Transcript Messaging Up--Keeping Your CEO Informed about TRB

Messaging Up
Keeping Leadership Informed about TRB
Leni Oman
Director
Office of Research & Library Services
TRB State Representatives Business Meeting
July 28, 2010
Kansas City, Missouri
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Be Creative/Use Every Opportunity
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Strategic Implementation Plan reporting
Participation in the TRB Annual Meeting/Report out
Briefings for presentations to TRB meetings
Lists of nominees and selected employees
ROI information for TRB funded activities
State Visits
NCHRP CEO Ballot
Project results
Distributing Critical issues
Triennial Agreement
Budget documents
Issue support (provide recent relevant research)
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Never provide information without
stating the value
Facts on File about TRB
• What is TRB
• How WSDOT is involved with TRB
• Lists of WSDOT nominees and fate
• Current participants
• ROI information for TRB funded activities
• The value of the services & products to WSDOT
• Problem statements submitted and fate
• How we compare to other states
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What is TRB?
1863
National Academy
of Sciences
1964
National Academy
of Engineering
1970
Institute of
Medicine
NRC Divisions
TRB Divisions
Technical
Activities
Studies &
Special
Programs Cooperative
Research
Programs
Administration
& Finance
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WSDOT’S TRB Funding
WSDOT makes two voluntary contributions to TRB each year
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TRB Core Services: the annual budget is set through the triennial
agreement. This cost is prorated across the state DOTs based on
the State Planning & Research (SPR) apportionment
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NCHRP: equivalent to 5.5% of the federal SPR apportionment
Other
states
WSDOT’s
contribution
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ROI for TRB
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Unlimited free registration at the TRB Annual Meeting .
– Value: $530 advance registration in 2010. 28 WSDOT attendees = $14,840
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Unlimited access to TRB e-sessions. $500pp (per Annual Meeting year)
Annual Meeting presentation library: $95pp (per Annual Meeting year).
Variable discounts for other TRB conferences and workshops.
Unlimited subscriptions for TRB publications –full hard copy set of all TRB
publications: $4,250. Broadly used at WSDOT.
Unlimited access to TRISWorld which provides access to over 700,000
records of international research publications (only available to sponsors).
Unlimited online access to the Transportation Research Records. Over
9300 peer-reviewed papers published since 1996. : $5,700 (current year
plus all archived years).
Unlimited attendance in TRB webinars. $99 per webinar (approx 40
webinars per year = $3,960)
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Continued: ROI for TRB
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Tools and events to facilitate:
– Networking with experts from public agency, industry and academic
organizations that represent states, federal agencies, local governments,
and other countries through the Annual Meeting, mid-year conferences,
web meetings and conference calls. Social networking applications are
in development.
– Projects and collaboration in research:
• Research Funding Guide
• Research in Progress database
• Research Needs Statements
– Without the Core Program initiatives, each state DOT would have to
invest and apply its own resources to produce and develop the same
kinds of information.
– For every $1 that the average state invests in TRB Core Program
activities leverages approximately $101 in research-related.
• WSDOT leverages $105/ per each dollar spent
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Consequences of not Funding
• The potential impact of reducing our contribution:
– May be reduced levels of sponsor benefits listed above.
– Might experience fewer appointments to Committees if experience is
equivalent to DOTs providing full sponsorship.
– Reduced funding will restrict the ability for TRB to provide innovations
we’ve requested.
• This is NOT a statement from TRB
• TRB has not had to face this issue to date and the TRB Executive
Committee might need to consider appropriate action.
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WSDOT Involvement in TRB
– WSDOT serves on the TRB Executive Committee
– TRB State Representative
– 42 employees are on 60 TRB Standing (Technical) Committees
• We Chair six committees
– 49 employees on 65 Cooperative Research Project Panels
• We Chair 5 panels
– 10 employees on 13 Advisory Committees and Expert Task Groups in
the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP2)
Participation provides the opportunity to influence the direction of
transportation innovation and research in a variety of topics.
Have also provided summary of Washington State involvement in TRB as
useful.
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CRP Facts on File
• # of Problem Statements submitted and fate of those problem
statements
• # of Panel nominees and fate of those nominations
– Request summary of agency employees selected in September
Participation provides the opportunity to influence the direction of
transportation innovation and research in a variety of topics and
shape projects and products to meet the needs of Washington.
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2010 TRB Annual Meeting Facts
• 10,100 attendees
– 65 Countries
– 1000+ state DOTs attendees
– 1000+ Federal agency attendees
• Over 3000 papers and presentations in more than 600
sessions and workshops
• January 10-14, Washington DC
WSDOT Employees involved in TRB Activities
39 employees on 56 TRB Technical Committees
49 employees on 65 Cooperative Research Project Panels
10 employees on 13 Strategic Highway Research Expert
Task Group
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Why Attend?
• To inform and influence trends in transportation on a wide
variety of issues.
• Gather information on practices in order to extend our
knowledge and improve our products and processes.
• Opportunity for new employees trying to learn rapidly about a
topic as well as the veteran employee keeping abreast of
innovations in their field.
• To attract partners and funding.
WSDOT employees are frequently requested as presenters,
moderators, and committee members because we are
developers and early adopters of new practices.
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WSDOT Attendees
28 WSDOT employees attended
• 5 sponsored and 3 partially sponsored
– Funding provided by FHWA, TRB, AASHTO and EWUTTAP.
• 3 paid their own travel expenses
• 18 are members of 28 TRB Division A committees and 2
Committee Task Forces and Subcommittees
• 5 chaired 5 TRB committee meetings, 1 Task Force
and 1 subcommittee meetings
• 12 presented at 14 sessions, poster sessions, and
workshops
• 4 presided over 3 sessions and 1 poster session
21 other WSDOT staff are members of the 30 other TRB
Division A committees and did not attend the meeting.
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Name, Title
Office
Funding opportunities identified
Policy Alerts/Influence
Research Needs/Influence
Partnerships formed/continued
Funding Source:
– WSDOT
– Sponsored
– Self-funded
– Augment other travel
Days Attended:
Sun Mon Tues Wed Thur
Activities:
– Committee Chair
– Session Presenter
– Session Moderator
– Poster Presenter
– TRB Committee Member
– Attendee
Actions that will be implemented
Value to WSDOT
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Funding Source
Tony Allen, State Geotechnical Engineer
State Materials Laboratory
WSDOT
Days Attended
Sun Mon Tues Wed
Role
Member 2 TRB Committees
• Met with developer of design method for pile
supported embankment – will help reduce our design
conservatism for SW region project (maybe 60% cost
reduction)
• Poster session paper on using shafts to stabilize landslides –
learned about new design method plus software that could
allow us to increase shaft spacing and reduce costs
• Met with the geosynthetics industry to develop a plan for a
geosynthetic manufacturing plant audit program to improve
quality and consistency
• Met with FHWA, ASCE, and proprietary wall industry to begin
to reestablish a national wall evaluation program -- will save
WSDOT staff time in conducting such reviews for WSDOT’s
pre-approved proprietary wall program
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Be Ready
• Use every opportunity
• Always add statements of value
• Develop a handy resource of facts, refresh it
periodically
• Push information out too – through problem
statement solicitations and other research news
• Call TRB to help shape your message
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Putting it all together in your state
Resources I use:
• Technical Activities Division information
• Find the employees involved in TRB at:
– http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/reps.asp?c=1003
– Click on the agency name at this site for a list of agency
employees on committees, panels, expert task groups, etc.
• TRB State Representative Resources
• Mark Norman: [email protected] 
I’m also happy to help:
Leni Oman: [email protected], 360-705-7974
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