Office of Research, Development & Technology
OVERVIEW:
The Office of Research Development and Technology (RDT) is responsible for coordinating, facilitating and reviewing the Department of Transportation's (DOT) investments in research, development and technology (RD&T).
RDT conducts Congressionally-mandated coordination of the Department’s RD&T programs through the RDT Planning Team. The RD&T Planning Team is chaired by the Director of the Office of Research, Development and Technology and provides a forum for intra-agency and interagency coordination.
RDT manages and coordinates the strategic planning and execution process for transportation RD&T across the Department as defined in the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. In addition to coordinating mandated annual RD&T reporting to Congress, the program promotes excellence in research management, develops guidance concerning access to research results, the peer review processes and research ethics and coordinates Departmental participation in initiatives of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). RDT program activities directly address and facilitate the achievement of the Secretary’s innovation goal.
OUR MISSION:
The mission of RDT is to:
- Improve transparency, accountability and coordination of the Department’s RD&T investments.
- Increase and leverage multimodal RD&T activities across the Department and among Department-funded researchers and other stakeholders.
- Fund small, time-critical research projects.
