Puget Sound Regional Council

Puget Sound Regional Council, a U.S. local government council of governments based in Seattle, Washington, functions as a regional planning recipient under federal grants from the Department of Transportation and the Department of Commerce, delivering regional transit planning, roadway safety coordination, and economic development planning services across the Central Puget Sound region.

PSRC is a government entity operating as a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) and regional council of governments, with no federal contract prime footprint but substantial federal grant recipient activity. The organization is structured as a nonprofit entity with a named subsidiary, the Central Puget Sound Economic Development District. PSRC's federal work is routed through formula grants and project grants rather than competitive procurements, positioning the organization as a direct recipient rather than a vendor competing on set-asides or full-and-open vehicles.

The Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration dominates PSRC's federal funding, accounting for 36 of 54 named awards in the recent activity snapshot. Recent FTA formula grants include a $1,562,500 award announced July 24, 2026, supporting regional transit planning activities for fiscal years 2026-2027 under CFDA 20.507 (Federal Transit Formula Grants), running through June 30, 2028, with no sub-recipients; a $1.25 million FTA Section 5307 award from January 5, 2022, supporting 2022-23 Unified Planning Work Program activities across Seattle-Tacoma-Everett, Bremerton, and Marysville urbanized areas, also run through PSRC without sub-recipients; and an April 3, 2024, FTA award for 2024-25 planning work supporting Vision 2050 regional growth strategy implementation. The Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration has placed seven awards, including a $2.87 million Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) project grant from April 17, 2024, through June 30, 2027, which PSRC administers as a regional coordinating entity on behalf of sub-recipients including the cities of Edmonds, Shoreline, Bonney Lake, Kirkland, Fife, Federal Way, and Sultan, as well as Snohomish County, each developing local safety action plans; and a May 19, 2023, FHWA SS4A award supporting PSRC's regional safety action plan development through December 31, 2026. The Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency round out PSRC's customer set with five, three, and two awards respectively. Award frequency has been sparse in recent years—one award in 2022, one in 2023, two in 2024, one in 2025, and one in 2026—reflecting the formula-grant and biennial planning-cycle cadence of PSRC's federal program architecture. Three awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, generating recompete activity tied to FTA biennial planning cycles. PSRC's sub-award footprint is minimal; the organization carries one recorded sub-grant award from the Washington State Department of Transportation under a highway project involving SR 167 express toll lanes and fish passage barrier replacement. Corporate structure shows PSRC as a parent entity with Central Puget Sound Economic Development District as a named nonprofit subsidiary.