Tribal Transportation Safety Strategy Pilot Program

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology is soliciting applications for a single cooperative agreement under the Tribal Transportation Safety Strategy Pilot Program, with an application due date of August 28, 2026. The federal award is $2 million with a mandatory non-federal cost match of not less than $1 million (50% of federal funding), yielding a total project amount of $3 million.

Eligible applicants must be an accredited institution of higher education serving as the lead organization in a consortium hub-and-spoke structure that includes Tribal communities, tribal and local transportation practitioners, academia, and nonprofit or for-profit organizations. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization may not serve as the prime applicant but may participate as a subrecipient or technology partner. Federal funding from TTSPF, LTAP, TTAP, and SPR programs cannot be used to satisfy the required non-federal match.

The 36-month period of performance runs from November 1, 2026 through 2029, divided into three phases: Phase 1 (6 months) focuses on research and AI data analysis to investigate crash trends; Phase 2 (12 months) involves development of a Tribal Transportation Strategic Safety Plan and supporting tools including a centralized web portal and training resources; Phase 3 (18 months) requires selection of a high-fatality Tribal partner community and implementation of a temporary, low-cost safety infrastructure demonstration project. The program addresses American Indian and Alaska Native populations, which experience traffic fatality rates more than twice the national average.

Deliverables include quarterly technical and financial reports, a development report, a strategic safety plan, training materials, software tools, a final pilot evaluation report, and policy briefs documenting implementation outcomes. Technical proposals are limited to 25 pages and must address program summary, activities, methods, schedule, organizational capacity, key personnel, partners, monitoring and evaluation plans, and sustainability strategies. Applications are submitted through Grants.gov (Opportunity No. TRIBALSAFETY-OSTR24, Assistance Listing 20.909).