Regional Infrastructure Accelerators Program

The program funds technical resources, planning, and project development to expedite regional transportation infrastructure through innovative financing and delivery methods, including public-private partnerships. This Assistance Listing 20.951 creat

Authorized in the 2015 Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST), the Regional Infrastructure Accelerators (RIA) Program assists entities in developing improved infrastructure priorities and financing strategies for the accelerated development of a project that is likely eligible for U.S. Department of Transportation credit assistance. Accelerators serve defined geographic areas and act as resources to: Evaluate and promote innovative financing methods for local projects. Build the capacity of state, local, and tribal governments to evaluate and structure projects involving private investment. Provide technical assistance and information on best practices for infrastructure financing. Increase transparency in infrastructure project analysis and innovative financing for public infrastructure projects. Facilitate creation of pipelines of investment-ready infrastructure projects. Bundle smaller-scale and rural projects into more attractive, larger investment opportunities. Through the RIA Program, the Build America Bureau has funded 24 Accelerators, creating a network of resources to advance transportation infrastructure projects. These accelerators are: Developing funding and financing strategies to identify and leverage feasible funding mechanisms, such as grants, loans, public-private partnerships (P3s), and state and local contributions. Designing or enhancing effective governance frameworks to manage project delivery effectively. Laying the technical groundwork for specific infrastructure projects through feasibility studies, conceptual designs, and cost estimation. Functioning as a convener to facilitate interaction among stakeholders, such as government entities, private investors, community groups, and technical experts. Serving as an educator and technical resource by providing training, best practices, and technical assistance. Conducting statutory and regulatory compliance analyses to evaluate project requirements related to federal, state, and local laws, including environmental, labor, procurement, and other matters. Completing specialized analyses, such as traffic and revenue modeling, economic impact assessments, and risk evaluations to inform decision-making.

An eligible applicant is: A U.S. public entity, including a state, multi-state or multi-jurisdictional group, municipality, county, a special purpose district or public authority with a transportation function including a port authority or public transportation agency, a Tribal government or consortium of Tribal governments, MPO, regional transportation planning organization (RTPO), Regional Transportation Commission, or a political subdivision of a State or local government, or combination of two or more of the foregoing.

Assistance can include: (1) project planning; (2) studies and analysis (including feasibility, market analysis, project costs, value for money, public benefit, environmental reviews, etc.), revenue forecasting; (4) preliminary engineering and design work (5); and statutory and regulatory compliance analyses. Ideally, when considering the previous rounds of awards under this Program, there will be a diversity of RIAs selected for awards based on geography (e.g., rural, urban) organizational structure (e.g., within a State or Metropolitan Planning Organization or regional transportation authority), operational business model and focus.

30 days after release of the NOFO, application will close. Once selected, a 2-year period of performance Cooperative Agreement is expected.

Selection Criteria: This section of the application should demonstrate how the application aligns with the criteria described in Section E.1 of this notice. The Bureau intends to select and designate RIAs that demonstrate in the proposal the ability to effectively assist entities in developing improved infrastructure priorities and financing strategies for the accelerated development of one or more projects eligible for funding under the TIFIA and RRIF program. The Bureau will consider the extent to which an RIA is likely to effectively promote investment in eligible projects, develop a pipeline of regional transportation and/or transit-oriented development projects, and result in the implementation of projects with innovative financing methods.

The Bureau hereby requests applications from all interested parties to result in the expected awarding of between six and ten cooperative agreement(s), each containing substantial involvement on the part of the Federal government in accordance with 31 U.S.C. 6305. The Bureau anticipates substantial involvement between it and the recipient during this Program, which will include: i. Technical assistance and guidance to the recipients; ii. Close monitoring of performance; iii. Involvement in technical decisions; and iv. Participation in status meetings including a kick-off meeting and annual technical and budget reviews.