2026 UW Small RFP

PacTrans Call for UW Small Project Proposals for FY 2026-2028

Due date: January 19, 2026 for proposal abstracts and March 13, 2026 for full proposals

Download the Small RFP
Download the Budget Template
View USDOT EO Priorities

PacTrans is soliciting research proposals for UW Small Project proposals. Each proposal can be for up to $50,000 of federal funds, with a required 1:1 non-federal match. Proposals must be consistent with our center’s theme of “Developing human-centered and transformative multimodal mobility solutions for the Pacific Northwest.” Within that theme, PacTrans specific research thrusts are listed as below. Each proposal responding to the RFP must address one or more of the first four research thrust areas below, as well as the fifth, cross-cutting thrust, 5. Transformative Solutions.

  1. Accessibility to All: understand major factors that limit access to efficient and reliable transportation options, and design innovative methods and tools that empower mobility and better access to jobs, Medicare, and other economic/social opportunities for all Americans.
  2. Multimodal Systems and Connectivity: leverage new technology-based companies, the collective expertise of the consortium, and relevant programs supported by local agencies, to remove barriers for multimodal integration and to ensure an efficient, resilient, and reliable supply chain for optimal movements of goods and people.
  3. Safety, Resilience and Reliability: develop approaches that work toward a long-term USDOT goal of vision zero and new strategies for safe/efficient evacuations, reliable travels of people and goods, and for fast and resilient recoveries from major disruptions in both urban and rural contexts, for both passenger and freight movements.
  4. Human-System Integration: identify the factors that limit or facilitate system interactions with humans and foster infrastructure-vehicle cooperation technologies and research, including infrastructure/vehicle sensing and data collection, cooperative and infrastructure-enabled traffic-vehicle control, and related issues such as cybersecurity (of both vehicles and the infrastructure) and privacy protection.
  5. Transformative Solutions: a cross-cutting thrust to develop solutions that are flexible and adaptive to anticipate and respond to changing opportunities and challenges in future transportation. Such solutions include new technologies, modeling methods, AI tools, policies/standards, and best practices, based on well-established engineering methods/principles and leveraging advanced materials and emerging technological trends at the same time.

Notes: The USDOT has recently published several Executive Orders outlining their priorities and research topics, including areas they may encourage or discourage. PacTrans has prepared a guide summarizing these priorities and topics. Proposal writers are strongly advised to review this document to ensure their proposed topics align with the Executive Orders.

Additional criteria for funding are listed below:

  • Proposals should be of regional importance, benefitting more than one state.
  • Proposals should clearly demonstrate the national significance of the project. This will help ensure that PacTrans’ research remains competitive at the national level. Projects that duplicate previous research done elsewhere may not be selected to fund.
  • Only UW faculty are eligible to apply for UW small projects, including those on the campuses of Seattle, Tacoma, and Bothell.
  • Proposals must achieve a 1:1 non-federal match. Cash match from sources such as state DOTs, local agencies, corporations, and foundations is preferred.

Submission Guidelines

The submission procedure contains two steps: (1) proposal abstract submission by January 19, 2026, and (2) full proposal submission by March 13, 2026. Those who miss the abstract submission deadline are not allowed to submit full proposals. Proposal abstracts will be used for selecting the most promising proposals and for timely recruiting reviewers.

Proposal abstracts need to be uploaded onto the PacTrans website by the abstract deadline using the “Proposal Abstract” link. Similarly, full proposals need to be uploaded by the full proposal deadline, using the “UW Small Project Proposals Submission” link. The submission links will be provided by PacTrans in early January.

More detailed information about the proposal submission process including templates for the project details, text, budget, schedule, and deliverables can be found on the PacTrans proposal submission website. The main contents of proposal abstracts and full proposals are listed below.

Abstracts

Proposal abstracts should be submitted by the online form or in an Adobe PDF file with the following required information:

  1. Project title
  2. Project type (applied research vs advanced research)
  3. PIs, their affiliations, and contacts
  4. Research thrust(s) as listed in this RFP.
  5. Possible/likely match funds provider(s)
  6. Explanation of the regional importance and national significance of the proposal (300 words maximum)
  7. Proposal abstract (350 words maximum)

Full Proposals

The full proposal should be NO MORE THAN TEN (10) pages (without references, resumes, or match letters) and include the following categories:

