DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (DOT)
FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION (FHWA)
SUPPORTING STATEMENT A
Strengthening Mobility And Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grant Program
OMB CONTROL NO. 2125-0667
INTRODUCTION: This is to request OMB clearance for the renewal of the information collection entitled Strengthening Mobility And Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grant program, FY22-27. The program is being implemented pursuant to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) § 25005; 23 U.S.C. 502(b). This program provides grants to eligible entities to conduct projects that will advance smart community technologies and systems in various communities to improve transportation efficiency and safety in at least one of the following areas:
Coordinated Automation
Connected Vehicles
Intelligent Sensor-Based Infrastructure
Systems Integration
Commerce Delivery and Logistics
Leveraging Use of Innovative Aviation
Smart Grid
Smart Technology Traffic Signals
Eligible entities may respond to the SMART Grant Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) by completing an application, and the awarded projects must include the specific goals and how they will be achieved. Examples of such goals are:
reducing traffic-related fatalities and injuries,
reducing traffic congestion or improving travel-time reliability,
providing the public with access to real-time integrated traffic, transit, and multimodal transportation information to make informed travel decisions; or
reducing barriers or improving access to jobs, education, or various essential services,
the effectiveness of providing to the public real-time integrated traffic, transit, and
multimodal transportation information to make informed travel decisions; and
lessons learned and recommendations for future deployment strategies to optimize transportation efficiency and multimodal system performance.
The US Department of Transportation (USDOT), the Office of the Assistance Secretary for Research and Technology is the awarding office that will administer and manage the SMART program and will award grants to eligible entities on an annual basis. This information collection request (ICR) covers the next two years of the program, the previous submission covered the preceding 3 years of the program. Key aspects of this ICR are described below.
Responding to the collection is voluntary
Eligible responders are States, political subdivisions of a State, tribal governments, public transit agencies or authorities, public toll authorities, metropolitan planning organizations, and groups of 2 or more the eligible entities (applying through a single lead applicant).
The Program is comprised of two stages. In Stage 1, recipients will be funded to develop a plan and/or prototype. The recipients of Stage 1 grant will be eligible to apply for Stage 2 grant to implement their projects more broadly.
Requirements unique to Stage 1 include the Stage 1 Grant application, a Grant agreement, a Draft Evaluation Plan, and a Data Management Plan
Requirements unique to Stage 2 include a Stage 2 Grant application, a Grant agreement, a Final (Updated) Evaluation Plan, a Data Management Plan, and a Final Implementation Report.
Ongoing requirements, regardless of stage, include Quarterly Progress reports, Quarterly Financial reports, and Annual Implementation Reports.
The information is collected as needed
Information relevant to the application is spelled out in the NOFO, as are any reporting requirements agreed to by Grants recipients
The information will be received by USDOT.
The purpose of the collection is to receive information relevant to evaluating applications to the SMART Grant program, per the NOFO, and reporting requirements agreed to by recipients of the Grants.
Part A. Justification
1. Circumstances that make collection of information necessary:
The collection of information is necessary in order to receive applications for grant funds, monitor project financial conditions and project progress pursuant to the Department’s SMART Grant Program, and to evaluate the effectiveness of projects that have been awarded grant funds. As noted above, this program was established under BIL, and as such carrying out this program is required by law. The relevant section of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Section 25005 is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
The additional requirements of recipients, including Quarterly Progress reports, Quarterly Financial reports, Annual Implementation reports, and Final Implementation reports will be used to monitor grant program recipients’ project progress and project performance and evaluation.
The reporting requirements are submitted by recipients and can be classified into four key categories: application process, grant agreement, project management, and project evaluation. Each of these categories are described in more detail below.
Application Process
Applicants submit their applications containing the appropriate information as specified in the NOFO (see Exhibit B for the Application). The Department will review the applications to determine the applicant eligibility, and make the selection based on thorough assessment of the technical and programmatic quality of the projects in accordance with the overall mission of the Program.
