Transcript NCHRP Synthesis Studies

NCHRP IDEA
Program
1993 – 2010
Presentation to SCOR by
Sandra Larson, P.E.
December 10, 2010
IDEA Presentation Content
Origins of IDEA program
 NCHRP IDEA concept
 Eligibility
 Funding
 Inventor Benefits
 IDEA Metrics
 Product Development
 Successful IDEA project examples
 Future/Lessons Learned

Origins of IDEA
First started 1988 by SHRP Exec Commneed for high-risk, high pay-off innovation
 Popular program- passed to TRB /
NCHRP in 1992. Support by Dean
Carlson and Frank Francois
 Funded jointly by FHWA / AASHTO
 Fully funded by AASHTO in 1999
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The NCHRP IDEA Concept
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Early-stage funding for promising but unproven
innovations for highway systems
Useful for state DOT research programs to have
a place to send innovative, high risk proposals
that otherwise could not be funded
Innovations that leap to next-generation
technologies and methods
Investigator- driven, high risk- high pay-off
research
Eligibility for IDEA Research Funding

Anyone is eligible
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Investigators initiate proposals
Eligible projects are of two types-
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 Type
1: Explorations that demonstrate the validity of
unproven concepts
 Type 2: Development and testing of prototypes of
proven concepts
Available Funding
Funding is up to $150k / project
 Cost sharing is highly encouraged
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Direct cash contributions
 Indirect contributions and payment in kind
 Past 5 years, cost sharing value added 56%
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6 – 8 proposals are funded annually
Product Development
IDEA
#1
Concept
IDEA
Prototype #2
Evaluation
Development
Deployment
Application
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
More than Monetary Benefits for
Inventors
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Partnership with potential users to test the
innovation
Assistance and peer review by an expert IDEA
committee
Assistance and peer review from project
technical review panel
Wide exposure through TRB's home page and
poster sessions at TRB’s Annual Meeting
Opportunity for further development through
such programs as HFL, EAR, SBIR,TIG
IDEA Metrics 1993 - 2010
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1500 proposals have been received
From these, 150 awards have been made; Thus,
only 10% are accepted for funding
133 projects have been completed
15% have graduated to commercialization and
use in practice
Another 15% have great promise and are close
to the goal
More details about these 39 successful projects
in handouts
IDEA Successes
Hybrid Composite Beam (HCB)
Lockport, IL High Road Bridge
HCB Testing at the AAR Transportation
Technology Center
MMFX Steel
Gundy County Iowa Bridge Deck
Pavement Quality Indicator
PQI 380
Fixed Automated Spray Technology
(FAST)
Anti-Icing
Hycrete- Waterproof Concrete
Drive Cam- Incident Recorder
An example of what is currently cooking
in the IDEA Program
NCHRP IDEA Project 141
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Video
Robotic Safety Markers (Dancing Barrels)
An interesting project that may be a
reality in near future
NCHRP-IDEA Project 90
Barrels video
 “Goofs”
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IDEA- Looking to the Future
Continue to look for ways to publicize the
program and attract inventors to submit
proposals
 Continue to follow product development
after project conclusion to document
success stories
 Continue to focus the program to meet the
needs of the transportation industry
 Continue to ask “Will we as the IDEA
panel recognize what we are looking for?”
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Lessons Learned
30 % of the completed IDEA projects are
successful
 Examples of IDEA successes
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 NDE/NDT
conference
 Products we are using in our agencies