Messaging Up Keeping Leadership Informed about TRB

1. 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

2. Be Creative/Use Every Opportunity • 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)

3. 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

4. What is TRB? 1970 1964 1863 Institute of Medicine National Academy of Engineering National Academy of Sciences NRC Divisions TRB Divisions Studies & Special Programs Technical Activities Cooperative Research Programs Administration & Finance

5. WSDOT’S TRB Funding WSDOT makes two voluntary contributions to TRB each year • 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 • NCHRP: equivalent to 5.5% of the federal SPR apportionment Other states WSDOT’s contribution

6. ROI for TRB • Unlimited free registration at the TRB Annual Meeting . • Value: $530 advance registration in 2010. 28 WSDOT attendees = $14,840 • 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)

7. Continued: ROI for TRB • 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

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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

12. 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.

13. WSDOT Attendees 28 WSDOT employees attended • 5 sponsored and 3 partially sponsored • Funding provided by FHWA, TRB, AASHTO and EWU-TTAP. • 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.

14. Name, TitleOffice 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 Funding opportunities identified Policy Alerts/Influence Research Needs/Influence Partnerships formed/continued Actions that will be implemented Value to WSDOT

15. Tony Allen, State Geotechnical EngineerState Materials Laboratory Funding Source 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 industryto 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

16. 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

17. 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: Mnorman@nas.edu I’m also happy to help: Leni Oman: OmanL@wsdot.wa.gov, 360-705-7974