Grant Agreement
The Grant agreement is an agreement between USDOT and the recipient. Separate agreements will be established in Stage 1 and Stage 2; however, these are one-time requirements for each of the cohorts (unless modifications to the agreement are needed). In the grant agreement, the recipient must describe the project that DOT agreed to fund, which is the project that was described in the SMART Grant application. For Stage 1, the agreement must include the initial plan or prototype of the selected Stage 1 project. For Stage 2 recipients, a new agreement will be executed that describes the more broadly scaled project that will be implemented. In both stages, the Grant agreement also must include a detailed breakdown of the project schedule and a budget listing all major activities and deliverables that will be completed as part of the project.
Project Management
The project management reporting requirement includes Quarterly Progress reports and Quarterly Financial reports. These reports are necessary to ensure the proper and timely expenditure of federal funds within the scope of the approved project. The requirements comply with the Common Grant Rule and are also included in sections of the grant agreement. Following award, and as part of project management, the recipient will complete Quarterly Progress Reports for the duration of the project to ensure that the project budget and schedule will be maintained to the maximum extent possible, that the project will be completed with the highest degree of quality, and that compliance with Federal regulations will be met. The substantive requirements of the Quarterly Progress Report include: the project’s overall status; project significant activities and milestones; action items/outstanding issues; project scope overview; project schedule; financial reporting (i.e., an SF-425 Federal Financial Report); and applicable certifications. This reporting requirement will greatly reduce the need for on-site visits by staff.
Project Evaluation
The reporting requirements under this phase are necessary to assess program effectiveness for the Federal Government in both the Executive and Congressional branches. The requirements include an Evaluation Plan, Data Management Plan, Annual Implementation Reports, and the Final Implementation Report.
The Evaluation Plan describes the performance measures, evaluation design and methods, and data sources that the recipient will use to measure the impacts and outcomes of their project. The recipients’ Evaluation plan enables DOT to ensure that recipients are preparing for their evaluation and that their evaluation plans are robust. Recipients are required to submit an Evaluation Plan for their project
Data Management Plan describes in more detail how the data will be collected, stored, and maintained.
The recipients are required to submit a Data Management Plan.
Annual Implementation Reports provide a brief summary of the project and its status, describe the performance measures that are being used to measure project impacts, and provide updates on evaluation-related milestones, challenges, issues, etc. Recipients must submit these reports annually for the duration of the project.
By statute (BIL, Section 25005 (f)(1)), each grant recipient is required to submit a report that describes the costs of each eligible project carried out using the grant funds; the outcomes and benefits generated; and the lessons learned and any recommendations relating to future projects or strategies. At the end of the project, recipients will submit a Final Implementation Report that details their findings and the extent to which the projects achieved their targeted outcomes.
Information provided in the Annual Implementation Reports will allow the Government to analyze project performance. This information permits federal Executive and Congressional evaluation of the program.
2. How, by whom, and for what purpose is the information used:
The applications are a one-time collection conducted in response to the SMART Grant NOFO. There will be a new cohort of applicants each NOFO/year. For Stage 1, USDOT will use the applications to determine the eligibility and feasibility of proposed projects. At Stage 2, the USDOT will use the applications to assess if the Stage 1 applicant is ready to move onto Stage 2 and to implement their project more broadly.
Grant agreements will be executed separately for each stage of the grant program. The USDOT uses these agreements to establish the terms by which the disbursed funds will be used (e.g., timeline, deliverables, etc.). For each recipient, the Stage 1 and Stage 2 grant agreements are a one-time collection; however, there will be separate cohorts of recipients (approximately one per year) covered by this ICR.
USDOT Quarterly Progress Reports and Annual Implementation Reporting are necessary to ensure that the projects are progressing as anticipated and that federal dollars are being spent appropriately. Such regular reporting keeps USDOT informed on whether projects are on schedule and within budget and enables USDOT to identify problems as they arise, so that they can work with recipients to resolve any issues in a timely fashion. Likewise, the Evaluation Plan and Data Management Plan provide a mechanism for ensuring that recipients are planning for how they will execute their project evaluations. The Final Implementation Report is a one- time collection that summarizes the overall benefits of the project as compared to the costs, and the extent to which the project met original expectations. The USDOT will use the Final Reports to assess the impacts of individual projects as well as the overall effectiveness of the Program. More specifically, USDOT will use the Annual Implementation Reports and Final Implementation Reports to meet the SMART Grant reporting requirements outlined in BIL, including a Report to Congress and a Best Practices document.
