ing or effort does not seem warranted, the project 

 is cancelled. In addition, if any of the milestones 

 along the critical path are negative, decisions to 

 alter or terminate the project can be made. 



Ideally, the criteria used to determine a funding 

 schedule for basic research projects are based on 



an estimate of the manpower and equipment re- 

 quired for the various program elements and the 

 imposed project milestones. In reality, office budg- 

 ets are considered as an entity rather than by line 

 items, and specific program cuts must be made on 

 an ad hoc basis. 



APPENDIX TO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 



Statement of William D. Owens, Acting Assist- 

 ant Secretary for Systems Development and Tech- 

 nology, Department of Transportation, before the 

 House Committee on Science and Technology, 

 Subcommittee on Aviation, Transportation and 

 Weather, Tuesday, March 15, 1977. 



Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommit- 

 tee: 



I would like to thank you for the opportunity to 

 appear before this committee to present an over- 

 view of the research development and demonstra- 

 tion (RD&D) program within the Department of 

 Transportation. I have with me today Mr. William 

 C. Steber, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Systems 

 Engineering and Dr. James C. Costantino, Director 

 of our Transportation Systems Center in Cam- 

 bridge, Massachusetts, and Mr. Jerry Ward, Direc- 

 tor of our Office of RD&D Policy. 



Our presentation is in three parts: 



1. First, I will address the process by which the 

 Department manages the RD&D program 

 with particular reference to the balance be- 

 tween near-term and far-term RD&D. 



2. Second, Mr. Steber will highlight the RD&D 

 program contained in the FY 1978 budget 

 request, and finally 



3. Dr. Costantino will describe some of the mul- 

 timodal programs and advanced systems 

 planning which is currently underway at the 

 Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge 

 and also will characterize the activities of 

 other departmental field centers. 



I would like to begin by discussing with you the 

 design of the Department's management processes 

 that are aimed at effective governance of the RD& 

 D effort. In an important sense, this management 

 issue is as significant (or maybe even more so) than 

 the projects themselves, for it provides a way of 

 getting a hand on the tiller that guides the future — 

 or in the airman's parlance "flying in front of the 

 power curve." 



It is important to view the RD&D program of 

 the Department in perspective with the total policy 

 apparatus that governs the decisions and proce- 

 dures within DOT. There must be an integration of 



our sense of the future with our ability to plan for 

 it. The overall objective of the Department of 

 Transportation is to enhance the quality of life of 

 our citizens through consistent improvement in the 

 varieties and mix of transportation alternatives. 

 Our transportation systems move people and the 

 goods they use, and consequently have impacts on 

 nearly every facet of our lives. Transportation-re- 

 lated items account for 10 percent of our gross na- 

 tional product (GNP). If transportation purchases 

 from other sections of the economy are included, 

 the amount is 20 percent. In addition, 15 percent of 

 our exports are transportation-related. Therefore, 

 we must ensure that our transportation systems are 

 economically sound, efficient, safe, meet our cur- 

 rent needs, and are changing to meet our future 

 needs. 



The first area of focus for the Department's RD 

 &D program is transportation technology, more 

 generally thought of as hardware. In this area, we 

 are concerned with improvements in our present 

 systems and innovations which will allow for op- 

 portunities and choices in the future. 



The second area concerns transportation pro- 

 cesses. This RD&D requires an understanding of 

 the complex relationships that exist in our trans- 

 portation systems. Improvements in operational 

 techniques and planning methodology are key ele- 

 ments. 



It is important to emphasize that new technolo- 

 gy, techniques, or knowledge have no impact on 

 the transportation system until they are brought 

 into actual use. The investments required in imple- 

 mentation and operation on a widespread scale 

 exceed those in the RD&D phase by orders of 

 magnitude. 



The leadership role for DOT RD&D is a delicate 

 one because of the diverse nature of the Depart- 

 ment's constituents. These constituents include 

 State and local governments and many industries 

 (i.e., 200 railroads and supply firms, 170 organiza- 

 tions supporting the voluntary truck fuel economy 

 program, etc.). 



In the case of the Department's ground-oriented 

 modes, it is these constituents who are the con- 



TRANSPORTATION 



157 



