This synthesis will be of interest to state department of transportation (DOT) research administrators and mid- to upper-level research managers; DOT research staff and staff from design, construction and maintenance who provide input to the research process; and university and private industry researchers. The synthesis describes the state of the practice for managing contract research programs. Data presented were obtained from a review of the literature, a survey of state DOTs, and interviews of selected state DOT, Federal Highway Administration, Transportation Research Board, and university professionals. This report describes all aspects of the research process, from defining the problem and selecting a program, through contract monitoring, to implementation. Successful practices are identified and case studies, representing programs of various sizes, are presented.  The report for this topic can be purchased at https://www.trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=3326