The Build America Center (BAC) offers a pool of experts from academia and the advisory community with strong knowledge of innovative financing and delivery. In 2022, the BAC will initialize four technical assistance programs: Infrastructure Coordinator Bootcamp, CFO Forum, Innovative Contracting Exchange, and Infrastructure Investor Day.
Infrastructure Coordinator Bootcamp
This program will invite the infrastructure coordinators and task force leadership at the state and city level who coordinate and oversee the implementation of the BIL. The program will help state and city officials identify the capacity building needs and resources as well as sharing best practices and lessons learned. The Infrastructure Coordinator Bootcamp will be primarily focusing on program development and need discovery considering personnel changes in this election year. The BAC will share center initiatives with current state/city coordinators and invite them to participate in other programs, events, and peer exchanges.
Chair: Tom Curtin, National Governors Association
CFO Forum
This program will provide a platform for state DOT Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) to share experiences, best practices, and common concerns. The Build America Center will work with the CFOs to identify State DOTs’ needs for technical assistance.
Chair: Jaclyn Hartman, CFO of Maryland DOT
BAC Coordinator: Professor Qingbin Cui
The first CFO Forum is schedule for late August or September 2022 and will feature discussions on the following two topics:
- How to leverage existing LPA networks at the state level?
- What is the role of state DOTs to support LPAs for FHWA discretionary funds?
- How state DOTs identify local matching funds for new federal funding
- How state DOTs could promote new revenue sources/mechanisms (e.g. toll) to increase the matching funds pool
Innovative Contracting Exchange
This program will provide a platform for state DOT innovative contracting office directors to share experience, best practices, and common concerns. It will also help identify state DOTs’ needs for technical assistance. The peer exchange will be coordinated by Professor Baabak Ashuri of Georgia Tech. A state DOT official will be invited to chair the program.
Infrastructure Investor Summit
This program will bring major infrastructure investors together and share their experience, practices, concerns, and exchange information and knowledge. It will also help identify latest progress on innovative financing and opportunities for research and technical assistance. Professor Michael Bennon of Stanford University will coordinate this initiative. The BAC will leverage existing programs, including frontier finance and institutional investment at Stanford Global Project Center, to connect major infrastructure investors.
