1. Transportation Knowledge Networks
Task Force Meeting
Leni Oman
Director
Office of Research & Library Services
Chair, AASHTO RAC TKN Task Force
TRB State Representatives Business Meeting
July 26, 2010
Kansas City, Missouri

2. What is a Knowledge Network?
The Transportation Knowledge Network (TKN) is a dynamic collaborative alliance involving departmental, organizational, and nationwide entities. The TKN supplies end-users with connections to print and digital resources and human expertise. The network provides transportation policy makers and practitioners; researchers and educators; systems designers and operators; librarians; data managers; information owners and providers; and the public; with access to high quality information resources in a convenient, timely, and cost-effective manner. The TKN will help preserve knowledge and reduce duplication of effort within the transportation community by improving access to transportation information, and building and retaining knowledge.
A Knowledge Network is a voluntary alliance of organizations and people, supported by technology, with a common goal to provide and share rich, quality information and expertise.
Knowledge networks identify and develop strategies to engage and influence decision makers directly, and to present the network’s knowledge in a way that transforms policy and practice. Networks strengthen the capacity for knowledge sharing and communications in and across all member organizations, and support the creation and implementation of new knowledge. Knowledge networks easily link information providers to users wherever they are located.
There isn’t one definition of a transportation knowledge network, there are many. This is the definition of a knowledge network that the RAC TKN Task Force created and the definition of the Transportation Knowledge Network. These definitions are used in our Task Force Charter that can be found at the web link in the slide.

3. The Information Problem
80% of an organization’s information content is unmanaged
15-35% of employees’ time spent searching for information
Agencies losing brain trust
40-50% of the transportation workforce will be eligible to retire within 10 years.
Reduction in Force
Work trends
More specialization and less cross-training/mentoring
“Just in time” information consumption
Demographic changes/changing information expectations
Explosion of information available – especially digital
135% growth in Internet Usage in North American
Impossible to keep up – even for niche areas
Relevance is critical – and needs improvement
Even so only 16-19% of Internet content is searchable
Not all agencies make their information accessible
We rely on information everyday. Our work can be significantly impacted by our inability to find the information we need. Decisions can be torn asunder by information presented after the fact by a critic – something we didn’t find through our normal search patterns.
But we don’t often stop to think about how information is captured, organized and made available so that it meets our needs. And that’s risky.
As studies show today:
80% of an organization’s information content is unmanaged ((Ralph Menzano, Oracle)
15-35% of employees’ time spent searching for information (IDC)
Agencies losing brain trust
40-50% of the transportation workforce will be eligible to retire within 10 years. (Clark Martin, FHWA)
Reduction in Force
Our work environment is also changing:
There’s more specialization and less cross-training/mentoring
We want “Just in time” information consumption
Demographic changes/changing information expectations – more web available, interactive environments
There’s also a proliferation of information available – especially digital
135% growth in Internet Usage in North American (
Even with all this information so only 16-19% of Internet content is searchable
Not all agencies make their information accessible
It’s impossible to keep up – even for niche areas
Despite all this information, much of what is received through searches isn’t relevant. And this needs improvement.

4. The TKN Portal Envisioned in NCHRP 20-75
But what does the transportation knowledge network look like? What are we creating?
The vision is still evolving. NCHRP created a vision of what an information portal, or front door to the network, might look like.
As we begin to shape the vision, gaining an understanding of what’s possible, what will be useful for the user is important. Some examples include: the Transportation Research Knowledge Center. This site is a resource for the European Commission and provides information about research programs and results including analysis/synthesis of recent research results by technical area.

5. Other Examples http://www.transport-research.info/web/
But what does the transportation knowledge network look like? What are we creating?
The vision is still evolving. NCHRP created a vision of what an information portal, or front door to the network, might look like.
As we begin to shape the vision, gaining an understanding of what’s possible, what will be useful for the user is important. Some examples include: the Transportation Research Knowledge Center. This site is a resource for the European Commission and provides information about research programs and results including analysis/synthesis of recent research results by technical area.

