Transportation Knowledge Networks Task Force

1. Transportation Knowledge Networks Task Force July 23, 2012 1:00 to 2:39 pm EDT AASHTO RAC Meeting, Burlington, Vermont

2. Purpose The TKN Task Force serves as a forum to develop the concept, understanding, and application of transportation knowledge networks for the transportation sector. The TKN Task Force advocates and supports the rapid and efficient exchange of information resources through development of strategies and the innovative use of technology.

3. Members • Leni Oman (WSDOT-Region 4), TF Chair • Camille Crichton-Sumners (NJ DOT-Region 1) • Lynn Matis (MA DOT-Region 1) • Sandy Brady (LTRC – Region 2) • JT Rabun (GA DOT – Region 2) • Cynthia Gerst (OH DOT – Region 3) • Daniel Yeh (WI DOT – Region 3) • Dave Ahlvers (MoDOT – Region 3) • Ron Curb (OKDOT – Region 4) • Dale Steele (AZDOT – Region 4)

4. Affiliates • Mary Moulton (RITA NTL) • Dawn Vanlandingham (FHWA) • Lisa Loyo (TRB) • Vacant (CUTC) • Vacant (TRB LIST) • Amanda Wilson RITA NTL (NTKN) • Lynn Matis, MA DOT (ETKN) • Laura Wilt, OR DOT (MTKN) • Karen Perrin, IL DOT (MTKN)

5. 33 Friends/14 Active • Jennifer Boteler, FHWA TFHRC Librarian • Sandra Tucker, Texas A&M Librarian • Anita Vandervalk, Parsons Brinkerhoff • Roberto Sarmiento, Northwestern University • Tommy Nantung, INDOT • Marie Manthe, KSDOT • Chris Hedges, TRB • Jennifer Rosales, TRB • Tom Palmerlee, TRB • Anne Ellis, AZDOT • Jim McDonnell, WisDOT • Moy Biswas, NC DOT • Glenn Roberts, NH DOT • Nelda Bravo, FHWA • Maureen Hammer, VADOT • Shashi Nambisan, ISU • Tim Klein, RITA • Rick Collins, TxDOT • Sandra Larson, IADOT • Sue Sillick, MTDOT • Rita Evans, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley • Kendra Levine, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley • Sena Loyd, Nevada DOT Librarian • Betty Ambler, CTDOT Librarian • John Cherney, Wisconsin DOT • Bob Cullen, AASHTO • Frances Harrison, SpyPond Partners • Anita Vandervalk, Parsons Brinkerhoff • Kathy Szolomayer, WSDOT • Andy Everett, WSDOT • Gordon Kennedy, WSDOT • Jeff Mixter, OHDOT • Ida Van Schalkwyk, CH2M Hill

6. Membership Needs • CUTC Rep • What are the data and information needs of the researchers? • How are information products produced by universities shared within the transportation community? • How do we help practitioners find experts and facilities? • TRB Library & Information Science for Transportation Rep • Many members and friends are involved with LIST but we don’t have an official representative • Need to develop/formalize connections with: • TRB Special Task Force on Data for Decisions and Performance Measures • Data Section/Data Committees • TRB Task Force on Knowledge Management • Others?

7. Meetings • Monthly conference calls • First Thursday of each month • One hour: 8:30 to 9:30 Pacific Time • GoTo Meeting and VoIP/conference line • You’re welcome to: • Listen in • Participate • Send your ideas on needs or opportunities • Contact Leni Oman (OmanL@wsdot.wa.gov, 360-705-7974)

8. Recent Accomplishments • TKN Video • Thank you, Ron and OK DOT! • Distributed to RAC, posted to AASHTO TV and YouTube • Informational Papers • Bibliographic Database vs. Library Repository: TRID and NTL (Completed. Authors: Laura Wilt, OR DOT & Lynn Matis, MA DOT co-lead) • Using the TRT to Catalog Data (Completed. Author: Andy Everett, WSDOT) • Information Portals: Perspectives, Planning, and Practices (Completed. Authors: AJ Million MO DOT; John Cherney, WisDOT; Bob Cullen, AASHTO)

9. More Recent Accomplishments • Knowledge Networks reference in MAP-21 • Research problem statements • Two problem statements vetted by the TKN TF resulted in NCHRP 20-90 (active) • Reviewed e-publications research need, opted out • Information Sharing • Climate Change Clearinghouse guidance updated • Collaboration • With other groups through members and the TKN Chairs • NTKN Meeting July 19th • TKN (NTKN, ETKN, MTKN,WTKN, AASHTO RAC) Chairs meet monthly. LIST, Library Connectivity TPF, and SLA-Transportation Division being added

