National Institute for Transportation and Communities

Are you a current NITC researcher or interested in applying for a NITC grant?

This is the resource page for NITC researchers and those interested in NITC's grant opportunities. Below, you will find key information and resources needed to navigate your grant award or to get ready to apply for one of NITC's grants.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

To apply to one of our grant cycles, Principal Investigators (PIs) have to be a member of our consortium that include the Portland State University, Oregon Insitute of Technology, University of Arizona, University of Oregon, University of Texas at Arlington, and the University of Utah. Please use the navigation pane on the left to explore the various grants NITC offers, including their timelines.

If you are funded, NITC requires PIs to comply with all grant requirements as this ensures the integrity of the project throughout the grant cycle and allows NITC to meet all of its federal reporting requirements of its funder, U.S. DOT. Successful adherence to grant obligations and past performance on budget, schedule, and project requirements will be used as a review criterion for future proposals submitted by PIs.

Please read the Principal Investigators' Handbook (PDF) (updated Sept 2018) prior to embarking on your project to better understand the requirements as well as the benefits you gain from being funded and supported by NITC.

MATCH FUNDING

General Research grants require a 1:1.2 (120%) match, and all other grants require a 1:1 (100%) match. It is the responsibility the PI's university to document and report all match.

• Match FAQ (PDF) (updated April 2018)
• Sample Match Commitment Letter_InKind (doc) (NEW July 2018)
• Sample Match Commitment Letter_Cash (doc) (NEW July 2018)
• Cost Share Certification Form (doc) (revised Sept 2018)
• Rebudget Request (doc) (revised November 2018)

PROGRESS REPORTS

NITC is performance driven and information provided in the progress reports are used as performance measures to document project and program progress. These measures are used to support the bi-annual reporting requirements of NITC to its federal funder, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R) at the U.S. Department of Transportation.

• PIs are responsible for submitting bi-annual progress reports using NITC's project management system (PPMS) on each of their projects. 
• Progress reports are due on March 30 and September 30 during each calendar year as long as the project is active.
• Investigators must show reportable progress throughout the life of a project.
• A project is considered complete after the final report has been approved by NITC and a final progress report has been submitted via PPMS. 
• NITC will take project progress and progress report completion into consideration before awarding subsequent grants to PIs. 
• PIs with projects that are significantly delayed may be barred from competing in NITC grant competitions until grant requirements are met.

The NITC program strongly encourages communicating the results of research projects at national conferences and in refereed journals. Researchers should provide copies of all papers submitted to conferences or journals to NITC, and include appropriate attribution to NITC. Seminars, symposia, distance learning classes and any education or technology transfer activities undertaken with NITC support requires collection of metrics on numbers of transportation professionals attending. Video or streaming web archives that can be posted on the NITC web site are welcome. Please add activities and metrics to your progress report even if they occur AFTER you project is complete.

For questions about progress reports and other grant requirements, please contact the Research Program Administrator (asktrec@pdx.edu).

NO-COST EXTENSION

No-cost extensions are due no later than 1 month prior to the end date of a project and are not to exceed 6 months from the date of the project award (see award letter date). Investigators must clearly justify the need for a no-cost extension in the context of their research plan and the work completed so far.

To submit a request:

1. Log into PPMS
2. Update your progress report
3. Complete the online No-Cost Extension form (don't forget to click Submit)
4. Print the form as a PDF
5. Email the form to NITC's Research Program Administrator (asktrec@pdx.edu)

Once the request is approved, PSU PIs will be notified by their DRA. PIs from partner institutions will receive an email from PSU's financial office once an ammended task order is issued to the institution. 

Need additional help? Download these Instructions (PDF). 

FINAL REPORTS

Researchers are required to submit a final report summarizing of research activities and findings, including educational and technology transfer activities. The final report serves as the technical documentation of the research and project undertaken. 

Draft final report requirements & process:

• Should conform to NITC template style guidelines and cover page specifications.
• Must be submitted 30 days prior to the official end date of the project.
• Will be peer-reviewed and copy-edited during a two-month review process.
• Researchers are responsible for incorporating peer-review comments into the final report within 30 days (firm) after receiving the peer reviews.

Relevant Documents:

• NITC Final Report Template (doc) (updated December 2018)
• Cover page specifications (doc) (updated January 2017)
• Education Report Requirements (PDF) (NEW March 2018)
• PPMS Submitting Final Draft Report (PDF) (NEW February 2018)

OTHER FORMS AND DOCUMENTS

• Proposal Internal Approval Form (PSU Applicants only) (PDF) (updated March 2017)
• Change of PI Request (doc) (updated February 2017)
• Equipment Request Form (doc) (updated February 2017)
• International Travel Request Form (doc) (updated February 2015)
• NITC logo file (.png)
• TREC logo file (.jpg)
• Alternate NITC logo file (.png), for use only where space is limited