such as the Health Effects Institute, to administer 
the program established under subsection (a)(1). 
‘‘(2) DISSEMINATION OF RESEARCH AND DE-
VELOPMENT FINDINGS.—The organization described 
in paragraph (1) and the Department of Transpor-
tation shall proactively disseminate research and de-
velopment findings under this section to researchers, 
practitioners, and decisionmakers. 
‘‘(c) ADVISORY BOARD.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The organization de-
scribed in subsection (b)(1) shall establish an advi-
sory board. 
‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The advisory board shall 
be balanced, and shall include—
‘‘(A) representatives from pubic interest 
groups representing the environment; 
‘‘(B) representatives of State, regional, and 
local transportation agencies, including metro-
politan planning organizations and transit agen-
cies; 
‘‘(C) representatives of State environ-
mental agencies; 
‘‘(D) transportation and environmental sci-
entists and engineers; and
‘‘(E) representatives of Federal agencies, 
including the Department of Transportation, 
the Environmental Protection Agency, and the 
National Science Foundation. 
‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The advisory board 
shall—
‘‘(A) develop an annual research and devel-
opment agenda to carry out research and devel-
opment activities described in subsection (a)(2); 
‘‘(B) solicit research proposals to carry out 
the research and development agenda, and over-
see peer review of proposals; 
‘‘(C) develop project selection criteria 
through an open and public consultation proc-
ess with stakeholders; and 
‘‘(D) select projects for funding. 
‘‘(4) CRITERIA.—In developing criteria, the ad-
visory board shall give priority to proposals that—
‘‘(A) are designed to develop fundamental 
knowledge; 
‘‘(B) are interdisciplinary and involve part-
nerships; and 
‘‘(C) include significant matching funds. 
‘‘(d) PROJECT FUNDING.—In addition to using funds 
authorized for this section, the organization described in
subsection (b)(1) is encouraged to seek and accept addi-
tional funding sources from public and private entities. 
‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—The organization described 
in subsection (b)(1) shall prepare and transmit to the Sec-
retary and the Congress an annual report that includes 
a project summary for every project funded under this sec-
tion. Each summary shall describe the project, summarize 
its status and funding levels, and identify sources of fund-
ing.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis 
for chapter 5 of title 23, United States Code, is 
amended by striking the item related to section 507 
and inserting the following:
‘‘507. Surface transportation environment and planning cooperative research 
program.’’.
(d) NATIONAL MULTIMODAL TRENDS POLICY RE-
SEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 
out a National Multimodal Trends Policy Research 
and Development Program that systematically ad-
dresses critical short-term, medium-term, and long-
term social science issues affecting and affected by 
the transportation system. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The program to be carried out 
under this subsection shall include research and de-
velopment on—
(A) how, and the extent to which, the over-
all transportation system is meeting the goals 
set forth in the Transportation Equity Act for 
the 21st Century, and how to improve evalua-
tion methodologies and performance measures; 
(B) the development of policy analysis 
tools and methods for use by decisionmakers; 
(C) the critical factors and major trends 
affecting the success and performance of the 
Nation’s transportation system, as well as how 
such information can be incorporated into na-
tional, State, and local decisionmaking; 
(D) economic, demographic, and social 
trends that are affecting and are affected by 
the transportation system, including such topics 
as—
(i) economic trends, including inter-
national trade and its effects on the trans-
portation of people and goods, rapidly 
changing 
information 
technology, 
the 
changing nature of metropolitan econo-
mies, diversification of employment sites, 
and innovations in goods movement;
(ii) demographic trends, changing res-
idential patterns, and the aging of the pop-
ulation; and 
(iii) social trends, including income 
disparity, access of underserved popu-
lations to jobs, services and health care, in-
cluding the needs of low-income, minority, 
and transit-dependent populations in urban 
and rural areas, the needs of rural popu-
lations, and the effects of new technologies 
on driver behavior; 
(E) how institutional factors affect the de-
velopment and successful deployment of new 
technologies; and 
(F) other critical issues identified by the 
Advisory Board established under paragraph 
(4). 
(3) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall 
enter into an arrangement with the National Re-
search Council to establish the advisory board under 
paragraph (4) and to administer the program. 
(4) ADVISORY BOARD.—
(A) MEMBERSHIP.—A majority of mem-
bers of the advisory board shall be experts in a 
broad array of social science fields. Additional
members of the advisory board shall be bal-
anced among representatives of Federal, State, 
and local transportation agencies, other agen-
cies with appropriate expertise, metropolitan 
planning organizations, transit operating agen-
cies, and environmental and other nonprofit or-
ganizations, including representatives of com-
munity-based orgainzations. 
(B) 
RESPONSIBILITIES.—The 
advisory 
board shall—
(i) develop a detailed research and de-
velopment agenda, which shall serve as the 
basis of the annual project solicitation; 
(ii) annually solicit project proposals, 
through open competition and peer review 
of research and development proposals; 
and 
(iii) develop project selection criteria, 
through an open and public consultation 
process with stakeholders. 
(5) DISSEMINATION OF RESEARCH AND DEVEL-
OPMENT FINDINGS.—The National Research Council 
and the Department of Transportation shall dissemi-
nate research and development findings under this