By Joseph Phelan, Grants Development Consultant
The Department of Transportation administers many different grant opportunities across their 11 subagencies. Grants that help secure transit agencies and improve roads. Or purchase buses and enhance railroad safety. There are varying degrees of technology-friendly grant opportunities. One specific program, from DOT’s Federal Highway Administration, focuses on advanced technologies for travel to be safer, more efficient, and increase intermodal connectivity.
Since 2017, the Advanced Transportation Technology and Innovation Program (which also goes by Advanced Transportation Technologies and Innovation Mobility Deployment Program (ATTIMD), or simply, ATTAIN, has awarded 78 projects (The first year of funding, 2016, resulted in 18 awards, but little information is available about project types, only locations and award amounts, so the focus of this deeper dive is constrained to projects awarded since 2017). The average award amount hovers around $5 million. It’s a program that hasn’t opened a competitive process this fiscal year, even though $60 million has been allocated from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). It’s safe to assume that this program was flagged for review, even though there has been no explicit mention, because the environment and disadvantaged populations are mentioned in a previous Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), but it’s more likely that the program remains since the primary focus is to improve safety, mobility, efficiency, system performance, and intermodal connectivity.
Since the future of the next round of funding is up in the air, now is as great of a time as ever to dive a little deeper into this program: what it exactly funds, the profile of awardees from the past, and how to apply.
What Does ATTAIN Fund?
Advanced technologies is a broad description. In the most recent NOFO, 15 advanced technologies or objectives are listed, each with a sentence or two briefly describing them. Below’s table explains each technology in as simple terms as possible.
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Technology or Objective
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Description
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Advanced Traveler
Information Systems
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Systems that provide real-time, predicted, and specific information about travel choices based on data from sensors, mobile sources, and other information systems
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Advanced Transportation
Management Technologies
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Technologies that assist transportation system operators in managing and controlling the performance of their systems to provide optimal services or respond to dynamic conditions. Technologies may include traffic signal equipment, advanced data collection and processing, dynamic lane controls/configurations, transportation systems management and operations (TSMO), and cooperative transportation management algorithms
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Improve Emergency Response
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Closed-circuit television and other video surveillance, traffic counters, remote sensing and detection devices, mobile communication units, permanent or portable changeable message signs, ramp gates, third party traffic data, real-time traveler information systems, and highway advisory radio
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Infrastructure Maintenance, Monitoring, and Condition Assessment
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Technologies and systems that monitor the behavior or assess the condition of transportation infrastructure to allow agencies to better manage their transportation assets through optimizing resource allocation, preventative maintenance processes, and responses to critical conditions
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Advanced Public Transportation Systems
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Remote fleet monitoring systems, coordinated communication systems, algorithms, and applications to enable better transit connections for users, advanced data collection and processing to provide dynamic, responsive transit services, and communication and data systems that enable shared mobility services
|
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System Performance Data Collection, Analysis, and Dissemination Systems
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Technologies and systems that actively monitor the performance of and interactions between transportation systems and permit agencies and other interested entities to conduct analyses and research and explore innovative, value-added products and services
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Advanced Safety
Systems
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Deployment of technology-based safety systems such as Safer Car or at the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Program
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Integrate Intelligent Transportation Systems
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Link information from Intelligent Transportation Systems and other transportation systems with information from the Smart Grid and other energy distribution and charging systems to provide users with better information related to opportunities for recharging electric vehicles
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Integrated Corridor Management Systems
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Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) is the coordination of individual transportation network partners and the coordinated operation of their supportive facilities across all local, county, regional, and state agencies.
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Advanced Parking Reservation or Variable Pricing Systems
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Use pricing to manage and shift parking demand for personal vehicles to reflect the available supply of both parking and roadway capacity, and technologies and systems designed to guide truck or other drivers directly to available parking
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Electronic Pricing, Toll Collection, and Payment Systems
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Unified fare collection, payment, and tolling systems across transportation modes
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Enhance High Occupancy Vehicle Toll Lanes, Cordon or Congestion Pricing
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Congestion Pricing involves the imposition of fees or tolls that vary based on the level of demand for travel on a highway facility, geographic area, or parking facilities. The fees may vary according to a fixed schedule or in real-time based on actual travel conditions. While pricing generates revenue, this strategy has a primary focus on managing congestion, environmental impacts, and other external costs.
