State Research Process and Submission

The Research Office holds a complete Call for Projects (including both idea and proposal submission) on a biennial basis. This page serves  to inform the public, researchers, and State DOTs of the process and the general documentation involved. Currently the Research Office has notified awarded PIs and will begin contract negotiations in the coming weeks. We are not accepting any new submissions or ideas at this time.  For further questions please contact TDOT.Research@tn.gov.

  • TDOT will conduct an Internal Call for Ideas based off of departmental and division needs. Once complete they will be reviewied internally, and then released for PIs to submit their Problem Statement during the Call for Problem Statements phase. 
  • Research strategic priorities, and, if appropriate, overarching themes, are identified for the call by the Research Oversight Task Force. 
  • TDOT does not accept external idea submissions.
  • Deadline for Internal Idea Submission: October 21, 2025
  •  A Call for Problem Statements (RRFPS) is held on a biennial basis. The best ideas will address  the submitted TDOT’s goals and lead to cost savings or critical innovations.  
  • Problem Statements are accepted by accredited universities and organizations.
  • Submission window: January 14, 2026- February 11, 2026
  • The Lead Staff person identified is then responsible for developing the Research Request for Problem Statement (RRFPS) document based on all eligible submissions and may feature work from different PIs (Principal Investigators) in one final problem statement. This document further details the need by TDOT staff to ensure proposals will meet the minimum needs of the DOT. The RRFPS will be used for the formal Call for Proposals for applicants to respond to when producing their submissions. 
  • Submitted statements are reviewed by the Research Oversight Task Force as well. Once completed, Problem Statements will be submitted to TDOT executive leadership for final approval before moving into the formal Call for Proposals. Selected ideas are proprietary to TDOT. 
  •  Outside submitters from institutions eligible to conduct the research are not guaranteed the opportunity to conduct the research from their problem statement simply by submitting it. Our proposal process is always competitive for State Planning and Research (SPR) projects over $100,000. Projects that are less than this amount may be eligible for our Quick Response Program. 
  • Please note, any PI's work that is featured in the finalized Problem Statement is not guaranteed that their proposal will be awarded in the next phase.
  • Deadline for Internal Problem Statement Review and Finalized Problem Statement Submission: April 9, 2026
  • Selected Research Requests for Problem Statements (RRFPS) for the current period are posted for a Call for Proposals.  
  • Proposals can be submitted by accredited universities and institutions.
  • After applying, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Members at TDOT review and evaluate the submitted proposals. SMEs score the proposals, and the ones that SMEs select to win will be compiled and presented to the ROTF and senior TDOT Leeadership for review and confirmation before the PI is awarded the project.
  • Call for Proposal Submission Window: May 18, 2026-June 29, 2026
  • Awardees are notified via email. 
  • At this point, comments taken from Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) along with the Research Office are used to negotiate any additional needs from TDOT into the contract.
  • FHWA reviews projects for their consistency with the federal requirements for research projects and approves funding on a project-by-project basis.
  • PI Notification Date: No later than August 21, 2026
  • Once final proposal negotiation is complete, the project moves into the contracting process led by the Administration Office in Strategic Planning, Research & Innovation Division. For research projects, the Strategic Planning, Research & Innovation Division uses a Designated Grant Authority (DGA) for contracts. This makes all contract bodies the same, considerably condensing the contract approval process. Any changes to this contract can require a lengthy review, stalling project timelines. More information can be found on the Administration Office's Contract page.
  • Contract start dates will be staggered, and all contracts are expected to be executed by the end of 2026.
  • During the research project lifecycle, researchers must provide quarterly progress reports and invoices on a 90-day basis. Lead Staff and Technical Advisory Committees (TACs) as well as Research Office Staff are to be involved with regular updates and will provide guidance on project direction to ensure findings will be informative and can provide an appropriate method for implementation.
  • Research Project Lifcycles/Contract Dates vary by contract and research needs/deliverables.
  • The Research Office requires that all media related to projects and reports be discussed with the Research Office prior to agreement or submission. TDOT retains its copyright for the specific works and deliverables that come from projects paid for with state and federal funds. The Research Office will post the final report under the "Completed Projects" tab of the "Research Projects and Reports" section. The Office also sends its report to partner institutions as required by FHWA. including: 
  1.      FHWA Research Library : This library does not distribute copies or lend to the public materials from its collection. The Federal Highway Research Library serves "the information needs of FHWA employees by providing materials, reference/research assistance, and other support services." Those outside FHWA looking to get access to materials that would be in this  collection should use ROSA P or NTIS, discussed below in the NTL and NTIS sections.
  2.      Transportation Research Board Library (TRID) : As required by federal regulations, Research Offices from every DOT must submit their projects to the Research in Progress (RiP) database, where, upon completion of the research, the report will be transferred to the TRID database. TRID is run by the Transportation Research Board (TRB). This database "combines the records from TRB's Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS) Database and the OECD's Joint Transport Research Centre's International Transport Research Documentation (ITRD) Database." This is a comprehensive collection of transportation research and highly recommended for finding information you may be looking for related to transportation.
  • Publication date is on or around contracted project end date.