We address the transportation issues of Region 9 through an integrated, multidisciplinary program of research, education, and technology transfer aimed at improving the mobility of people and goods throughout the region, the IIJA/BIL Research Priority Area 1. PSR UTC supports research that addresses the unique combination of problems in the region.

PSR Research

We conduct a multi-modal, multi-disciplinary program of research in five topic areas. 

Topic 1, Technology to Increase the Efficiency of the Transportation System: New transportation technologies bring the possibility of reduced congestion, increased efficiency, and economic growth. Some examples of these promising new technologies include ridehailing, autonomous vehicles, aerial mobility, automation, and the potential for advanced sensors, robotics, and data analytics to improve the construction, maintenance, or operation of the transportation system. Bringing advanced technology to practice, in ways that can scale, requires scientific and engineering advances, business and industry readiness, and supportive public policy. Research in this topic area can include studies that (i) focus on scientific, engineering, or technical advancements that will enhance the surface transportation system, or (ii) lead to improved approaches to managing or accelerating technology adoption in transportation.

Topic 2, Data and Computational Innovations for Transportation: Transportation is being transformed by a combination of massive data resources, location-aware technologies, real-time communication, and digital mapping. This topic can include studies of advanced computation and data analysis, including artificial intelligence applied to transportation. Sample topics might include research into location-aware data as an approach to advanced travel modeling, the development of scenario planning models and digital twins that go beyond traditional travel models, and methods to manage infrastructure to increase throughput and efficiency in real-time, near real-time, or through scenario models. Research in this topic area can also analyze traditional data sources (e.g., census or household travel survey data) to address modeling or policy issues that are important in Region 9.

Topic 3, Improving the Safety of the Transportation System: Safety is one of the most pressing transportation needs in Region 9 and the nation. Research in this topic area can include projects that analyze data to identify locations where safety improvements are needed or methods that reduce collision or crash risk or severity. Research in this topic area could also include methods to increase safety and perceptions of safety on the transportation system. Research in this topic area could focus on methods to verify or increase the safety of new innovations, such as autonomous vehicles, or on development or deployment of sensors or data analysis that can increase safety. To improve safety, new innovations must be implemented. For that reason, research that supports more rapid and more sustained adoption of safety enhancing methods is also appropriate in this topic area. 

Topic 4, Efficient Goods Movement: The US goods movement system is efficient, but not nearly as efficient as it could be. A fundamental problem is that the supply chain is an interconnected system, but each part operates independently. When shocks occur in interdependent and high-velocity supply chains, disruptions can be major. Research in this topic area can develop models and methods for coordination of freight demand across modes and firms, generation and management of freight data, better management of pickups and deliveries, and increasing supply chain flexibility and resilience. Research in this topic area can also include new technologies that bring the promise of increased efficiency, including applications of automation, robotics, real-time routing, data analytics, and artificial intelligence. Research in this topic area can include studies of public policies that impact the efficiency of the goods movement system.

Topic 5, Resourcing a More Efficient Transportation System: This topic area will focus on methods that can bring needed resources – be they financial, time, or expertise – to the transportation system. Governments across Region 9 and the nation are experiencing a gap between transportation needs and available resources. Research in this topic area could examine novel methods for fiscal management – e.g., tax or pricing changes or public private partnerships – that could enhance the resources available for the transportation system. Research in this topic area could also study improvements in process, efficiency, or training that can reduce the time or cost needed to build, maintain, retrofit, or operate transportation infrastructure and systems. Methods of analysis that support efficient decision making are also appropriate in this topic area. 

 

Graduate Research Program

The research program includes a graduate research fellowship program at some partner universities. The first round of fellowships were awarded in Fall 2017.

Research Selection Process

We conduct open solicitations to select projects, issuing RFPs to solicit proposals, followed by an external peer review, with final selections based on peer review. Reviewers include academics outside of the PSR universities, public and private practitioners, and representatives of match funding sources.

PSR Region 9 RFPs

BIL/ IIJA Grant

The first Pacific Southwest Region UTC RFP was issued on September 28, 2023. Proposals were due on November 10, 2023.

The second Pacific Southwest Region UTC RFP was issued on February 6, 2024. Proposals are due on March 27, 2024.

The third Pacific Southwest Region UTC RFP was issued on February 3, 2025. Proposals are due on March 10, 2025.

FAST Act Grant

PSR issues RFPs approximately annually.

The first Pacific Southwest Region UTC RFP was issued on April 24, 2017. Proposals were due on May 24, 2017.

The second Pacific Southwest Region UTC RFP was issued on March 12, 2018. Proposals were due on April 13, 2018.

The third Pacific Southwest Region UTC RFP 2a was issued on October 15, 2018. Proposals were due on January 7, 2019.

The fourth Pacific Southwest Region UTC RFP was on February 15, 2019. Proposals were due on March 15, 2019.

The 2020-2021 Pacific Southwest Region UTC RFP 4 was issued on January 31, 2020. Proposals were due on February 28, 2020.

The 2021-2022 Pacific Southwest Region UTC RFP 5 was issued on February 1, 2021. Proposals are due on March 2, 2021. 

The 2022-2023 Pacific Southwest Region UTC RFP 6 was issued on January 31, 2022. Proposals are due on March 1, 2022. 

View the PSR Data Management Plan Here

View the PSR Data Management Plan Instructions Here

View the PSR Proposal Template here

For information on the RFP process, please contact:

Jennifer Hong
Associate Director of Administration
METRANS Transportation Consortium
University of Southern California
3518 Trousdale Pkwy
Joseph Medicine Crow Center for International and Public Affairs (DMC), 367
Los Angeles, CA 90089
(213) 821-9781
[email protected]