*************************************************************************************************************** *************************************************************************************************************** ONLY "SPR SUBPART A" FUNDS ARE APPROVED FOR THE WAIVER TO USE 100% FEDERAL-AID FUNDS WITHOUT THE STATE MATCH - "SPR SUBPART B" FUNDS WERE NOT APPROVED FOR THE MATCH WAIVER. Although the solicitation for this pooled fund project was closed on June 16, 2017, the project will continue to accept new partners. In order to participate, please contact Jeremy Raw (jeremy.raw@dot.gov, 202-366-0986) for instructions. *************************************************************************************************************** *************************************************************************************************************** Using strategic tools for long range performance-based planning is becoming increasingly valuable as a means to help state and metropolitan area governments select policies and actions 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 in order to equip decision makers and the public with a clearer understanding of possible outcomes. In order to support these benefits, strategic models must not only rapidly generate results for a diverse range of scenarios, but they must also be amenable to revision as new phenomena such as autonomous vehicles emerge. Strategic models also need to be augmented frequently with new assumptions about future outcomes, as well as new responses that decision makers may wish to make. A number of agencies have found value in the RSPM and RPAT strategic models that evolved from the GreenSTEP system developed by Oregon DOT using the R programming system. These models, along with others that have been separately developed at other agencies from the GreenSTEP system, enhance the abilities of planners, advocates, the public, and decision makers to reason about complex systems, and to support sound decisions in response to new challenges whose full impact is still unclear. However, the GreenSTEP “family” of models has proved inflexible and difficult to enhance in order to address new planning issues and new responses. An effort has been underway for two years with the sponsorship of the SHRP 2 program, FHWA and AASHTO, and with the participation of Oregon, to move these models to a new open-source framework (VisionEval). VisionEval will address some of the technical challenges with these models, and will enable rapid and efficient development of new strategic models and enhancements that can be shared across models. This 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. The pooled fund will allow participating agencies to realize an economy of scale by engaging in joint development and support activities for new strategic modeling tools, thus ensuring that each agency has timely access to usable tools that will support their emerging planning needs.

The “Collaborative Development of New Strategic Planning Models” pooled fund will make strategic tools affordably available to pooled fund members. The pooled fund will support efficient investment in new and upgraded tools, as public funds are not spent doing something more than once, and innovations can be efficiently built on the basis of existing working tools. The pooled fund will allow participating agencies to have access to: • Working models that can assess new challenges such as shared mobility or automated vehicles; • Tools to set up and run these models very rapidly for a large number of policy and scenario combinations; • Web-based interactive visualization tools to display results; • Cost-effective technical support for the implementation, customization and application of these tools to each agency’s needs; and • Credible, maintained, documented tools adhering to clear standards and development guidelines, with thorough quality control. • A community of active users and developers, 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 and 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 models that could be addressed through the pooled fund include (but are not limited to) connected and automated vehicles, sustainability, safety, roadway reliability benefits, managed lanes, active transportation, economic benefits, novel modes, or shared mobility. Development efforts and related support activities will be jointly agreed upon by the pooled fund members. The pooled fund will be led and administered by FHWA with active participation from member State and Local agencies, who will jointly determine the research that is to be undertaken, and the priority of various pooled fund activities. 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. FHWA’s Office of Planning (HEPP) will manage the pooled fund, and with oversight and approval of the TAC, will develop work plans to address the TAC’s research needs, manage research contracting, and oversee individual research tasks agreed upon by the TAC. This pooled fund will communicate and work with outside parties in order to leverage research results and enhance the value of tools implemented using VisionEval.

• For State transportation agencies, a minimum contribution of $25,000 per State per year for a 3-year period, or a total of $75,000 per State is suggested. • For Metropolitan Planning Organizations or other planning agencies, a minimum contribution of $15,000 per State per year for a 3-year period, or a total of $45,000 per agency is suggested. • In addition, FHWA has committed $30,000 per year over the 3 years of the project for a total of $90,000, plus in-kind support for management of the pooled fund as lead agency. • The pooled fund has obtained a waiver to allow use of 100% State Planning and Research (SP&R) Part A Funds for this activity. • Other contribution levels may be possible. Please contact Jeremy Raw at FHWA HEPP for alternatives. Contact information below. If you have any questions related to this pooled fund, please contact Jeremy Raw at Jeremy.raw@dot.gov or 202-986-0986.