The Charleston Trains group is in a privileged position with regards to its topic and collaboration opportunities. They are investigating whether train crossing blockages (a frequent occurrence in Charleston) can be predicted ahead of time. The results of this project will have a positive societal impact in reducing traffic, bus delays, and improving emergency service response times in the city. Because of this, the primary short term deliverable is a report to be delivered to the city, with the goal of securing a grant to expand this research. In addition, one of the researchers lives in Charleston, and is directly affected by these issues. When asked, all researchers were motivated by the opportunity to make real-world impact.
This initiative proposes developing a formal procedure within HAAG for building and sustaining real-world collaborations, using Charleston Trains as the initial case study.
The first phase centers on interviewing Prof. Mussman, faculty advisor of the Charleston Trains group. The goal is to document:
- How the idea for collaboration with the City of Charleston began
- The current state of the collaboration, and future directions
- What institutional structures enable this collaboration
- What barriers emerged
- What resources are necessary
- What would have made the process easier
- How to ensure strong collaboration continues
This interview will enable the writing of a draft procedural framework describing how HAAG projects can move from academic idea to civic partnership and grant-seeking activity.
After drafting the procedure, it will be presented back to Prof. Mussman for feedback. His responses will serve as the initial validation step, ensuring that the procedure accurately reflects real constraints and opportunities within HAAG.
Once refined, the procedure will be shared with other HAAG admins to determine:
- Whether similar collaboration opportunities exist in their projects
- Whether the documented process is transferable
- What modifications are needed for different research areas
In parallel, a preliminary grant scan will be conducted to identify funding sources aligned with civic-impact research (e.g., transportation, smart cities, infrastructure resilience). This will test whether the procedure can realistically guide projects toward external funding opportunities.
The final deliverable will be a concise, validated procedure for initiating and structuring real-world collaborations within HAAG. Success will be measured by:
- Faculty feedback on clarity and feasibility
- Identification of at least one additional project suitable for external collaboration
- Compilation of a small but targeted grant list relevant to HAAG research
The ultimate success of this initiative would be if another project was able to follow the generated procedure to secure alternative (for example, municipal) grant funding. This however would likely extend to future semesters.