Chapter 2: Roles and Responsibilities
Anchor: #i1000071Section 1: Research Committees
Anchor: #i1000077Research Oversight Committee (ROC)
ROC membership:
- Assistant Executive Director for District Operations, Chair,
- Assistant Executive Director for Engineering Operations, Vice-Chair,
- Assistant Executive Director for Innovative Project Development,
- five district engineers, appointed on a rotating basis, and
- other members of TxDOT’s Administration, as appointed by the Executive Director.
The Research Oversight Committee:
- approves research and implementation program policies,
- periodically reviews the status of the research and implementation programs,
- approves new research projects for each annual request for proposal (RFP), and
- approves Project Agreements for funding for the annual research program.
The ROC Chair:
- approves new research projects not included in the annual RFP,
- approves the use of research contingency funds when the contingency balance is below $300,000, and
- approves requests to sole-source research projects.
Assistant Executive Directors:
- approve Implementation Project Recommendations (IPRs) in their functional areas, including authority for sole-source proposals.
Research Management Committees (RMCs)
The membership of each RMC includes:
- five district engineers, one serving as Chair, appointed on a rotating basis,
- division directors of the areas within the RMC’s scope, as non-rotating members, and
- an FHWA representative, as an advisory (non-voting) member.
Each RMC:
- provides program oversight for research and implementation activities within that RMC’s scope,
- establishes research priorities for development of new Problem Statements,
- reviews Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) results and recommends new research Problem Statements to be presented to the ROC for approval for the annual program,
- reviews proposal selections and recommends Project Agreements for funding, and
- reviews the implementation approach for terminating research projects.
The RMC Chair:
- recommends new research projects not included in the annual RFP, and
- approves modifications to active research and implementation projects that exceed $100,000, 25% of the total project budget, or increase the scope of the project.
Focus areas under each RMC’s scope are:
- RMC 1 – Construction
and Maintenance
- Construction Materials
- Construction Operations
- Construction Contracting
- Maintenance Materials
- Maintenance Operations
- Maintenance Contracting
- Pavement Design
- Pavement Management
- Vegetation Management
- RMC 2 – Planning and Environment
- Aviation System Planning
- Environmental Affairs Management
- Hazardous Materials
- Multi-modal and Inter-modal Freight Planning
- Ports and Waterways Planning
- Public Transportation
- Railway Planning
- Right of Way Planning, Acquisition and Management
- Roadway Planning
- Statewide, Regional, and Local Transportation System Planning
- Traffic Data Collection
- RMC 4 – Safety and Operations
- Geometric Design
- Illumination
- Pavement Marking
- Railroad Crossing Safety
- Roadside Safety
- Roadway Signing and Delineation
- Traffic Control Devices
- Traffic Management and Operations
- Work Zone Safety
- RMC 5 – Structures and Hydraulics
- Bridge Rails and Transitions
- Geotechnical Issues
- High Mast Illumination Poles
- Hydraulics and Hydrology
- Overhead Sign Bridges
- Structures Construction and Maintenance
- Structures Design and Analysis
- Structures Management
- Structures Materials
Technical Assistance Panels (TAPs)
The membership of each TAP includes:
- TxDOT employees, one serving as Chair,
- an FHWA representative, and
- university employees, as selected by each university, as non-voting members.
TxDOT membership includes an employee from the Technology Services Division (TSD) who provides special expertise to identify and address IT development issues and requirements.
The RTI Director may approve members from local governments, trade groups, or other organizations, on a specific-need basis. Private industry members are selected from trade groups rather than individual companies to provide an industry-wide perspective, and prevent providing advantage to one company over others.
Each TAP:
- provides technical support and assistance to their RMC,
- develops, reviews, and refines Problem Statements to address research priorities established by their RMC, and
- recommends Problem Statements to their RMC for the next annual research program.
RTI may provide funding for TxDOT and university TAP member travel. Travel costs are subject to state reimbursable limits and TxDOT policy. Private industry TAP members are not eligible for reimbursement of travel expenses.
Anchor: #i1000510Project Monitoring Committee (PMC)
A Project Monitoring Committee is appointed for each research or implementation project and is composed of:
- a Project Director, who chairs the PMC, and
- Project Advisors.
The Project Director is a TxDOT employee, selected for project management and technical expertise and interest in the project.
Project Advisors provide additional or special expertise needed, and may be selected from:
- TxDOT (ensuring that the Office of Primary Responsibility is represented),
- federal agencies,
- state, county, and municipal bodies,
- private industry trade groups, and
- other organizations.
The Project Director (PD):
- may help select the appropriate Project Advisors for the project,
- objectively reviews university proposals,
- makes the final decision and recommendation for proposal selection to the RMC,
- manages day-to-day project activities,
- reviews project invoices,
- reviews specific researcher requests for:
- out-of-state travel,
- equipment purchases not itemized in the original project budget,
- changes in the professional research team, including adding a subcontractor(s), and
- approval of surveys and questionnaires,
- recommends approval or denial of modifications to Project Agreements,
- approves project deliverables or recommends other action to RTI,
- helps develop an implementation plan for project results, and
- may oversee the implementation of project results.
Project Advisors (PAs):
- objectively review university proposals,
- provide support and advice to the PD while the project is on-going, and
- assist in the implementation of project results, as needed.
A Project Advisor from the Technology Services Division (TSD) serves on the PMC for projects with IT deliverables, as deemed necessary by TSD, to:
- assist in obtaining appropriate TxDOT or state approvals for the project,
- assist in the development and implementation of IT deliverables and products, and
- assist in the development of IT documentation, as needed or required.
Conflict of Interest
Members of research committees may have no direct or indirect financial interest in any project they are evaluating or managing. Nor may they have family, personal, or business relationships with university employees that would create a conflict of interest, or the appearance of a conflict of interest, between their duties as a member of a research committee and their personal or business interests.