Research Implementation – Outcomes from the EU/US Symposium

E.U. – U.S. Joint Research Symposium Series - Symposium #2: Research Implementation Dr. Kevin Womack Associate Administrator for Research and Technology Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research & Technology

U.S. Department of Transportation July 2014

Background • Implementing Arrangement with European Commission (DG-RTD) signed in Feb 2013 • Four annual E.U. – U.S. research symposia planned (2013 – 2016) in partnership with European Commission and TRB • Symposia series designed to facilitate transatlantic research collaboration, identify knowledge gaps, and potential future joint research opportunities • First symposium hosted by the U.S. in May 2013: “City Logistics Research – a Transatlantic Perspective”

2014 Symposium • Topic: Research Implementation • Hosted by the European Commission in La Defense (Paris), France, on April 10-11, 2014 • 50 experts from academia, industry, and government invited to attend the two-day symposium (25 U.S., 25 E.U.) • Two white papers developed to inform symposium discussions: – ‘Transportation research implementation in the European Union and the United States Observations and Working Hypotheses’ – ‘Lessons learned from case studies of successful research implementation in Europe and the United States’ 3

Agenda •

DAY 1 Session 1: Setting the Scene

DAY 2 •

– White paper summaries – Keynote speech – Terry HILL, Arup

• •

Breakout session 1: Stakeholder perspectives on implementation Session 2: Institutional incentives and disincentives to successful implementation – Ann BRACH, SHRP2 – Steve PHILLIPS, Sec. General CEDR – Michael TRENTACOSTE (FHWA, Director TFHRC) – Liam BRESLIN, European Commission

•

Session 3: Framing and conducting research to insure implementation – Jose VIEGAS (Sec.General ITF) – Stephen ANDRLE (Dep. Director SHRP 2); – Horst SCHULZE (German Federal Highway Research Institute - BASt);

Session 4: Using research results in effective ways – – – –

• •

Luis López RUIZ (Director of Engineering and Innovation ADIF) Allen BIEHLER (Carnegie Mellon University) Chris MARTIN (Robert Bosch Corporate Research) Natalia de ESTEVAN (Transport for London)

Breakout session 2: Identifying the success factors Session 5: From principles to practice – Co-Chairs: Marit BRANDTSEGG & William MILLAR – Reports from Breakout Session 2 – Conclusive keynote address: Kirk STEUDLE (TRB Executive Committee Chair); – Concluding observations

4

Issues • Two major obstacles in the research implementation process: – “Valley of death” between research completion and research implementation – Tracking research implementation and understanding its impacts – capturing and articulating Return on Investment

• Institutional barriers to effective research implementation (e.g. legislative, procurement, and Intellectual Property processes) • Lack of ability to manage “risk” • Three primary stakeholder groups tend to be isolated or “siloed” (researchers, funders, end users) • Fragmented nature of the U.S. transportation research universe (compared to a more structured framework approach in the E.U.) • Lack of incentives within academia to prioritize research implementation • Lack of investment in basic and advanced research – how does this fit in the research implementation process? 5

Recommendations • Establish and maintain strong partnerships between stakeholder groups (academia, funders, end users) – Establish “culture of innovation”, beginning with leadership – Identify and engage end users throughout the research process, not just at the end – Provide incentives to the academic community to support research implementation

• Implement a systematic, long term approach to research funding and implementation that supports basic, advanced, and applied research • Pursue legislative, policy, IP, and procurement perform to remove the institutional barriers to effective research implementation • Delegate responsibility for research implementation to specific organizations, or establish such organizations if they don’t already exist • Provide resources to track research implementation and impacts • Identify best practice models and facilitate their adoption elsewhere – Every Day Counts, SHRP2, DARPA, EC Framework Programs, IDEA, etc 6

Next Steps • Conference proceedings document to be produced later this year – disseminate to transportation community and obtain feedback • Further formal discussion at TRB Annual Meeting 2015, building consensus for future action items • Assess the need for a “primer” on research implementation – objectives, content, audience • Begin implementing action items in 2015

7

Questions / Comments? Dr. Kevin Womack Associate Administrator for Research and Technology Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research & Technology

U.S. Department of Transportation July 2014