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Integrate Transportation Service Payment Systems
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Technologies and processes for facilitating transactions and payment across multimodal and/or multiagency transportation organizations. Integration of payment systems across municipalities and regions can facilitate seamless travel across a variety of modes, improving mobility and convenience, and creating mutually beneficial relationships between modes that improve overall system performance and flexibility.
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Advanced Mobility Access and On-Demand Transportation Service Technologies
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Technologies, applications, and information systems that leverage data and communications systems to allow public agencies and human service organizations to provide improved demand-responsive, coordinated, or seamless mobility services to at-risk users such as the elderly, disabled, or other individuals that require transportation assistance.
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Retrofit Short-Range Communications Technology for C-V2X Technology
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Only if this technology operates within the existing spectrum allocations for connected vehicle systems
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It’s entirely possible that the priorities under the ATTAIN program shift a little bit, especially relating to any electric vehicle mentioned, but for the most part there should be an expectation that many funding priorities from previous years will continue whenever the next round of funding opens.
Award History
The number of awards each year for any grant program will vary based on how much funds have been appropriated. Grant programs change or have been eliminated over time. Some only make a brief appearance based on specific legislation from Congress. ATTAIN first arrived as a program from the 2015’s Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. Additional funds were allocated from the 2021 BIL. At this moment, it’s unclear if this program will move forward in future years, but in addition to the $60 million allocated for FY 2025, there is $60 million for FY 2026, so more awards will be made.
With 78 projects awarded over the past eight years, including different administrations, there is a substantial sample size to better understand what organizations have had the most success, where exactly projects are being funded, and what type of projects are being prioritized.
37 states have been awarded a project since 2017, with California leading the way with eight projects. In total, 18 states have received at least two projects during this span. The average project size is a little over $5 million with a range of $551,732 to $12 million. Applicants have had a 19.5 percent success rate over the past three fiscal years.
Every state has received an award except for: Arkansas, Iowa, Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
As far as eligibility goes, ATTAIN is open to state and local governments, all types of transit agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, as well as partnerships with research or academic institutions.
A breakdown of awardees since 2017:
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Applicant
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Number of Awards
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State DOTs
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38
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Counties
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9
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Cities
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9
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Transit agencies
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9
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Universities
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5
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Regional agencies
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5
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Ports
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4
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Projects may fall within more than one eligible advanced technology or objective, but here is a list of the five most popular project types since 2017.
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Technology/Objective
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Number of Awards
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Advanced Safety Systems
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19
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Advanced Transportation Management Technologies
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17
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Integrated Corridor Management Systems
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9
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Advanced Public Transportation Systems
|
9
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Advanced Traveler Information Systems
|
7
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How to Apply
It is important to note that the NOFO itself will most likely change. The most recent NOFO had specific environmental and equity inclusions. However, certain requirements included within the narrative of the NOFO will remain the same.
Any applicant interested in applying must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). That’s always the first step whenever applying for any federal grant opportunity. Once you’re registered with SAM.gov, you’re able to use that UEI throughout the application. For ATTAIN, there are two portions of the application. One is focused on the technical application, while the other is focused on the budget and forms associated with applying for federal grants. There is a 30-page limit for the narrative aspect of the application, while no page limit exists for the remainder of the application. ATTAIN does a thorough job of explaining exactly what is required within the application. It’s recommended for a single-space document and to use standard 12-point font such as Times New Roman with one-inch margins on 8.5 by 11-inch paper.
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Technical Application
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Budget Application
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Cover Page and Table of Contents
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Application Standard Forms
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Project Narrative
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Summary Budget Narrative
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Management Structure
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Cost Share Information
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Staffing Description
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Other Federal Funding Received or Requested
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Exhibits and Attachments
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Organizational Information
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The Federal Highway Administration website (https://highways.dot.gov/) is the place to go for the most up-to-date information regarding when this NOFO will appear. Grants.gov should also share the NOFO when it’s published.
ATTAIN has provided roughly $390 million in funding for various advanced technology projects since 2017. Fortunately, even more funding will be available, so now is an ideal time to begin brainstorming your next advanced technology transportation project.