FY2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

Background
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is seeking a competitively-selected cooperative agreement with an existing University Transportation Center (UTC) to develop an Advanced Bridge Technology Clearinghouse (ABTC), as set forth in House Appropriations Committee Report #117-99 accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022. The ABTC program aims to advance new and advanced transportation infrastructure techniques and materials for new innovations in bridge technology, providing a platform for bridge and structure stakeholders to find technically robust and unbiased information and reports that evaluate innovations while facilitating the acceptance and implementation of new bridge and structure materials and technologies. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R) of the U.S. Department of Transportation will manage the ABTC project.

Grant Details
The prospective recipient shall submit a technical, management, and cost proposal, with cost matching of at least 50% of total project cost, to achieve tasks including scanning for new and advanced bridge approaches and technologies, evaluating these approaches and technologies, making them available to the public on a technologically-advanced bridge clearinghouse platform, facilitating their adoption, evaluating recipient success in transitioning new materials and other bridge approaches to practice.

The work performed must be in conformity with the goals of the Administration and the US DOT related to safety, climate change, and sustainability. The proposal shall include a milestone chart showing the beginning and ending periods of individual tasks and sub-tasks, as well as proposed meeting schedules and submission of deliverables.

Eligibility Requirements
The eligible applicant must be a current DOT-funded University Transportation Center (UTC) with capabilities in research and technology transfer related to bridge materials, approaches, and technologies. Only those UTCs currently funded by U.S. DOT under the provisions of the Infrastructure Improvements and Jobs Act (IIJA) are eligible to submit proposals.

The UTC must have demonstrable knowledge and experience performing responsibilities including scanning for new and advanced bridge approaches and technologies, evaluating these approaches and technologies, making them available to the public on the bridge clearinghouse, facilitating their adoption, and evaluating ABTC success in transitioning new materials to practice.

Applicants are required to provide matching funds of at least 50% of the total eligible project costs.

Period of Performance
The duration of the cooperative agreement is no longer than 60 months with a proposed program completion period within 60 months or less.

Grant Value
$5 million is available for the ABTC program under Assistance Listing Number 20.947 for a project spanning a five-year duration. This entire funding amount will be awarded on a competitive basis to a single UTC meeting the requirements set forth in this Notice of Funding Opportunity.

Place of Performance
The recipient will provide professional services for this project supported by a team consisting of one or more entities from academic, industrial, commercial, non-profit or for-profit organizations.