DOT Organizational Assessment of OST-R

The National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) contracted with the Department of Transportation (DOT) to assess the organization of Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R) and the opportunities and challenges presented by its proposed transfer to Office of the Under Secretary for Policy (S3). The Academy agreed to provide a high-level assessment including three distinct scope elements (listed in order of priority):

• identify opportunities to improve the capacity to coordinate research across DOT, with a focus on strengthening the Annual Modal Research Plan (AMRP) process, including opportunities to obtain and make available more and better information on the research portfolios of DOT’s modal operating administrations and tracking performance of research;
• better communicate what products the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) produces, for whom, and why; their production schedules; and their release processes; and
• better communicate the core activities of the Office of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing and Spectrum Management, and their relationship to DOT mission responsibilities and priorities.