Data
Project Information
The database field structure has been developed to provide a basic summary of each project. This information includes the project title, a short description of the project (abstract), the program through which it is funded, its status (active or completed), start and end dates, and the amount of funding allocated to the project. Only active projects and projects completed after September 30, 2008 (FY2009 or later) are eligible to be include in the database.
Also included are the details of the organizations that sponsor, manage, and conduct the research (the "performing organization"), and the points of contact within each of these organizations. An important distinction is made between the "sponsoring organization" and the "managing organization"; the sponsor is the USDOT agency that is the source of funding for the project, while the manager is the organization that manages the project. In most cases, the project is sponsored and managed by the same USDOT agency. However, in some cases the organization managing the research is different from the sponsoring agency. For example, there are various Cooperative Research programs that are sponsored by USDOT agencies but managed by the Transportation Research Board. There is also a "co-sponsor" field, so that co-sponsoring organization(s) names can be included for projects that have more than one funding source.
Two fields are allocated to providing active links to further information. The "Project Link" field provides any existing online links to project information, usually located on manager or performer websites. An additional objective of the database is to link completed project records with the research products that they funded. This process has been initiated and some records now include links to final reports and other project deliverables (see the "Links to Project Report(s)" field). Where available, details of documented project outcomes or "real world" impacts (commercialization, patents, rulemaking activities, new technologies, etc) resulting from completed projects have also been provided within individual project records (see the "Summary of Project Outcomes" field). The process of increasing the coverage of final research products and project outcomes across the database as a whole will continue throughout 2012.
The complete database field structure is provided in the table below:
Field |
Description |
Project Title |
Name of the project |
Program |
Name of the research program (if any) to which the project belongs |
Sub-Program |
Name of the research sub-program (if any) to which the project belongs |
Abstract |
Brief narrative describing the project |
Project Link |
Online project link (if available) |
Sponsor Organization |
USDOT operating administration (OA) funding source |
Managing Organization |
Organization responsible for managing/administering the project |
Manager Address |
Office / Address of managing organization |
Manager Point of Contact |
Name of Managing Organization point of contact |
Manager Phone Number |
Phone number of the project manager |
Manager Fax Number |
Fax number of the project manager |
Manager E-Mail |
E-mail address of the project manager contact |
Co-Sponsor(s) |
Name(s) of co-sponsoring organization(s) |
Performer Organization |
Name of the organization performing/conducting the research project |
Performer Address |
Address for the performing organization |
Performer Point of Contact |
Name of the Performing Organization point of contact |
Performer Contact Phone Number |
Phone number of the Performing Organization point of contact |
Performer Contact Fax Number |
Fax number of the Performing Organization point of contact |
Performer Contact E-Mail |
E-mail address of the Performing Organization point of contact |
Project Status |
Status of the project (active/completed/) |
Project Start Date |
Date project initiated |
Project End Date |
Date project completed (or scheduled completion date if still active) |
Project Funding |
Total project funding amount |
Links to Project Reports |
Active online links to final reports and/or other project deliverables |
Summary of Project Outcomes |
Summarizes any “real world” impacts of the project (e,g. any impacts on policy, rulemaking, patents, technology transfer outputs, commercialization, etc.) |
Data Sources
The project records provided in the USDOT Research Hub come from a variety of sources. These sources are summarized in the table below for each of the USDOT agencies represented in the database. Some project records are obtained from existing online databases, like the Transportation Research Board's Research in Progress (RiP) database, while other project records are obtained from internal data sources within USDOT. Field coverage is highly variable across the database as a whole due to the diverse range of purposes served by the original source databases. Field coverage will be improved over time as future versions of the USDOT Research Hub are released. Links to online data sources are also provided, where available, below.
Sponsor |
Manager |
Program |
Data Source(s) |
FHWA |
FHWA |
Exploratory Advanced Research |
|
FHWA |
TRB |
Strategic Highway |
|
FHWA |
FHWA |
Surface |
|
FAA |
FAA |
Aviation Grants |
|
FAA |
TRB |
Airport Cooperative |
|
FAA |
FAA |
Various |
|
FAA |
FAA |
Commercial Space |
|
FAA |
FAA |
Energy and Environment |
|
FAA |
FAA |
Centers of Excellence |
|
FMCSA |
FMCSA |
Research and |
|
FRA |
FRA |
Railroad Research and Development |
|
FTA |
FTA |
National Research Program |
|
FTA |
FTA |
National Fuel Cell |
|
FTA |
TRB |
Transit Cooperative |
|
FTA |
RITA |
University |
|
NHTSA |
NHTSA |
Research and Analysis |
|
PHMSA |
PHMSA |
Pipeline Safety |
|
PHMSA |
TRB |
Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program |
|
RITA |
TRB |
National Cooperative Freight Research Program |
|
RITA |
RITA |
Advanced Research |
|
RITA |
RITA |
University |
|
RITA |
RITA |
Intelligent Transportation Systems |
|
OST |
OST |
Transportation, Planning, Research, and Development |
|
MARAD |
MARAD |
Research & Development |
|
* Note that the University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program is divided into two sections, RITA-sponsored and FTA-sponsored. For a full explanation, click here.