Ministry of Transportation Ontario - Road Safety Research Partnership Program 2020-21

Sponsor

Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO)

Program

Road Safety Research Partnership Program 2020-2021 

For More Information

Please see Program Guidelines (Attached)

Description

The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) has announced a call for proposals as part of the 2019-2020 Road Safety Research Partnership Program (RSRPP). This program funds researchers in the broader public sector to conduct cutting-edge, road safety research that supports Ontario’s efforts to improve road safety.

For the 2019-2020 competition, proposals must involve one of the following five key priority areas:

1. Driver Training and Testing
   1. Digital Technologies
   2. Commercial Drivers with Reduced Vision
2. Emerging Vehicles and Alternative Mobility
3. Impact of COVID-19 on Road Safety
4. Impaired Driving
   1. Impact of Partial Vehicle Automation
   2. Cannabis Edibles

The MTO will be funding up to three projects out of a combined pool of $150,000 per year. Projects may span a period of up to six months or 18 months, depending on the priority area addressed (please see the Proposal Guidelines). All relevant documents for this funding opportunity are attached, including additional information on the priority areas and detailed instructions on the application process. 

Please Note: If you are planning to submit an application, please notify MTO of your intent by e-mail as soon as possible and indicate which of the four priority areas (listed above) your submission will address. Please send this e-mail to RoadSafetyResearch.PartnershipProgram@ontario.ca and copy Gregor Lawson in RSS (lawsong@uoguelph.ca). 

Eligibility

Eligible Institutions

• Ontario hospitals, colleges, universities (including their affiliated colleges, research centres, institutes, and hospitals), and other public institutions are eligible for funding through the RSRPP (“sponsoring institution”).
• The principal investigator(s) must be a member of the faculty (full- or part- time) or an employee of the sponsoring Ontario-based institution.
• Faculty carrying out behavioural and social research in road user safety in departments such as Economics, Engineering, Geography, Medicine, Rehabilitation, Psychology, and Sociology are encouraged to apply for funding under this program.
• The successful proponent may not subcontract to outside vendors

Eligible Topics

• Eligible project must address one of the Priority Areas (listed above) and one of the specific problem statements included in Appendix A of the Program Guidelines (Attached)

Funding Availability

The MTO will be funding up to three projects out of a combined pool of $150,000 per year. 

Indirect Costs

Overhead costs may not exceed 15% of the total requested budget.

Project Duration

Projects may span a period of up to 18 months, except for those under priority area 1B  (max. six months).

Special Notes

Ministry Involvement

Research and Evaluation Office staff have extensive experience in carrying out transportation safety research in a variety of areas. Each funded project will be assigned a team of MTO staff that are subject matter experts in that area of study. At the beginning and end of each project, the Principal Investigator (PI) and his/her team will be invited to the MTO Office at the Downsview Complex for a kick-off and close-out meeting (in-person or virtual), respectively. MTO subject matter experts will be at both meetings and may also provide collective feedback to the PI throughout the course of the project at key milestones and/or upon receipt of progress reports. MTO subject matter experts will work closely with the PI on a knowledge translation strategy, and, where relevant, may also assist in research design, in data extraction from MTO databases, and in soliciting involvement of other stakeholders.

External Opportunities

Opportunities for RSRPP-funded research to be profiled at working groups (e.g., with the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators) and conferences will arise. In these instances, MTO expects to work collaboratively with the PI(s) to prepare the appropriate materials. Should researchers choose to publish their findings, MTO requires a copy of the final manuscript accepted for publication at least 30 days prior to the publication date. Should MTO choose to post the final report online, MTO will coordinate with the principal investigator(s) to ensure no impact on the candidacy of the research for future publication.

COVID-19

Please note that research activities carried out in the context of COVID-19 need to adhere to the University of Guelph COVID-19 research principles, policies, guidelines and processes as they may be updated from time to time and communicated on the Office of Research web-page.

How to Apply

Interested applicants are invited to submit an application for evaluation RoadSafetyResearch.PartnershipProgram@ontario.ca prior to September 17, 2020 at 11:59 pm EST. 

The full application package will include a completed application form appended with the following components:

a) Research Proposal

In addition to the research summary included in the application form, applicants must submit a detailed proposal, with sections corresponding to:

1. Background, including objectives, brief overview of the literature (topic areas, theoretical frameworks, common methodologies), and which provided problem statement is being MTO RSRPP GUIDELINES 2020-2021 5 addressed along with the specific research question(s) for the proposed project;
2. Methods, including population and sampling, instrumentation, data collection, study design, analytic strategy, and timeline; and
3. Knowledge Translation, including planned publications or conferences.

The specific research objective(s) must address one of the provided problem statements (Appendix A), otherwise the project will not be considered for funding.

The timeline should be written in Month 1, Month 2 format, rather than specific dates; as the project timeline will eventually be revised to start at the date of the kick-off meeting.18-month projects must sub-divided into two phases.

The research proposal must be no more than five pages (for six-month projects) or seven pages (for 18- month projects), excluding a title page, table of contents, and list of references. Figures will also not count towards page limit if they are provided at the end of the proposal (i.e., after the list of references). Appendices can be provided, but may not be reviewed comprehensively during evaluation. Therefore, all pertinent information for the judges to evaluate the merits of the submission should be included in the main body of the proposal.

b) Budget Justification

Budget items listed on the application form may require additional justification. Please refer to Appendix B for eligible expenditures and provide an explanation accordingly.

c) Curriculum Vitae of Principal Investigator(s)

There are no format or length restrictions for the CV of investigators, and we encourage the use of an existing, but current CV that has been prepared for other grant applications.

Please note, Information contained in the application package will be treated as confidential and are subject to MTO’s obligations under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

Attachment(s)

Attachment	Size
RSRPP 2020-2021 Guidelines	603.2 KB
RSRPP 2020-2021 Call for Proposals	182.6 KB
RSRPP 2020-2021 Application Form	282.6 KB