Each year, the Research Advisory Committee of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials asks state departments of transportation to identify and document recently completed “high-value” research projects. The RAC then publishes an annual compilation of all these projects in a document called Research Impacts: Better – Faster – Cheaper, which helps eliminate or reduce duplication of research.

States must nominate projects by March 31, with regional review and voting for the top 16 projects identified via that process – dubbed the “Sweet 16” – taking place from April 1 through April 30.

The final “Sweet 16” projects will be identified by May 15 so that the states may make preparations to present projects and be recognized at the RAC/Transportation Research Board State Representatives Annual Meeting, which is typically held in July.

State DOTs may nominate any research project with the following qualifications:

• The project must be completed by March 31. Projects may have been completed in prior years as long as they have not been previously submitted.
• A state may submit research projects on which it served as the lead contracting agency, regardless of the funding source.
• States may combine multiple related or phased projects into a single entry, provided that at least one of the projects fits the qualifications laid out in the first two bullet points.

For more information on program, or submit a project for consideration, visit highvalueresearch.org.