Phase I The project should begin with background research, including a scan of the practice and a literature review (see Special Note L) regarding data opportunities for transportation planning activities to achieve community-centered transportation. Additionally, the research team should develop an engagement strategy for activities in all three phases of the research. In Phase I, the research team shall engage transportation professionals to gather information on primary, secondary, and tertiary data to gain an understanding of (1) the data state DOTs already collect, possess, or analyze, (2) the data that could be accessed through data sharing, and (3) data that can be purchased from private vendors. At the end of Phase I, the research team shall prepare the Phase I Interim Report and Updated Phase II Research Plan and participate in an in-person interim meeting. Note: For engagement, NCHRP discourages survey questionnaires for this project. Phase II The research team should develop a data opportunities catalog for public-sector users that includes the following activities: (1) Identify available and new data to be developed, collected, and analyzed, but prioritize existing data collected by public and partner agencies. (2) Evaluate data sets by use and source, including assumptions, limitations, uncertainties, and value of the data. a. Flag compliance, privacy, and ethical considerations for using data. b. Investigate the data sets by the user’s capacity, resources, and scale of investigations. (3) Identify data partnering opportunities and challenges and data sharing agreements and protocols. (4) Outline communication techniques to describe findings, data limitations, and uncertainty in discussion with various audiences such as the public, elected officials, and approving agencies. The research team shall use the data opportunities catalog as the basis for creating a data framework which shall align the data opportunities with the key components of transportation planning for community-centered transportation. Components should include: (1) Forecasting and modeling, (2) Equity analyses, (3) Scenario planning, (4) Investment priorities, (5) Links to asset managers’ recommended portfolio of improvement projects, or (6) Methods for assessing and addressing the changes in community needs over time. The framework shall also demonstrate effective practices through case examples or offer recommendations for each component to close knowledge, capacity, or practice gaps using the research findings. Before concluding Phase II, the research team shall engage the community of practice to vet the research outcomes at a workshop or through targeted focus groups. The participants should include practitioners from state departments of transportation (DOTs) and their partners. The Phase II Interim Report shall include a summary of findings from the engagement activities and a draft implementation plan for the project panel to prepare an application to the NCHRP 20-44 Implementation Support program. The Updated Phase III Research Plan shall finalize the concepts for the final deliverables with an annotated outline for the guide and data framework. The research team shall participate in a virtual interim meeting to present the Phase II findings to the NCHRP. Phase III The research team shall develop the final deliverables. For the proposal, the final deliverables shall include at least: The guide and data framework due no later than 4 months before contract expiration, An executive brief to build leadership buy-in for transportation agencies to access partner data through the creation of data sharing protocols or memoranda of understanding, A PowerPoint presentation with speaker notes that summarizes the project and distinctly illustrates for a broader audience how the research can be applied, and The final implementation plan (see Special Note M). The final deliverables shall be reconsidered in the Updated Phase III Research Plan. Note: The preparation of spreadsheet-based tools, software, a toolkit, or a playbook is discouraged. The sequencing of tasks to achieve the research objective and associated deliverables (such as technical memoranda or summary reports) shall be structured in the same cadence as quarterly progress report (QPR) submissions so that technical content can be reviewed at the same time as a QPR. One month shall be reserved for review and NCHRP approval for each interim report. NCHRP approval is required to advance to the next phase. An in-person interim meeting shall follow Phase I, and a virtual interim meeting shall follow Phase II. Note: Following receipt of the draft final deliverables, the remaining 3 months shall be for NCHRP review and comment and for research agency preparation of the final deliverables.
