Volpe Journal 30th Anniversary - A Special Edition
Winter 2001
Previous Section | Contents | Next Section
The Volpe Center provides an essential link between the technology and transportation communities. The foundation of the Center's success is its comprehensive perspective, which encompasses the nation's transportation system and its relationship to political, economic, societal, and other major national systems.
The Volpe Center was established in 1970 to fulfill the need of the newly formed Department of Transportation (DOT) for broad technical support, and from that year to the present, the Center has based its success on a systems-level understanding of transportation technology, operations, and institutions, coupled with a wide range of analytical and engineering capabilities. Operating under the guidance of the Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the Department's Research and Special Programs Administration, Volpe contributes to the public good through its work to improve the performance and effectiveness of the nation's transportation enterprise.
From the day it opened, the key to the Volpe Center's success has been its dedication to working in the context of the national transportation system. As the Center celebrates its 30th anniversary, every project it undertakes advances in some respect the DOT's transportation goals--safety, security, mobility, environment, and economic growth. Within that framework, the Volpe Center cultivates an approach that is remarkably flexible and adaptable. By applying cross-disciplinary methods to the core tasks of research, analysis, development, and deployment, the Center provides a fertile ground for innovation.
An Exceptional Organizational Structure
The Volpe Center's funding is very different from that of most other federal organizations in that the Center has no line item appropriation in the federal budget for its work. All of Volpe's funding comes from its clients' own budgets. Through their Congressional appropriations, federal sponsors fund the majority of the Center's work. As a result, the Center is both budget-neutral and market-driven. It is budget-neutral in the sense that the sponsors' appropriated funds will be spent to meet agency needs regardless of whether the work is done by the Volpe Center. The Center is customer-focused and market-driven because the sponsor has a clear choice between coming to the Center or seeking an alternative source for support.
An Evolving Approach
Being customer-focused ensures that the Volpe Center's mix and level of work are sensitive to changing national priorities and external forces. In the early 1970s, a large fraction of the Center's work was directed toward advancing transportation technology, such as magnetic levitation (maglev) trains, supersonic aircraft, and automated people movers. Projects were funded from clients' research and development budgets. Over the ensuing years, direct federal investment in many applied transportation research and development programs gradually declined, while operational problems in the transportation system grew as travel and freight shipping burgeoned. Thus, although the Center has continued to engage in research and development activities, its major emphasis has shifted to the deployment of new hardware and processes that address these operational issues. Concurrently, the sources of funding have become the sponsors' capital and operating accounts. In other words, the direction of Volpe's activities has shifted from technology generation to technology deployment.
A Growing Sponsor Base
The Center's sponsor base has also expanded over the years as other agencies have learned of the capabilities and systems understanding that can be brought to bear on transportation issues affecting their operations. While the Volpe Center originally worked primarily with agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation, over time the Departments of Defense, State, and Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and numerous state, local, and foreign government bodies have also asked for its technical support.
Drawing upon the expertise not only of its own in-house specialists but of experts in academia, business, and other government agencies, the Volpe Center provides an essential link between the technology and transportation communities. As the needs of the transportation enterprise evolve, the Center facilitates the process of transforming inventions, ideas, and concepts into new products, processes, and operations to meet the public's needs.
Return to Top
