assess possible future economic development, technology change, and policy implementation scenarios. The success of VisionEval presents an opportunity to help users implement it, further develop modules to address pressing transportation and land use trends , improve user experience ,establish a Community of Practice to share VisionEval implementation experience and how the tool supports improved transportation decision making.

This new pooled fund (“Collaboration on Strategic Planning Models”) will increase the range of applications supported by VisionEval models, reduce implementation time,  and enhance the interactive visualization of scenario results. Additionally, this new pooled fund will further those previous efforts and extend their benefits to the agencies who choose to participate. While it is feasible in principle for agencies to perform such work on their own, many agencies are facing similar challenges, and work done on behalf of one agency is likely to be useful to others. Participating agencies are encouraged to engage in the joint development and support activities. Participation ensures each agency has timely access to usable tools that will support their emerging planning needs.

This pooled fund will support the investment in new and upgraded tools, avoiding duplicative expenditure of public funds on similar efforts, and facilitating efficient development of innovations built on existing working tools. 

The pooled fund will allow participating agencies to have access to:

·      Small upgrade and usability improvements Coordinate code repository, guidelines and new releases, and establish documentation.

·      Technical support for member states and MPOs for model implementation and development of policies for evaluation with the model. 

·      Development of capabilities to incorporate additional policies for what-if scenarios.  This includes new research and moving beta-modules developed in prior research into practice with appropriate code and output reviews

·      Improve user experience, such as better integration with source data and tools and making package data more user accessible.

·      Third-party evaluations or peer reviews of model logic and forecast accuracy.  No model is perfect, and the evaluations provide users and customers with an understanding of VisionEval’s strengths and weaknesses and thereby increase credibility of forecast impacts based on the model.

·      A community of practice for active users and developers to share VisionEval implementation experience, case studies, and coordinate conference/outreach highlighting how the tool supports improved transportation decision making, which will reduce the likelihood that models will become obsolete, fall under the control of a single developer, or be abandoned by their developer while there is still interest in using them.

As a joint effort, this project will fund, manage development and deployment of strategic models implemented through the VisionEval software. Partner agencies may propose investments in new policy evaluations, tool upgrades, user interface and visualization enhancements, and model support activities to improve strategic support for scenario planning and performance-based planning.  Tasks will include administration, contracting for development and support services, conducting community forums and events to promote VisionEval and increase its value as a modeling resource, and providing technical support for the application of these strategic modeling tools.

Specific development efforts and related support activities will be jointly agreed upon by the pooled fund members.

A Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) consisting of one representative of each pooled fund participant will be appointed to direct activities. The TAC will determine yearly funding allocations for research. The TAC will also define the research needs for the pooled fund, select the tasks to be conducted (including specific model development and support activities), approve research teams, oversee technical support and software hosting, and ensure the pooled fund objectives are met.

The pooled fund will be led and administered by Virginia DOT with active participation from member State and Local agencies, who through the TAC will jointly determine the research that is to be undertaken and the priority of various pooled fund activities.  The TAC will help develop work plans to address the research needs for the pooled fund and review progress on individual research tasks.

This pooled fund will communicate and work with outside parties to leverage research results and enhance the value of tools implemented using VisionEval.

Contributions are $25,000 per year for states and $15,000 per year by MPOs.

·         Each pooled fund partner agency will have one representative on the Pooled Fund Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and as such will provide input into tasks to be performed by the contractor. 

·         Coordination of this work will be performed through virtual quarterly meetings, although the TAC will seek opportunities to meet in person at other venues already attended by TAC members (e.g., the TRB annual meeting).

·         A charter governs participation in the pooled fund with members sharing responsibility for choosing contractor-led improvements to the tool, ensuring open-source principles are used in development of the code, and identifying ways to improve implementation

·         Participating agencies are expected to participate in TAC meetings and lend staff support on a rotating basis to complete the work of this project.  Each TAC member will have one vote in TAC decisions.

·         The pooled fund intends to obtain a waiver to allow use of 100% State Planning and Research (SP&R) Subpart A (planning) and/or Subpart B funds for this activity.