APPENDIX D

FHWA EAR Program Principal Investigator Survey

On the behalf of the Transportation Research Board, RTI International is conducting evaluation of the Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) program. As part of our evaluation study, we kindly ask for your time to share with us your experiences with the program and the outcomes of the research conducted as part of your EAR project(s) titled: "[contact('division')]".

Your feedback is very important to the Federal Highway Administration and the Transportation Research Board. Your response will help them understand better how support for exploratory research helps FHWA address critical future challenges in transportation research and development pertaining to safety, infrastructure and materials, and connected highways.

Transportation Research Focus prior to the EAR Funding

• 1) At the time of your submission for the EAR funding opportunity (first if more than one), was your lab/your research portfolio primarily focused on research related to transportation?
  • ( ) Yes, my/my lab’s research was primarily related to transportation
  • ( ) My research/lab conducted some studies on topics related to transportation, but it was not a primary focus
  • ( ) No, this is the first time my research/lab conducted studies on topics related to transportation
• 2) How many years of transportation related research experience did you have at the time of your award?
  • ( ) Less than 1
  • ( ) 1 to 5
  • ( ) 6 to 10
  • ( ) 11 to 15
  • ( ) 16 to 20
  • ( ) More than 20

• 3) What was the approximate proportion of your/your lab source of funding before and after the EAR award (first award if more than one)?

EAR Project Implementation and Experience

• 4) Which of the following types of organizations were involved in your project as partners (including co-funders and research partners, as well as informal or in-kind support)?
  • [ ] Academic partner
  • [ ] Industry partner
  • [ ] State or regional transportation authority
  • [ ] Other (please specify): ___________________________________________________
  • [ ] My project did not have any partners
• 5) Please describe the role of your corporate partner in the EAR project and whether they provided any resources (including funds, equipment, personnel etc.).
  ________________________________________________________________________
• 6) Please describe the role for your state or regional transportation authority partner in the EAR project and whether they provided any resources (including funds, equipment, etc.).
  ________________________________________________________________________
• 7) Did the EAR funding support any work performed by junior research staff including undergraduate, graduate, or postdoctoral researchers?
  • ( ) Yes
  • ( ) No
• 8) How many early-career researchers from the following categories did the EAR funding support?_________________________________________________________________
• 9) How many of these early-career researchers continued working in the area of transportation in full or partial capacity after the end of their EAR research experience?
  ________________________________________________________________________

• 10) Thinking back about your experience with the EAR program, how effective were the following components in evaluating and supporting your research and its transition?

• 11) Please describe your experience with the Information Technology (IT) or Technology Readiness Level (TRL) assessment development and its application in your research transition process, if any.
  ________________________________________________________________________
• 12) Please describe your experience with the Communication Plan development and its application in your research transition process, if any.
  ________________________________________________________________________

EAR Project Outputs

• 13) Please select direct outputs resulted from your EAR-funded research and how were they disseminated, if at all. Please select all that apply.

• 14) Please list publications related to your EAR-funded research project(s), including the title, the year, and the journal of the publication. Alternatively, please provide the DOI of such publications.
  ________________________________________________________________________
• 15) Please list the name(s) and year(s) of the conference(s) in which you presented your EAR-funded research findings or outputs.
  ________________________________________________________________________

• 16) Please list the name(s) of the open-source platform(s) where you disseminated your EAR-funded research findings or outputs.
  ________________________________________________________________________
• 17) Thinking about a potential research uptake of your EAR-funded research, please indicate which type of stakeholders have used or most likely to use findings or outputs of your research. Examples of the uptake can range from using research findings to inform decision making process to committing additional resources for follow-on research.

• 18) Please specify how your research findings or outputs have been utilized by other researchers and stakeholders.
  ________________________________________________________________________
• 19) May we contact you to get more information about the follow-on research or utilization, so that we might investigate that further?
  • ( ) Yes
  • ( ) No

EAR Project Outcomes and Influences

• 20) After or during the EAR project, what happened to your involvement in research related to your EAR project? Please select all that apply.
  • [ ] I changed focus of my EAR-related research to area outside of transportation
  • [ ] I applied for further funding in my EAR-related research area, but was not funded
  • [ ] I received funding to continue my EAR-related research in transportation area
  • [ ] I filed for intellectual property (IP) protection for EAR-related research for transportation-related use
  • [ ] Other - Write In: _______________________________________________________
• 21) If possible, please specify the funding source and year of each proposal you submitted but were not awarded.

• 22) If possible, please specify the funding source(s) and year(s) of your additional funding.

• 23) What form of Intellectual Property protection did you file for?
  • [ ] Patent
  • [ ] Copyright
  • [ ] Trademark
  • [ ] Other (please specify): ___________________________________________________
• 24) Please list the patent application number(s) and the associated inventor(s) named on each application.
  Application number: _______________________________________________________
  Inventor(s): ______________________________________________________________
• 25) What additional outcomes or impacts resulted from your work under the EAR Program, if any? Please select all that apply.

• 26) Would you have pursued your EAR research project(s) in the absence of the EAR program support? In other words, did you have an alternative source of funding to support your EAR-funded project?
  • ( ) Yes
  • ( ) No
  • ( ) Other - Please specify: ___________________________________________________

Overall Evaluation

• 27) What were the Most and Least Helpful parts of the program?
  ________________________________________________________________________
• 28) What is the unique role the EAR program played in your research and career overall?
  ________________________________________________________________________
• 29) Do you have any recommendations for improving the program?
  ________________________________________________________________________
  
  

Thank You!

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