3. Extent of automated information collection:
Applications, Quarterly Progress Reports, Financial reports, the Evaluation Plan, the Data Management Plan, Annual Implementation Reports, and the Final Implementation Report will be submitted electronically.
4. Efforts to identify duplication:
This information collection requirement does not duplicate any other requirements. It is a grant program stipulated in BIL.
5. Efforts to minimize the burden on small businesses:
N/A. Small businesses are not eligible applicants
6. Impact of less frequent collection of information:
Without the Applications, the USDOT would have no way to determine the eligibility of proposed projects as well as their feasibility. Moreover, the USDOT would not be able to assess whether the Stage 1 projects are ready to move onto Stage 2.
Without the Grant agreements, the USDOT would not be able to execute the transfer of funds and hold the recipients accountable to a timeline and to specified project deliverables.
With less frequent collection of Quarterly Progress reports, Quarterly Financial reports, and Annual Implementation Reports, the USDOT would be less likely to identify problems as they arise, thus delaying possible mitigation strategies and increasing the risks of the project. The Quarterly Progress reports will provide USDOT with information on whether recipients need technical assistance or if there are programmatic issues that need to be addressed.
Without the Evaluation Plan and Data Management Plan the USDOT would not have a method for determining if recipients are on track to measure the impacts and outcomes of their projects.
Without the Final Implementation Report, the USDOT does not have a method for assessing the benefits and impacts of individual projects, nor can it determine the overall effectiveness of the Program. Moreover, USDOT cannot closeout the project successfully.
7. Special circumstances:
There are no special circumstances related to this information collection.
8. Compliance with 5 CFR 1320.8:
The 60-day Federal Register notice was published on May 13, 2025, [90 FR 20338], which solicited public comments on the intention of the USDOT to seek approval for this new information collection. No comments were received.
The 30-day Federal Register notice was published on September 23, 2025, [90 FR 45891], to notify the public of FHWA’s submission of this information collection to OMB for review and approval.
9. Payments or gifts to respondents:
None
10. Assurance of confidentiality:
None of the information is considered confidential as it is all available to the public.
11. Justification for collection of sensitive information:
There are no questions of a sensitive nature.
12. Estimate of burden hours for information requested:
The annual burden is calculated separately for the different phases of the grant program. Based on the experience of the Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) Grant Program, approximately 60 -120 entities are expected to apply each year (i.e., each year being a cohort), and it is anticipated that USDOT will award 30 to 60 Stage 1 grants each year. For the purposes of estimating the burden, approximately, 25% of Stage 1 recipients will be awarded a Stage 2 grant to implement their projects more broadly. There could be quite a bit of variability in the hours required to prepare the following requirements, depending on the complexity of the project. As a result, the burden hours included in the table below represent an estimate for the number of average hours that will be needed to complete the requirement. The rows highlighted in yellow include ongoing requirements that are collected for the duration of the IC for each cohort. All other information is a one-time collection for each cohort.
13. Estimate of total annual costs to respondents:
The costs are calculated for each respondent/applicant on an annual basis. Although various personnel are involved in the SMART grants application and awarding process, we believe the Project Management Specialist (PMS) are the most fitting position, given the described duties of the job. The current average salary for PMS is $48.44 1per hour.
Application
We estimate that it takes approximately 100 person-hours to read the Notice of Funding Opportunity and compile an application package for a Smart Grant.
The total annual cost to each of the respondents/applicants is $4844.00 ($48.44/hour x 100 hours) per application.
Grant Agreement:
We anticipate 60 Stage 1 Agreements, and 10 Stage 2 Agreement per fiscal year. We also anticipate that the applicants will spend an average of 50 hours to review and execute their Stage 1 agreement, and an average of 75 hours to review and execute their Stage 2 agreement. Using the average hourly PMS wage, the total annual cost for each Stage 1 of the respondent is $2,422.00 ($48.44 x 50 hours), and $3,633.00 ($48.44 x 75) for each Stage 2 respondent.
Project Management:
We estimate that it takes approximately 10 person-hours to develop and submit a quarterly project progress report to USDOT for review, and therefore it will take 40 hours of staff time per year. Therefore, the total annual cost to each of the respondents/applicants is $1,937.60 ($48.44 x 40 hours).
