• A Customer Driven Research Program

The FHWA has embraced the concept of environmental research that is outcome-oriented and responsive to changing customer needs. As a result, the Agency funds and carries out a wide variety of research, spanning the analytical, technical, policy, and planning arenas. The ERP facilitates environmentally sensitive and sound transportation planning and decisionmaking at the State and local levels by: 1) developing improved analytical approaches to understanding and addressing environmental impacts; 2) using technology transfer to communicate information and put tools in place for States and MPOs; 3) analyzing and developing policy options on emerging issues; and, 4) enhancing FHWA training and communications programs.

• Partnerships and Collaboration

The FHWA takes its environmental stewardship role seriously and realizes that only by working in partnership with its many stakeholder groups will the goal of environmentally sound investment decisions be achieved. Thus, over the past several years, the FHWA has worked hard to nurture existing partnerships and build new ones. For example, in developing its Strategic Plan for Environmental Research 1998-2003, the FHWA sought out and received input from stakeholder groups, including States, academic institutions, MPOs, environmental advocacy groups, and others. The insights and suggestions of these stakeholders helped shape the strategic plan and have fostered closer coordination of the research program with key stakeholder groups. The FHWA has also made special efforts to include Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Institutions of Higher Education in the research program. The ERP is designed to ensure that research efforts are coordinated, that the financial resources of the FHWA are used wisely, and that research products complement other ongoing efforts, either at the FHWA or in partnership with its stakeholders. Other activities are supported by the ERP, including those of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program.

• Transportation Environmental Research Program (TERP)

The FHWA collaborates with other Federal agencies, State and local transportation and environmental agencies, academic institutions, and private organizations to conduct or support research. It also manages programs and activities that encourage such collaboration. One such program is the Transportation Environmental Research Program (TERP), which focuses on colleges and universities to encourage environmental research related to transportation.

Through the TERP, the FHWA hopes to better understand the complex relationships between transportation and the environment. A major benefit of the TERP is the opportunity it creates for students and faculty at colleges and universities to directly participate in the FHWA research program and to contribute by providing solutions to our research needs. The TERP also helps us increase the pool of potential researchers in the fields of transportation and environment so that we can continue to support environmentally sound decisions throughout all phases of highway development.