6. The National Library of Medicine provides two portals for information users: Medline Plus which is geared to the lay person and

7. PubMed which is geared toward the medical professional.

8. Images from Search Patterns by Peter Morville and Jeffery Callender.
Not an Easy Task
We have a lot to do to build a transportation knowledge network and the portal that provides a useful “front door” for users. The process ultimately involves the information creators, managers (who capture, store, and organize information for retrievability), technology/technology providers, and users.
As the tools on the Internet evolve, users are asking “why can’t we in transportation do that”. The reality is that its complex, difficult and complicated to develop a broad functional network. But understanding and getting excited about what’s possible will help us support the vision over time and obtain the resources essential for this work.
Take the time to notice what you find useful and bring that to the discussion.
Images from Search Patterns by Peter Morville and Jeffery Callender. 

9. Improving Access to Transportation Information
Timeline
A little about what we have accomplished.
June 2010
NCHRP 20-90
Improving Access to Transportation Information
MTKN= Midwest Transportation Knowledge Network (TKN)
WTKN = Western TKN
ETKN = Eastern TKN

10. Transportation Knowledge Networks TRB Special Report 284
Recommendations
Proposed a network of Transportation
Knowledge Networks with a National
Coordinating Structure
Need for a strong governing body to
provide policy, oversight, and to act as a
champion for transportation information
and Transportation Knowledge Networks
Seek broad-based funding support from
multiple sources to sustain operations.
Provide federal grants for start up
Grow federal funds
Develop local match
NCHRP project to develop a business plan
The policy study was formed to develop a plan for the future of transportation information. It recommended the formation of Transportation Knowledge Networks
Transportation Research Board of the National Academies 2006

11. NCHRP 20-75 Business Plan Context Section Background
Mission, Goals and Objectives
Market
Products and Services
Stewardship Model
Estimated Costs – $13.5 million per year
$7.9 mill for content
$3.1 mill technical/administrative infrastructure
$1.5 mill outreach/education
$1 mill research/literature review services
Roughly 50% of funds to be distributed as grants to TKN member organizations for content development and services
Implementing Transportation Knowledge Networks. NCHRP Report Dec TRB.
Context Section - makes the case for action
Background - describes the TKN concept developed in SR 284
Mission, Goals and Objectives – accountability framework for TKNs
Market – defines broad market but recommends initial focus on FHWA, state DOTs, University Transportation Centers (UTC’s), Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), LTAP/TTAP Centers; and professional associations that serve these organizations
Products and Services – Transportation Information Infrastructure and “The TKN Ten”
Stewardship Model – National Coordination Function (NTL), Advisory Board, Regional TKNs
Costs - $13.5 million per year, includes: $7.9 mill for content; $3.1 mill technical/admin infrastructure, $1.5 mill outreach/education, $1 mill research/literature review services
Content: includes subsidized group subscriptions to standards, journals and other commercially available information sources and grants to TKN members for digitizing key documents, development of information modules such as current practice descriptions, training resources, guides to legislation, expertise directories, consolidated event calendars. Note that commercial information is expensive – e.g. $60K per year for ANSI standards access.
Technical/administrative infrastructure includes development and maintenance of digital and print repositories, the central portal, the search engine (including federated search capability), and staffing to expand efforts on common standards for transportation terminology and data.

12. Library and Information Center Directory NCHRP 20-75A
Currently over 300 transportation information resources and tools to add more.

