TRB's Cooperative Research Programs Division manages several cooperative research programs that frequently produces reports that have relevence to issues outside of the program's core focus areas.

IDEA programs fund research into promising but unproven innovations for highways, transportation safety, and transit.

TRB manages programs of small studies focused on analyzing legal issues in the highway, transit, and airport fields..

The Long-Term Pavement Performance program (LTPP) is the largest pavement performance research program ever undertaken, gathering data from 2,000 pavement test sections over a 20-year test period.

In response to requests from sponsoring agencies or on its own initiative, the Marine Board serves the national interest by providing evaluations and advice concerning the ability of the nation's marine and maritime industries to operate safely and efficiently and in an environmentally responsible manner. The Marine Board identifies research needs and provides a forum for exchange of information relating to new technologies, laws and regulations, economics, the environment, and other issues affecting the marine transportation system, port operations, coastal engineering, and marine governance.

Congress established the SHRP 2 in 2006 to find strategic solutions to three national transportation challenges: improving highway safety, reducing congestion, and improving methods for renewing roads and bridges. Research was focused in four areas, which are described below. The program carried out 145 research projects and produced 130 products as well as 132 research reports.

TRB's Transportation Research Information Services includes the TRB Library and the TRB Databases which are freely available on the TRB website.