Typical Projects – 2006
The eight categories of activities eligible for funding under the National Scenic Byways Program are broad, allowing for a wide range of specific project types within each one. Grant applications and awards frequently include multiple activities that may fall within one or more categories of eligible activity. For example, a grant to implement a marketing program might use some funds for a new visitors map, other funds for website development, and other funds for a brochure.
As noted, the majority of NSBP grants are for corridor management plan development or implementation. Thus grant requests for the other seven categories of eligible project activities (in particular safety improvements, byway facilities, access to recreation, resource protection, interpretation information and marketing program, and to a lesser extent due to its emphasis on larger program development issues, State or Indian tribe scenic byway development) may be represented under the broader category of corridor management plan development or implementation, rather than being individually identified under one of the more specific categories. While there is no “correct” category assignment—safety improvements may be a critical aspect of corridor management plan implementation, for example—the reporting may skew the real numbers of grants going for specific projects.
In order to provide a more detailed profile of byway grant use in a typical year, data from 2006 were examined in more detail. Specific project types were identified based on a review of funded grant applications. It is important to recognize that these project types are not categories recognized in the Program regulations or application materials, but were defined through a review of funded grant applications in a particular year. Additional project types might be identified from review of funded grant applications in other years, or of applications that were not funded.
Table 23 presents a listing of the project types that were identified from the review of FY 2006 funded grant applications. From the 309 funded grants, 51 identifiable project types were identified representing 891 discrete activities.
| Project Type | No. of Projects | Percent of | Project Type | No. of Projects | Percent of | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Projects | Grants | Projects | Grants | ||||
| Kiosks | 112 | 12.6% | 36.2% | Multimedia stuff for the traveler | 10 | 1.1% | 3.2% |
| Conservation Easements | 60 | 6.7% | 19.4% | Educational materials | 9 | 1.0% | 2.9% |
| Websites | 59 | 6.6% | 19.1% | Newsletters | 9 | 1.0% | 2.9% |
| Employee acquisition | 55 | 6.2% | 17.8% | Other resource protection | 9 | 1.0% | 2.9% |
| Wayfinding along byway | 49 | 5.5% | 15.9% | Press kits and releases | 8 | 0.9% | 2.6% |
| General byway materials | 43 | 4.8% | 13.9% | Restrooms | 8 | 0.9% | 2.6% |
| Conference Attendance | 39 | 4.4% | 12.6% | Low-watt radio | 6 | 0.7% | 1.9% |
| Map-only materials | 34 | 3.8% | 11.0% | Magazines | 6 | 0.7% | 1.9% |
| Other Marketing | 33 | 3.7% | 10.7% | Picnic areas | 6 | 0.7% | 1.9% |
| Wayfinding to/from byway | 30 | 3.4% | 9.7% | Trailheads | 5 | 0.6% | 1.6% |
| Safety Improvements | 24 | 2.7% | 7.8% | Activity-specific materials | 4 | 0.5% | 1.3% |
| Bike/Ped Paths | 23 | 2.6% | 7.4% | Guidebooks | 4 | 0.5% | 1.3% |
| Branding | 22 | 2.5% | 7.1% | Mailings | 4 | 0.5% | 1.3% |
| Other printed materials for byway co | 20 | 2.2% | 6.5% | Other advertisements | 4 | 0.5% | 1.3% |
| Parking | 20 | 2.2% | 6.5% | Photo collections | 4 | 0.5% | 1.3% |
| Overlooks and Viewing Platforms | 19 | 2.1% | 6.1% | Byway logo signage | 3 | 0.3% | 1.0% |
| Restoration and preservation of Historic | 17 | 1.9% | 5.5% | Computer-hosted interactive interpretation | 3 | 0.3% | 1.0% |
| Videos | 16 | 1.8% | 5.2% | Materials for children | 3 | 0.3% | 1.0% |
| Visitor centers | 16 | 1.8% | 5.2% | Multilingual Access | 3 | 0.3% | 1.0% |
| Conference Hosting | 15 | 1.7% | 4.9% | News feeds | 3 | 0.3% | 1.0% |
| ADA-Related | 12 | 1.4% | 3.9% | Other Interactive Interpretation | 3 | 0.3% | 1.0% |
| Audio presentations | 12 | 1.4% | 3.9% | Pullouts other than overlooks | 3 | 0.3% | 1.0% |
| Land, Site, Building Purchases & Acquisitions | 12 | 1.4% | 3.9% | Radio | 3 | 0.3% | 1.0% |
| Exhibits | 11 | 1.2% | 3.6% | Theme-based materials | 3 | 0.3% | 1.0% |
| Other printed materials for traveler | 11 | 1.2% | 3.6% | Visitor Service Signage | 3 | 0.3% | 1.0% |
| AB signage | 1 | 0.1% | 0.3% | ||||
| Source: MDSC | Totals | 891 | 100.0% | 288.6% | |||
The most popular grant-funded project in 2006 was kiosk purchase or development. A total of 112 such projects were carried out. These projects comprised 12.6 percent of the total 891 identified activities, and were included in 36 percent of all funded grants. This was twice as many as the next most popular category, conservation easements. This resource protection tool was funded in 60 instances and made up 6.7 percent of all projects and, appeared in 19.4 percent of all funded grants. Other popular categories were website development, wayfinding signage, maps, marketing, and safety improvements. Less common projects included low power radio products, materials for children, news feed services, and logo signage.
Directions for the Future
One of the challenges for the Program is trying to capture useful information on a range of activities as broad as those shown in Table 23. While capturing information is important and should be useful, it is also time consuming based on the information currently available.
