State Safety Office

The State Safety Office reviews all concept papers for compliance with state and federal regulations. Concept papers that comply with these regulations are prioritized using the following criteria:

• Does the concept paper request satisfy a specific traffic safety need identified by the FDOT  State Safety Office?
• Does the agency making the funding request serve a city/county ranked in the top 25% of its population group for the priority area in which funds are being requested according to the Florida Highway Safety Matrices?
• Does the crash data supplied in the concept paper’s “Statement of the Problem” document an existing traffic safety problem? (Citation data and survey results can also be used to document the problem.)
• How does this request for funding tie into the Strategic Highway Safety Plan (goals and objectivities)?
• If the agency was funded in the past, did it submit reports, invoices, and financial paperwork on a timely basis and implement the activities that were detailed in the subgrant agreement?
• Does the indirect cost rate requested significantly affect the proposed project’s ability to adequately address the traffic safety need?

The State Safety Office is required by NHTSA to evaluate and document the risk for each entity applying for federal subgrant funds prior to making an award. Each applicant is assessed for risk of noncompliance with federal and State statutes, federal and State regulations, terms and conditions of the subgrant as well as the applicant’s financial stability, quality of management systems, history of performance, single audit compliance, and prior audit findings, if applicable. If the applicant does pose a risk, but the proposal has merit, the State Safety Office may, as a condition of awarding subgrant funds, impose specific terms or conditions. This information is used to determine the appropriate level of monitoring if a subgrant is awarded.

Projects that are ultimately selected should provide the greatest impact to the high crash, high fatality, and high injury challenges that Florida faces. If concept papers are not received from those areas identified as high crash, high fatality, and high injury, the State Safety Office may directly solicit concepts from agencies within targeted high-risk areas.

Local subgrants are usually not funded for more than three consecutive years in a given priority area, however evaluation and selection is done on an annual basis, so there is no guarantee that a local subgrant will be funded consecutively or for more than one year.

Notifications as to whether a concept paper has been selected for inclusion is sent to the head of each agency between August and September. Agencies that are selected will receive further instructions on how to complete the Subgrant for Highway Safety Funds at that time.

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Page updated: April 9, 2021