Mobility, Access, & Transportation Insecurity: Creating Links to Opportunity Demonstration Research Program - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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Mobility, Access & Transportation Insecurity: Creating Links to Opportunity Research and Demonstration Program

What's New

• On January 11, 2024, the University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies released a MATI Program Request for Proposals (RFP). The RFP will lead to the selection of applicants that will participate in a multi-phase demonstration to address issues of transportation insecurity. More information on the RFP and supporting outreach efforts are available here. 
• On November 13, 2023 the University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies, the MATI Program Research Lead, hosted a public webinar offering an overview of the upcoming Request for Proposals (RFP) for the MATI Demonstration Program. The UMN team reviewed the MATI program and timeline offering attendees the opportunity to share input about the focus of the program and the elements included in the RFP.
• On February 8, 2023, FTA announced the selection of the University of Minnesota-Center for Transportation Studies as the program lead for the Mobility, Access & Transportation Insecurity: Creating Links to Opportunity Research and Demonstration program, following the notice of funding opportunity published August 9, 2022. More information about the MATI program, including information for communities considering applying to be a demonstration site, will follow soon.

Overview

The Mobility, Access & Transportation Insecurity: Creating Links to Opportunity Research and Demonstration program lead will support FTA in establishing an initiative to explore strategies to improve people’s mobility and access to daily needs and evaluate outcomes and impacts upon individuals and communities.  FTA’s efforts aim to support an equitable, integrated transportation system that meets transportation needs for low-income individuals and/or communities of need.

Eligible Activities

All activities leading to the establishment of a research and demonstration program that will explore interventions to ensure mobility access and evaluate outcomes and impacts. Eligible activities include:

• data collection
• transportation feasibility study and analysis
• economic analysis
• stakeholder engagement and outreach
• obtaining necessary equipment and services
• acquiring or developing software and hardware interfaces to implement the project
• performance measurement and evaluation

Eligible demonstrations must target low-income people and communities that routinely experience a lack of reliable transportation. All demonstrations should share similar characteristics of target population, urban context, and availability of public transportation resources. Eligible research demonstration activities include:

• planning, engineering, or development of technical or financing plans 
• public engagement and participant recruitment
• capital or operating expenses serving the treatment group
• technology application 
• similar necessary components to design and select demonstrations.

Eligible Recipients

Eligible applicants include:

• Departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the government, including federal laboratories
• Institutions of higher education including research universities, particularly those with minority-serving institution status
• Non-profit organizations
• For-profit organizations 
• Technical and community colleges

Eligible applicants may also identify one or more partners with substantial expertise, interest, and involvement in the proposed effort. 

Statutory Reference

FTA's Public Transportation Innovation Program (49 U.S.C. 5312) supports research and demonstrations to develop and deploy ideas, practices and approaches that advance the interests of public transportation. This NOFO (Federal Assistance Listing: 20.530) was developed to establish a research demonstration program to explore interventions toa ensure mobility access and evaluate outcomes and impacts upon individuals and communities, pursuant to that authority.

Allocation of Funding

The Mobility, Access & Transportation Insecurity: Creating Links to Opportunity Demonstration Research Program is funded under FTA’s Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment program authority.

Match 

As permitted under 49 U.S.C. § 5312, given the substantial public interest of conducting research of national significance to inform public policy, the federal share may be up to 100 percent.

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