TRB State Representatives Business Meeting

Wednesday, July 27, 20118:30 am – 10:30 am

Salt Lake City, Utah

1. Welcome (5 minutes)

  • Robert E. Skinner, Jr., Executive Director, TRB

2. Resources for Keeping Your CEOs and Decision Makers Informed About TRB (15 minutes)

In this follow-up to the Tuesday afternoon session on Engaging Your CEO and Agency Leadership in Research, TRB staff will provide an overview of tools resources that are available for keeping your state DOT leadership informed about TRB. Feedback will be solicited on the new tool that provides customized information for each state on your return-on-investment for TRB programs and activities.

  • Mark Norman, Director, TRB Technical Activities Division
  • Comments from TRB State Representatives (All)

3. Getting the Most Out of TRB/State DOT Partnership Visits (20 minutes)

In response to input received during our earlier meetings, TRB provided the state DOTs with a number of optionsfor the 2011 Partnership Visits. These options included one-day “mini-visits”, and including TRB staff from the Cooperative Research Programs and SHRP2. How are these working so far, and what have some states done to get the most out of these visits?

  • Michael Bonini, PennDOT
  • Amy Schutzbach, Illinois DOT
  • Comments from TRB State Representatives (All)

4. Getting TRB Publications to the Right People in State DOTs (15 minutes)

TRB is working with several state DOTs on a pilot program that relies primarily on electronic distribution of TRB publications to state DOT employees. An overview and summary of the experience to date from the perspectives of the participating state DOTs and TRB will be presented.

  • Michael LaPlante, Director, TRB Administration & Finance Division
  • TRB Representatives from Participating State DOTs

5. State DOTs and the TRB Annual Meeting (15 minutes)

As challenges to travel continue, what is being done by TRB and state DOTs to bring Annual Meeting content to state DOT employees who cannot travel?

  • Mark Norman, TRB
  • Rick Collins, Texas DOT
  • Leni Oman, Washington State DOT

6. Facilitating Involvement by State DOTs in TRB Activities (20 minutes)

A mini town hall discussion on what is being done, and what can be done, to enhance the opportunities and the ability of state DOT employees to participate in TRB committees, panels, meetings, and other activities.

  • Skip Paul (Facilitator), Louisiana DOTD
  • TRB State Representatives (All)

7. Back to Basics – Fostering and Nurturing a Research Agenda for TRB Standing Committees (10 minutes)

The objective of this new TRB initiative is to provide TRB standing committees with the knowledge and tools they need to identify research needs within their scope of coverage, to enhance the probability that this research will be conducted, and to disseminate information on relevant ongoing and completed research.

  • Barbara Harder, B.T. Harder Inc.