13. Transportation Knowledge Networks - 2010
A TKN is a network of transportation organizations that collaborate to share their information
ETKN
WTKN
MTKN
3 Regional TKNs
57 total member agencies : State DOTs, MPOs, Transit Agencies, Private Firms, Universities
Pooled Fund Study focusing on library connectivity and providing some support for TKN activities
A building network
Map courtesy of the Transportation Library Connectivity Pooled Fund Study - TPF-5(105)

14. NCHRP 20-75 Outreach Findings What is Needed?
One stop shopping for transportation information
Improved search tools
Value-added services to filter & annotate information
Peer-to-peer sharing of best practices
Capture of “missing” information resources
Greater access to digital documents
Cataloging to enable sharing of documents across organizations
Preservation of information resources to ensure continuing availability
Single place to find information
Trusted source for what is important
Filtering and annotation – what do I need to know?
Missing information resources: presentations, consultant studies, internal documents not typically shared or shared informally

15. Future Vision: Information Sharing Infrastructure
Central Portal
Broad Participation
Diverse Resources
NCHRP identified building blocks for TKNs.
Example: Agency X is a member of one of the regional TKNs. Their agency provides a link to the national portal on the intranet site. A policy office employee goes to “transportation topics” to find information about the new stimulus package. They find links to FHWA and FTA web pages with official information, as well as several PowerPoints and fact sheets prepared by peer agencies – also TKN members. In 5 minutes, they have the information they need.
Common Standards

16. DRAFT TKN Roles
There are many organizations involved in the effort to develop the TKN. This diagram uses is a draft document that begins to identify the roles of these various organizations in relation to the building blocks identified in NCHRP
Further work on roles will be developed through an effort to develop a strategic plan for the National Transportation Knowledge Network.

17. TKN Advisory Board
Primary role: ensure that the national coordination function uses broad stakeholder input as it allocates available resources and makes decisions on specific product and service offerings.
NCHRP Business Plan suggests up to 13 members with representatives from a broad cross section of stakeholders. Potential members:
AASHTO
TRB
a state DOT library,
a university transportation library,
UTC
a transportation engineering or consulting firm
LTAP/TTAP Center
the Special Libraries Association–Transportation Division,
and a representative of the National Agricultural Library (to provide lessons learned from similar undertakings).
The plan also suggests that the board meet quarterly, and that it produce an annual or biennial assessment of TKN performance
Special Report 284 recommended development of an Advisory Board for the TKN. The NCHRP Business Plan posed a model for the advisory board. At the recent NTKN meeting, interest was expressed in creating an interim group to serve in this capacity as we await reauthorization and potential funding for the TKNs.
Might the RAC TKN TF serve in this capacity, helping to build a bridge to the user community?

18. NTKN Strategic Plan Vision Statement Mission Statement Values Goals
Objectives
Tasks
Implementation Strategy
The National TKN is embarking on the development of a strategic plan. This effort is being led by the NTL with support from the Regional TKNs and the RAC TKN Task Force. We don’t even have an outline for a plan yet but this represents elements commonly included in a plan. In this face to face meeting, let’s take the opportunity to discuss the vision of the TKN. Based on what you’ve seen today or know, what’s your vision of the TKN?

19. What Can You Do?
Meet with members of your staff to answer the following questions
What kinds of information resources would members of my organization most like to have easy access to?
What additional help do we need to get our hands on timely and relevant information?
What information resources do we have that others would be interested in – consultant studies, policies & procedures, manuals, training materials, data sets…
What would it take to make these available to other organizations? What help would we need to do this?
Contact your regional TKN:
Find out what they are doing
Identify areas of common interest and mutual benefit
Join/designate a contact person from your organization
Participate in an information sharing initiative
Put your information sources on the map
If you have a library, support cataloging of resources into OCLC
Adopt standard file naming and formatting conventions to facilitate discovery of your documents
If you have a library, data office, or publications office that is willing to make reports, data sets, maps, or other information resources available to the broader transportation community, make sure they are listed in the national directory of transportation libraries and information centers
Participate in the Library Connectivity Pooled Fund Study
Help shape future TKN efforts
Communicate your ideas to the AASHTO RAC TKN Task Force and the TRB LIST Committee
Indentify a point person in your organization for information sharing