NJ-2022-018

PURPOSE: The National Transit Institute (NTI) is a statutory training and education program authorized by Federal Public Transportation Law (49 U.S.C. 5314 (c)). Under the FAST Act (P.L. 114-94), NTI was authorized at $5.0 million per year from FFY16-FFY20. Stating that in cooperating with the Federal Transit Administration, state transportation departments, public transportation authorities, and national and international entities, the institute shall develop and conduct training and education programs for federal, state, and local transportation employees, United States citizens, and foreign nationals engaged or to be engaged in government-aid public transportation work.

NTI is housed at and administered by Rutgers University. The NTI mission statement is as follows: The National Transit Institute's mission is to provide training and education services in support of public transportation and the quality of life in the United States. We identify industry needs. We promote, develop, and deliver high-quality programs and materials through cooperative partnerships with industry, government institutions, and associations. We serve as a catalyst for enhancing skills and performance in public transportation.

THIS STATEMENT OF WORK WILL COVER JULY 1, 2024, TO JUNE 30, 2029, EXPENDING FY2021 FEDERAL FUNDING.

ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: NTI program goals are:

1) To expand the national delivery of the NTI training program and support of FTA staff development. NTI will develop truncated or survey course versions to deliver at annual transit state association conferences (there are approximately 30 state transit associations). Additionally, NTI will deliver select course offerings exclusively for FTA staff and in conjunction with USDOT training staff, develop on-boarding curriculum and materials for new FTA staff and transit agency employees.

2) To establish formal partnerships with national transit and transportation associations. In an effort to grow its industry reach, NTI will enter into formal MOU agreements with national organizations that have unique expertise and constituencies related to public transportation.

3) To create and administer a suite of NTI instructor development initiatives. To enhance the impact and efficiency of NTI instructors, NTI will deliver a year-round instructor development and training program and institute an instructor evaluation and feedback platform.

4) To design and manage an NTI employee development program. To strengthen the skills and effectiveness of NTI staff in performing their duties, NTI will design an employee development program that will allow staff to receive external training, join relevant professional associations, and travel to participate in various professional development conferences/seminars.

5) To engage in special projects that advance the NTI mission. Provide assistance and support to FTA and the public transportation industry as a strategic workforce partner through special projects, programs, and studies. Projects may also include one-time internal organizational initiatives.

To measure the program's efficiency and effectiveness, performance indicators for each goal will be tracked and analyzed. The indicators are listed in each section of the statement of work.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES:

NTI Program Goal #1 - The expected outcomes of NTI Program Goal #1 are the delivery of at least (35) on-site survey courses at state transit association conferences per year and the delivery of at least (25) virtual courses to Federal Transit Administration staff per year. In addition, NTI instructors will obtain an average instructor rating of 5.0 or better for state transit association courses and an average instructor rating of 5.0 or better for Federal Transit Administration courses.

NTI Program Goal #2 - The expected outcome of NTI Program Goal #2 is that NTI and MOU partner organizations will obtain a satisfactory annual performance review for each year of the period of performance.

NTI Program Goal #3 - The expected outcomes of NTI Program Goal #3 are that NTI instructors will obtain an annual average instructor evaluation score (from course participants) of at least 5.0 for all courses delivered throughout the year. NTI instructors will also obtain a rating of at least satisfactory (out of poor, improving, satisfactory, or excellent) on annual instructor evaluations (performed by NTI leadership).

NTI Program Goal #4 - The expected outcome of NTI Program Goal #4 is that all NTI staff will obtain a rating of meets standards (aligned staff - all categories) or a score of medium threshold (non-aligned staff - all categories) on annual performance reviews.

NTI Program Goal #5 - The expected outcome of NTI Program Goal #5 is that NTI will provide summary reports and concept papers to FTA related to special projects, studies, or proposed new educational events (i.e., course, seminar, webinar, etc.).

INTENDED BENEFICIARIES:

The National Transit Institute (NTI) develops and provides classroom-style and virtual courses and training events to enhance the skills and capacity of staff persons at transit agencies, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), state DOTs, and other transit operators; transit service planning; and transit funding entities.

SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES:

NTI subrecipients include firms and sole proprietor consulting companies that serve as transit-related subject matter experts. These subrecipients serve as course content developers and course instructors.

The State University Of New Jersey Rutgers

20.531 - Technical Assistance and Workforce Development

Federal Transit Administration (FTA) [DOT]

FTA Office of Budget and Policy [DOT - FTA]

New Jersey United States

State-Wide

None