1. “Strategic Mobility Research: Enhancing Mobility, Stimulating Economic Activity, Saving Lives” NCHRP Project 8-36 (147):
Research Team
WSP USA
EDR Group, Inc

2. Research Objectives
Develop a comprehensive plan and proposed research agenda for a Strategic Mobility Research Program (SMRP)
Identify and prioritize research topics that help to further define mobility-related characteristics of the transportation system
Identify opportunities for piloting suggested research and product development from the SMRP

3. Research Approach Task 1: Project Management and Kickoff
Task 2: Mobility Issues Distilled from Past Research
and Programs
Task 3: Develop Stakeholder Outreach Plan
Task 4: Conduct Outreach
Task 5: Summarize Outreach Findings
Task 6: Develop and Present Research Plan

4. Methodology Literature review
Review of past strategic transportation research and of the programs that supported it
Targeted interviews
State DOTs
Metropolitan planning organization (MPOs)
City transportation officials
Transit agency officials
Transportation authorities
Professional associations
Mobility researchers

5. What is Meant by “Strategic”? (from NCHRP 8-36 (143)
Long-term or system-focused
Decision-framing, defining new goals or values.
New Zealand Transport Ministry…. “difficult issues, tasks, or situations that require concerted effort to be addressed successfully”
Issues relating to the “network” or “connected” nature of the transportation system
Strategies for “getting things done”

6. Five Areas for Strategic Mobility Research (from Literature Review)
Transportation Technology - Evolving nature of mobility technologies and the impacts they could have.
Transportation Demand - Evolving transportation user needs and ways service providers can use new technologies.
Transportation Supply - Infrastructure and services that permit the implementation of new technologies.

7. Five Areas for Strategic Mobility Research (from Literature Review), cont’d
Transportation Context Factors - How trends and societal factors could affect the way we travel and move goods (if travel is even necessary); this includes the changing socio-demographic changes likely to affect mobility use.
Transportation Impacts and Benefits - How various efficiency, equity, and social effects of new mobility technologies may be captured.

8. In addition, Three Cross-Cutting Research Themes (from Literature Review and Interviews)
• System Design and Operation
• Institutional Collaboration and Implementation
• Feasibility and Desirability

9. For example, in the Technology Thematic Area…..
Research Theme
Design and Operation
Vehicle Automation – labor displacement, risk aversion, financial constraints, market size, workforce capability
Transit System Design – automation, mobility-on-demand, passenger experience considerations
Vehicle Electrification – charging management services, traffic management tools, range prediction, navigation
Data Management – urban-scale data systems to support overall transportation system design and operation improvement
Collaboration and Implementation
Cross-sector Collaboration – private role in public services, local decision-making vis-à-vis automation impacts, vehicle charging infrastructure availability and reliability
Private Role Approaches – fare payments, labor issues, accessibility, liability, data collection/management, procurement
Intergovernmental Coordination – regulatory structures, jurisdictional boundaries, enforcement
Feasibility and Desirability
Safety & Security – software/hardware limitations, human factors, cybersecurity, emergency response, impacts on people with disabilities (e.g., quiet operations), road user safety
Public Sector Roles – new communication networks, internet of things (IoT)

10. Strategic Mobility Research Program Organized Around Three Themes
New Forms of Mobility
Changing Society and Mobility
Institutional Strategies

11. Proposed Initial Research Topics and Primary Relationship to Research Focus Areas
Research Themes
Research Topics
Evolving Mobility Options
Changing Society and Mobility
Creating Institutional Capability
Mid- to Small-sized Region Mobility Strategies X
Equity Implications of Evolving Mobility Markets:
Future Freight Mobility Needs and Issues
Automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategies and Mobility:
System Vulnerabilities
Uncertainties and Transportation Decision Making

12. Proposed Initial Research Topics and Primary Relationship to Research Focus Areas, cont’d
Research Themes
Research Topics
Evolving Mobility Options
Changing Society and Mobility
Creating Institutional Capability
New Land Use Concepts/Patterns and Mobility X
Global Trade Implications for Freight Movement:
Mobility and xxxxx (multiple public policy applications)
Modernizing Transportation Agencies
Next Generation Transit Agencies:
New Risk-based Decision-making Frameworks
Analysis Capability

13. Research Process

14. Suggested Steps for Successful Research
Key Characteristics of Effective Ideas Generation for Research Pathways
Opportunities for collaborative ideas generation, and alliances in doing so
Broadly-available “portal” for introducing research ideas into the research process
Opportunities for DOT customers/constituencies to provide input
Opportunities for research ideas focusing on DOT “contextual” issues
Taking advantage of those who are thinking more strategically on future challenges and what that might mean for society, in general, and transportation, specifically

15. Suggested Steps for Successful Research
Key Characteristics of Effective Translation Processes for Research Pathways
Opportunities for collaborative descriptions of strategic planning research project statements
Partnerships and alliances in supporting strategic planning research project statements, and leadership in so doing
Some elements of broader research impacts in the guidance provided to researchers on developing problem statements
Central portal or guidance document having centralized information on research statement submittals

16. Suggested Steps for Successful Research
Key Characteristics of Effective Selection Processes for Research Pathways
Opportunities for collaborative selection of strategic planning research project statements
Selection criteria that promote strategic planning research projects
Senior executive leadership buy-in into the value and need for strategic planning research
Planning input and influence in the selection process
Assessing the impact of strategic planning research on positioning the agency for soon-to-occur challenges

17. Phasing of the Strategic Mobility Research Program (SMRP)

18. SMRP Research Roadmap

19. Incremental Implementation Strategy for an SMRP
Cooperative Research Program-based Funding
Congress-mandated SMRP
Joint/Collaborative-based Funding
University Transportation Center-based Funding

20. Recommendations on Implementation
TRB--provide leadership in concert with AASHTO, AMPO, NARC, APTA, FHWA, and FTA in developing a joint collaborative research structure
Set-aside some CRP funding for SMRP projects
Incorporate SMRP topics either into next federal transportation the enabling language (possibly in the UTC language) or in the USDOT guidance implementing the program