Strategic Plan for The Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center

Strategic Challenges

The six goals of this TFHRC Strategic Plan correspond to each of the following six strategic challenges. Successfully meeting all six challenges will ensure TFHRC's continued focus on priority research, quality conduct of R&T, and technology deployment for maximum benefit to the Nation and the public. The six strategic challenges are as follows:

1. Systematically and farsightedly setting priorities and effectively implementing them. TFHRC must assure that it is conducting, sponsoring, and contributing to the right research and technology development, investing in priorities according to its Strategic Plan, and ensuring quality work.

2. Developing and balancing permanent (i.e., in-house) and partnership capabilities to maximize their long-term effectiveness. TFHRC must engage in partnerships in conjunction with, or in lieu of, permanent capabilities (especially for emerging or seldom-used capabilities) and must ensure that FHWA has effective methods, such as ad hoc as well as long-term agreements, to tap into the partnerships.

3. Applying foresight and acumen to position TFHRC's organization and staffing for the future. TFHRC's organization and staffing must be flexible and agile. TFHRC, working with FHWA's Office of Human Resources under the policy guidance of the Office of Personnel Management, must recruit the needed expertise and develop the workforce to guide, inspire, and capitalize on innovation.

4. Strategically investing in research infrastructure for maximal long-term benefit. With FHWA investing in TFHRC's research infrastructure in accordance with identified long-term research needs, TFHRC must, where appropriate, leverage external facilities for both emerging and important traditional research areas.

5. Engaging stakeholders substantively at the key stages in the research process to maximize and accelerate research and innovation product adoption. Because technology transfer and deployment are critical components to success for FHWA, stakeholder engagement must occur at key points in the research process to assure stakeholder participation, resource alignment, and technology transition.

6. Providing national and international leadership by envisioning, guiding, and catalyzing highway and intermodal transportation research. TFHRC and its leadership must play a key role in developing and advocating a vision as well as creating and implementing coordinated national highway and transportation research within the United States. TFHRC does this through its communication, coordination, and collaborative R&T efforts and representation on national and international research venues.