Grants available to Spur Innovation

The application deadline for the Technology Partnerships Program has been extended to May 2, 2007. Based on questions during a pre-solicitation conference call on March 15, 2007 with potential applicants, the solicitation has been updated.

Question and Answers, March 02, 2007 (.pdf, 34 kb)
Question and Answers, March 22, 2007 (.pdf, 72 kb)

Highways for LIFE will award multiple grants under the Technology Partnerships Program. The solicitation opened on March 2, 2007, with a closing date on May 2, 2007. The program anticipates as many as 12 awards at the $200,000 funding level and 3 awards at the $500,000 funding level.

The purpose of the Technology Partnership Program is to pull in partner organizations and companies to work with the highway construction industry to accelerate the adoption of promising innovations. The program seeks to adapt proven non-highway related innovations or to refine existing highway equipment, materials, practices, or processes that have not become adopted as common practice. The program is intended to fund innovations that have been developed to the prototype stage and require further development, testing, evaluation and application in a real-world setting before they would be available for implementation.

Applicable innovation areas include: technologies, materials, tools, equipment, procedures, specifications, methodologies, processes, or practices used in the financing, design or construction of highways or bridges. The innovation must make a significant contribution to achieving at least one of the following Highways for LIFE goals: improving project and/or work zone safety (including worker or user safety), reducing construction congestion, accelerating construction or improving quality.

Competition under this solicitation is open to all non-profit and for-profit organizations except state and local governments and institutions of higher education. State and local agencies, local municipalities, and academic institutions are excluded from competition as prime awardees but are encouraged to participate as a partner at the sub level.

To submit a grant application, go to http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?oppId=12801&mode=VIEW.