  1. Project Title:
  2. Project Type: USDOT collects statistics on the types of research that PacTrans funds. Most specifically they distinguish between advanced research and applied, or practical research. Your project will not be judged based on its type but please indicate whether your proposal is considered advanced or applied research.
  3. Project Team: The project needs to identify the PI,  co-PI(s), and senior Personnel (if any). Please note that ONLY the faculty members on the three UW campuses are eligible to apply.
  4. Research Background and Problem Statement: What problem is being solved and why should anyone care? What are the goals of the project?
  5. PacTrans Objectives: Discuss how the project is: (a) relevant to the PacTrans thrusts and priority areas (see above); (b) regionally important (benefits to more than one state); (c) nationally significant; and (d) supportive of the US DOT strategic goal of Mobility.
  6. Approach: General framework for what you plan to do, approach, methodology, etc. This also includes the task list table included in the proposal template.
  7. Technology Transfer Plan: Outcomes, Outputs, and Impacts: USDOT prioritizes technology transfer, which they break down into three parts: outcomes, outputs, and impacts. (For more on these parts see the recent USDOT T2 Primer here: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/12262). Please clearly describe all of your intended outcomes and outputs, as well as probable impacts of your work.
  8. Required Recorded Seminar/Webinar: In the spirit of this new emphasis on technology transfer. PacTrans requires PIs of our funded projects to facilitate, as one of your deliverables, a recorded presentation of your research and results. We highly recommend that this either be an in-person seminar or a webinar with current project partners and/or potential users of your research outcomes. Here please briefly describe how you intend to fulfill this deliverable and list likely in-person and/or virtual invitees to your presentation.
  9. Amount of UTC Funds Requested and Budget Justification: A maximum of $75,000 is available for each UW Small Project.
  10. Non-federal Match: Justification for and commitment of the match is required. This can include a formal letter from the state agency, your university, or other non-federal source that shows the interest to commit the match, the amount, and type of match (in-kind or cash). Also, a contact person for the matching source should be identified in the proposal. To minimize burden on external partners, we do not require you to provide match letters with your proposal. Such letters are optional for the proposal, but will be required if and when your project is selected. We do highly encourage you to be in conversations with potential match partners and make those conversations known in this section.
  11. Similar Work Disclosure: PacTrans needs to ensure that work proposed for our funding is not overly similar to work already funded elsewhere. Please briefly describe any similar work currently funded through other sources that is closely related to the work proposed here and, more specifically, highlight the differences between the two scopes. PacTrans may request a copy of the most closely related proposal or project report for evaluation purposes. You may use the TRID Research in Progress database to identify potential similar projects.
  12. References: The literature cited in the proposal need to be provided.
  13. Resumes: Include one-page resumes for the project’s Principal Investigators and Senior Personnel.

Please note that up to ten pages are allowed for categories 1-12 above.

Per a USDOT requirement, a data management plan for each funded project is required. PacTrans will require selected proposals to submit a data management plan later. No data management plan is needed for the proposal stage.

External Review Process

Abstract

  • PacTrans External Advisory Board weighs in on how well they believe each abstract addresses at least one of the first four areas bulleted in the RFP ((1) Accessibility to All; (2) Multimodal Systems and Connectivity; (3) Safety, Resilience and Reliability; (4) Human-System Integration), as well as addressing the fifth, cross-cutting area ((5) Transformative Solutions).
  • PacTrans External Advisory Board also provides constructive feedback about each abstract at this stage.
  • PacTrans’ Board of Directors similarly weighs in on how well they believe each abstract addresses our UTC focus as it pertains to the five bulleted areas in the RFP.
  • PacTrans Board of Directors then makes determinations for each abstract as to whether we encourage the PI to proceed to the full proposal round or discourage them from doing so.
  • At this point PIs are also provided with the constructive feedback provided by the PacTrans External Advisory Board to consider while drafting full proposals.

Full Proposal

  • PacTrans will request three external peer reviewers for each proposal.
  • Decisions will be made by the PacTrans Board of Directors based on those external reviews.
  • Reviewer comments MUST BE sufficiently addressed by the PIs of selected projects before funding can be awarded.

Budget Considerations

  • Each participating university in a multi-institution project receives their respective awarded amounts directly from the UW and is not required to administer any other funds for the project other than their institutions award.
  • Proposal budget must follow the PacTrans budget template.
  • A detailed budget is needed and should clearly identify the source of the 1:1 non-federal matching. The budget should include funds for project reporting and travel to the PacTrans regional conference to present results to the Region 10 community.

Note: A signed letter from the non-federal source (or related documentation) is optional at the proposal stage, but will be required if the proposal is selected for funding.

Due dates

  • RFP released: December 22, 2025
  • Submission deadline for the proposal abstracts: January 19, 2026
  • Initial feedback to abstract proposers: January 30, 2026
  • Submission deadline for the full project proposals: March 13, 2026
  • Decisions to proposers: April 10, 2026
  • Revised proposal with comments properly addressed by bidders for final acceptance: April 24, 2026
  • Final decision notification: May 01, 2026
  • The anticipated starting date for selected proposals: August 16, 2026

Questions

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Jeff Ban, the Associate Director for Research of PacTrans.

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