10. Building Blocks of a TKN NCHRP Report 643 Implementing Transportation Knowledge Networks, Dec.21, 2009, TRB

11. Goals and Activities • Research Report Management: • Repositories: State of the practice & recommendation (active, Dale Steele, AZ DOT lead) • Distribution strategies (active, Sena Loyd, NV DOT lead) • Quality (active – with RAC-CUTC) • Formats (pending, have team members, need a lead) • Outreach: • Communication plan (active, Kathy Szolomayer, WSDOT, and Lynn Matis, MA DOT co-lead ) • Reports to RAC & SCOR (ongoing)

12. Goals and Activities • Information best practices • Collating Calendars (active, Laura Wilt, OR DOT & Cynthia Gerst, OH DOT co-lead) • Research websites and information architecture (in discussion) • Data Management • Will assist Safety Information Workshop recommendations • Information Sharing • International Information Workshop prep and outcomes • Webinar/outreach plan (active, Andy Everett, WSDOT, Mary Moulton, RITA NTL, Frances Harrison)

13. Research Report Management • Need for expectations, guidance, and best practices for research report management • Distribution amongst state DOTs, USDOT Administrations, universities, and other interested parties • Managing collections and repositories • Report formats

14. Help Wanted • Team Lead for Research Report Format Update Task • FHWA point of contact for the official process • Team Lead for Research Information Workflow • Can we value stream map the process? • Need Research managers, librarians and website • Information we can always use: • Information tools and resources you like that you think we should do more of • Priority information needs – what needs help first • Advocacy – help people understand information doesn’t manage itself and that we can improve by working together

15. Next Steps • Next meeting: August 9, 2012, 8:30 AM PDT • Continuing tasks with input from this meeting • Follow up from NTKN Meeting: expanded “steering committee” and work plan

16. Timeline of TKNs NCHRP Rpt 643 Implementing TKNs 2009 Jun 03 Scoping Study for National Strategic Plan for Transportation Information Management Jan 06 TRB Spec Rpt 284 TKNs: A Management Strategy for the 21st Century Aug 07 WTKN 2001 MTKN Pilot Jun 12 MAP-21 mentions TKNs July 07 RAC TKN TF Nov 08 ETKN Apr 04 TL Cat Oct 05 – Still Active Transportation Library Connectivity Study Aug 10 – Dec 12 NCHRP 20-90 Improving Management of Transportation Information • In the beginning were: • SLA- Transportation Division, • TRB LIST ABG40 and the • National Transportation Library

17. NTKN Vision Themes: • coordination role, executive body • national resource to take and initiate resolution of info management problems too big for local or regional (cross-cutting) • not focused on executing actions, but coordinating across available groups • information management for transportation community, not just librarians • information exchange unit between transportation and broader LIS initiatives (represent transportation and bring back info for transportation) general notes: • one minute, one sentence elevator speech • aimed at general audience • focused on outcome and user, not internal process

18. DRAFT NTKN Work Plan Action Items • Establish a formal NTKN Steering Committee • Purpose of the NTKN Steering Committee is to • (1) provide oversight and development of an information management agenda for transportation; • (2) coordinate activities between regional TKN and partner groups • (3) conduct planning and needs assessments with the user and stakeholder community • (4) communicate and conduct outreach regarding all of the above • Members • Membership: • NTL Director • Regional TKN chairs, • AASTHO RAC TF chair • TRB LIST chair • Library Connectivity and Development Pooled Fund rep • SLA Transportation Division chair

19. NTKN - Next Steps • Expand current monthly TKN chairs group to become NTKN Steering Committee in August 2012 • Develop guidelines for operation (how projects are proposed and moved forward, developing an agenda; communicating with stakeholders) by December 2012 • Review and approve NTKN communication – logo, presentation templates, website establishment and content by September/October 2012 • Review TRB Safety Information Sharing Workshop action items and determine TKN groups that will support each to move that agenda forward • Develop near-term national agenda and strategic focus for NTKN activities   

20. Better Safety Results Through Information Sharing: A Workshop Objective: Toidentify concrete ways that the library and information sciences community can collaborate more effectively with safety researchers and practitioners to improve the delivery of relevant and timely information that will reduce crashes and save lives. slide source: Frances D Harrison, 13 July 2012, TRB Workshop

21. Issues and Ideas - 1 • Finding what you need • Enhancing search strategies • Training on how to search • Search support – role for information specialists • Costs and value of specialists • Enhancing search channels • People • Leveraging existing networks • Digital tools • Safety search tools • Making info more findable • Guidance for using standard key words • Market existing safety information resources/directory?

