Stakeholder Involvement
One of the most important goals of this initiative is to establish a partnership with a private consortium consisting of a wide range of key stakeholders from light, commercial, and transit vehicle markets that will become deeply involved and develop new approaches to carry out the program; this partnership is essential to accelerating deployment of integrated safety systems in the U.S. vehicle fleet.
The IVBSS Team currently consists of representatives from NHTSA, FHWA (ITS Joint Program Office), FTA, FMCSA, NIST, and the Volpe Center. ITS America is coordinating private sector input to the IVBSS Program through public meetings and through its Automotive, Telecommunications, and Consumer Electronics (ATCE) Forum.
A formal partnership will be initiated through a Request for Applications (RFA) to be issued in the spring of 2005; this RFA will encompass all the major activities of the Program and will be awarded to a consortium of private companies, academic and university research organizations and others who have experience in managing such contracts.
In addition to the above activities, a Public Meeting and Workshop was held on September 21, 2004 in Novi, MI to present the Program Plan and to obtain input from stakeholders. Notice of the meeting and copies of the Program Plan were made available through a Federal Register Notice published on August 25, 2004.
Roles and Responsibilities
Manufacturers ultimately will develop and deploy IVBSS safety systems in standard vehicle product lines, and the motor vehicle industry is a key IVBSS partner. Fleet operators and local public transportation agencies are important stakeholders and partners, and will play a vital role in deployment IVBSS services.
Federal Government roles and responsibilities include:
- Defining performance requirements;
- Managing the system development process;
- Evaluating system effectiveness; and
- Encouraging the market availability of effective integrated safety systems and services once they have been developed.
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