OBJECTIVE

The objective of this project is to support an AASHTO-sponsored workshop and conference that brings together states, federal agencies, and others to produce a work plan identifying short-term and long-term transportation security research efforts.

The process is to build upon a joint TRB/AASHTO survey of state transportation agencies. The survey and state-by-state follow-up identified initial interest in security research. The workshop will refine the research problem statements, and the conference will establish the priority. The resulting problem statements will be available for the states, individually and cooperatively, and the federal government, to sponsor.

The first event to support is the AASHTO Workshop on Security Research Priorities. It will be held Friday, March 29, 2002, in Los Angeles, California. This workshop is for state research providers. Two research providers will be nominated by each state transportation agency to participate in a one-day Security Summit and AASHTO Workshop. The product will be initial scopes of work for the security research priorities identified by survey of state transportation agencies. The scopes of work will include a brief description, potential product, whether the research is anticipated as short-term or long-term, and range of cost.

The second event to support is the AASHTO Conference on National Security Research. It will be held Tuesday, April 23, 2002, at the State Highway Administration Hanover Complex, Baltimore, Maryland. This conference is for state research sponsors. Each State Transportation Agency will be invited to send two persons from their agency to review the research priorities identified by the states, and the initial scopes of work from the workshop in California. The product is national security research priorities for State Transportation Agencies. Conference attendees will take the individual scopes of work and develop a prioritized list of research projects considered by the State DOTs to be most important. The priority list from projects considered most to least important will include the final scopes of work. In response to this product, states will be able to act individually, together, and in cooperation with our transportation partners. We will be better able to allocate current and subsequent year research resources in support of the commonly defined set of research priorities. The state research priorities will offer an opportunity for dialogue and cooperation with federal transportation research efforts. On the afternoon of April 22, Maryland DOT has arranged for Conference participants to visit the Virginia DOT Traffic Management Center near the Pentagon.

TASKS

Task 1. Develop the agenda, prepare support materials, and facilitate the workshop in Los Angeles and the conference in Baltimore. The agenda will be cooperatively developed with the AASHTO Task Force on Transportation Security and the state transportation host agency. "Support materials" include invitations to and handouts for the events. "Facilitate" includes helping define the process, securing food and space for the events as required for the process to succeed, and leading the events to help ensure effective results.

Task 2. Summarize the Workshop results for use during the conference. "Summarize" includes working with Task Force and host agency representatives after the Workshop to review the results for conference presentation.

Task 3. Summarize the Conference results for implementation. Develop a database that will permit tracking state and federal initiatives to address the security research priorities, to help ensure communication and coordination. The database should be capable of tracking ongoing transportation security research, development and deployment.

Task 4. Document the overall security research priority process. Recommend refinement for potential ongoing security needs assessment, research priority, and performance measurement.

Status: This project produced recommendations to AASHTO for 12 research projects in FY 2003. Preliminary project statements developed through a national research workshop in Los Angeles (March 2002) were prioritized during a national forum in Baltimore (April 2002). The prioritized recommendations were subsequently considered by AASHTO's Security Task Force in forming the FY 2003 NCHRP Security Research Program and in making arrangements to follow up with interested parties to carry out the slate of recommended projects.

The contractor's Phase I report was provided to AASHTO in April 2002, and is available through the AASHTO web site at https://security.transportation.org/?siteid=65&pageid=1363. A Phase II workshop was held in January 2003, with a Phase II report received in March 2003. Research recommendations generated under the Phase II workshop were reviewed by the AASHTO Transportation Security Task Force in April 2003, and were reviewed by Panel 20-59 in June 2003.

Baltimore Forum Research Statements (PDF - 41K) https://security.transportation.org/sites/security/docs/Baltimore_Research%20_42502.pdf
These research statements were the top priorities of a forum of State transportation agencies in Baltimore in April 2002.