22. Issues and Ideas - 2 • Securing & archiving information • Improving existing information repositories • Archiving key data • Making the case, providing motivation, standardization • Statewide/regional data repositories • Unpublished papers • “Gray literature” • Avoiding/reducing duplication • Guidance for archiving research methods and data • Data citation • Reproducibility

23. Issues and Ideas - 3 • Common Language • Definitions, thesauri, glossaries • Crosswalks for changes in terms over time • Describing Information (Metadata) • Data quality • Data derivation • Source/Credibility

24. Issues and Ideas - 4 • Valuation • Assessing the value of safety data – the case for investment • Assessing the value of advanced search methods • Marketing data • Marketing existing sources, tools • Marketing data programs • Communication and collaboration tools • Communicating the value of safety information • Case studies and stories • Building bridges to data users – analysts & policy makers • Collaborative research teams – bringing information scientists aboard • Analysis tools

25. Issues and Ideas - 5 • How to leverage: • TRB Committees, Research Communication and Collaboration Task Force • TRCCs • SHRP-2 Implementation/Knowledge Transfer Systems • Transportation Knowledge Networks • …

26. Workshop Actions • How to search • Methods • Tools • Google meta search on safety resources • Training • Assessing quality of data and information • Communicating data quality • Making Data & Information Findable • Guide on metadata for creators • Training • Developing a unified safety thesaurus/vocabulary • For search, retrieval, and website architecture • Include commonly-used terms

27. Workshop Actions • Develop a guide to safety resources • NCHRP Synthesis • Should be updated periodically (every 2 years?) • Find, access, and archive GreyLit • NCHRP project • Include a survey • Enhancing access to data behind reports • Bringing together organizations and entities who have a stake in this issue • Objective: policy documenting why this is good practice • Could be an NCHRP project or funded in some other way • Continuing the conversation beyond this workshop

28. Other ideas: Notes and Strategies • General Notes • Think about non-highway safety issues • note financial resources to support action item tasks • scope note: public domain information only focus for action items or proprietary initiative – needs to be noted because they need to be treated differently • Strategy: How do we go out and find information that is not currently available in existing resources • NCHRP project to compile grey literature • Focus on safety – info supporting legislative testimony or court cases • Challenge might be to specify a focus for literature • SHRP-2 Knowledge Transfer activities – ensure using sustainable information practices • TRB LIST committee – explore safety data in “big data issue”

29. Other ideas: Transportation Taxonomies • ACTION: Transportation Research Thesaurus expansion • BUILD OUT: Integrate TRT expansion with TRB committees through the Back to Basics initiative • Spend a year to focus on safety area • Build out • DEPLOYMENT: Add direction on the Technical Documentation page to get the word out about the TRT • Reason to use the TRT (use for better search results and lists) • BUILD a new taxonomy team (building on glossaries of safety from committees and other areas) • ACTION: Need to think more broadly than transportation and intersect with enforcement and health fields • What are the non-traditional groups • How do we integrate our activities with them and continue to build bridges • Potential partner is TRB TAC

30. Other ideas: Tools • demonstrate Google is not good enough • ACTION: give tools to use the Google better (training, etc) • PRODUCT: wallet card to give to students for tips • ACTION: how do you ensure what makes things findable • What elements to use • Address all different formats of materials • how to disseminate effectively through social media • Audience: researchers and creators for documents • How can we get some efficiencies with proliferation of one-stop shops • Where is there duplication? • Where is duplication appropriate and where is it not? • ACTION: what is out there and how can we put into different buckets and network resources • NCHRP Synthesis report • Topics – where is it housed, how do you sort through information (information cycle and how to use data)

31. Other ideas: Communications • Forum for the workshop participants in the future? • Formalized task force or committee • Who is primary audience for home for task force? • How do we reach out into the future for action • Using COPs in practice areas to push information to practitioners • Push resources out to these channels • This addresses practitioner perspective

32. Improving Research Information • What are out business needs? • National • Within State Programs • Researchers • What information resources do we rely on/need? • What are our information products that we need to deliver?