NVTA staff to draft strategies and metrics after authority adopts vision, call-for-projects open for FY30–31

NVTA staff told the Technical Advisory Committee on June 18 that the authority adopted the draft vision, mission, core values and goals for a multi‑year strategic plan at its May 2025 meeting and that staff will draft strategies and high‑level metrics for committee review with the goal of authority adoption in the fall.

The strategic-plan work will translate approved goals into about four high‑level strategies per goal and then into qualitative and quantitative metrics to be reported in annual progress updates. Staff said the approach is intentionally high level to preserve flexibility across a five‑year period and to allow annual updates to provide quantified progress. Staff cited examples such as strengthening regional coordination, evolving the six‑year program and enhancing data‑driven technical assistance for smaller jurisdictions.

“Technical assistance” was described as regional modeling, GIS and data‑analytics support that smaller localities may not be able to provide in‑house; staff said the authority expects to expand support for modeling and data sharing to complement existing regional studies. Committee members asked for a later meeting with written drafts so the TAC can review strategies and get into metrics detail; staff said refined strategy language and proposed metrics will be shared at a subsequent meeting.

NVTA staff also reminded the committee of the current call for projects for fiscal years 2030–31. The application portal deadline for submissions is Aug. 1, 2025 (04:59 p.m. local time), and governing‑body resolutions of support are due Oct. 31, 2025 (04:59 p.m.). Staff encouraged jurisdictions to submit early and noted the portal will close automatically at the published time.

Staff further reported that the chairs of the state senate and house transportation committees requested that NVTA review the Virginia Department of Transportation’s regional bicycle and pedestrian inventory to identify potential funding sources. Staff said the assignment is in its early stages and noted the request did not ask NVTA to prioritize projects; the initial deliverable is an identification of possible funding approaches rather than a ranked list. Staff said they plan to include a stakeholder group and brief the TAC and other regional bodies as the study develops.

Staff outlined next steps: circulate draft strategies and metrics to the TAC for comment, finalize a full strategic plan for authority consideration in the fall, and provide annual updates on progress against metrics. NVTA staff also said they will continue to support jurisdictions’ competitive positioning for state programs such as the Smart Scale process and pursue federal and state funding opportunities where appropriate.