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Documents/DOTO/3: Open Government Strategies/3.3.3: Current DOT Challenges and Competitions |
3.3.3: Current DOT Challenges and Competitions Actively support challenges and competitions. Other Information: Several OAs within the DOT are already actively involved in supporting challenges and competitions. The FAA and NHTSA are leaders at the DOT in conducting challenges and competitions. Some examples of challenges and competitions that the DOT has led or participated in include: FAA Design Competition for Universities: In partnership with several aviation associations and councils, the FAA sponsors a national Design Competition that engages university students in addressing issues related to airports. This competition was done as a necessary expense in furtherance of the FAA’s aviation education mission. The competition challenges individuals and teams of undergraduate and graduate students and faculty advisors to consider innovative approaches to improving the management, safety, capacity, and efficiency of the nation’s airports. 2010 is the fourth year of the competition. Cash incentives are awarded to the first, second, and third place teams in all major competition categories. Two representatives from the first-place team are also invited to accept their award and present their design at the FAA Headquarters in Washington, DC. To learn more visit http://faadesigncompetition.odu.edu. NHTSA Rural Youth Traffic Safety Competition: In partnership with the National Organization for Youth Safety (NOYS), NHTSA and the Office of the Secretary of Transportation sponsored the DOT’s Rural Youth Traffic Safety Message Competition in 2008. The contest was funded by NHTSA and conducted by NOYS, under a cooperative agreement with NHTSA. The contest invited school- or community- supported youth organizations to compete in developing a traffic safety campaign aimed at rural youth. The campaign message was to include a tagline or theme to be used in a variety of media (e.g., print, Web, etc.) and had to be implemented in at least one community. Incentives included cash awards to the top 10 finalist teams. The top three teams received larger cash awards and a trip to Washington, DC for an award ceremony at the DOT headquarters. This contest was aimed at reducing traffic crashes in rural areas, supported safety as a top DOT priority and NHTSA’s mission, which is “Save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce economic costs due to road traffic crashes, through education, research, safety standards and enforcement activity.” To learn more visit http://www.noys.org/YouthTrafSafe/Rural.html. RITA Clarus Research Challenge: In March 2010, RITA kicked off a research competition to solicit innovative ideas for using the Clarus weather information system to improve roadway safety during severe weather. Launched in 2004 by the FHWA’s Road Weather Management Program and the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office, Clarus provides a comprehensive picture of the weather along the nation’s roads that is available to any user, at anytime, anywhere in the U.S. The Department will sponsor up to seven innovative ideas, and intends to provide up to $80,000 per award in an open competition. This contest is designed to help improve road safety through new utilization of Clarus’ unparalleled, live weather data in furtherance of the DOT’s mission to serve the U.S. by ensuring a fast, safe, efficient, accessible and convenient transportation system. In addition, the DOT has participated in challenges and competitions sponsored by other organizations including: Real World Design Challenge: The Real World Design Challenge (RWDC), sponsored by the DOE, is an annual competition that provides high school students the opportunity to work on real-world engineering challenges in a team environment. Each year, student teams are asked to address a challenge that confronts our nation’s leading industries. Students utilize professional engineering software to develop their solutions and also generate presentations that convincingly demonstrate the value of their solutions. The winning team from each State-level competition receives an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC to participate at the national event. The FAA does not fund this effort, but is a crucial partner, providing aviation engineering mentorship and expertise to students. Funding for FAA participation was secured as a necessary expense in furtherance of the FAA’s aviation education mission. Participation in this challenge allows the FAA to further its mission of providing the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world by fostering innovation and learning in tomorrow’s aerospace engineers and innovators. To learn more visit http://realworlddesignchallenge.org. National Aviation Art Contest: The National Aviation Art Contest, sponsored by the National Aeronautic Association and supported by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in association with the National Association of State Aviation Officials, National Coalition for Aviation Education, and the FAA, is an annual competition that encourages children to create artwork inspired by themes in the aviation world. The theme for the 2010 Contest is “Flying with the Sun.” Children ages 6 - 17 are eligible to participate, and the top entries from each State are sent to Washington, DC, to compete in the national competition. National winners receive ribbons and a framed reproduction of their artwork. International winners receive certificates and gold, silver, or bronze medals. Funding for FAA participation was secured as a necessary expense in furtherance of the FAA’s aviation education mission. Participation in this challenge allows the FAA to further its mission of providing the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world by fostering awareness and appreciation of aviation in tomorrow’s leaders. To learn more visit http://aviationartcontest.org. The DOT is also in the process of developing new challenges and competitions that would help further our mission and enhance public collaboration: • The FAA has teamed with the DOT’s Volpe National Transportation Systems Center to develop an alternative-aviation fuel challenge, and is currently defining and developing the process for conducting the competition and identifying sponsorship and funding. This challenge will encourage the development of an alternative aviation fuel to help control or eliminate harmful aviation emissions. • The FAA is also in the earliest stages of considering whether to establish a challenge in the commercial space transportation area. This challenge would encourage and promote commercial space launches and reentries by the private sector, including those involving space flight participants, and promote public-private partnerships to build or operate a space launch and reentry infrastructure. The FAA is currently exploring potential funding sources for such a challenge. The DOT is dedicated to further exploring opportunities to collaborate with our employees, stakeholders, and citizens through these and other innovative methods. We will continue to explore ways to expand upon our existing efforts, and start new efforts to identify the best ways to make our Government more open, transparent, and collaborative, and improve the quality and effectiveness of the DOT’s operations. Indicator(s):
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