Arkansas Department of Transportation
RULES FOR TRANSPORTATION-RELATED RESEARCH & WORKFORCE
DEVELOPMENT GRANT PROGRAM
SECTION
1
Regulatory Authority
1.1 Authority for promulgating these rules is
conferred upon the Arkansas Highway Commission and the Arkansas Department of
Transportation (ArDOT) pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 27-65-145.
1.2 These rules shall be known as the
Arkansas Department of Transportation Rules for Transportation-Related Research
& Workforce Development Grants.
1.3 Pursuant to Act 705 of 2017, and Act 884
of 2021, codified at Ark. Code Ann. § 19-5-1258, ArDOT is responsible for
the award and administration of grants under the Transportation-Related
Research & Workforce Development Grant Program (TRRWDGP).
SECTION 2
Purpose
2.1 These rules describe the Arkansas State
Highway Commission and the ARDOT procedures for awarding grants from the Future
Transportation Research and Workforce Development Fund for the
TRRWDGP.
2.2 The purpose of the
TRRWDGP is to support:
* the study of materials and sources in order to establish
facts and reach new conclusions to provide resilient and sustainable logistics,
processes, materials, and methods to ensure cost-effectiveness and the
furtherance of education and economic development concerning all forms of
transportation; and
* industry training, apprenticeship and educational programs to
foster skills required for transportation related personnel development.
SECTION 3
Procedures
3.1 Potential
applicants will be notified when an application period begins by email, letter,
advertisement in applicable publications, and/or a notice on ArDOT's
website.
3.2 The minimum amount
requested for each application is $20,000. There is no limit to the maximum
amount that can be requested. However, it should be noted that only $500,000 is
available each year.
SECTION
4
Selection Committee
4.1 Applications will be reviewed and scored
by the TRRWDGP Committee. It will be the duty of the TRRWDGP Committee to rate
the quality of each application in order to recommend which applications will
receive funding.
4.2 The TRRWDGP
Committee will be comprised of the following members:
* ARDOT Assistant Chief Engineer - Planning, TRRWDGP
Chairman
* ARDOT Materials Division Head
* ARDOT Transportation Planning and Policy Division Head
* ARDOT System Information and Research Division Head
* ARDOT Human Resources Division Head
* ARDOT Workforce Development Section Head
* ARDOT Staff Research Engineer
SECTION 5
Eligible Applicants
5.1 Any publicly funded institution of higher
education may submit an application to receive a grant for
transportation-related research or workforce development to the Arkansas
Department of Transportation.
SECTION
6
Scoring Criteria
6.1 Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
27-65-145, "transportation-related research" is defined as the systematic
investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish
facts and reach new conclusions to provide resilient and sustainable logistics,
processes, materials and methods to ensure cost effectiveness and the
furtherance of education and economic development concerning all forms of
transportation, including without limitation rail, public transportation,
aviation, and waterborne transportation.
6.2 Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
27-65-145, "workforce development" is defined as industry training,
apprenticeship, and educational programs that foster skills required for
transportation related personnel development.
SECTION 7
Award Process
7.1 The TRRWDGP Committee will submit their
recommendation(s) for award of TRRWDGP funding to the ArDOT Director. Upon the
Director's approval, a Minute Order will be submitted to the Arkansas Highway
Commission for their approval. Upon approval, a letter will be sent to each
applicant informing them of the award amount granted for their
application.
7.2 An Agreement of
Understanding will be prepared by ArDOT for each grant recipient. The recipient
and the ArDOT Director must both sign the Agreement of Understanding before
funds will be distributed.
SECTION
8
Reporting Requirements
8.1 At the end of each State Fiscal Year, the
recipient must provide ArDOT with certification that expenditures were an
appropriate use of the TRRWDGP funds accompanied with a summarized expenditure
report.
8.2 Additionally, upon
expenditure of all TRRWDGP funds or completion of the project, whichever occurs
first, the recipient must submit a final report detailing what has been
accomplished by the project and certifying that all expenditures were made in
accordance with the TRRWDGP.
