The role of research in improving infrastructure : an analysis of U.S. transportation research & development

Abstract

Infrastructure systems are central to quality of life and economic competitiveness in nations worldwide, but daunting challenges stand in the way of providing systems capable of delivering needed infrastructure services. In the United States, the transportation system, which is widely considered to be the nation's largest infrastructure system, provides a case study of the complex investment, design, and operations-related problems of infrastructure service provision. An effective and efficient research and development (R&D) system is needed to support the search for solutions to these problems; the nation is served by a large and well-developed transportation R&D system, but given the magnitude of outstanding needs for new technologies, systems, and policies and the persistence of resource shortfalls, it is appropriate to re-examine all aspects of the transportation R&D enterprise in search of strategies for improving its performance. This thesis identifies and analyzes factors that influence the performance of the transportation R&D system and how it can respond to emerging infrastructure challenges. It first discusses categories and characteristics of infrastructure and seeks to place analysis of infrastructure systems, like the transportation system, in a broader socio-economic and environmental context. The thesis then outlines the basic composition of the transportation research and development system and explores the policy environment and critical issues that influence both transportation R&D challenges and the behavior of the system in response to those challenges. Data on transportation R&D expenditures, including longitudinal data for the sector as well as limited cross-sectoral comparisons to place it in context, is presented. Finally, examination of issues (like coordination and integration) related to the structure of the R&D system, is included to frame the prior analysis of expenditures within a broader range of potential strategies for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the transportation R&D system.