RTI notifies the University Liaisons as well as the TxDOT Districts and Divisions through an email for the annual call for Problem Statements. RTI only accepts Problem Statements submitted electronically through . The Problem Statements are then gathered and the Portfolio Manager reviews the Problem Statements for completeness. If approved, the Problem Statements are then submitted to the FACs for review and prioritization.

The Problem Statements are rated and comments are captured. Based on the initial ratings the Problem Statements are prioritized for the in-person meetings. The FACs then meets and discusses the Problem Statements. The submitter or champion promotes their Problem Statement. During this process,

the Problem Statements are reviewed and may be

combined as a result of the discussions. The comments and ratings are captured and the projects are ranked. The resulting list goes to the Research Oversight Committee (ROC).

Additional information regarding Roles and Responsibilities of the committees may be found in Chapter 3 of this manual.

The Problem Statements are then reviewed by the

ROC

. The ROC then meets to discuss the Problem Statements in person and each member submits ratings and comments. The information gathered is used to create the final ranking and project prioritization.

The Project Portfolio Manager reviews the funding and its alignment to the ranking of the projects and the project estimated budget (primarily), in accordance with 23 CFR 420, SPR Part II Work Program.

The statements are also queried against RiP/TRID to eliminate any potential redundancy.

The Project Portfolio Manager then sends the final recommended list of projects to the

EC

and local FHWA Division. The

EC

reviews and approves the projects selected for inclusion in the SPR Part II Work Program. The Problem Statement is then converted to a Project Statement and sent to the Sponsor. The assigned Sponsor evaluates the completeness of each project statement. Once complete, the project statement is then bundled as part of a Request for Proposals (RFP).