Vision and Mission
The Build America Center (BAC) aspires to mobilize the use of innovative finance, funding, and project delivery solutions by transportation officials. BAC seeks to helps public officials efficiently cut through to the solutions that work for their contexts and projects. The Center will guide, mentor, and encourage stakeholders to both understand and access the value of the innovative finance practice and understand the evolving opportunities of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) financing programs.
By leveraging the skills and knowledge base of regional University partners, federal, state, and local governments, and national organizations, the BAC will guide stakeholders to both understand and access the value of the innovative finance practice and understand the evolving opportunities of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) financing programs.
BAC will develop and undertake outreach and capacity building efforts with Federal, state, and local government stakeholders by:
- Offering Technical Assistance to State and Local Public Agencies
- Promoting Best Practices
- Providing Training and Executive Education
- Building Partnerships
Utilizing the exisiting knowledge and education resources and networks of the Maryland Transportation Institute, the Center will offer opportunities for peer exchanges, panel and roundtable sessions, regular webinars and seminars, workshops, and certificate programs.
In addition to outreach and capacity building, the BAC aims to create a strong and nationally recognized research program that serves transportation professionals and community research needs as well as advancing the frontier of project finance knowledge using the prinpcipals of practice oriented research, performance assurance, open competition and workforce development.
The BAC plans to hold an annual competition, each time awarding 6 research projects with a size of $30,000- $60,000. Detailed project selection will be developed in the BAC annual work plan in close collaboration with the Executive Board, FHWA, and Bureau. Potential research topics include, but are not limited to, selection of fiscal support mechanisms, guidance for progressive development of P3s, Strategies and Resources for Transportation Agencies to Enhance the Participation of DBEs in ACM and P3 Projects, Transportation equity data and project alternative analysis, Development of a Bond Index Tool for P3 Bond Market Evaluation, Major Project Data Base Maintenance and Application Development, Ex-post Risk Analysis of Major Projects, Impact of new and emerging transportation technologies, the growing gap between highway infrastructure preservation needs and generated revenue, and the impact of alternative financing mechanisms on the equity of allocated costs across the vehicle classes.
Center Partners:
The new Center adopts a collaborative model, featuring four universities each acting as a regional hub: Stanford University (west), Purdue University (Midwest), Georgia Tech (southeast) and Virginia Tech (northeast). Additionally, BAC will work the national partners such the National Association of Governors and the National Association of Counties, ensuring that State and local transportation needs are met.
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