Project Evaluation:
We estimate an approximate a total 60 person-hour to develop and submit all 3 of the required documents (Evaluation Plan, Data Management Plan, and Annual/Final Implementation Report). Therefore, the total annual cost to each of the respondents/applicants is $2,906.40 ($48.44 x 60 hours) .
14. Estimate of annual cost to the Federal government:
The table below summarizes the costs to the Federal government. Although various personnel are involved in the SMART grants application and awarding process, we believe the Project Management Specialist (PMS) are the most fitting position, given the described duties of the job. The current average salary for PMS is $48.44 2per hour.
Phase/Task |
Annual Staff time (person-hours) |
Number of annual submissions |
Cost per Hour |
Annual Cost |
Total Cost |
Application Process (e.g., review applications) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
15 |
300 |
$48.44 |
$217,980 |
|
|
20 |
60 |
$48.44 |
$58,128 |
$58,128 |
Grant Agreement |
|
|
|
|
|
|
15 |
60 |
$48.44 |
$43,596 |
$43,596 |
|
30 |
10 |
$48.44 |
$14,532 |
$14,532 |
Project Management |
|
|
|
|
|
Stage 1 Stage 2
|
5
|
240 40 |
$48.44
|
$58,128 $9,688 |
$67,816 |
Project Evaluation |
|
|
|
|
|
Stage 1 Stage 2 |
20 |
60 10 |
$48.44 |
$58,128 $9,688 |
$67,816 |
Stage 1 Stage 2 |
20
|
60 10 |
$48.44 |
$58,128 $9,688 |
$67,816 |
|
20 |
70 |
$48.44 |
$67,816 |
$67,816 |
TOTAL |
|
|
|
|
$605,500 |
Application Process:
We will review the application packages to assess eligibility and technical merit prior to the awarding the SMART grants.
The anticipated 300 Stage 1 applications and 60 Stage 2 applications will be reviewed and processed by the PMS at the combined average hourly rate of $48.44, resulting in the total annual cost of $276,108.
Grant Agreement:
After the selection, we prepare the grant agreements and all relevant award documents to send to the grantees for review and countersign. Out of the 300 Stage 1 applications, and 60 Stage 2 applications, we anticipate to award 60 Stage 1 agreements and 10 Stage 2 agreements. The estimated hours to prepare the Stage 1 agreements is 15 hours each and 30 hours each for Stage 2, with the average hourly rate of $48.44, the total annual cost is $58,128.
Project Management:
Each year, 4 quarterly reports will be submitted per grantee per year. Given the estimated number for both Stage 1 and Stage 2 grants is 70 grants per year, the total number of Quarterly Progress Reports delivered annually is 280, the number of hours it takes to review each report is 5, and the hourly cost is $48.44, the annual cost is $67,816.
Project Evaluation:
Given the estimated number of 70 Stage 1 and Stage 2 grants, 70 is the estimated number of the Annual/Final Implementation Report are submitted annually for review. It is estimated that 20 hours will be spent to review each of the 70 reports, at the hourly rate of $48.44, the total annual cost will be $203,448 .
15. Explanation of program changes or adjustments:
Please note that the total “Burden hours per submission” have decreased from 19,900 hours in 2022 to 13,900 hours in 2025 due to the adjustment to such hours based on actual time spent for each step/process throughout the entire Program in previous years. The original “Burden Hours per submission” were slightly overestimated.
16. Publication of results of data collection:
All information regarding the SMART program, including the awarded projects and relevant program policies, can be found at the link below:
https://www.transportation.gov/grants/SMART
The information provided by grantees in their Quarterly Progress Reports, Evaluation Plans, and Draft Implementation reports will used for internal programmatic reviews and oversight activities only.
The Data Management Plans are accessible via https://dmptool.org/public_plans, and the data and information outputs acquired or generated during the grant are located and accessible via https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/cbrowse?pid=dot%3A82036&parentId=dot%3A82036
The information provided in the Implementation Reports will be published on a publicly available website, including the lesson learned, best practices, and recommendations for future deployment strategies to optimize transportation efficiency and multi-modal system performance. The website is currently not available as it is being developed.
17. Approval for not displaying the expiration date of OMB approval:
No such approval is being requested.
18. Exceptions to certification statement:
There are no exceptions to the certification statement.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Nguyen, Thy (OST) |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2025-09-24 |